Soul Dark

YA Fantasy

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War is coming between Lukas’ Goddess and an ancient Demon Lord. But the death of his parents shakes his faith, and with the loss of his remaining family it is shattered. Blinded by rage, Lukas turns away from his friends and trains under a deceptive, yet formidable master to hone his magic and prevent the demon’s final objective--obliteration of all life on earth.



War begins! A forged weapon, Lukas rejoins his friends and sets after the Demon King. From a hidden crypt, where evil lies waiting, to the Iowa countryside, they battle to prevent the end of all they know. Lukas must overcome his doubts and allow the Light to work through him--to defeat both the foe of his Goddess and a new more familiar one.


Soul Dark: Chosen is a coming of age tale in the modern-day world when a war between ancient deities and demons culminates in a winner-takes-all battle that could determine the fate of all mankind.

Read an Excerpt...

Lukas stopped and faced his grandmother. He rarely questioned her judgment, but in every person’s life, there comes a first time for everything. “Grandma? Why? Why now?” he asked. “My friends are on the way. They’ll be here any minute now. And here we are, out back, telling ghost stories in the cold, moonlit snow.”

“I had to wait for you to ask. She is always most insistent upon that—the sign of readiness,” she said, “Lukas… Your name itself is a great power. It means Light Bringer. Open yourself now to our Mother Goddess and you’ll wield a power you can’t even imagine. Far more than this tired old lady could ever muster.”

He bit back his rising anger—a pubescent force within him he found increasingly difficult to control in times of stress and some of it spilled free. “Don’t ask me that,” he shouted, kicking at a snowbank. “I’m no one’s pawn, Grandma! Yours, God’s, Goddess’s, or otherwise! You love Her so much, you wield her damned light! And please… Just make Her leave me alone!”

“Lukas. As you well know, the night your parents passed,” she said, touching her amulet, “something attacked me at the farm. This helped to protect me, and it will defend you or any who wield it in Her name.” She removed the necklace chain from which the amulet hung and held it forth in both shaking hands, offering it to him as both a gift and a curse. “Resume your training, son—take up this ancient mantle—you know I won’t last forever.”

Before the first coherent thought passed through his mind, Lukas took a step back. “I remember now. I was talking to Elliot and then the deer ran out in front of the car. There were so many. All at once. Driven by… By something in the dark.” He paused, reflecting, his face revealing the roused rage he could no longer hold back. An undirected burst of power from within him knocked snow loose from every tree and branch around them. “That was my price for serving the Goddess?” He screamed. “The lives of my parents? It was them or us—me and Elliot?” He heard branches snap and twist in the windless night and the ground shook around them. Three snow-devils raced away from him at thought speed chasing each other in a game of tag that flung snow in every direction.

***

As I mentioned earlier, for druids, or any wielders of magic it is as important to control ourselves, our rampant emotions, as it is to control our otherworldly gifts. If left to themselves, either could become catastrophic to the world and everyone within it.

***

Undeterred, Grandma Helen stood firm. “Lukas, no,” she cried. “You know better and you’re much better than this.”

“The pain I see so much in my brother,” Lukas screamed. “Did you know he cries every night?” He turned away to hide his shameful tears and to bring his powers back in check. “Tell Her to find someone else,” he complained. He wiped his eyes then took Grandma Helen’s arm, indicating silence. “Your Goddess—She asks too much.”

Though there were countless questions left unanswered between them, neither spoke as they returned to the house. The grove had become colder somehow, darker, and uninviting. Lukas did however, hear the murmur of his grandmother’s unspoken thoughts. “Dearest Lukas, acknowledge Her or not, love Her or not, She’s your goddess too.”


About the Author: E. L. Reedy was born and raised in Iowa, where he devoured tomes of fantasy, sci-fi, and young adult novels as a child. In his free time, he is an avid gamer (D&D and Pathfinder). He has traveled the world as a soldier in the U.S. Army, and now lives in Iowa, where with his writing partner, he continues to pen works in the realms of Fantasy and Horror in the Young Adult Universe.

A. M. Wade was born the only girl in a family with five boys, she readily escaped into fantasy, sci-fi, and other fiction novels. Having traveled through most of the US, she enjoys using scenery and characteristics of the different states in the story adventures she created for the little ones in her family. Now, she writes sci-fi, fantasy and horror with a lifelong co-conspirator.

Together: Having lost many friends, associates, and even children from our home town over the years to suicide, they wrote their first novel, Upon Broken Wings. Told from the point-of-view of a young witness, the story teaches that suicide is not an end to suffering, but rather the beginning of unimaginable pain for those left behind and that there is always hope if we choose the path of life.


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BuyLink for Soul Dark: Rising:



https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P2L6655





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