Demon’s Call: Requiem of Stone Book Two Author: Julie Boglisch Genre: Fantasy/Action-
Demon’s Call: Alex, Rita and Milos journey through the dangerous waters of the north in search of Alex’s mother and learn more about themselves along the way.
Demon’s Call: Fantasy/Action/Adventure
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BLURB: Demons Call
Having escaped the city of Raynout, Alex, Rita and Milos find themselves journeying in search of Alex’s mother and the answers she can provide. Their search leads them to the dangerous and unknown region of the north, where legend tells tales of its perilous waters. Along the way, they learn not only more about the Underlands, but about themselves as well as they struggle to come to term with who they are and where they belong. Meeting interesting new allies and a dangerous new enemy, the three of them must learn how to fully rely on each other… before the waters of the north tear them apart.
EXCERPT: Demons Call
The Aqua Wraith stared at the island. Rita wasn’t sure, but she thought she noticed hesitation on the being’s face, followed by a frown.
“Hm…do we know if it’s safe?” Milos finally turned away, hand resting on his sword. “It seems pretty open, but…”
“It should be fine.” Rita shrugged, only hesitating for a split second. Sure, the Aqua Wraith’s words sounded ominous, but she also didn’t know the creature very well. “Though I haven’t seen anything move while we’ve been approaching.”
“Nothing moved?” Alex blinked, glancing back at her. “What do you mean? There’s no life on the island?”
When he said it like that, a shiver ran down Rita’s spine, her thoughts once more flickering to the Aqua Wraith’s words. “That…”
“That island.” The Aqua Wraith’s voice caught them all off guard as she glanced at Alex. “Doth thou not sense it?” The words sounded almost pleading, as if desperate to say more to the point that Rita couldn’t deny that maybe the Aqua Wraith might have a point.
Alex furrowed his brow as Milos closed his eyes.
Rita tilted the wheel, not so much to go toward the island, but more to draw to a stop near the island. The island was closer now, directly in front of them. It didn’t appear strange to her, no matter how ominous it sounded. She spotted stones dotting the land and, now that they were closer, a few scraggly roots curling over the ground. The hill she noticed earlier seemed like a pile of rocks, they glowed an eerie color in the night stones, an eerie silvery…white…
Footsteps jerked her away from her thoughts as Milos practically sprung to her side, wrenching the wheel from her grip and turning it almost ninety degrees as he shouted, “All hands, evasive maneuvers. We need to get away from that island.”
As Rita stumbled back, she noticed Ari and Leon were already disappearing into the map room, though Leon promptly returned with a weapon grasped firmly in his good hand.
The Aqua Wraith disappeared with a swirl of water, shooting down through the wood.
Alex paled, slowly taking jerky steps back. “What…what the hell?”
The swear surprised Rita almost as much as Milos’ shout and the sudden blast of the wind stones and the engine. The boat turned, slower than it seemed like both Alex and Milos liked. Rita, not sure what was going on, just reached over, toward the wheel as she noticed Milos struggle. She gripped on and pulled, stunned as it only slightly shifted with both of their weights.
A sound, a whispering, clattering sound reached her ears. Rita peered over toward the island and felt all warmth leave her body. That silvery white hill wasn’t a hill.
A head slowly rose from the pile, vines curling around the skull and clinging to the earth. A thwack sounded on the boat as Rita and Milos finally succeeded in twisting the wheel. The sudden twist and shoving of the boat caused Rita to stumble away from the wheel.
Stillness fell over the ship for a split second as nothing moved. A faint crack echoed from below as the ship jerked to a halt.
Milos cursed. “Take the wheel.” He pushed Rita into place before darting to the back of the ship, sword flashing from the sheath. The next moment, Rita saw a thick vine surge out of the water as a howling wind like a roar echoed from the center of the island, filled with bones of various sizes and shapes. Some appeared fishlike while others held more humanoid appearances. It grew, vines tangled around the bones to create a distorted monstrous shape. The night stones did nothing to hide the empty eyes and writhing vines, only adding an eerie blue glow over the mass.
The vines lashed out, curling around the bones and toward the ship as Milos hacked at the vines with his sword, slicing cleanly through root after root as the wind stones howled, pushed to their max. Alex must have shifted slightly to his demonic form in his panic, water splashing up as his wings whipped, blocking some of the vines. Leon seemed to be doing the same, protecting the other side of the ship, as the vines thrashed, slamming into his injured side, causing him to stumble and miss a slash. Rita ducked as one tried to pierce through where she stood before it fell, shriveled and dead to the deck. She peered back toward Milos standing to her left, sword already moving in an arc to stop another vine from wrapping around the tail end of the ship. She heard him curse. She peered back and paled as the creature shifted toward the edge of the island, long claw-like appendages reached out toward their ship, vines swirling out from around its fingers like writhing tentacles. Horror was the only thing she felt as she tightly gripped the wheel, doing all she could to hold it steady as she noticed Milos sprint headlong to the back of the ship. He practically leaped over the side as his non-sword hand gripped the railing. He swung, sword slicing cleanly through whatever was there.
One minute the ship was still. The next it jerked, tilting back slightly before it shot forward, almost skipping over the water as the creature roared behind them. A clang echoed from the side of the ship as Milos swung himself back around, pulling one leg over the railing as the sword clattered to the ground. Alex hurried over with Leon a few steps behind as Rita peered back, watching as the vines writhed, reaching upward like a dark silhouette, already disappearing in the distance. With the last tendrils of fear dissipating, she watched as the creature slowly descended back down, the island still once more.
KEYWORDS: Underground, Demons, Ocean, tropical islands, water
Website URL: www.julieboglisch.com
Blog URL:www.julieboglisch.com/blog
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JulieBoglischStories/
Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/jboglisch
LINKS
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SQ2MP1C
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/demons-call-julie-boglisch/1138604861?ean=2940162536147
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/demon-s-call
Google Play: https://books.google.com/books/about?id=IkQTEAAAQBAJ&hl=en
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