Elemental Earth
Kinsey Knight
Young Adult Fantasy
Pages: 262
My
name is Trinity Liathain, typical human teenager to many. But reality is I’m a
young fae, split between two very different worlds. Just as I find a guy who I
can be myself with, my little corner of Blue Cove erupts in drama I’m not
prepared for. The gauntlet to a war that shouldn’t be mine is at my door,
bringing creatures that terrify and mesmerize me. I’m visited by ancient forces
who for some reason, think I’m the
answer to another dimension’s problems. They grant me tremendous power to
protect myself. From what, you ask? If my short journey through life has taught
me anything, it’s that the people closest to you, make the worst enemies.
A tarantula the size of a football
crawled over my book, clear liquid dripping from its oversized fangs. Where the
venom touched, chunks of my book disintegrated.
The chair careened behind me as I
jumped to my feet. Adrian’s growl shook the windows, the only warning of my
stupid mistake. He reached for me too late. Mr. Conevetti’s stick arm shot
around my waist and dragged me over the desk.
“You can’t ssstop me.” His mechanical
screech resonated through my eardrums. “He wantsss her.”
I choked back a scream as he gave up
his glamour, revealing a horrific face caught between an alien and an ant. I
flailed, punching him in the neck, shoulder—anything my fist blindly reached.
His rock hard exoskeleton prevented his injury. Cuts broke out over my knuckles.
“Put her down,” Adrian snapped, every
pound the goblin royal.
“Trinity…” My name coming from those
pincers serving for a mouth was the single most horrible thing I’d ever heard.
He hissed at Adrian, who circled us.
I was not, nor ever would I be a damsel
in distress, waiting for her prince to save her. Not in this lifetime, or the
next. I sought any kink in his armor. I elbowed the bug man in the face,
gritting my teeth as his pincers sliced into my flesh.
He released me with a surprised squeal.
I landed wrong on my feet. My knees ached, but I ran. My momentum propelled me
toward the terminals. I jumped, my foot landing on the chair. I was airborne,
flying over the grotesque spider and the computers, thrashing awkwardly on my
descent. The back of my head slammed against the opposite terminal, changing my
trajectory. I hit the floor, twisting my
ankle. The shock of pain on top of everything else forced a gasp from me.
The spider dropped, scuttling across
the floor.
“You all right?” Adrian yelled. Under
the row of desks, only legs were visible—a pair of jean-clad ending in thick
biker boots, and two sticks in loafers.
“I’m good!” I lied through my teeth.
The spider scurried closer. I ripped a
keyboard out of its USB port, wielding it as a weapon. The thing paused.
“Come on. I don’t have all day.”
It jerked as if it understood. It crept
around me, I suppose seeking a weak spot. It lunged, and I swung. I hit the
rounded, furry body across the room like a baseball. It hit the window with a
sickening thump and didn’t move again. The acidic poison from its fangs ate
through the glass in a watery line. The rancid smell intensified.
I peeked over the walls of the desk.
Adrian darted and weaved, the skill of a fighter shocking me. Sure, every now
and then a guy might scrap, but this was taking it to another level. Mr.
Conevetti wasn’t fast enough for him.
They danced around each other in a
primal, masculine array. Adrian bared his teeth. “Trinity, for the love of the
Goddess, run!”
Sounded like a good plan to me. But I
couldn’t leave Adrian. Not with a psychotic bug fae. I tried to stand and
almost toppled. My ankle throbbed. I felt my heartbeat in my temple from where
I’d slammed my head. The pain twisted my stomach and sent bile up my throat.
“Yousss will die in pain, goblin.
Yousss fear death, and me most of all.”
Adrian laughed. “I don’t think so,
cursed one. I came into this world kicking, screaming, and covered in someone
else’s blood. I have no problem going out the same way.”
Using the desks, I hobbled through the
row, desperately grasping at anything I could reach as the blood dripped down
my arm. With every successful step, I breathed through a little bit more agony.
I’d adapt.
At the end of the row, I flailed for a
weapon, anything at all. A keyboard wasn’t effective enough. The blue supply
closet door was a gaping neon sign against the monotony of the white walls.
Every second that passed, the nearer I
got, the smell became more repugnant.
My hand rested on the doorknob. What
lay behind door number one? Did I open it? Wasn’t the wrestling behind me
enough problems for one detention? I snarled, gripped the door handle, and
pulled.
I reeled back as the door was thrown
open against my will. I was tossed back, crying out when a jab of agony
convulsed throughout my calf. I blinked. Lying on the ground with a milky blank
stare, skin tinged grey and bloated, was the real Mr. Conevetti.
Author Bio:
Kinsey Knight is
a fantasy young adult author, who dreams big, and writes bigger. She gets her
inspirations from all manners of life and events that surround her. As she
embarks into the new world of Maeryn, she will explore the realm of the fae, as
her characters drag her through a journey that will not be soon forgotten.
The artwork is just absolutely phenomenal and I can't wait to read Elemental Earth!
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