Black Amaranth by Sasha Hibbs
Eighteen-year-old
Ally Watson arrives home from high school graduation, more than a little
annoyed that her Uncle Argyle—Ally’s legal guardian and only surviving
relative—didn’t even bother showing up.
But instead of berating him for his forgetfulness, Ally finds him in a
life-or-death battle with a monster. Argyle manages to kill the creature, and
gives Ally a parcel containing a destiny she never knew existed.
Ally, along
with her best friends Michael, Jessica, and David, hurry to Georgia to uncover
the truth of Uncle Argyle’s secrets, and the meaning of the mysterious marks
that Ally bears. Are the marks related to the blacksmith mythology
of her ancestors? Who are these heavenly warriors who show up in the oddest of
places? And will an ancient gypsy curse destroy the very things Ally fights to
save?
Black
Amaranth: a simple flower, a symbol with an ancient legacy, a conduit for
prophecy…while faith and hope are essential to the journey, Ally soon discovers
that love is the most powerful force of all.
Author Bio:
By age 5,
Sasha Hibbs' favorite movie was Gone With the Wind. By age 12, she completed
her 7th grade book report on the sequel, Scarlett. By 18, she met and married
her very own Mr. Rhett Butler and as it turns out, she never had to worry about
going back to Tara to win the love of her life back. Fortunately, he stuck with
her.
With
a love of all things paranormal, the ambiance of the South with its gigantic
antebellum mansions and canopies of Spanish moss, and a love for her husband’s
rich storytelling of blacksmiths and the mythology surrounding their origins,
it wasn’t long until the world of her debut novel, Black Amaranth, was born.
When
not working her day job as a nurse, you can find Sasha dreaming of her next
beach trip, reading the latest YA novel, and drinking more white chocolate
mocha than she should.
Sasha
lives in mountainous West Virginia with her husband, Tim, and their two
daughters, Aeliza and Ava. She is currently hard at work on book two in The
Vulcan Legacies series.
Extended
Excerpt:
“LOU’S HOUSE OF
BLUES?” Dave read the large neon sign in disbelief. “You’re taking us to a…bar?”
“To the Gypsies, and
the one I am seeking out in particular,” Parthenia looked straight ahead,
“happens to spend most of her time in this bar.”
“Mom thinks we’re
going to church camp.” Dave’s face spread into a big smile. “I wonder what she
would say if she knew we were going to a bar.”
“We’re eighteen,”
Jessica said, reminding him. “Just once, Dave, please be cool.” Jessica winced.
“Cheer up, Jessica.”
Brandi patted her mockingly. “There’s a first time for everything.”
“Whatever. I’m sure
this beats your lame keg party,” Jessica said.
Nothing surprised
Ally anymore, not even the rough-cut lumber bar staring back at her.
Motorcycles and beat up trucks lined the gravel parking lot. A wraparound porch
with live oaks bordered the outside. Looking determined, Parthenia motioned for
them to follow her up there. As Ally ascended onto the creaky porch, her eye
caught a slumbering black dog. She sidestepped to miss treading on the dog.
Instinctively, Ally bent down and brushed her hand along the thick black coat.
“Good Lord, Miss,” a
voice said. Ally looked up into an old pair of friendly brown eyes. “You must
be somebody special,” he said, swaying back and forth in a dilapidated rocking
chair, the ripened wood groaning with each sway, paint chipping up the back
spindles. “Miss Elma doesn’t like anybody,” he said. His deep Southern accent
drew out each syllable slowly.
“Sorry,” Ally
apologized.
“No need to be
sorry, Miss.” Ally could see a warm smile through the grey stubble wrapped
around his aged features. “That there dog showed up one day and she’s been
laying here ever since like she’s been waiting on someone.” He turned his head
out to the horizon, pulling out a battered harmonica and bringing it up to his
lips, he paused and said, “You have a good day, Miss.”
Ally looked down at
the dog. Lids slowly peeled back revealing deep-set hazel eyes. The dog
stretched out her tired limbs, stood to her full height, and nudged Ally’s
knees, placing her head under one of Ally’s open palms. Her long silky hair
fell between Ally’s fingers.
“Looks like you’ve
got a friend—a very large black German Shepherd friend,” Michael said, his eyes
smiling.
“Ally,” Parthenia
interrupted, “please tell her to sit. I’ve got a feeling this one’s going to
follow you.” Parthenia met Brandi’s gaze, their intense eyes implying something
they weren’t saying. “Eli, perhaps it would be best if Solomon and Jeb waited
out here with Lucy.”
Eli turned,
instructing them to wait and watch over his little sister.
“There are three
Ravenscraft women: Denaulda, Griselda, and Irini.” Parthenia looked deeply into
Ally’s eyes and then shot a look of caution to Michael and the twins. “Denaulda
is the eldest sister, and by right, the acting leader of the Gypsies. She is the
most powerful next to their holy woman, Belle Crow. Let me caution you now. Do
not cross them. They prove to be useful and good allies, but can also prove to
be fearful enemies if you’re not on the same side as them. Remember, the curse
of the elder Gypsies coupled with Vulcan crossing them is what caused all of
this to ensue in the first place. Their magic runs deep, it’s old, and just as
the blaxxmiths have a particular affinity for a single element, Gypsies have a
strong affinity for magic.”
“Ooo, this should be
fun,” Brandi purred mischievously.
“Try to curb your
enthusiasm, will you?” Parthenia glared back at Brandi.
“I’ll not say a
word.” Brandi winked and said, “Promise.”
“Are they witches?”
Jessica asked, a noticeable trace of anxiety in her voice.
“They’re worse than
witches,” Eli barked out.
“What is your
problem? Considering how you treated me last night, I doubt that your dislike
is exclusive to Gypsies. I’m guessing that you hate everyone and everything.”
Jessica’s face flushed with anger. Eli fumed, but said nothing.
“No, they are not
witches,” Parthenia said, interrupting the awkward silence. “They are Gypsies,
and if you want to get on their bad side quick, call one of them a witch.” She
turned and looked down her nose at Dave.
“Gotcha,” Dave said,
seeming to understand she worried most about what might come out of his mouth.
“Stay behind me and
try not to stare at anyone,” Parthenia said.
“Stay, girl.” Ally
pointed her finger down at the porch. Miss Elma was obedient, sliding her long
muscled legs down, crossing them over top each other and resting her head on
her large paws. “Good girl.”
Ally stepped in
behind of Parthenia, leaving the rest to trail in after her. Ally looked around
in awe. She had never been in a bar before, and wasn’t too disappointed by the
one she was standing in now. Red booths lined the unevenly cut board and batten
walls, and a few were occupied by men and women who stared directly at them.
Round tables just big enough for two were scattered throughout, leading up to a
large empty dance floor. Strings of colored bulbs hung down low from the walls,
casting dim shadows that mixed in with smoky air. Bar stools surrounded the
long slab bar, while behind it a large, intimidating man eyed them up as he
casually wiped his hands off on a white towel.
“Hello, Lou,”
Parthenia said. “Denaulda around?”
He jerked his head
in the direction of the stage, Parthenia following the line of his gaze, sighed
softly and said, “Great.”
“Remember me just
saying that Gypsies were gifted with a particular talent? Strong magic?”
Parthenia whispered close to Ally’s ear.
“Uh-huh,” Ally said,
looking straight ahead to the empty stage.
“Well, you’re about
to find out what Denaulda’s is,” Parthenia said, sitting on a barstool and
turning to face the stage. “Might as well have a seat and try to stay there.”
Michael and Dave
eased down into an empty booth, leaving the opposite side open for the girls.
Eli and Brandi opted to sit with Parthenia on barstools.
At the corner of the
wooden stage, men were pulling out and tuning guitars and harmonicas. As a slow
sultry rhythm played out of their instruments, a petite, dark-haired woman
emerged from behind beaded curtains onto the stage. She slinked her way up to the
microphone stand like a snake closing in on its prey. She curled her slender
fingers around the mic as she cocked her head to the side, looking at her
audience with thoughtful, heavy-lidded eyes. Ally’s arms erupted in goose
bumps, a surefire warning that something otherworldly was about to happen.
She began to sing,
sound floating dreamingly out of her mouth, weaving in and around the crowd
like an invisible serpent, creeping up around their heels, sliding up and into
their souls.
Michael and Dave
twisted around, their heads following the direction of the eerie tune as
Jessica mechanically stood up from the bench.
“What are you
doing?” Ally whispered between her teeth while tugging on Jessica’s sleeve.
“Just one…dance.”
Jessica didn’t look down at Ally; she walked slowly onto the dance floor as
though the melody willed her to do so. Problem was, Jessica was a wallflower,
or at least when they went to the prom Ally couldn’t peel her away from the
wall if her life depended on it.
Ally looked around
wondering if Denaulda’s music was having the same effect on everyone else.
Brandi smiled naughtily which told Ally there must have been some part of her
that expected this. Beside her, Eli watched Jessica through burning eyes. A few
patrons joined Jessica on the dance floor, swaying back and forth to the beat,
their bodies sweeping in and out in circular motions.
From the wall, a
steely gaze followed Jessica. A boy with a shock of blond hair materialized
from the shadows and inched his way towards the dance floor. He didn’t look
much older than they did but he carried himself like a prowling marauder. His
arms encircled Jessica’s waist as he closed the distance between them. To
Ally’s surprise, Jessica welcomed him.
Denaulda’s lips
curled up into a wicked smile. The tune hung in the air, like a poisonous gas.
Ally couldn’t ignore the soothing, rich words.
When we were young and full of life
you reached in deep, and pierced my heart with
a knife.
The night cries out, sweet and high,
weeping for her children with a gentle sigh.
Young nights, young nights, where did you go?
I can smell the night air, and how the
moonlight glowed.
Young nights, young nights, come back to the
home we both know.
“Where’s Lucy?” Dave
kept his eyes fixed on Denaulda. “I think I should…” Dave’s words drifted off
into the chorus.
Jessica reached her
hands up and tangled her fingers into the thick blond hair of the boy she’d
glued herself to. They appeared to only have eyes for each other as though no
one else existed in the room. Ally was ready to get up and separate the two
when another wave of lyrics poured out from Denaulda, nailing Ally to her seat.
I have loved you tender and loved you long,
but you were caught in the crossfire, we got
it all wrong.
Can we ever go back to the way it used to be?
Young nights under the Spanish moss, just you
and me.
I can smell the night air, and how the
moonlight glowed.
Young nights, young nights, come back to the
home we both know.
Ally couldn’t budge.
“Michael?” She looked up, knowing he would fix this, but when she met his eyes,
her breath caught in the back of her throat. Heat spread up through her face as
his blue eyes bored into hers. The Michael staring at her now wasn’t looking at
her as friends look at one another, but as something much different: as a man
who looks, really looks, at a woman.
Without Denaulda’s enchanting music, Ally wondered if his penetrating gaze
would have bothered her or not.
Eli crossed the
floor in long strides, catching Ally’s attention. She sat there unable to move,
nervous, knowing that the direction Eli was currently going in wasn’t a good
one. Eli’d had a chip on his shoulder since they all met, but more so towards
Jessica than the rest of them. Ally just didn’t know why, though.
“Enough.” Ally could
barely hear what Eli was saying to Jessica over the music. Denaulda looked
entertained by what was transpiring on the dance floor. Jessica paid no
attention to him, moving in closer to her partner, so close you couldn’t wedge
a piece of paper between them.
Eli’s lips twisted
into a snarl as he grabbed Jessica’s wrist. The next few moments happened
before Ally could fully register what she was seeing. The blond boy swung at
Eli, whose hand cupped the boy’s fist, holding him there effortlessly. He
jerked Jessica to the side, causing her to rock on her heels, attempting to
balance herself. He flung the boy’s fist down in disgust. “You’re done here,”
Eli said to the boy through clenched teeth.
“Oh, no we’re not,”
Jessica said, seething and stepping away from Eli, going back into the arms of
her dance partner.
Eli growled as he
grabbed her arm. Jessica spun around and slapped Eli across the face, sending
an echo throughout the bar.
“Do not ever touch
me again!” Jessica’s face reddened, almost matching the color of her hair. “Do
you understand me?”
Eli stood there
blinking in disbelief, raising a hand up to where hers had just been.
“Okay, boys.”
Denaulda motioned for the band behind her to stop. “I think it’s time for a
break.”
As soon as Denaulda
quit singing, her spell dissolved. All those affected shook their heads,
clearing up the lingering fog, all except Eli. He stood still, tracing the
outline of where Jessica’s fingers touched him.
“Um…” Jessica looked
back and forth between Eli and the blond boy staring at her and said, “Hmm,
this is awkward. Excuse me.” Jessica quickly brushed past them and darted back
to sit down. “What was I doing?”
“Let’s just say that
you gave Brandi a run for her money,” Ally said, sugar-coating the truth as
Jessica slouched down further in the booth.
“Parthenia,” the
words were rich, alluring, “what brings you to my neck of the woods?”
Denaulda’s eyes slid past Parthenia and landed directly on Ally.
Denaulda tilted her
head, studying Ally through suspicious eyes. “I read the stars last night. Do
you know what they told me?” Her eyes, the color of ash, rounded as she studied
Ally.
Ally couldn’t speak,
her voice was jammed. Looking at this sorceress was unnerving. Ally just shook
her head no.
“They told me Death would be coming to visit me today.”
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