Sacrifice by Stacey RourkeAvailable now!!
Summary: Celeste Garrett has finally found a happy balance in her life as the Chosen One, thanks in large part to a certain hunky Irishman. But if there’s any lesson she should heed since receiving her calling it’s that everything can change in the blink of an eye. Soon a terrible new threat, unlike anything she’s ever encountered, causes her to make a gut-wrenching choice that will strip her of someone she holds dear. As much as she’d like to have a pity party for one, there’s no time for that now because wedding bells are ringing in Gainesboro! In between dress fittings and rehearsal dinners Celeste will have to fend off attacking demons and leering pirates. As if the Dark Army wasn’t scary enough our heroine is faced with the horrifying trauma of attending a bachelorette party with her mom and watching Grams do Jello shots. Is a walk down the aisle even possible for a member of the Garrett family when the Dark Army is out to destroy them? More importantly, will the Dark Army Glee Club sing at the reception? Raise your glass to the happy couple, and get ready for a wedding…Conduit-style.
“No! No way! I wasn’t crazy about the dragon, but I draw the line at spiders! There has to be a no arachnids clause somewhere in our calling!”
“Oh, there’s claws all right,” I added, only half listening to her. The long, black legs of the creature stretched out toward us. We pressed our backs up against the wall behind us and began to inch our way to the door. “But I’m more concerned about the mandibles. Look at the size of those things!”
Kendall reached the door first. Her hand circled my wrist. In a blur of wind and speed she flew us out of the dressing room and down the hall where we collided with Alaina. The three of us rolled to the ground in a mass of satin, tulle, and feathers.
“Why are you still here?!” I shrieked and tried to kick myself free from Alaina’s train.
“I wanted to make sure you were oka-aahhhhh!” Alaina’s words morphed into a scream when the spider came into view. Its legs clicked across the wall as it skittered sideways straight toward us.
“Is everything okay? I heard screams.” Vicki, the plump, southern bell storeowner rounded the corner, took one look at the spider and passed out cold.
“Fan-friggin-tastic! Alaina, get her out of here!” Finally free of the mass of fabric, I jumped up and looked around for a weapon. “Where’s a giant rolled up newspaper when you need one?”
Alaina scrambled to her feet, hooked Vicki under her arms, and dragged her through the door that led to the front of the store. The spider eased its way off the wall and onto the floor. Its claws pinched and snapped at the air. Goo dripped from mandibles that chomped hungrily.
Beside me Keni gulped. “Please tell me you have a plan.”
“That depends.” Fear raised the decibel of my voice to a squeak. If that thing lunged there was a good chance I was gonna let loose a girlie scream that went completely against the superhero image. “Do you consider running a plan? ‘Cause that’s all I’ve got.”
“Absolutely!”
We both spun on our heels and sprinted for the showroom. The spider gave chase. I grabbed a rack of prom dresses and knocked it to the ground to slow down the monstrous insect. The spider hissed and easily stepped over the brightly colored pile of sequins and ruffles.
Something whizzed by my head. A zebra print pump slammed into one of the spider’s six eyes and the creature reared back in pain.
“Good thinking, Keni!” I shouted and joined her at the shoe display.
I palmed a sequined stiletto with an exceptionally pointy heel and launched it as hard as I could. It embedded in the spider’s head. The creature stumbled to the side and smashed into the glass display case of tiaras and jewelry. Glass shattered. Expensive jewelry crunched under its pedipalp.
Unfortunately, the blows injured it but neither incapacitated nor killed. The spider raised one back leg and knocked the stuck shoe free. Then it charged. Eight legs clicked across the wood floor in rapid-fire succession toward me. I whipped any object within reach at it. Shoes. Purses. Veils. Hangers. Dresses. Crinoline. Kendall joined in and together we made it rain formal wear on the giant insect. None of it slowed the big bug down at all, but it sure looked pretty.
About the author
Young Adult and Teen Reader voted Author of the Year 2012.
Stacey Rourke is the author of the Gryphon Series. She lives in Michigan with her husband, two beautiful daughters, and two giant, drooly dogs. Stacey loves to travel, has an unhealthy shoe addiction and considers herself blessed to make a career out of talking to the imaginary people that live in her head. She is currently hard at work on the continuations of this series as well as other literary projects.
Stacey's Website
Twitter @Rourkewrites.
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