Cally at Cally Jackson Writes and Rachel at Rachel Morgan Writes are hosting an awesome blogfest all week long. That means you have five wicked days to post your snippet, and go check out all the tension the amazing participants are building with words.
I had a snippet I very much wanted to use for this, from a chapter I just finished rewriting the other day. It has gone from being one of my least favorite to my absolute favorite in the story so far. But Rachel and Cally have asked that they be kept at about 300 words and mine was almost 900. Oops. So instead, I’ve combed my manuscripts and come up with something a little more brief that still hopefully fulfills the requirements.
This is from Uriel’s Fall. The main character, Ronnie, has only been mortal for about a month and only been an angel for about six (summoned out of the ether to do a specific job). This is the first dream she’s ever had, and at the moment, none of it means any more to her than it does to all of you. (And no, the book doesn’t open this way).
The man sat with his back to her in the restaurant, red hair in a ponytail, blue button-down shifting with his every movement.
Ronnie smiled and approached, notepad in hand. “What can I-“
Loki’s smug face smiled up at her, erasing any cognizant thought from her mind. “Hey, Angel. You’re looking tasty.”
Irrational fear welled inside her when he stood, growing when she stepped away and her back collided with a tree. The plant’s rough skin bit into hers, tearing gashes in her flesh and making her gasp in pain.
He advanced, leering at her discomfort. One hand reached around her, grasping both wrists and holding them in place behind the trunk. “Don’t run away.”
She whimpered when he pressed his lips to hers, the crushing force cutting against her teeth. Struggling yielded no results; he held her tight. Anger overwhelmed the fear. She wouldn’t be treated like that. A surge of power rose inside her and she released it without hesitation. The black shock wave radiated out from her and forced her captor back a step.
A thin trickle of blood ran from the corner of his lip, and he smeared it away with the back his hand, leaving a glaring brown streak across his chin. “That wasn’t nice, Angel.”
Hands free she stepped forward, wrath spilling from her in visible flickers of aura. “I’m just getting started.”
His smirk infuriated her. “You can’t stop me.”
“I can.” A solid black flame burning deep inside told her this was true. She stretched her arms to the side, feeling waves of power wash over her.
The wind twirled around them, no just him, carrying leaves and twigs in its arms. Debris cut into his flesh once, and then ten times, tiny slashes decorating his skin like red lights on a Christmas tree.
He dropped to his knees, smugness flickering. “This isn’t the way to get your revenge. Give me what I want and we can do this right.”
“No.” Her growl echoed off the grass and sidewalk, filling the air with a rolling thunder. The storm around them increased, taking his flesh with it, tearing him away piece by piece until nothing remained but a mutilated laughing skull, pieces of torn skin and hair still hanging from it.
The monstrosity glared up at her. “Isn’t it tempting?”
That was very tense, can’t wait to find out what happens next! Nice job! 🙂