Book & Author details:
The
Queen’s Gift by T.R. Allardice
Publication date: December 15th 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Publication date: December 15th 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Fifteen-year-old,
late-bloomer Jean Elliott dreams of becoming a Genie like her mom.
When her family relocates to Tokyo, Jean is forced to use
sleight-of-hand tricks to fool everyone at school into believing that
she’s a normal Preternatural or risk expulsion. When her power
finally appears, it comes in the form of the Queen’s Gift–an
unspeakable magic that strips power from all Preternaturals and
heralds the arrival of the new queen.
After
an absence of two hundred years, not everyone wants the monarchy to
return and they’re willing to go to great lengths to keep the
status quo. When buried secrets rip Jean’s family apart, she has a
choice to make: Walk away and hope for the best or embrace the power
that’s known to lead to madness in order to save her family.
Jean’s
greatest dream has turned into her biggest nightmare and no matter
how hard she tries, there’ll be no wishing the Queen’s Gift away.
EXCERPT:
The
crowd thinned and a pale boy with long, greasy brown hair, drunkenly
stumbled toward us. He swayed on his feet, teetering like a twirling
nickel on the verge of toppling. His glowing red eyes clashed with
his alabaster skin.
“He
doesn’t look well.”
She
shrugged. “Stefan’s a Vampire. I’m sure he’s fine.”
I
didn’t think so, but I kept my mouth shut. I’d already upset her
once. I didn’t want to do it again.
When
we got closer, the vamp’s eyes rolled back in his head, leaving
them zombie white. He crumbled to the marble floor in a heap of pale
flesh. His face hit last with a loud splat.
Blood
gushed out, forming a puddle. The smell of wet pennies filled the
air. My stomach flopped and I moved back. No way was I going to hurl
on my first day of school. “What’s wrong with him?”
Karen
glanced at Stefan, boredom plainly scribbled on her face. No one else
paid any attention to him other than to step over his thin body.
Several people tracked his blood down the hall without breaking in
conversation.
This
place wasn’t a school. I’d landed in a house of horrors.
“Shouldn’t we call for help?” My voice squeaked.
Karen’s
nostrils flared and her stomach growled as she leered at the blood.
“It happens all the time with leeches. You’ll get used to
it.” She forced her gaze away. “Stefan must’ve forgot to get
his iron shot from the school nurse this morning. Mr. Bastock should
be along shortly to clean him off the floor.”
What
was she talking about? He wasn’t a spilled soda. The guy needed
help, not a thorough scrubbing. I hoped the man coming was some kind
of doctor. The small puddle of blood turned into a crimson lake
within seconds. How much blood could he lose before it would be too
much?
Karen’s
stomach gurgled, then roared. Several students scrambled out of the
way. I froze, afraid to move. Only prey ran.
“Excuse
me.” She hurriedly wiped her face with the back of her hand, but in
her haste she’d missed a speckle of drool clinging to the side of
her mouth.
My
stomach clenched tighter and I nearly lost my breakfast. “Who’s
Mr. Bastock?” I asked to take my mind off barfing.
“He’s
our janitor,” she said. “He comes from a long line of South
African dung beetles. He loves cleaning up crap, literally.” She
looked past me. “Here he is now.”
A
lanky man with four spindly arms, a bulbous nose, and jet-black hair
scurried forward, pulling a squeaky, three-wheeled cart behind him.
The cart held a bucket of clear water, along with a few cleaning
supplies. A mop poked out of the bucket. Its handle slid
side-to-side, leaving a trail of water on the floor behind him.
Mr.
Bastock stared at Stefan, tsked, then rolled him into a ball and
plucked him off the floor as if he weighed no more than a Cheeto. He
tossed Stefan over the cart like a dirty rag and picked up one of the
cleaners. He sprayed the contents on the floor, then grabbed the mop,
wrung it out, and began to scrub. Within seconds, the floor was
spotless and a lingering antiseptic smell was the only indication
that anything had occurred.
He
took a moment to admire his work, then stowed his equipment before
wheeling the limp vamp off toward the elevators.
“Told
you,” Karen said. “I would’ve thought you’d be used to leech
strangeness by now. Stefan Franks can’t be the first one you’ve
seen faint.”
I
watched the elevator doors open and close, then took a deep breath
and met her gaze. “We didn’t have a lot of Vampires at my last
school.” It was the truth, sort of. Truth was, we didn’t have
any.
Outside
of books, Vampires didn’t exist in Common schools.
Mom
said she’d kept me in human schools because she wanted me to learn
about Commons firsthand, but I think the real reason was because she
didn’t want me to feel different. And I hadn’t. I’d never had
to worry about slip-ups, Preter social interactions, or
anything...until now.
That
didn’t mean I was entirely sheltered. Mom insisted that I read a
lot of books. My academic knowledge of Preters was sound, but nothing
beat experience.
“No
Vampires?” Karen burst out laughing.
The
sound startled me. It was the second scariest sound a Ghoul made.
According to the textbooks, chewing was first.
“You
must’ve gone to a small school.”
I
nodded. Silent lies were still lies.
“I
hope you’re not expecting the vamps to sparkle or explode into
flames in the sunlight. If so, you’re going to be really
disappointed. About the only thing that happens to a leech in
sunlight is they break out in hives. So not attractive.” She
sobered, then added, “But I wouldn’t hook up with one, if I were
you. They do still bite.”
“Thanks
for the tip.”
purchase
T.R.
Allardice writes young adult, new adult, and humorous horror stories.
Most of what she writes incorporates several genres. The content
won't always be 'safe'. What's the fun in that? She is a
member of the Horror Writer's Association, Novelist Inc. and the
Author's Guild. She has thirty-one books published under
another pen name. To find out more about her upcoming work, go
to
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Queen’s Gift
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