The
Good Girl’s Guide to Being a Demon
April
Aasheim
Genre:
(sweet) Paranormal Romance
Publisher:
Dark Root Press
Date
of Publication: Nov 15, 2015
ASIN:
B016NZTP4C
Number
of pages: 157
Word
Count: 42,000
Cover
Artist: J.M Rising Horse Creations
Book
Description:
Strange
changes are happening to Cassie Walker. She’s losing track of time,
seeing shadows, and developing…horns?
Fearful,
she returns to her childhood home to solve the mystery of what she’s
becoming. There, she meets up with childhood friend, Josh Tucker, who
convinces her to enter the annual Demon Run in Woodland Creek.
But
things aren’t always what they seem in Woodland Creek, and people
aren’t who they appear to be.
Soon,
Cassie finds not only herself in danger, but Josh as well.
Can
she save them both? Or has her lineage tainted her forever?
Available
at Amazon
Excerpt:
Prologue
The
creek churned, black and thick as tar under the cloak of night.
Cassie
Martin stumbled along the raging waterway as she searched for the
North Star, Polaris––the star that would guide her home.
It
was in the tail of one of the dipper constellations, she remembered,
but which one? She tried to call it up as she ambled along, while her
ears listened uneasily to noises created by the dark: howls and heavy
footsteps, scurries and whisperings.
To
her right there was smoke accompanied by the crackling sound of a
roaring campfire. She wanted to run to it––to tell whoever was
tending the s’mores that she was lost and afraid and could they
please escort her back to her cabin?
But
fear kept her out of the woods. She had read enough books to know the
woods were full of bad things––bears and werewolves and things
that wanted to eat you. So she followed the creek, for lack of other
options.
She
shouldn’t have been so stupid, she scolded herself. She knew there
was no such thing as a Snipe, but she went along anyway because her
brother Kevin teased her about being afraid.
“I
am not,” she’d said, balling up her fists.
“Then
prove it,” Kevin returned. “Go into the woods and find a Snipe.
If you do, I’ll never call you scared again.”
Her
best friend Jenn wrapped an arm around Cassie’s shoulders. “I’ll
go with you, Cass. We’ll find that Snipe.”
Only
their friend Josh seemed worried, elbowing Kevin in the ribs.
“They’re only nine, dude.”
“So?”
Eleven-year-old Kevin argued. “At nine we were sneaking beer out of
dad’s cooler and watching late night HBO. These girls need to man
up, Josh. We won’t be around to take care of them forever.”
“We
can take care of ourselves,” Cassie said, sticking out her tongue.
“We’ll get that Snipe. Then you’ll admit that girls are better
than boys.”
“If
you bring us a Snipe,” Kevin said, “I’ll admit anything you
want.” He spit into his hand. Cassie spit on hers too. The siblings
shook on it.
The
problem was that Jenn disappeared shortly after entering the woods
with her. Now Cassie was alone and disoriented. “Jenn!” she
called nervously, trying not to awaken the bad things lurking. She
hated it in here alone. She felt watched, as if the trees had eyes.
When
she heard the sound of rushing water she remembered the creek ran
behind her campsite.
She
would follow it back…
She
ran through the trees, half covering her eyes, and when she emerged
in a narrow clearing she spotted her watery guide. The creek was
swollen and bloated. It didn’t trickle. It gushed. In the dark it
moved like a winding, creeping serpent on the hunt, ready to devour
her.
“Kevin!”
she called out, cupping her mouth with her hands. “Jenn! Josh?”
Her words were met with a low mournful wail, followed by an even more
frightening silence.
Her
father once told her that if she got lost, she should find a spot and
wait for someone to come. Spying a tree stump, she sat down. The
summer moon was nearly full and several fireflies lent their talents
to holding back the dark. It would have been beautiful, if she wasn’t
so scared.
“One
Miss-issippi,” she counted, deliberately slowing the first
syllable. “Two Miss-issippi…”
Another
wail echoed through the night, bouncing off tree limbs and ringing
through boughs. It was quickly followed by another. Banshees? Ghosts?
Wolves? Tree branches rustled as if spirits played an invisible game
of tag.
Dad
will come, she told herself. He always came. He’d see she was
missing and he’d find her––and Jenn as well.
The
sounds grew louder, like the moans of old ladies crying at a funeral.
Cassie shivered, wrapping her arms around her chest to shield herself
from whatever came. Several twigs snapped nearby, followed by the
sound of small, scurrying feet. With building fear, she bolted from
the stump and raced along the water’s edge, following as it churned
towards its unseen destination.
Soon
the clearing ended and the woods began. She spun around, uncertain
where to go. Back towards the moaning sounds or into the blackness of
the trees?
Her
decision was made when she saw them.
The
Shadow People.
An
army of them, dropping from tree branches and skittering her way.
Their sizes were varied but their faces were all the same, dark
expressionless blobs with unblinking eyes.
They
were quiet as cats as they came for her, and more terrible than wild
animals or werewolves or things that would eat you. The Shadow People
didn’t eat you. They took you away.
Cassie
fled in the opposite direction, away from the forest, screaming as
she went. Her voice joined in with the chorus of wails, until it all
became the sound of the wind.
Risking
a glance back over her shoulder, her foot hit a sleek stone. She
slipped and tumbled, falling into the cold raging water.
“Help!”
She called out just before she was pulled under.
When
she surfaced she caught hold of a branch extending out from the bank.
She clung to it with both hands while her feet pulled her downstream.
The creek gnawed at her, biting and ripping at her skin and clothes,
chewing up one shoe and then the other. She couldn’t hold on for
very long. At any moment she would be swept away.
Above
her, she spotted the North Star.
“Mom,”
she whispered, focusing her wish on the star as the water dragged at
her and the Shadow People advanced. “If you can hear me, please
send help.”
A
figure sprang from the woods. A boy, not much taller than herself.
“Josh!”
she called, kicking with her feet as water filled her lungs.
“Cassie!”
Josh grabbed her hand just as she lost her grip on the branch.
He
slowly pulled her from the river’s maw. She crawled onto the bank,
coughing up water. He removed his flannel jacket and wrapped it
around her shivering body. When she could stand again, she hugged
him, nearly crying as she rubbed her nose into his chest.
“I
don’t think there’s such thing as Snipe,” she sputtered.
He
laughed and kissed the top of her head. “But you were brave to find
out.”
Her
father, her friend, Jenn, and her brother, Kevin, all appeared,
hollering and racing in their direction.
“Thank
God you’re alright!” Cassie’s father said, scooping her up in
his arms. “You had me scared to death. You can’t go traipsing off
by yourself like that, young lady! You’ve got to be more careful.”
He lifted her chin firmly. “Promise me.”
Behind
him, Kevin’s eyes were imploring. If she told about the Snipe hunt,
her brother would be in big trouble. And possibly Josh, as well.
She
nodded. “I’ll be careful from now on. I promise.”
“Good.”
Her dad carried her back to their rented cabin but her gaze remained
affixed on Josh. He walked alongside them, his blue eyes shining like
the moon.
About
the Author:
April
Aasheim is a full time writer with interests in the paranormal, the
supernatural, and the metaphysical. Having ‘seen things’ at an
early age, April has made it her life’s work to seek out the truth,
and then to write about her findings in the guise of fiction.
She
lives in Portland, Oregon with her family and is the author of the
Amazon best-selling witchy series: The Daughters of Dark Root.
@aprilaasheim
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