Darkness
Brutal
The
Dark Cycle
Book
One
Rachel
A. Marks
Genre:
YA Urban Fantasy
Publisher:
Skyscape
Date
of Publication: July 1st, 2015
ISBN:
978-1477830796
ASIN:
B00S6Z3S82
Number
of pages: 422
Word
Count: 120,000
Cover
Artist: Cliff Neilson
Book
Description:
Aidan
O’Linn’s childhood ended the night he saw a demon kill his mother
and mark his sister, Ava, with Darkness. Since then, every three
years the demons have returned to try to claim her. Living in the
gritty, forgotten corners of Los Angeles, Aidan has managed to
protect his sister, but he knows that even his powers to fight demons
and speak dead languages won’t keep her safe for much longer.
In
desperation, Aidan seeks out the help of Sid, the enigmatic leader of
a group of teens who run LA Paranormal, an Internet reality show that
fights demons and ghosts. In their company, Aidan believes he’s
finally found a haven for Ava. But when he meets Kara, a broken girl
who can spin a hypnotic web of passionate energy, he awakens powers
he didn’t know he had―and unleashes a new era of war between the
forces of Light and the forces of Darkness.
With
the fate of humanity in his hands, can Aidan keep the Darkness at bay
and accept his brilliant, terrifying destiny?
Excerpt:
I
let the pulse of the music coat me and mute my surroundings. A mass
of people crowd the dance floor of the club, and I sit on an
abandoned couch in the corner. The lights beat at the air in blues
and greens, and bodies twist and merge to the thunder. I lean back,
close my eyes, and try to get lost in it, the smells and sounds of
people and their collective high.
Something
moves next to me. I look over to find a girl sprawled on the seat
beside me, trying to catch her breath. She’s not dressed in the
usual club gear, more like a girl who got lost on her way to a beach
party: Hurley T-shirt, jean skirt, and red Converse. Her cheeks are
flushed pink; her throat and forehead glitter with sweat. She glances
at me like she didn’t know I was there. She licks her upper lip,
her eyes not leaving mine. Then she says something I can’t hear.
I
point to my ear and shake my head.
She
smiles and laughs, lighting up the space around her. She rests her
hand on my arm, like we’re friends and I just told her the most
hilarious joke, and then she gets up and disappears into the mass of
bodies again.
My
arm tingles, my body reacting to the moment of contact in a sudden
and disconcerting way. I think I’ve had my fill of watching people
indulge their baser instincts. I need to get out of here.
The
beat of the music speeds up, vibrating faster as I move through the
crowd. I try not to touch anyone, which is nearly impossible. All the
emotions and appetites are overwhelming, as if the rising rhythm of
the music makes their yearnings rise, too. Lust buzzes in the air. A
hunger stirs in me, a gaping hole, needing to be filled. With touch.
The
touch of female fingers. A hand on my arm, taking my wrist, pulling
me into the fray, into the pressing bodies. And I don’t try to
escape. I let her take me.
Because
I’m tired.
Because
I’m a dumbass.
A
girl moves in front of me—not the Hurley girl, not the one I was
hoping for. She presses closer, so close I can almost taste the salty
perspiration on her skin. She has thin, birdlike shoulders, a swan
neck, a heart-shaped face, and black hair, long and tangled, turning
blue and green with the light. Her hands slide up my chest. She wraps
her arms around my neck and tilts her head to look up at me.
Her
lips are full and painted dark purple. There’s a dimple in her left
cheek that gets deeper with her growing smile. And her eyes . . .
Fog
fills my head for a second, interrupting my thoughts.
“Hi,”
she mouths, calling attention to her lips again.
And
then she’s rising up on her toes, pulling me down to her, twisting
her fingers in my hair, her lips smashing against mine.
My
body buzzes from her touch, and my hands react, drawing her into me.
I drink her in. She tastes like the air around me, hunger and
urgency, and—
Green
apple Jolly Ranchers?
I
grip her sides, her ribs so delicate beneath my fingers. The sweet
tang of her teases me, the hunger becoming a monster deep inside. I
have to press her closer, tighter, try to feed it, as I feel the fire
of her need link with mine.
She
pulls back a little and looks at me with wide eyes, like she’s
shocked. That’s when I see the mark, a glowing, blue-inked line of
what looks like Chinese symbols, trailing down the nape of her neck
to her shoulder blade. Symbols that I’m suddenly sure mean: touch
this girl at your own risk.
It’s
the only thing I see for a second: Beware. Beware.
Until
her energy reaches for me, wispy tendrils of blue light wrapping
their way around my wrists and snaking up my chest.
I
jerk away, into the guy behind me, stepping on his girlfriend’s
toes. I get shoved— thankfully farther from the hypnotic
girl—through a space in the crowd, saying a hundred excuse-me’s
even though I know no one can hear them. I find my way out of the
press of bodies to the edge of the room again where it’s safe.
It’s
time to leave. I should’ve left an hour ago.
Darkness
Fair
The
Dark Cycle
Book
Two
Rachel
A. Marks
Genre:
YA Urban Fantasy
Publisher:
Skyscape
Date
of Publication: 2/1/16
ISBN:
978-1503950290
ASIN:
B00YDJKE00
Number
of pages: 335
Cover
Artist: Cliff Neilson
Book
Description:
Against
the backdrop of an ancient battle between the forces of Light and the
forces of Darkness, Aidan struggles to control the newly awakened
powers that seem to be his only hope for rescuing Ava, his little
sister, trapped somewhere beyond the Veil. As he gravitates to Kara,
the beguiling and dangerously unstable girl who helped him realize
his abilities, a terrible mistake of fate is revealed that points him
back toward Rebecca, whose role is becoming more critical to the
battle. And no matter what his heart wants, it might be too late to
stop the pieces already in motion.
Without
knowing the sacrifices that will be required of them, Aidan and his
motley crew of friends—each with their own role to play—must face
the demon threat head-on. They’re the only ones keeping the growing
army of Darkness at bay, and if they fail, the future of humanity
could be lost.
About
the Author:
Rachel
A. Marks is an award-winning author and professional artist, a SoCal
girl, cancer survivor, a surfer and dirt-bike rider, chocolate lover
and keeper of faerie secrets. She was voted: Most Likely to Survive
the Zombie Apocalypse, but hopes she'll never have to test the
theory. Her debut series The Dark Cycle, described as Dickens' Oliver
Twist meets TV's Supernatural, is now out through Skyscape, beginning
with DARKNESS BRUTAL.
Website:
http://www.rachelannemarks.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/RachelAnneMarks
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/rachelannemarks
Tour giveaway $20 Amazon giftcard and chosen paperback or audio in the series
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Sounds like a great series, and thanks so much for the giveaway!
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