Amaranthine:
The Heart of Decompose
Nina
R Schluntz
Genre:
Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror, Romance
Publisher:
Rainstorm
Press
Date
of Publication: 19 December 2014
ISBN-10:
1937758532
ISBN-13:
978-1937758530
Number
of pages: 230 pages
Word
Count: 80,580
Cover
Artist: Nina Schluntz
Book
Description:
Dragons,
unicorns, fairies, zombies… and Santa.
At
the center of it all stands Dee, a man immortalized in legend as
Decompose. An ongoing war between unicorns and dragons has led to the
creation of a plague… a deadly infection Dee is the host for. Not
quite human, but not a unicorn either, Dee and the plague form a
symbiotic relationship, resulting in immortality of the undead kind.
Every
ruling Empire has desired control of Decompose. Controlling the
infection means control of the people. An intervention of an old
rival, Santa, results in Dee going missing. When he resurfaces
decades later, Dee has one goal: locate the mythical cure to his
plague.
However,
complications of the heart force Dee to decide whether he truly wants
to find the cure and give up being Decompose.
Book
Trailer: https://youtu.be/93Yoo-LcPZo
Available
at Amazon
Excerpt
Jhon.
Dee
focused on the name, pulling strength from it. Jhon contained the
cure. Dee had to live so he could find Jhon. The cure was his way to
correct all the wrongs he had done.
Dee
ripped at the flesh surrounding him and clawed his way to the
surface. The guts of the creature spilled out onto the ground, and he
fell with them. He coughed, spitting out bodily fluids of the
creature that had eaten him.
Jhon.
Dee
rolled onto his side and threw up. The acidic stomach bile had left
him temporarily disabled. His hearing returned before his vision and
he heard voices near him.
“That?”
A boyish voice asked. “That’s what you call a great and powerful
present?”
“Trust
me.” Another male voice said. “Throw the net on him and all your
wishes will come true.”
“What
is he, a genie?”
“You
can treat him like one. He will be able to grant your every wish.”
The older voice sounded familiar. Air rushed into Dee’s lungs, and
his heart gave a painful beat. “Throw it over him now, before his
strength returns.”
“Santa,”
Dee managed to say. He gritted his newly mended teeth and gave a low
growl. What did that man want now?
Dee’s
vision returned in time for him to see a large, light- weight fishnet
fall over his head and shoulders, covering his entire body. There was
something claustrophobic about it. The more he struggled, the more of
a mess he made of himself and the net.
“Stop
moving around like that,” the boy said. Every muscle in Dee’s
body stiffened. “Straighten the net out and get to your feet.”
Dee moved as quickly as his wounded body would allow. His skin
continued to burn from the acidic digestive juices still covering his
flesh. The child before him didn’t look nearly as young as he’d
expected. He was a teenager. And a dorky looking one at that, dressed
in dark green pajamas with a cowlick on the back of his head.
“Santa,
what is this?” Dee asked.
“Show
me a trick,” the boy said. Dee obediently raised his hand and
created a tennis ball sized orb of fire. It hovered in mid- air a few
inches from his hand.
“He
can do whatever you want,” Santa told the boy. “He is yours. No
one will miss him. They all think he is dead.”
Dee
put the fire out and lowered his hand. Fear rose through his healing
body as he realized Santa was right. Dee had just crawled his way out
of a dragon’s belly. Everyone who knew him thought a giant winged
lizard had digested him. Even if someone searched for his remains,
they would likely find nothing awry with his missing body.
“What
is this?” he asked again.
“You’re
my Christmas present,” the boy said.
Santa
leaned in close to Dee. “The boy is clever, Dee. He caught me in
a trap. You wouldn’t want all the children in the universe to miss
the joy that Santa brings, would you? Of course, you wouldn’t.
Therefore, I bartered with him. I gave him you in exchange for my
freedom. You understand, don’t you?”
“You
gave me to him as a present? I’m not an object to be owned.”
“Well,
let’s be honest here, Dee. Most of your life has been spent in
exactly that manner. At least this time your owner only wants you for
your power, not your plague. Consider it a blessing—besides you’ll
still have my visit to look forward to every Christmas Eve.”
My
plague. Dee tried not to cringe at the reminder.
“Can
you teleport him directly to the shower? He’s disgusting. My mother
will throw a fit if he brings all that goop into the house.”
“Then
you’ll take him?” Santa asked, as though Dee were a puppy for
sale at the pet store.
“Yeah,
he’ll do. Thank you, Santa.”
“I
should have thought of this years ago,” Santa said.
“Santa,
please,” Dee said. “I have to find Jhon before Emperor Emanuel
does. He’s the only one who can cure the plague.”
“I’m
sure Jhon will be fine without you, Dee.”
About
the Author:
Nina
Schluntz is a native to rural Nebraska. In her youth, she often wrote
short stories to entertain her friends. Those ideas evolved into the
novels she creates today.
Her
husband continues to ensure her stories maintain a touch of realism
as she delves in the science fiction and fantasy realm. And their
kitty, a rescued Abyssinian, is always willing to stay up late to
provide inspiration.
Visit
her blog; mizner13.wordpress.com for information regarding previous
and upcoming publications. She also posts book and movie reviews for
a wide variety of genres.
What a beautiful cover! Sounds like a good read!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting this giveaway.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed learning about the book. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeletethank you for hosting the giveaway
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, thanks for the giveaway
ReplyDeleteOh it sounds so good! Cant wait to read it and find out what Dee decides!
ReplyDeleteI havent read a good unicorn story in a long time and dragons too GREAT
ReplyDelete