by Lauren Roy
But she was on her way to cross off another of those things, and that banished the bitter part of bittersweet.
Meteors streaked across the sky, the first of the summer shower. She hurried faster.
At first, she thought she was alone when she reached the cave. Children must have been playing there earlier: the leftovers of someone’s lunch sat forgotten, drying on a flat rock they used as a table; a scrap of fabric fluttered in the breeze, probably a stand-in for the Brigand Queen’s banner.
She peeked inside the cave, but it was empty. The thought of the night she and Ember had spent hiding here last year set her heart racing.
A year.
What if he’d forgotten? What if he’d decided not to take advantage of the boon Mother Sun had so easily granted? What if he’d gone off riding comets and exploring other worlds without her in the past months and met some other girl on some other world, one he liked better? What if he’d looked down on this world in that time, and decided he simply didn’t want her anymore? What if—
“There you are.”
The desert bloomed with light, and Ember stepped out from behind the cave. He was as she remembered him, his golden flames flickering on his slim frame, those blue eyes alight as he looked her over. There was heat in that gaze that had nothing to do with fire.
“You’re here.” All the speeches she’d practiced the last few days (weeks! Months!) flew right out of her head. All the simple conversation starters, all the breezy snippets, the things she’d been sure would make her sound interesting, all gone.
It didn’t matter. She didn’t need them.
Ember stepped up to her and kissed her. It was a better greeting than any of the ones she’d come up with.
At last he pulled away and they grinned at each other. Breathless. Giddy.
“I saw you dance today,” he said. “You were wonderful.”
“You watched?”
“Of course I did. I knew how important the day was to you.”
She beamed. “I’m still wearing the dress.” She stepped back and twirled, letting the multi-colored skirts flare so he could see.
“It’s beautiful,” he said, and held out his hand. “Will you dance it again? With me?”
She took it and, as he mirrored her frame, marveled at how nicely they fit together. “Do you remember the steps?”
“I’ve been practicing them all year. Wait, there’s one more thing.” Tiny tongues of flame split off from one another in the palm of his hand, and spilled over to collect on the bell of Yulla’s skirt. They rested on the silk like fireflies, making it shimmer. “There,” he said. “Now, like this?”
He hummed the opening notes of the versam, and Yulla joined her voice to his. Then they spun their way across the sand, lighting the night as they danced.
When Pen inherits the job of caretaker for a London building with no doors and only a secret entrance from the caretaker’s lodge – which she must never use – little does she know it will lead her into unbelievable danger. For Azmordis, also known as Satan, a spirit as old as Time and as powerful as the Dark, immortality is running out.
In the house with no front door, a group of teenagers are trapped in assorted dimensions of myth and history, undergoing the trials that will shape them to step into his cloven footwear – or destroy them. Assisted by an aspiring chef called Gavin and Jinx, a young witch with more face-piercing than fae-power, Pen must try to stop the Devil’s deadly game – before it’s too late.
‘Jan Siegel is probably the best British fantasy writer working today, and The Devil’s Apprentice is, true to form, a box of delights. It is entirely unmissable.’
Lavie Tidhar, World Fantasy Award-winning author
‘She writes in a quiet but uncommonly witty style that can soar into elegance or mute dread.’
Publishers Weekly on The Witch Queen
www.ravenstone.com
Jade is a seventeen-year-old mixed martial arts fighter. When she’s in the cage she dominates her opponents—but in real life she’s out of control.
After she has a confrontation with a Hollywood martial arts star that threatens her gym’s reputation, Jade’s coach sends her to a training camp in Thailand for an attitude adjustment.
Hoping to discover herself, she instead uncovers a shocking conspiracy. In a world just beyond our own, a man is stealing the souls of children to try and live forever.
‘Shadowboxer is a fast-paced, gripping contemporary dark fantasy thriller. Everything about this book feels utterly real, from the monsters out of Thai mythology to the cage fights, but especially the incandescent Jade Barrera, whose passion and fury are sometimes bigger than she can control.’
Justine Larbalestier, Andre Norton Award winning author of Liar
www.ravenstone.com