Trimarked
Page 19
Brandt folded his fingers over the scabbed line across his forearm. “You need more blood?”
“Of a sort.” Tristan tilted forward, eased Brandt into the damp dirt. The light touch held Brandt with the weight of magic.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“This could have been painless,” words murmured as if in confession. “But the truth is, I don’t want it to be. You made a grave mistake when you attacked what’s mine.”
“What are yo--” Brandt choked on the word, on the realization he would not escape this one, not this time.
Tristan coaxed the hard shell of seeds into the soft flesh just below the junction of Brandt’s ribs until the seed cut deep into his gut. Heat radiated through him, torched each nerve ending. He wanted to arch up, to push against the source, but his body sunk, his lungs clogged with the surge of roots. His blood ran into the dirt that swallowed him whole.
The weight of the sapling pressed him down even as new growth shot upward, outward. The trunk thickened, the branches punched out, narrowed, weighted with dark green needles as the tree rose into the sky and took every second of Brandt’s years on Terra as its own.
Acknowledgments
This book took so long to write, yet I truly feel it’s come at the right time. The team I have around me now is who made this possible. I didn’t have this kind of support in the past, which goes to show that the road to success is never traveled by only two feet.
My husband came into my life when I needed him the most. Twice. The first time, he helped me find the courage to go out into the world as a young woman, travel across the country for school, because he’d traveled the world to do the same. We lost contact for years, and then he returned, like magic, when I was the most broken. He’s been with me ever since, cheering me on, supporting me through in my slumps, always reminding me that even if I only take one step, I’m still moving forward.
My kids are, honest to goodness, the littlest people in my life and my biggest cheerleaders. They celebrated with me over word counts, chapter completions, number of pages marked with the red pen, getting to write the end, hiring an editor ... all of it. They were there, jumping up and down and giving me hugs. Some days, it was those little celebrations that got me through that day’s goal, making this book, on this timeline, possible.
The team I’ve collected have helped polish the story to a shine. Leigha, with me since first grade and through some of life’s worst moments. She’s always willing to read my stories, even when I had a habit of not finishing any of them. She was, and is, always there, asking for the next one.
Nicole, someone I met when I attempted my first blog. Her desire to work hard toward her goals has inspired me to go for mine, and I’m so thankful she’s stuck around when I ducked out for a few years.
Eneida taught me to go outside my comfort zones, whether it’s travel to rural Mexico, climbing a mountain or repelling through a canyon. The courage her adventures taught me led to the courage to finally make my work public.
Whitney of Wit & Travesty, has been incredibly supportive. Her developmental edits helped plug holes, answer questions, and smooth everything out in the end. I’m so glad I found her via Instagram.
Natalie from Original Book Cover Design / 4 Step Studio came in at just the right moment, not only to create beautiful book covers, but also became an unexpected and much needed mentor. Her help offered a boost of confidence when I might have otherwise taken a step back.
And then there’s the writing community. Self-pub, newly published, small printer authors, who have guided me whether they knew it or not. A constant ghost on discussion threads, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, I learned so much from people far braver than I who were willing to ask the questions, and those who were kind and selfless enough to answer.
Thank you to all of you who took a chance on me, followed me on social media, joined my newsletter, put up with my awkward attempts to figure it all out at the beginning. And thank you, very, very much, for everyone who takes this story into their own minds, and makes it a little part of themselves.
About the Author
CK Sorens is the pen name of Carrie Sorensen. Carrie lives in the Bay Area of California with her husband, Kristoffer, their three sons, and their dog, Pippin. She enjoys days at the beach, day hikes, and sitting on the patio with a small fire and a glass of wine.
Trimarked is CK’s debut novel, and is the first of more to come. To keep tabs on future books, you can find her on social media and at her website, www.cksorens.com.