Excerpt: BOY OF BLOOD by Megan O'Russell
Enjoy reading an excerpt from chapter twenty-eight of BOY OF BLOOD by Megan O'Russell.
BOY OF BLOOD by Megan O’Russell
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The hall they had entered was lined with closed doors. Though dismal, the place had the feeling of inhabitation. Stale food smells permeated the air, and people spoke angrily behind one of the doors.
Nola took a few quick steps to catch up to Beauford. She had the most terrible feeling that someone could pop out and grab her at any moment.
A big, wooden door sat at the end of the hall.
She tapped Beauford on the good arm and whispered softly, “What is this place?”
“An apartment building,” Raina answered from the front in a carrying, conversational tone. “I’m sure you’ve never seen one. But out here a lot of people consider themselves lucky to live in one this nice. Solid walls, sturdy doors. I think there’s even running water in this one.”
The door at the end of the hall burst open. Five people came in, laughing and staggering. One of them fell face-first on the ground as he tried to cross the threshold.
“Ah, company!” the man at the front of the pack shouted, holding his arms out wide. “Look, boys, the party isn’t over at all!”
“Yes, it is.” Raina rested her hand on the hilt of her knife.
“The kitten has teeth!” one of the others laughed.
“This tigress has teeth.” Raina stalked toward the men. “And she likes to bite. She even likes blood. Anyone here want to give me a snack?”
“Don’t be angry,” the first man said, taking a step back and stumbling over his friend who had fallen.
“Watch yourself!” the man on the ground shouted.
“I was only playing.” Fear filled the first man’s face. “I didn’t mean anything by it. You be on your way and enjoy the rest of your night.”
Raina backed the man into the wall. “Oh, we’ll go.” She leaned in, so her cheek pressed into his. “But what if I hadn’t been a vampire? What if the kitty you wanted to play with hadn’t had claws? What if I had been a poor defenseless little girl lost in the night?”
“I-I don’t—”
“Sure you do,” Raina cooed. “You would have taken me into the shadows whether I liked it or not.”
She pulled her blade from its sheath and pressed it to the man’s forehead without looking at her hand.
The man moaned in pain, but his friends did nothing.
“Next time, think before you decide someone is your prey, little pig. You’d make an excellent meal.” She stepped back, lifting the blade to her mouth and licking away the single drop of blood that clung to its point. “And now you’re on the menu. Avoid dark hallways, little pig.”
Kissing the man on the cheek, Raina turned and walked out the door. A bloody V was carved into the man’s forehead, dripping blood down his nose and into his eyes.
“Come on.” T strode through the men, and Nola followed, nearly stepping on T’s heels as she tried to escape the hallway.
The sky was still dark, and in the faint moonlight the streets looked as terrifying as the hallway had been. Raina led them down a long row of apartment buildings much like the one they had just left. Most were at least five stories tall, and each was broken down and sad in its own way. One missing a front door. Another with all the widows at the ground level shattered. Another had Night Filth scrawled across its bricks in bright red paint.
“You didn’t have to do that to him,” T said, as soon as she caught up to Raina.
Walking behind them, a terrifying loneliness clawed at Nola’s stomach until Beauford took his place next to her.
“She was right to do it,” Beauford muttered.
“See, the big one agrees with me,” Raina said, with no trace in her voice to show she actually cared what any of them thought.
“It’s only a cut,” Nola said. “I’m sure he’ll heal.”
“It’s a v-shaped cut right on his face,” T spoke through clenched teeth. “She just marked him as a meal. If he keeps showing his face outside at night, he’ll be lucky to survive the week.”
“Don’t think of it as my limiting the time frame of his disgusting little life. Think of it as my giving him an opportunity to realize the error of his ways and have time to seek atonement in this cruel world.”
BOOK INFO
Boy of Blood
By Megan O'Russell
Publisher: Fiery Seas Publishing
Series: Girl of Glass
Genre: YA Dystopia
Release Date: April 10, 2018
After Nightland’s vicious attack on the domes, the safety and perfection of the world within the glass has been contaminated. Desperate to rebuild, outsiders are allowed into the domes to help, breaking the cardinal rule: outsiders and Domers must always be separated. But the city is in shambles, crumbling into chaos without the Vampers of Nightland to keep order, and one name is carried on the wind: Nola.
Clinging to Jeremy, Nola struggles to find a way to exist in the domes, turning her back on all she learned in the city. But when one of the outsiders brings the dark secrets of the domes to light, the line between survival and murder blurs against the spectre of the dying world.
Can Nola follow the dark path laid out by the Domes? Will the dangers of the night become her new sanctuary?
AMAZON ~~ BARNES & NOBLE ~~ KOBO ~~ iBOOKS
Megan O’Russell is the author of the young adult fantasy series The Tethering, and Nuttycracker Sweet, a Christmas novella. Megan’s short stories can also be found in several anthologies, including Athena’s Daughters 2, featuring women in speculative fiction. Megan is a professional performer who has spent time on stages across the country and is the lyrist for Second Chances: The Thrift Shop Musical, which received its world premiere in 2015. When not on stage or behind a computer, Megan can usually be found playing her ukulele or climbing a mountain with her fantastic husband.
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