Lily White has two challenges. First, she struggles to keep her ancestry a secret. Her grandfather is Cain immortal, transformed by God into a feiry\u2014a demon incubus. Her second challenge is more complicated. She can\u2019t find a prom date. At Jefferson High School, going solo to the prom would be reputational suicide. However, she\u2019ll do anything to hide her origins, even reject the new hot guy, Ian Kanellis, who\u2019s into her, but knows way too much about her past.
\n She learns that Ian serves her aunt, the White Feiry. He captures her father, whose blood will be used to destroy all mortals inhabiting the planet. To save her dad, Lily leaves her hometown in Texas to descend into the Everlands\u2014a melting pot of mythological beings. Tiresias\u2019s reanimated corpse, ape-like wraiths called Vraithi, Ammit-the Egyptian, heart-eating goddess\u2014bring it.
\n She\u2019s got one problem\u2014Ian. As the grandson of Zeus, and the sole remaining Vraithi in human form, only he has the power to kill the White Feiry. He swears he\u2019s sorry for capturing Lily\u2019s dad, but she can\u2019t trust him. Unless she does, she\u2019ll never save the world from destruction, she\u2019ll never see her father alive again, and prom just became more of a myth than her ancestors.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nOkay, so you’re probably wondering how Ixion fits into the story. Ian’s father is Ixion. We learn early on that Ian hates his dad. To get you up to speed, Lily learns that Ian is the only person who knows where Zeus is, and Zeus can help her save her father. She has to get Ian’s help, but he’s having daddy issues. At this point in the story, Lily finds out who Ian’s father is, and learns about his past. Of course, I couldn’t tell the myth without giving it a twist. But I won’t reveal the twist here in my blog. You’ll have to read my book if you want to find out what really happened to Ixion. (And that means I’ll have to get it published first!)<\/p>\n
To show who Ixion is, I’ve decided to use a snippet from my book. Lily and Ian are staying in an old fort in the Peruvian rainforest to hide from Lily’s aunt, the White Feiry. She finds Ian hiding out in the bell tower, where she coerces him to tell her about his dad…<\/p>\n
Lily had to make Ian cooperate. But how? She knew Ian didn\u2019t like his dad. Now seemed like a good time to find out why. If they were going to find the Ever King and free her father, she\u2019d have to.
\n She climbed the staircase, then entered the bell tower. The scent of rain filled the open space. Through the tall windows, a flash of lightning cut through the midnight sky, followed by a low rumble of thunder.
\n Ian sat on the windowsill.
\n A hard knot formed in her stomach.
\n The lightning illuminated his silhouette. As she approached him, she noticed he\u2019d taken off his gloves. They sat on the windowsill with holes singed through them. She smelled burned leather.
\n Electricity glowed around his fingertips. She made sure not to touch him as she sat on the ledge.
\n \u201cYou burned your gloves.\u201d
\n \u201cIt happens.\u201d
\n Another bolt of lightning shot through the sky, lighting the jungle for a brief moment. Sounds of crickets and frogs filled the damp air, reminding her of the thunderstorms back home.
\n How should she approach the subject of his father? Would he be angry with her for bringing it up? She decided it didn\u2019t matter. He would have to talk about it someday, even if it made him uncomfortable. \u201cWill you tell me about your dad?\u201d she asked in a gentle voice.
\n He didn\u2019t answer.
\n \u201cI know it\u2019s hard, but you need to talk to someone.\u201d
\n \u201cDo I?\u201d he asked with a defiant tone, as if he meant to challenge her. He knew better. Challenges were her weakness, and he seemed to have an uncanny ability at coercing her. This wasn\u2019t going as well as she\u2019d planned. \u201cTell me about your father,\u201d she insisted.
\n He leaned closer. \u201cAre you sure you want to know?\u201d
\n \u201cYes.\u201d
\n He paused before speaking. \u201cHis name was Ixion. He didn\u2019t come to the Everlands like everyone else. Zeus cast him into Hades long before then\u2014for kin-slaying\u2014the first recorded in Greek history.\u201d
\n Already she regretted asking. But she had to know more. \u201cWho did he kill?\u201d
\n \u201cHis father-in-law. Pushed him into a bed of coals. But that isn\u2019t the only reason Zeus punished him. My father became an outcast after he killed his father-in-law. Zeus felt sorry for him and brought him to Olympus. And then my dad raped Hera.\u201d
\n She stared at him, jaw slightly agape.
\n He shrugged. \u201cI know. He was a real saint, wasn\u2019t he? And thousands of years later, after he\u2019d spent forever in Hades, the White Feiry finally let him go. He returned to the Overworld, met my mother, married her. They had me. Then he abandoned us both.\u201d
\n \u201cWhy\u2019d he do that?\u201d
\n \u201cDidn\u2019t want the responsibility of a family, I guess. Who knows?\u201d
\n \u201cHow\u2019d he die?\u201d
\n \u201cThe White Feiry,\u201d Ian answered. \u201cExecuted him.\u201d
\n \u201cHow long ago?\u201d
\n \u201cTwelve years,\u201d he mumbled.
\n \u201cDoesn\u2019t it bother you that he died?\u201d
\n He watched the storm raging outside. \u201cNo.\u201d
\n \u201cBut what about your mom? Was she upset?\u201d
\n \u201cNo idea.\u201d
\n \u201cDon\u2019t you keep in contact with her?\u201d
\n He turned to her. \u201cWhen my dad died, the old gods thought his punishment hadn\u2019t been fulfilled. They demanded justice. They captured me and sent me to the Everlands to fulfill his punishment. The White Feiry found me, felt sorry for me, I guess. She raised me as her own. But I haven\u2019t seen my birth mother in years. I don\u2019t even know if she\u2019s still alive.\u201d
\n \u201cDo you think you could find her?\u201d
\n Thunder rolled through the air. \u201cMaybe.\u201d
\n \u201cWas your mother a goddess?\u201d
\n \u201cYes, Hebe is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. One of their only children. She lives with them now in the Overworld.\u201d
\n \u201cDo you miss her?\u201d
\n \u201cHow could I? I barely knew her.\u201d
\n \u201cDo you think she misses you?\u201d
\n Ian stared at her with a confused look. Maybe he\u2019d never thought of it. His leather jacket creaked as he crossed his arms and turned to watch the storm again.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nI’ve modified the myth a bit. Instead of being executed, Ixion later becomes bound on an eternally revolving wheel in Tartarus.<\/p>\n
I enjoyed sharing some of my own writing with you. I do this stuff for fun, and though I tend to obsess on when and if I will get published, I have to remind myself of the reasons why I really do this. I love stories. I’m fascinated with the way the imagination works, and how closely emotions are tied to it. <\/p>\n
If you enjoyed today’s snippet, please do me the favor of checking on my one published work, Raze, Shine # 6. Have you already read it? Today is the release date for Shine #7, Lost Haven, written by my good friend Sabrina Fish, who is also participating in A to Z over at Sabrina’s Writing Reflections. You can also see her book on Alex Cavanaugh’s post today.http:\/\/alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com\/2014\/04\/retro-to-z-challenge-i-iron-maiden-1982.html<\/a><\/p>\n
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