Archon (43 page)

Authors: Sabrina Benulis

Tags: #Speculative Fiction

BOOK: Archon

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“I’ll be ready,” Angela said, trying to convince herself. To erase the words. But they stayed in her head, and as she turned for a quick glimpse in the mirror, she saw something even more terrifying than any Jinn, blinking back at her, its eyes blue and its hair blood red, its lips gently whispering the new song.

Blackbird escapes hungry

The Fly of doom

Her hellfire smoke eager

To scorch, consume

All but the One seeing

Who will assume

The mantle and title of Covenant,

Ruin.

THE END

Acknowledgments

Thank you to God. You made everything possible for me, whether by arranging one amazing coincidence after another, blessing me with this crazy talent to create crazy worlds, or throwing people into my life who couldn’t help but encourage that talent. Not to mention angels. Did I mention I really like Your angels?

Thank you to my husband, Mike, and to my Mom and Dad, Gary and Sharon Naples. Your patience in listening to me babble about imaginary people, places, and things was more valuable than you can ever know. But what meant more was your belief in what I could accomplish. Through it all, what I wanted most was for you to be proud and happy, and I pray I can make you feel that way forever. You’ll have to bear with me as I keep trying and hopefully keep succeeding.

Thank you to my family and my steadfast friends, each and every one of you. Of course I didn’t forget you! Please know that your excitement for me and your overall support helped me through some of the toughest times. I wanted to entertain you and whisk you away to a faraway place. Now you’ll have to fess up and tell me if the magic worked.

Sincere thanks to my agent, Ann Behar, and my editor, Diana Gill. Your risk taking and vision shaped my novel into what it is today and I’m endlessly grateful for all of your hard work and dedication. Novels are never the work of just one person, and in this case that is most certainly true. If you hadn’t poured your time and effort into this project, where would I be now?

A heartfelt thanks to my friends and fellow classmates at Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction program, especially my mentor, Timons Esaias. Poor souls, you had to read an amateur version of something that resembled this book. But somehow I managed to enchant you and make you believe in it, and that, I learned, is what real writing is all about.

And last, but not least, thank you to my cockatiel, Caesar. Because of you I fell in love with all things with wings.

That reminds me—thank you to the Birds, both those in Heaven and on Earth. It’s easy to reach for the stars when you have guides to show you the way.

About the Author

S
ABRINA
B
ENULIS
graduated with a master’s in writing popular fiction from Seton Hill University. She currently resides in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania with her husband, Mike, and her spoiled cockatiel, Caesar.
Archon
is her first novel.

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Credits

Cover design by Mumtaz Mustafa

Cover illustration © by Borja Fresco Costa

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

ARCHON
. Copyright © 2012 by Sabrina Benulis. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

FIRST EDITION

ISBN 978-0-06-206940-5

EPub Edition © JANUARY 2012 ISBN: 9780062069450

12 13 14 15 16 OV/RRD 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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