Black
Wings
Iryna
K Combs
Roane Publishing, 226 pages
M/F fantasy, mystery, romance, sci-fi, drama
Rated 2 flames
A new time. A new planet. A new world. New technologies. Two
new humanoid species. A new war.
The two species separate, but in the removal,
some of the best are left behind among the worst. Captured and held as slaves,
they are treated cruelly for entertainment. Torture. Pain.
Annabel, endures a year of such
cruelty, kept alive only by way of syringes which, while healing, cause a greater
agony. She discovers a secret held by their leader, and decides to help her own
kind by escaping–even if it means a final death, preferable to the life she has
endured.
Her escape succeeds, and she
joins her own kind at the other end of the planet. Among her new friends she
meets many who help her adjust to their happier life. Will Annabel find
romance? Or will another war break her down?
Available
now in ebook, only at Amazon
for 99¢ for a limited time!
Price goes
up to $2.99 on March 23rd, then $2.99 on March 25th
Video Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLrusxcQ1Kw
Excerpt
Annabel stopped at the end of the pier, and
covered her face with her hands as tears rolled down her cheeks. That emotional
moment had triggered memories from the Old Land and the Varkins. She remembered
Kate, and how she had promised her freedom but was not able to keep that
promise. She remembered her family she had lost, and her boyfriend who’d
betrayed her. She wished the Big Change had never happened and she was still a
human, with her family and friends. She thought she missed the Old Land, even
the Varkins. She would never have thought she would think again about that dark
place. Annabel stood at the pier and cried as the wind was blowing her tears
away. She heard footsteps approaching her from behind.
"Excuse me?" One of the fishermen
was talking to her, a crying stranger. "Something happened? Do you need
help?"
"No...Nothing," Annabel replied and
turned away.
"I know we don’t know each other,"
he continued, "but I have never seen an Anlight with black wings crying on
the pier, so I wanted to make sure you were okay."
Annabel couldn’t say anything to him as she
knew she was not okay.
"My name’s Robin," he introduced
himself. "I come here sometimes when I feel sad too. I very well know
this..."
"Why would you feel sad?" Annabel
whispered, not looking at him. "Isn’t this a paradise here?"
"It is what you make it to be," he
replied. "But I have my sad days too...I lost my son before we Anlights
came to the New Land and I didn’t know what happened to him. He just
disappeared right before we had to leave the Old Land."
Annabel opened her eyes and her heart jumped
as she turned to look at the Anlight who was talking to her. He was tall,
wearing dark pants and a brown shirt, holding his fishing pole in his right
hand. Annabel looked at him for a moment and her eyes widened when the moon
appeared from behind scudding clouds and she saw his face in its light. He
looked so familiar she was...she knew the reason for his son's disappearance.
She turned away from him hiding her emotions.
"What was his name?" she asked
quietly, predicting the answer.
"Markus!" he said. "I called
him Mark. He looked a lot like me."
Annabel closed her eyes and took a deep
breath, knowing exactly what had happened to him. She bit her bottom lip,
trying to hold tears from washing out of her eyes.
"He was about your age..." the
fisherman continued, happily talking about his son, "Very brave young
Anlight. Sometimes even too brave for his own good."
Annabel stood quietly, trying to calm down.
She took another deep breath. She knew his son was that brave Anlight who had
been doing most of the talking when they were first captured by Varkins.
"I know what happened to him," she
whispered, wondering if she should even tell him the truth. Her voice began to
shake.
"Oh, you do?" The fisherman sounded
curious—after all, how she could possibly know?
"I was there too...I was with him...and
others..." Annabel spoke while catching her breath, trying her best to
talk normally without giving in to her emotions. "Nobody lived..."
she finished as more tears quietly ran down her face.
"Nobody?" he questioned, needing to
be sure.
"Only me..." She finally could not
take it anymore and burst into tears, sniffing and catching her breath.
The fisherman sighed and put his head down,
in sadness for his son—even though he had already accepted his disappearance
and possible death. He came close to Annabel.
"I knew one day I would know the truth.”
He spoke calmly, and with sorrow. “Thank you for coming here tonight."
"I am sorry about your loss,"
Annabel sobbed harder with every word said. "He and others were in a lot
of pain...and those who died…were the lucky ones. They are in peace now and
will not feel any pain again."
The fisherman took a step closer and put his
hand on her shoulder. He smiled slightly.
"Sometimes it’s hard to accept what
happens to us. Sometimes the reality seems too much for us to take. But we
would not appreciate the good if we did not know the bad. We are writers of our
own lives, and we decide when to close a chapter, and when to start the new one."
Annabel wiped cold tears from her cheeks as
she looked at him.
"Cheer up," he continued.
"You’re the lucky one! You can continue writing your life." He paused
for a moment. "And I need to get back to my wife...fish for dinner!"
He laughed, picking up a small bucket full of fresh catch. He walked slowly
back along the empty pier, disappearing in the darkness.
Annabel stood on the pier for a while longer,
thinking about what he had said. She calmed down, as the wind picked up and she
began to get cold. She returned to the car and drove back to her house. When
she pulled up, nobody seemed to be there. She looked around as she walked to
the porch door, hoping nobody was waiting for her. Annabel entered her house
and locked the door behind her. She was just going to call her cousin about her
visit when, again, someone knocked on the porch door. Annabel recalled what had
happened before, and was not in the mood to continue talking about her own or
Dexter's relations. She crossed to the door and moved the blinds to see who was
knocking. However, as soon as she saw it was Dexter outside, she slid the door
open.
Author Bio:
Originally from the Ukraine, I am
still considered a new face to America. Speaking three languages including
English, that became just as natural to me as my native Russian.
I grew up in a town on the south
of Ukraine doing the same things that other kids my age did. Dreaming, hoping
and wishing. Growing up, I spoke absolutely no English and never even saw
myself somewhere abroad. Nevertheless writing a novel in another language!
I went to the local school that
brought mostly negative experience in my life. But it shaped me throughout the
years. My college life was much better. I was known to study well and to go out
partying as much as it was possible.
In my first year of college I
began to work in the marriage agency and met my future husband. We dated and
traveled to most of the Europe along with Egypt.
When I finally got my fiancée
visa, we both moved to the states, where soon after, got married. In the first
few years I did some modeling and acting. Photo-shoots, run-way and photo in
the magazine fulfilled my childhood's dream.
A few years later I became a
mother of a wonderful and most handsome little boy. Along with learning and
experiencing motherhood, I began to make hand-made jewelry and organic soaps.
This hobby turned into my small business and became bigger than I thought it
would.
In the last year I discovered: an
author lives inside me. Never did I think that I would write an English book
and that I would love doing it. But I did! And I loved it!
Find me here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IrynaKCombs
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/IrynaKCombs
