Young Adult - Contemporary Fantasy
Date Published: 05-16-2022
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Bax always fantasized something remarkable would happen in his life. So when a decrepit man with glowing purple eyes offers him a ring intended for his estranged father, Bax accepts.
The ring speaks to Bax in a dream, tempting him with a vision of a powerful djinn. Desperate to make his fantasies a reality, Bax unleashes a creature called Ifrit, but soon learns this djinn isn't what the ring led him to believe. Feeding off the depths of his subconscious, the sinister demon fulfills what he thinks Bax wants by manipulating, threatening, and murdering. With everyone he loves in danger and a trail of crimes pointing back at him, Bax must scramble to solve the puzzle that will banish Ifrit forever.
Neck bones popped
as his head rotated toward me, his face eclipsing the rays of the streetlight.
His irises were dull purple, glazed over with a foggy film, and deep-set
wrinkles radiated from the corners of his eyes like arrows drawing attention to
them.
A shudder caused
the keys to slip from my hand and clank on the ground. My face burned with
shame that the poor man’s appearance had startled me. My rudeness would have
disappointed Mom.
“I’m sorry, but
really—” I snagged my keys.
His hand slithered
out of the brick-colored sleeve as his arm rose, trembling as he strained to
hold the weight of his own limb. Gloved in loose, veiny skin, his skeleton hand
had yellowed fingernails so overgrown they grew in on themselves like curly
birthday ribbons. As his fingers unfurled, he revealed a ring nestled in his
palm.
It was large. Too
large. The ring resembled the toy jewelry Jason’s sister played with or
something from a Halloween costume. Grimy gold with a single dull purplish
jewel that matched his eyes.
His hand trembled
under the heaviness of the ring. “Take it.”
Shifting my
backpack to my other shoulder, I took it. “What is this?”
The corners of his
thin lips curled into a grin as a gust of warm, dry wind cut through the chilly
October night and swirled around me.
About the Author
J. L. Sullivan writes young adult stories inspired by gritty urban environments and the fantastical tales that percolate within abandoned buildings and desolate alleys. In high school, he wrote for a local newspaper before venturing into creative writing. He currently lives in St. Louis with his wife, two daughters, and a dog named Princess Penelope Picklesworth.
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The book sounds very intriguing. Great cover!
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