Demon by Laura DeLuca
Demon,
Book Two in the Dark Musicals Trilogy, inspired by Sweeney Todd is available
now in both PRINT and eBook!
It doesn't help that
things keep disappearing from their apartment or that Rebecca's father refuses to
accept that Justyn is an essential part of her life. Yet, all this seems
minimal in comparison to the serial rapist terrorizing the campus.
Consumed by fear and
obsessed with revenge, Rebecca and Justyn start living the story of Sweeney
Todd—both on and off the stage.
Excerpt:
Rebecca unwound the
silver ribbon. When she lifted the lid, she found two matching pendants, each
laced to a long hemp chain. They were shaped sort of like seashells, with an
endless spiral pattern that looped out from the center as the chambers grew
larger. They were dark brown in color with a few hints of tan along the edges.
The stones had been polished and smoothed on both sides, but when she lifted
them, she could see that the two pieces fit together perfectly. She swore the
halves fought to snap together, like magnets in her hand. There was an energy
pulsing and vibrating within the stones that even a novice witch like Rebecca
could feel.
“They’re beautiful,”
Rebecca whispered as she ran her hand along the intricate grooves.
“It’s an ammonite.”
Justyn lifted one of the pendants, brushed her hair to the side, and hooked the
clasp around her neck. His breath tickled her skin as his hands moved with
graceful dexterity, giving her goose bumps despite the humid August night.
“They’re actually fossils that are millions of years old, named after Ammon, an
ancient Egyptian deity. When they’re divided in half, they’re perfect mirrors
of one another. Some cultures believe that if the two halves are given to
lovers, it will bind them together forever. When made into necklaces, they’re
often called soul mate pendants.”
“Wo-wow,” Rebecca
stuttered. As usual, the sentiment behind Justyn’s gift was even more beautiful
than the gift itself. It left her a little flustered. “That’s amazing. How do
you know all this stuff?”
“You don’t spend
eighteen years living with Darlene without learning a thing or two.”
Rebecca laughed.
Justyn’s mother Darlene was definitely something special. EMT, exotic belly
dancer, and Wiccan High Priestess were only a few of the titles she
claimed. Rebecca knew she was a fountain of earth-based knowledge after
years of studying the Craft. As Darlene’s new apprentice, Rebecca greedily
dipped into that knowledge herself as often as possible.
“It’s beautiful,”
Rebecca repeated, too overcome with emotion to think of anything more eloquent
to say. “You certainly know how to make things interesting.”
“Like I told you on our
first date, I try not to be boring.” He winked at her. “So … are you going to
put mine on for me?”
“Oh yeah … sorry.”
Rebecca giggled as she
lifted the hemp chain. She wasn’t nearly as graceful as Justyn. She almost
dropped the necklace in the sand three times before she managed to get the
clasp locked. When she finally had it secured, he placed his hand over her
heart, where the ammonite lay. He did the same with her hands, lifting them to
his chest. His dark eyes had lost all glimmer of humor. He met her gaze with a
stare filled with genuine emotion. Beneath her fingers, she could feel the
gentle, steady rhythm of his heart beating in perfect tune with her own.
“Our love will span
both space and time. In this life and the next, you shall be mine. All eternity
I will be by your side. For a love so strong cannot be denied. Spirit and flesh
merged into one. So mote it be, for all days to come.”
When he was done with
the recitation, he kissed her. Not just a gentle brush, but a deep, passionate
embrace that left her throat tight and her heart pounding with a familiar
yearning.
“I’ve never heard that
poem before,” she said once she’d caught her breath. “Who are you quoting?”
Even in the moonlight,
she could see him blush. “I guess I was quoting myself. It was really more of
an incantation than a poem though. These necklaces are meant to be a symbol of
our love, and it seemed a little spell work could only add to the power of the
stones. There is power in words, Becca. Just like there is power in nature.”
“You mean, you wrote
that?”
He nodded, but his
eyes twinkled, and the playfulness was back in his voice. “Well, actually, I
just made it up as I went along.”
“Wow. Actor, singer,
and now an improv poet slash chant writer. Is there anything you can’t do, Lord
Justyn?”
He smiled and tilted
her chin so he could look into her eyes. “I can’t stop loving you.”
You can also add Demon to your shelf on goodreads.
Phantom, Dark Musicals Book #1
If you haven't read the first book in the series, now is a
great time to get your copy. To celebrate the release of Demon, Phantom is
now on sale for only $1.99 exclusively on Amazon!
The “Phantom” was a
musical phenomenon that Rebecca had always found enchanting. She had no idea
that her life was about to mirror the play that was her obsession. When her
high school drama club chooses “Phantom” as their annual production, Rebecca
finds herself in the middle of an unlikely love triangle and the target of a
sadistic stalker who uses the lines from the play as their calling card.
Rebecca lands the lead role of Christine, the opera diva, and like her character, she is torn between her two co-stars—Tom the surfer and basketball star who plays the lovable hero, and Justyn, the strangely appealing Goth who is more than realistic in the role of the tortured artist.
Almost immediately after casting, strange things start to happen both on and off the stage. Curtains fall. Mirrors are shattered. People are hurt in true phantom style. They all seem like accidents until Rebecca receives notes and phone calls that hint at something more sinister. Is Justyn bringing to life the twisted character of the phantom? Or in real life are the roles of the hero and the villain reversed? Rebecca doesn’t know who to trust, but she knows she’s running out of time as she gets closer and closer to opening night. Only when the mask is stripped away, will the twenty first century phantom finally be revealed.
About the Author:
Laura “Luna” DeLuca
lives at the beautiful Jersey shore with her husband and four children. She loves
writing in the young adult genre because it keeps her young at heart. In
addition to writing fiction, Laura is also the editor of a popular review blog
called New Age Mama. She is an active member of her local pagan community, and
has been studying Wicca for close to eight years. Her current works
include Destiny, Destiny Unveiled, Phantom, Morrigan, Player, and Demon.
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