And because it's also Music Crush Monday, I'll share with you again my pick for Iris and Kai. It fits them so well!!!
Love to all xoxo
SJ
EXCERPT: Chapter Twenty-Two
I still remember the
feeling it gave me when I’d heard him sing the first time; the boy had a voice
that could stir emotion inside a walking corpse. Bring someone back to life. We
were headed home when his voice, accompanied by the strumming of a guitar,
wafted down from an apartment building. I paused, tugging on Kai’s hand to
stop. A voice like that could only belong to some divine entity, or an
offspring thereof. It both excited and unnerved my dark soul.
We pinpointed the
window it came from and decided to show up again in the morning. We’d wait for
him to emerge so Kai could read his aura.
Unsurprisingly, when the boy left the next day heading for his first day of school, Kai confirmed my
suspicions. Silvery threads were woven throughout his aura. He was tall with light brown hair and soulful, sparkling eyes. But he had a way about him,
something almost sad and tired to be so youthful and drop dead gorgeous. Like
he was trudging through life. Going through the motions. I could tell life in
general weighed on him. He needed a change.
A spark of hope ignited
inside me. This was the one.
Cloaked in a spell, we
followed him that day through the halls of Centennial High. We assumed since he
was posing as a senior that he was beginning a new decade in this town. Then it
would be off to college, if he chose, or he could continue to work at his dead
end job until it was time to move on again.
No wonder he was so
sad. He’d probably just moved here over the summer, and this was the beginning
of his next ten-year sentence.
The boy mostly kept to
himself, ate by himself… but by choice. It was obvious he had every girls’
attention; though it appeared their curiosity about the mysterious model-like
boy was in no way reciprocated. I think if he could have camouflaged himself to
blend in with the walls, he would have.
After school, he went
to a typical high school kind of job – Frederick’s record store. Fitting
considering his talent. I couldn’t imagine they paid much, but he had to make a
living somehow. My guess was his parents, or parent, had passed some time ago.
He was on his own.
Here, being surrounded
by other music-lovers, he seemed to have perked a little. He even whistled as
he organized a new shipment of vintage records. He inspected one before tucking
it away – a Beatles’ album – and smiled to himself, changing the tune of his
whistle to their song “Yellow Submarine.” Working here must have been the
highlight of his day.
At his apartment that
evening, we were able to pick the lock and sneak in. Luckily he was showering
so we were able to take our time looking through his things. Unframed,
hand-painted art hung above his threadbare sofa. They looked amateur at best;
probably local artists. No other pictures were anywhere to be found - a good sign.
He had no attachments. The contents of his fridge confirmed his bachelor
lifestyle – Chinese leftovers and beer bottles littered the inside.
While Kai and I waited
around to get a blood sample, the boy's doorbell rang. I threw Kai a puzzled
look, mirroring the one the boy wore. Late night visitors couldn’t have been
the norm.
The boy muted the TV
and set the takeout container he was eating out of on his makeshift coffee
table. Old books served as the base, and he’d placed a sheet of black
oval-shaped glass on top.
Shuffling to the door,
he threw on a t-shirt and ran a hand through his damp hair. He peeked through
the peephole, stiffened with surprise, and then sighed. Whoever it was, he
wasn’t thrilled about it. He opened the door anyway.
Don't forget to pre-order you copy on Amazon today!
To see the list of websites hosting reviews and excerpts of Iris for the blog tour, click here!
To see the list of websites hosting reviews and excerpts of Iris for the blog tour, click here!
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