Title: The Sciell: The Merging Worlds Series #1
Author: Auden Johnson
Genre: Adult Dark Fantasy
Publisher: Aubey LLC
Publish Date: March 2014
Format: ebook, paperback, hardback
Page count: 384
Tagline: Darkness isn’t evil. Just angry
Description
Darkness has power. It’s neither good nor evil. But, it is angry.
An energy that grants certain people special abilities. They mold darkness and shadow into weapons, barriers, nearly anything they could imagine.
Shade Harralite and Vayle Slaughter live in a hidden village for darkness beings. Life wasn’t great but their sibling bond is their light. Their home is in each other.
They need that bond when villagers begin acting violent. They’re sneaking into human cities and returning with fresh flesh. Someone behind the scenes is helping Darkness take over Raesul and letting these new monsters loose on the world.
As their village falls apart, Shade and Vayle unravel the twisted truths behind their pasts and powers. Maybe Raesul’s destruction will show them their true selves. Darkness is changing. The world will suffer.
If you enjoy dark adventures, diverse characters, the powers of darkness, you’ll love The Sciell.
Series Trailer
Praise for The Sciell
“I would recommend this book to anyone that likes a darker plot. It’s an interesting plot that moves at a steady pace and I’m sure as the series progresses it will only get better.” (Paranormal Romance and Authors that Rock)
“The characters are well drawn and are definitely not carbon copies of each other. They each have their own voices, their own stories, and their own drives. The interactions between them, good and bad, give the reader a feel for them.” (Straight from the Library)
“The world-building in this story was great. You really get a sense of the classes, and sort of the political schematic of the world” (Unabridged Andra)
“The tale follows the familiar formula of the coming-of-age tale as it reveals its secrets, but it does so with a welcome sense of enthusiasm.” (Kirkus Review)
“I loved Vayle’s character, his love for his adoptive sister really shown through even with the discrimination he suffered because of it.” (Readers’ Favorite)
“The Sciell it’s an original book that grabbed my attention and left me wanting to read more!!” (Romorror Fan Girl)
“The Sciell “draws on popular monster-fantasy tropes similar to those seen in the works of Jim Butcher, Charlaine Harris and others. It includes more modern terminology and ideas than other books of its type, which makes its setting a bit more distinctive.” Kirkus Review
Excerpt
Shade willed her sleeping power to reach into Darkness’ body to find the Bria it possessed. She didn’t feel anything. Her head pounded. Ample power existed in both physical and mental Darkness. She needed to feel it.
Shade rocked her neck from side to side. The crack released her irritation. This human form was useless.
She moved into the moon’s immense arms. It took pity on her lost soul. Its touch awakened her Lifeblood. Her revived power reached through the Darkness and drew out the Energy, the Bria. Her head stopped pounding. Humans— their rules, their food, their lives— were knives sawing into her neck.
A tingle started at her head and stimulated the rest of her body. She moved into the shadows. Lifeblood embraced her insides with delicious arms.
The moan refused to submit to her will. She suppressed a shiver as her power’s benign fingers coaxed her organs, muscles and bones into transformation. It weaved its body into her skin. Shade bit her tongue. It didn’t stop the whimper.
The now active Lifeblood forced her hair out of its solid form into thousands of long, wild, black shadow strings. She knew the gray of her eyes became wispy black clouds.
Urine battered her now sensitive nose. Shade smelled everything in the waste container nearby. The scent of rotten milk, moldy boxes and the dozens of humans the items once belonged to blinded her. Thousands of sounds assaulted her ears at once.
Shade regained enough control to block out horns from the domestic convys, the sound of these vehicles’ wheels riding over the pavement and humans’ mundane conversations. The street tram’s screeching breaks nearly killed her.
She inhaled light’s death and closed her eyes to hone her overactive senses.
Now came the hardest part.
She commanded her Lifeblood to extract more Bria from the Darkness. She needed to drown her human side, if only for a moment.
The Energy and the moon’s arms entwined. They mated within and produced a power that burst and became her. It flowed through skin and organs. Giving her flesh to the Darkness, her body collapsed into a sceadu- a form that could taste the night. She would’ve stayed in the musty deserted street to burrow in the rush of relief and strength from her released form and her ability to hear, smell and see everything if her stomach hadn’t given her an enraged jolt.
She released a small measure of Bria to become a little solid. Shade wanted the prey to sense her presence. She wanted to smell its fear, wanted to see the look on its face when it knew someone or something followed it, ready to attack.
The passing human’s casual strut turned into a stiffened walk.
The arms remained close to the body as if afraid they’d be severed if they strayed too far. The head was upright, the eyes wide and darting towards dark corners.
Its pace quickened. Shade returned to the shadows.
Those secrets residing in everyone’s hearts and minds held magnificent Energy. Humans were too inept to see it as anything but evil.
About the Author
As a kid, Auden created her own books by folding several construction papers in half and stapling them down the middle, adding her own illustrations. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get away from writing. She holds a B.A. in English, a M.S. in Library and Information Science, a M.S. in Publishing Digital and Print and she studied Creative Writing in England. She currently lives in New York with her dog Oreo. She’s written several short stories and novellas as well as three novels in her Merging Worlds Series. She’s also written a world building guide.
