Curse of Stars
Diamond Crier, #1
by Donna Compositor
Publication
date: February 19th 2017
Genres:
Fantasy, Young Adult
BLURB
Sabi Perez is the last Diamond
Crier, only she doesn’t know it. Not until a crazed ruler from another world
comes to collect her priceless tears and won’t take no for an answer.
Living in New York, Sabi’s seen
some nasty things, but the lengths to which her captor will go to keep his
crown are things found only in the darkest nightmares. Afraid and alone, Sabi
finds solace in her cellmate, Anya, and Cabal, a fellow Crier who also has
powers, a rare combination that buys his favor from the ruler. Only it’s a
favor he doesn’t want.
In a fit of rage, power erupts
out of Sabi, the same power Cabal has, and a spark of hope ignites. Together
they may have a chance at escape, something no other Crier has done. Except a
ruler hellbent on draining them of every last diamond tear isn’t their only
hurdle. If they escape they’ll be hunted to the ends of the earth, if they
survive the trek to safety.
If they stay the ruler will leech them dry. Sabi would rather die trying than lie down and die, even if that means running away into even more danger.
“. . . vividly imagined and
deftly plotted dark fantasy . . .” BookLife Prize in Fiction
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EXCERPT:
“You must be Sabina,” he said.
Her heart felt ready to explode. Ringing in her ears made it hard
to hear but she could have sworn he called her Sabina. She didn’t know whether
to answer him or not. She went by Sabi but her birth certificate said Sabina.
He wasn’t wrong, but she wasn’t about to admit that.
“Sabina Petris.”
The sound of his voice was soft, almost welcoming. But the way he
looked at her, how his gaze bored directly into her eyes, it sent goose bumps
across her skin. All she wanted to do right then was leave.
“Sorry,” she choked, the word barely making it out. “You have the
wrong house.”
The thin smile that sliced across his face like a paper cut
cracked open to reveal gleaming teeth underneath. Sabi couldn’t help but think
of a wolf and how he would eat her with his big teeth.
“I don’t think so. But maybe it’s Perez now, yes? At least that’s
what my sources say.”
Every thought she had smashed together in her head. He had her
name. Her name. But who was Sabina Petris? And why did he say Perez like that
wasn’t her real name? Crap, she needed to get out. Now.
“Baby, you okay?”
Sabi jumped and nearly choked on her heart. Keeping her eyes on
the man in front of her she called down to Mrs. Wexler in the steadiest voice
she could muster, “Fine. I’m fine.”
Nothing about her cracking voice sounded fine.
“Why don’t you come on down? Come sit with me until your Mama gets
home?”
Yes! That’s what she’d do. Nothing could happen if she stayed out
in the open with Mrs. Wexler. She took a step backward, not daring to turn her
back on the man, but she stopped when he spoke.
“Perhaps you shouldn’t. Or your sister, Matti is it? Could feel
the effects of that poor decision.”
Bile burned Sabi’s throat and her vision swam. The man took a step
closer.
“You are my property, Sabina. Your parents knew this. They knew
this would happen. Come with me now and I’ll forgive their indiscretions. I
can’t say the same for their people, of course. So many deaths piling up behind
your parents. Something like that is hard for people to forgive.”
Everything in Sabi’s head cleared and one thing rang out above it
all: Matti. Get to Matti. Whoever this guy was, whatever he was saying, he
wasn’t right. In the head, in life, in anything. Except just looking at him
Sabi knew he was far from harmless. He was too casual, too confident. He was
the wolf and she the prey and she was getting too close to backing into a
corner.
With every ounce of air she had in her lungs Sabi screamed Mrs.
Wexler’s name and booked back down the stairs. Footsteps thundered up to meet
her and Mrs. Wexler mumbled ‘outside’ and nearly pushed Sabi down the rest of
the stairs. But she didn’t need any help. And she didn’t stop on the stoop or
to see what her neighbor was going to do.
Guilt slowed her down, but the way Matti rolled off the man’s
tongue made her pump her legs harder. It was blocks to the school, but Sabi
wasn’t about to wait at a subway stop, sitting like a duck with a price on its
head. She needed to get to Matti.
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Author Info
Donna
has been writing since she was in the single digits when she first realized she
needed to do something about all the thoughts in her head. After a stint with
bad poetry she finally found her way to novels, mainly of the young adult
fantasy variety. When she’s not cranking out more stories she works a regular 9
to 5, reads anywhere from 2 to 3 books a week, drinks copious amounts of tea,
eats way too much, and makes her own beauty products because her skin turns
into a sentient hive if she uses anything else. This is mostly because she
lives in the desert where the air siphons water clean out of her. She lives
with a man named Steve and several quadrupeds: three cats named Renfield, Sam,
and Dean; and a MinPin named Malfoy.
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