Prologue

“Run, Lia, Run!” Shouted Lizi, as the two women sprinted through the forest.

Footsteps could be heard as their pursuers decreased the distance between them. The crying baby in Kalia’s arms was slowing them down. Sounds of a whip cracking echoed through the woods. Streaks of lightning crashed into the trees, sending shards of bark flying all around them.

“I need time to open up the gateway!” Lizi yelled while weaving through the trees.

Panic and fear gripped the two as they approached Crystal Lake. Dark silhouettes could be seen out of the corner of their eyes. The hooded men behind them sent streams of light shooting through the forest. Thunder clouds darkened the night sky as they ran. Lightning bolts lit up the path ahead, crawling along the ceiling above. The sounds of war rumbled in the distance behind them, but for Lia and Lizi, it no longer mattered.

As the two women sprinted to the edge of the sparkling water, Lia knew that her sister could not open the gateway before their pursuers caught up with them. Her only hope was to buy Lizi enough time to put the spell on the key.

“Lizi, I need you to take the baby and use the key. I will try and fight them off while you open the gateway,” Lia said firmly.

The calm in her sister’s voice was unsettling. At that moment, Lizi could tell that Lia had no intention of going with her.

“You can’t fight them alone!” Lizi said, tears pouring down her face.

“We don’t have time to argue! You need to open the gateway.” Lia’s order was final.

As she walked back towards the woods, Lizi saw her sister pause, and turn to face her. The moon had found its way through the thunder clouds above, shining down on them. A loving smile spread across Lia’s face. Moonlight shone on the small patch of grass along the edge of the lake. Lizi’s tears cascaded towards the ground. She held the key up to read the inscription, and then glanced towards the woods. Lia had already vanished.

Lizi recited the spell on the Keeper’s Key.

“Kal tu mon chalintiok.

Kamen zee hollow al buvar

Olom gartem xyzar ullar

Timir un…” (Crash)

A huge Douglas Fir toppled to the ground, missing Lizi by mere inches. She turned to see a large ball of blue fire escaping the forest canopy. Streaks of red and yellow darted across the blackness of the woods. Lizi only had a few seconds to complete the incantation.

“Timir unon bolvia getmalla

Yimbar salmee hualla nindar

“SONORA!” As she finished, Lia came limping out of the forest.

The water in Crystal Lake began to move. In a moment the gateway would engulf them.

“Lia! You can make it!” She shouted, unable to move without breaking the spell and closing the gateway.

Lia could hear the men behind her yelling orders to attack. Lightning streaked across the sky, followed by monstrous thunder that shook the ground. Lizi watched as her sister was attacked by the King’s assassins. The baby in Lizi’s arms was now silent, and for a moment, time stood still. She could see the same loving smile on her sister’s face that she’d known her entire life. Lizi loved her sister more than anyone in the world. Lia slowed to a stop in the tall grass. Behind Lizi, water was spinning rapidly and began to climb upward, defying gravity.

As Lizi stared at her sister, for what seemed much more than seconds, a small light appeared at the tip of Lia’s fingers. She glowed. Electricity was streaming from within her body, down through her arms, and into her hands. Balls of light were forming in her palms. Lizi could see the concentration and resolve in her sister’s face.

The hooded men inched out of the forest’s edge, unable to comprehend the sight of the large water tornado in front of them. One of the men saw the cyclone building behind Lizi and yelled to the others. What came next happened in an instant. Lia turned towards the men, clasped her hands together, and launched a flaming sheet of fire at them. A violent explosion sent the hooded men flying through the night sky. A huge cloud of debris from the explosion shot out in all directions. Noise reverberated across the lake, drowning out the thunder.

Lizi anticipated her sister’s move and put an energy field around her and the baby for protection. But even the energy field wasn’t enough to protect them from the force of the explosion. Lizi and the baby were sent flying through the air. Luckily, the gateway had finally opened, sucking them both down through the funnel of water and out of Sonora.

 

All Rights Reserved

Copyrighted 2009

The Book

Periodically, I will be posting certain parts of the story. Every week or two, I will put the novel online so that everyone can be apart of this great adventure. I hope you all like it!

 

Travis Hall

Author

My name is Travis Hall. I’m an inspiring author who has written a young adult urban fantasy. The setting of this novel takes place in the little town of Sandy, Oregon. A young girl by the name of Allora is trying to survive high school. Allora is stubborn, emotional, and yearns for adventure.

Her life is altered when her hands burst into flames during cheerleading tryouts. Allora is thrust into a life of magic, danger, and adventure, which she was never prepared for. She meets many mythical creatures that help her to battle the evil assassins that have been sent by an evil King from a parallel world.

This world is called Sonora. A magical land that exists through the ancient gateways from Earth. These portals are guarded by the ancient organization of the Keepers. Each Keeper has a key that opens the gateway to Sonora. Allora meets one of the guardians of the gateways in the mountains above her hometown.

The guardian that watches over the gateway is a jovial famous creature known as Sasquatch. He prefers to be known as “Sas” though. Sas teaches Allora about the history of her people, and the conflict that brought her family, and friends to Earth.

Allora finds out that her friends are from Sonora as well. Tanner, Katie, Dax, and Allora are trained in the art of the Keepers in order to protect each other from creatures called Shifters, Rovers, and Wraiths. These magical assassins roam the territory in search of the kids.

Allora and her friends are forced to find a way to defeat the assassins. Their teacher, an eccentric historian by the name of Mr. Swan, has found pieces to a map that will lead them to ancient weapons that were used to fight powerful ancient creatures during the times of Greek mythology.

The search is on, and they don’t have much time. With every passing day, the creatures draw nearer. Soon they will find out that one of their classmates is more than appear to be.

Allora must find the confidence and inner strength to defeat the forces that conspire against her, because if she fails, it could mean the end of all that she knows.