Running from witch hunters taught her all about life.
After
her surprise discovery
of a mystical gift, fourteen-year-old Rose Wilson thinks her life is ruined. It
turns out she comes from a long line of gifted women, and despite her protests, Rose’s mom ships her off to her
grandmother’s house to
spend the summer learning about her family’s
well-hidden secrets. To make matters worse, Rose is expected to carry out this tradition
alongside her mousy, bookworm cousin, Megan. What a waste of a summer.
With some effort, Rose and Megan manage
to find common ground and by the time they get home, they’re working together
to adjust to their new life. But everything is turned upside down again when their
families are exposed by witch hunters who call themselves The Witches’ Hammer. With killers on the loose, their tiny town isn’t safe anymore. Rose’s
entire family is fragmented and forced to flee
through a network of hiding places, dubbed The
Witches’ Underground Railroad.
As she journeys to the sea, Rose learns more and more about who she really is. The closer she gets to her destination, the more danger she encounters, until she is forced to make the ultimate decision: follow
her family’s edict of non-violence and become an orphan, or save her mom’s
life.
Excerpt:
A pool of blood
already surrounded Amber's head, and she was as pale as a ghost. Her breathing
was shallow and labored.
Rose started
parting her wet hair, little by little, trying to find the wound. Finally,
after the longest minute of her life, she found it. The wide cut was right on
the crown of Amber's head – how could she have missed that? – and it was
bleeding fast.
Fighting not to
gag at the metallic smell, Rose put her hands on the slippery gash and pushed,
like the lady said, but the blood just seeped through her fingers. The bleeding
wasn't stopping. Was she doing it right?
Feeling completely
helpless, she began to sob.
She didn't dare
leave Amber again to go back to the phone.
“I don't know what
to do!” she cried out. “Help,” she croaked, knowing no one could hear. “Please
help.”
Suddenly, she felt
something strange happening, deep inside her chest. A comforting warmth, like
hot chocolate on a freezing cold day, heated her from the inside out. It spread
and expanded from her chest, bubbling and tingling like a fizzy drink, growing
like wild morning glory vines, covering every part of her insides.
Was it coming from
her heart?
It grew until she
felt like she couldn’t contain all that heat for one second longer. Then, when
she thought she might just explode, the heat-vines raced down her arms. An
effervescent mixture of blue, pink, and purple light exploded from her hands,
and surrounded Amber's head like a quivering, transparent cocoon.
Rose sucked in a
breath and blinked in disbelief.
She was frozen –
afraid to move or even breathe. She stared with her mouth agape, her emerald
eyes wide, as the bleeding slowed.
What the heck is happening? she thought.
Is this a dream?
She didn't
understand what she was seeing. Was it ... magic?
The glimmering
cocoon continued pulsating from her fingertips, surrounding Amber's head. Rose
didn't dare let go, for fear of undoing this miracle.
Then Amber started
to stir.
This was not
something Rose wanted to discuss. What kind of a freak would Amber think she
was? Reluctantly, she removed her hands.
The vines of
warmth snapped back into her, like a recoiling measuring tape. Then, the
peculiar sensation was gone. No more heat. No more colors. She looked at her
hands in a mixture of awe and disgust.
What was that? she asked herself.
She didn't know,
but she was glad it was over.
A few short
seconds later, Amber opened her eyes. Her face so pale her freckles looked
three dimensional and her icy blue eyes were even more clear than usual.
Buy links:
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Underground-Rose-Sara-Burr-ebook/dp/B00SILJ5P4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422166576&sr=8-1&keywords=Underground+Rose
Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/underground-rose-sara-burr/1121090605?ean=2940150267275
About the author:
Sara has been entranced by the written word for as long as
she can remember. The daughter of a school teacher, she fell in love with books
as soon as she could read them. She wrote her very first story, about a girl
who ran away and hid in her cousin’s lilac bush, when she was just eleven.
Although her stories have grown more complicated and less petulant since then,
Sara still loves to entertain kids with her words.
When she isn’t writing, Sara has a big family to keep her
busy: a husband who is her other half, and four children who are wonderfully
individual. They live next to a beautiful lake in a tiny town with no street
lights. Sara spends lots of time taking care of little superheroes. She likes
to camp with her family, enjoys traveling, and hopes to see the Northern Lights
someday.
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