The Deception: Island of Blood, #1

By S.K. Way

Fans of 1984, The Hunger Games, and The Giver, gather 'round for the all-new trilogy: The Island of Blood

Iris awakens to an unfamiliar world, her memory erased. The ruthless ruling party, known as The Committee, has brought her and five others to the island in search of a successor to the fallen Committee member. Stranded on island surrounded by an impenetrable barrier, Iris has no choice but to follow The Committee and accept their word of her history. But as the challenges progress, she begins to doubt everything she has been taught. Secrets lurk in the shadows, some of which better left unnoticed. 
The Bookkeeper isn't as cruel as she seems. She doesn't agree with the rest of The Committee's ways, but siding with the contestants means betraying her friends. Will she have the courage to stand up to them? Or will she follow in the shadows, watching silently as they go down a path on which there is no return?
The Dictator has only one goal: to avenge the death of her boyfriend, Herman. However, his passing wasn't peaceful- it was murder, by the hands of a clueless Iris. How far will The Dictator's wrath take her in exchange for revenge?

The first book of this trilogy will have you devouring the pages to see what happens next!

• Language: English
• Publisher: S.K. Way
• Release date: Jul 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393166658

Book preview

To all the amazing people

who gave us the characters for this story

To our amazing parents

And to our wonderful teachers

Iris

I awake with a jolt and find my arms and legs bound to a chair. I have a single memory: my first name. Iris. I don’t know my last name, or if I even have one. I know one more thing: how to scream. I don’t know why I scream, but I do. I scream as much as I can until it hurts. It feels like something is crawling, scratching, and breaking me from the inside. 

A few flickering torches give me a hint of my surroundings. Dark stone walls trap me, likely beneath the ground. But the floor looks man-made, glistening with a royal purple color. It looks like I’m in a horrific castle.

Searing pain envelops my body as I struggle to break free. I gasp as the rope cuts deep into my raw skin, burning my flesh. 

I sigh and abandon my efforts. If I want to get out, my best bet is to wait for whomever locked me here in the first place. I stare at blazing torches, thinking. If only they were close enough for me to grab one and burn these bonds.

As the minutes pass, silence is my only companion. I close my eyes patiently, knowing that when they come, I’ll be ready. I give in to the exhaustion slowly overwhelming my body, slouching in the uncomfortable chair. And I finally get some relief. 

I see black. Only black. A part of me wants to stay in this inky darkness forever. There is no pain, no terror, no fear in this empty place. But I know I have to get out. 

I feel eyes burning into the back of my head. I resist the urge to tense up and instead feint sleep. Once I feel the person's breath on my cheek, I open my eyes, smirking. She jumps back, startled. She glares fiercely at me, furious at the trick. I bite my lip, slowly beginning to regret my mischievousness. Her stern expression tells me not to mess with her. As I continue to look her over curiously, I judge my odds of escape. They seem pretty low.

Wavy black hair flows down the woman’s back, blending into a blood red color the further down it goes. On her wrist, there’s a glowing bracelet which looks to be made of rubies and black obsidian. 

The woman’s crown matches her bracelet but has a golden outer rim. It looks to be made of large ruby shards, flawless save for the unusual gap on the right side. Her dress is gold with silver close-knitted patterns towards the bottom. The back of her dress trails behind her like a shining river of gold. It’s the fanciest outfit I’ve ever seen. Now that I think about it, it’s the only outfit I’ve ever seen. 

The woman would be beautiful were it not for the obvious hatred in her empty eyes. Black holes of anger stared at me, but rather than cowering, my eyes met hers as I noticed a flicker of red on their empty canvas. She looks to be in her twenties, so the use of the cane she is leaning on piqued my interest. The cane is black with a golden trail of spikes that spiral down around it, along with a giant red gem on the handle.

Her bitter voice snaps me out of my thoughts. Are you finished with all of your nonsense? I don’t have all day and we have somewhere to be. I realize I’ve been staring at her for quite a few minutes. Her harsh tone scares me just a little. What does she have against me? It must be something bad, considering that she locked me in a cellar for hours on end. I nod compliantly, once more judging my chances of escape. 

It’s too early to tell, but I have a feeling that this lady probably has some dark intentions of her own. I just hope they don’t concern me. Good. I’m going to untie you. You will get off this chair and put on the dress that I will give you. Then you will come and meet me in the hallway. Don’t mess around or there will be major consequences. Do exactly as I tell you. Am I clear? I nod again. She gives a smug, satisfied smile and taps her cane on the ground. My bindings instantly fall off. Before I can ask her about the dress, she leaves without a second glance; the door closing after her with a loud thud.

Behind the chair is a little white cabinet. It’s the only thing in the room. I’m shocked that I didn’t notice it before. Something so bright should’ve stood out in this musty old place. I wonder... could it have appeared when my bindings came off?

I walk over to inspect the cabinet, curious. I open one the top compartment and find it empty. Dread starts to pool in my stomach. I move on to the other compartment. Nothing. I must have missed part of her instructions.

I’m debating about whether to go tell the woman that there is no dress, when my eyes fall on a tiny brown ball on top of the cabinet. This can’t be it, could it? The ball is the size of a marble with a small crack in it. As I reach over to pick it up, my fingernail accidently digs into the small crack. I feel a twinge of pain as my fingernail breaks in the crack, but quickly forget about it.

The ball vanishes, shrinking while the contents of its outer shell are turned to dust. I cough as the particles fly around in the air. When the puffs of smoke finally clear up, a dress rests on the cabinet. Even though I don’t have much to go off of, I can tell it was exquisite. It appears to be made of large flower petals. Some are green, some are brown. I love it instantly. 

Once I finish dressing, I climb up the stairs, and am greeted by a lengthy hallway. The woman stands there, her back toward me, looking deep in thought. I watch as she turns something in her hands, inspecting it. I catch a glimpse of the object, almost gasping. A knife. She slowly touches a hand to her crown, then touches the knife again, taking a deep breath. 

She perks up when she hears my footsteps, whipping around and hiding the knife behind her back. Turn around, and don’t look back until I tell you to! She says this quickly, with narrowed eyes that stare furiously at me. Her eyes turn from brown to red immediately. 

O-okay. I turn around, my voice shaky. I hear the clicking of metal and the rustling of the woman’s dress.

After a minute, her voice echoes again. You can turn around now. 

I turn back around. She’s not holding the knife anymore, and she makes no comment about it. She sends me a glare, daring me to question her motives. I bite my lips and watch her eyes turn back to a subtle shade of brown. Follow me. 

As we step outside of the building, it looks to be almost nighttime, judging from the sun slowly slipping below the horizon. A misty dome covers the sky, and I hear the lapping of waves against the shore in the distance. As I walk, I notice a variety of creatures and plants ranging across the vast landscape. Some of the animals back away, intimidated, while others come closer to get a better look at the two humans. I feel as though they’re all staring right through me. I want to inspect them, learn about them, discover more about this strange new place I’m in. Maybe then I’ll be able to find a way to leave it.

Five mounting buildings and a palace loom in front of us, standing out among the greenery. I look back to the place where this all began. For such a significant building, it seems almost disappointing compared to the palace. The black, purple, and blue shades of it melt with the darkening sky, while the palace glistens brightly. The other buildings range in color, like a rainbow on a black canvas. 

I said follow me, not stop and stare! The woman’s voice makes me jump.

I hurry to the woman to avoid her wrath, trying to stay focused while we continue walking.  As hard as I try, I can’t help my eyes from falling back on the enormous palace. It’s red, black, and gold, matching the woman’s outfit. Large, obsidian black pillars shimmer in the sunset, supporting a pearl white frame. Ruby red gems coat the sparkling roof.

She sees me staring. That is my palace. You will stay there like everyone else. Do not go out unless I tell you to.

I look at her and tilt my head. Who’s everyone else? She doesn’t answer. Instead, she just leads me inside.

A blinding brightness burns my eyes when I step over the threshold. A coating of gold, red, and black covers the circular room. Glowing golden walls are supported by red columns dotting the room.  Portraits in black frames line the walls. A towering embroidered ceiling stretches above me, the patterns mere specks from the ground. Six colossal doors lead elsewhere. 

Inside the room, I count nine people and six thrones. Four of the six thrones are filled with occupants dressed like royalty. The five other people not on thrones are dressed similar to me, the ladies in gowns and the men wearing suits, all looking formal, but nothing compared to the women on thrones. 

As my chaperon starts forward, her heels click loudly on the ground, and I feel numerous pairs of eyes on us. Unfazed, the woman takes her place on the throne, glaring down at her subjects. I notice two of the ladies on thrones who barely seemed to acknowledge the presence of their leader. A pen scritches on paper as one of them draws skillful strokes. A crinkle of a page snaps my attention to the other woman as her gaze scans the book. She has lengthy silver hair that spreads into a shining puddle across the gleaming floor. Her skin is pale ivory, albeit for the lavender tattoos running along her arms. She’s wearing a starch white dress that reaches her ankles and compliments her glistening hair. Despite her silver tresses, the woman has a youthful appearance. The artist has on a blue dress with black and white highlights, the combination flowing beautifully. Her blonde hair is styled to look like a pair of horns, the tip of each holding a dangling crescent moon.

My eyes scan the remaining thrones. Only one was empty, located at the far left. Each throne appeared to have a symbol above it, but my memory failed me when I tried to think of their meanings.

My guide coughs as if to silence the room, despite the lack of noise. I roll my eyes in response and earn myself another glare from her. She takes in a deep breath and begins her speech. Now that we are all here, you’re probably wondering what is going on. I will explain all things in good time, so please hold any questions until the end. She pauses to watch our responses. The wait is killing me, and it shows on my face. After a dramatic silence, she continues. All of you are the first inhabitants of this world. She gestures toward her seated companions. We are the creators of this world and your new leaders. Show us respect and there will be no problems. Treat us rudely and there will be consequences. Her eyes fall on me and I struggle to maintain an indifferent expression. We each have a house, along with an animal mascot. As you may have noticed, we also have specific colors and symbols dedicated to our houses. Each of you belongs in the house of the person who brought you here. She gestures to the empty throne. This was the throne of The Advisor. Wild animals killed her some time ago. I’m appalled by the lack of sympathy in the woman’s voice. But before I can wonder why she’s so blunt, her next words catch me off guard. "Each of you here will compete to take her

Reviews for The Deception

[Linette Taylor · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Disclaimer: I read this book as part of an author review exchange and am offering my honest review.

As someone who doesn't usually like stories with a strong magical element, I really enjoyed this one. The Deception is an intriguing dystopian novel with a plot that keeps you asking questions the whole time. Every time one question is answered, a new one pops up.

The narrator's voice starts off a little rocky, hence why I gave this book only four stars, but it quickly develops into a voice that is both consistent and interesting. The authors differentiate well between the three narrators of the story; I never felt as though they blended together in a messy way. Each of these narrators are well-developed and sympathetic characters with a lot of depth.

Overall, The Deception is a great read, and I'm impressed to read something so complex by writers so young. If you're looking for the fantasy version of Black Mirror, this is the book for you. I'm anxiously awaiting book two to have the rest of my questions answered!