Amortalis

By Solomon Bagos Hood

Ah, yes, those innocent years. As swords clash, and a rainbow of blood from creatures, innocent and guilty, paints the ground, I see myself, fighting others, and fighting the demon in front of me. And soon, I am knocked to the ground, staring into that face of a crone I once thought was beautiful. The witchin actions, not in birth, powers, et ceteraolder than I once apprehended, said something, probably something satirical on my behalf, and laid her sword on one side of my neck. I awaited the meeting of my Maker, if that was the afterlife for a soul so damaged as mine. I closed my eyes, hearing that hag cackle to herself, and I reminisced on my whole life in a matter of seconds.

Angels, Demons, Mermaids, Werewolves, Genies, Dragons, Vampyres, Faeries, Harpies, Wizards, Witches, and Wraiths, all in one novel? (I know, right?) Add a seventeen-year-olds coming of age and you have one jam-packed, war-filled story. Lee wakes up years later after a weird transformation and voices in his head trying to guide him. He finds that humanity is a state of mind in the demon-created world he now is a part of and his family and friends are not what they seemed. This is not your normal high school fantasy tale in Amortalis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 19, 2010
• ISBN: 9781465315540

Solomon Bagos Hood

Solomon Bagos Hood is a young, mighty warrior living in the fantasy world of Northern California. He lives with his parents, brother, sister, and fearsome pet cat, Tiger. His writing spark began in fourth grade and he hopes to continue his writing with his new book Oracle.

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Copyright © 2010 by Solomon Bagos Hood.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

80165

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Epilogue

Author’s Note

This book is for all the people who helped by inspiring the characters in this book, and for (sorry) those I could not find a place for in my book, especially Val Marchione, my editor-in-chief, and Michelle Legoullon, who showed me the ropes.

Chapter 1

Elementary Magic

Ah, yes, those innocent years. As swords clash, and a rainbow of blood from creatures, innocent and guilty, paints the ground, I see myself, fighting others, and fighting the demon in front of me. And soon, I am knocked to the ground, staring into that face of a crone I once thought was beautiful. The witch—in actions, not in birth, powers, et cetera—older than I once apprehended, said something, probably something satirical on my behalf, and laid her sword on one side of my neck. I awaited the meeting of my Maker, if that was the afterlife for a soul so damaged as mine. I closed my eyes, hearing that hag cackle to herself, and I reminisced on my whole life in a matter of seconds.

It was a new school year. Lee stood at the back of the line hoping that he could sit in the back of the room. His fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Johnson, was a new teacher from Tennessee. She smiled as she let them in the classroom, but stopped when she found that none of the students even looked at her.

Class, today I’d like to introduce the new students, drawled Mrs. Johnson. Lee, even though he was called a nerd, had almost tuned the teacher out while reading a book under his desk until the girl next to him caught his eye. She was shaking nervously in her purple sweater as she eyed Lee through her red hair. He could see the frames of purple glasses with sparkles, and her piercing green eyes through her blonde hair. He saw her blush when he looked before he looked away, failing to see the disappointed look on her face.

Mrs. Johnson was busy introducing other students and assigning a classmate to show them around. Finally she called on the shy girl next to Lee. He sniffed his white shirt just in case it smelled. The girl shook her head, but Mrs. Johnson, in her southern drawl, told her it was okay. She stood up, still shaking and she said, in a quiet voice, My name’s Lilly Thabye. She sat down and hid in her hair again.

Lee, would you like to show her around? Mrs. Johnson looked intently at Lee.

Uh, sure, okay, Lee felt as shy and uncomfortable as Lilly appeared. Mrs. Johnson lined them up outside and excused them to recess. Lee and Lilly still stood there and Lee played with his fingers.

You know, Lilly said quietly after a couple seconds, If you don’t wanna show me around, it’s okay. I know where everything is and I’m used to it.

No, it’s fine. I want to. Her face lit up. They started to walk toward the playground, but Lee stopped suddenly. Hold on. Are you near-sighted or far-sighted?

Near-sighted. Why?

You’ll see. Lee pulled off her glasses gently. Her green eyes were more noticeable and she smiled. He showed her to the playground. When they arrived, they both stood there, fidgeting and looking around. Lee spoke up saying, Do you wanna go to the library?

Okay.

Lee turned the corner and led her to the library. The sickly looking librarian slept at his desk as Lee and Lilly passed. He led her to the Fantasy section. He pulled out a book for her called Vampyre Love and he found himself a book called Lycanthropes vs. Vampyres. As they read at a table, Lilly slid her hand into Lee’s. He looked at her, and they both blushed.

Every day, Lee and Lilly went to the library to read. The two were best friends, and each was the only friend for the other. On December 14th, Lee turned 9 and Lilly and her parents, Nick and Jennifer, were the only attendees. On January 13th, Lilly turned 9 and Lee and his parents, Kale and Abby Canary, were the only attendees. Their year was spent solely and peacefully together until the day before last of school.

Lee and Lilly stepped into the library. There was a substitute instead of the normal librarian and the sub had bags under his eyes as he stared fixedly at the two. Lee and Lilly had read all of the fantasy books in the library and were looking through the shelves to see if they had missed any. Lee came across a new book that was leather bound but in surprisingly prime condition. He pulled it out to show Lilly the title, Bonian. The tired-looking sub angrily pointed them out and shut the door behind them. Lee and Lilly sat on the bench beside the door and opened the book. The first few pages were blank. After skipping a couple pages, a full-color werewolf filled two pages. On the next two pages, a vampire filled the pages. On the next opening, a neon green dragon illuminated the page and reflected on their faces. The next few pages frustrated Lee as he turned blank pages. The last page said to read aloud. Lee read,

Veni Demoni Lycanthropus; Veni Demoni Vampyros; Veni Demoni Draconis.

Suddenly, an earthquake started. The seismograph the school put up said 9.5. The book fell from Lee’s hand and it rolled through the library door that had opened in the quake. The tired looking librarian rushed out the back door and failed to witness the book floating to its place on the shelf.

The ground cracked from the middle of Lee and Lilly’s bench right down the middle of the school. The crack split the bench, separating Lee and Lilly, and she grasped his hand. On the left side of the fissure, a billowing cloud of moon silver mist appeared, and from it emerged a lycanthrope. On the right, a pillar of blood red mist materialized, and from it a vampyre surfaced. Right down the middle of the fissure, a fog of jade green mist came into view; a dragon was born from it. All the students fled the playground and onto the street, following the teachers elsewhere. Lee and Lilly were left there with the three monsters. The werewolf ran to Lee,