SUMMARY: Veya of Farin's entire world is about to be flipped on its head. Not only does she have untapped powers that she doesn't understand, but a not-so-imaginary best friend, Wik, who tries at every turn to throw her into the fray and coax out her sleeping abilities. After an evil scientist's minions attack her hometown of Farin, Veya and Wik set out on a journey of revenge and self-discovery. Problem is, Veya can be her own worst enemy, short-tempered and stubborn. Will she discover the power inside and survive Wik's mischievous ways long enough to defeat the Scientist and the evil that lurks?

FIRST CHAPTER:

"Gods bless, Gotwin. . . that wrinkled old hag of a nurse better be running her ashy ass over here pronto," Shea said, hobbling to the bed.

After tumbling through the front door, Gotwin was breathing heavily, trying to catch a breath. "About that-"

He took a sharp inhale to prepare himself for the next words. "-Gretchen won't budge; she's too terrified of the moons crossing. Hell, Hew tried to club my head off, throwing furniture and anything he could find just to get me to leave."

He wiped some loose debris from his shirt and took a seat next to Shea. Gotwin did his best to speak in a calm, loving tone. "It looks like we'll have to do this ourselves, Love."

Despite the labor pangs, Shea yanked Gotwin by the collar of his flannel shirt. "Do this ourselves? Do this ourselves?! Are you freaking kidding me? What do we know about delivering a baby, Gotwin?"

She released him, grabbed the candle from the bedside table, and chucked it across the room. The flame went out when the candle hit the exposed brick wall, leaving a splash of hot wax to solidify like ice over the cold mortar.

"The fire-breathing shitstorm coming her way when this is all over. . . Gretchen will rue the day. Rue it, I swear!"

"Shea-" Gotwin started.

"What?"

Gotwin pressed his forehead to Shea's, clasped her shaking hands with his steady ones, and kissed her.

Slowly, her anger cooled. He propped and fluffed some pillows behind Shea as she-still slightly red in the face, though more from effort than from anger-nestled in as best she could.

"No one knows what the lunar eclipse means or what it may bring. There won't be anyone out tonight. We'll have to do this, together."

Shea shifted as she tried to find a comfortable position. The baby was coming. A fluffed pillow or two wouldn't stop that from happening. "I don't like this," she gasped, "not one bit."

Shea's breaths grew shorter as the time of the baby's arrival drew ever nearer. She grabbed Gotwin's hand and squeezed tight, their clenched hands as white as the wax on the wall.

"It's not ideal, but I've got you, Love." Gotwin wiped her forehead with a cool rag. "Breathe, Love. Breathe."

Shea gripped Gotwin's hand like she meant to break it.

Summoning up all his grit, he put on an awkward smile and continued to breathe in sync with her.

An unfamiliar rumble reverberated through the walls. Gotwin lifted his eyes to the nearest window and peered outside into the moonlit night.

Everything looked normal, or at least as normal as a night wielding an ominous eclipse could be. Every window was dark, with hardly a candle burning in sight, nothing was amiss. Were it not for the sounds of Shea's labor, and the pain in his hand, Gotwin might have been entranced by the serenity of the night's spell.

At the far edge of Farin's main road, Gotwin spotted what appeared to be a mass of clouds flowing unnaturally over the surrounding hills and valleys. "What the. . ." he muttered, his voice drowned out by Shea's scream.

The clouds were unlike any he'd ever seen before, like pure darkness enveloping the land. Not even the light from the moons reflected off its surface.

What in the world eats light like that?