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The War Between
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A
country destroyed by war. Only two cities have been known to survive, sprung up
around the last remaining resources. One is inhabited by humans. The other, as
a way to pacify and preserve peace, belong to the superhumans – beings similar
in appearance, but in possession of abilities and gifts both strange and
terrifying. Years of mutual hatred and fear has brought them to the brink of
war. Syra and Draiken, the leaders of the superhuman city, are at odds.
Tensions are rising, and with the arrival of a strange superhuman girl with
unique and powerful abilities, and a human soldier claiming to have saved her
life, the peace of both cities are about to shatter.
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Book Extract
Every day more
desperate citizens arrived at the store with hollowed, pleading eyes. I
couldn’t help all of them and so I started a system – I would make sure that
everyone who asked got an extra ration, but this could take weeks as I tried to
keep Everton ignorant and myself safe from the stocks.
Something had
gone wrong though. I arrived at work to find two soldiers waiting for me.
Without a word they moved me inside and sat me down. They loomed over me
silently, circling like hunters, eyes sweeping over me as if waiting for me to
start wailing my confession. I kept my mouth shut, folding my arms tightly
across my body like armour. The silence in the room stretched on and on, the only
sound our mingled breaths and the crunching of the soldier’s boots across the
shop floor.
Finally Everton
broke. ‘Is this your idea of an interrogation?’
One of the
soldiers shot Everton a look of pure contempt. ‘Why don’t you go move packages
around in your storeroom or whatever it is you do? And let us get on with our
jobs.’
Everton sniffed
and shuffled away without argument. Once the door to the storeroom had closed
behind him, the youngest solider turned to me. ‘Right. We have better things to
do than spend all day questioning you, so I’m going to ask you the obvious one
– are you stealing from Everton?’ He asked this while pretending to adjust his
jacket, moving it in such a way that I got a clear view of the gun holstered at
his hip. The other soldier casually pulled up a chair next to mine, leaning
close, the blatant threat in his eyes sending a rush of dread through me.
‘No…’ Damn it.
My voice was too high. I cleared my throat and looked him in the eye. ‘No, I’m
not stealing from him. Why would I? My parents are government officials. We
have enough.’
The seated one
leaned even closer, his stale breath sweeping over my face. ‘There’s never
enough in this city, girl. You could be stealing on behalf of someone. You sure
you don’t want to change your answer?’ A knife appeared from the depths of his
jacket, the light catching its blade.
Panic beat
violently in my chest, battering against my heart. My control was slipping.
Heat flashed through me like a moving flame. My fingers tingled with the force
of the blood rushing through them. I tried to catch it before it happened, but
it pushed out of me with a force that left me dazed and breathless. The knife
clattered to the floor. The gun strapped around the other soldier’s waist
seemed to unclasp itself from its holster and fell almost in unison with the
knife, both skittering out of reach. Before either of them could react, I gave
a hard push and, from the way their eyes remained fastened on the chair I’d
been sitting in, I could tell they thought I was still there. They were seeing
what I wanted them to see – a slip in reality, an image I had put up like a
smoke screen. I rose, my fear threatening to spill over. I was shaking with the
effort of keeping the illusion in place. I yanked the door open, knowing the
moment it closed behind me, the image would dissolve and they would realise I
was no longer there.
Where Can I Buy This Fabulous Book?
About the author
Jennifer Withers has
been writing since she was seven years old, banging out stories about dragons
and damsels in distress on an ancient typewriter. She went on to earn a BA in
English Studies at the University of Pretoria. Since then, she has taken
writing courses through Writer’s Write, and Allaboutwriting. Jennifer lives in
Pretoria, with her husband, two dogs, and an ageing cat. The War Between is her first novel.
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