G'vonni Avner
Palatinii Cycle
The Adventure Begins
First published by Brickington Publishing 2020
Copyright © 2020 by G'vonni Avner
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmittedin any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise withoutwritten permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distributeit by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it arethe work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localitiesis entirely coincidental.
G'vonni Avner asserts the moral right to be identified asthe author of this work.
For more information about publishing and rights, please email us at [email protected] or visit us at Brickington.com
First edition
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Contents
Acknowledgement
Tag, You’re It
1. A Visit from the Past
2. The Queen’s Plan
3. Water, Pie, and a Whole New World
4. Graduation Day
5. Cyrus Padrigian
6. The Jungle of Eden
7. The Father of Channeler Serena
8. Of Dark Deeds and Fairy Tales
9. Voices of the Shrine
10. The Treasure Down Below
11. A Memory Unforgotten
12. The Pillars of Dusk
13. On the Edge of the Equire Plains
14. The Queen Rising
15. The Crossing
16. The Fountain of Chance
17. The Jade
18. Dawn Ascending
19. The City of Oasi
20. A Meeting with the Council
21. The Dolphin of Alaysia
22. Attack on Oasi
23. The Banishment
24. The Shadow of the Universe
Bonus Chapter
Are You a Writer?
Acknowledgement
To all those in Florida who helped me get through the first part of writing this book. You know who you are.
Tag, You’re It
It was early July, meaning summer had just started. The sky was partially cloudy, but the sun had dodged the clouds and was shining magnificently down on the street. The elementary school of Silverlake had ended three days ago.
The street was long and curved out of sight. It was relatively quiet with only the occasional car passing by. The houses were lined in a row, one upon another, each complete with a small front yard.
It was one of those neighborhoods in which every child would grow up alongside each other until the day came when it was time for them to lead their own lives. The once young neighborhood, full of new parents, would turn into a home of the elderly.
A small group of children was playing tag in the streets. Each of them was around the age of seven. Two of them were hiding behind a parked car. The eldest had dark features with an especially noticeable tan that would no doubt get darker as she grew up. The younger had angelic features of both pale skin and hair. She was in fits of silent laughter as she and her friend watched a young boy who was walking on the other side of the street, looking for them. Her name was Katie Dimes.
Katie’s eyes were on her friend, Sabrina, when she whispered, “Do you think he’ll ever find us?” Her curls were reflecting the sunlight, shimmering as the wind passed gently through it.
“I don’t know,” replied Sabrina, a subtle contemptuous look on her face. “He probably won’t ever find us. He’s stupid.” Her brown eyes narrowed as she watched Tyson search under the cars on the other side of the street.
“He isn’t stupid,” Katie said indignantly.
“Whatever you say, Katie. He’s your friend, not mine,” Sabrina replied. “I never liked him. I don’t know why you like him. We are much smarter and stronger.” Katie didn’t reply.
Tyson Everties had pinstraight brown hair that was long enough to obscure his vision if he didn’t purposely flip it away from his face. He held his hair back from his face as he looked under another car and spotted two pairs of feet on the other side of the street. Having found his target, Tyson smiled and snuck behind some larger cars.
Sabrina returned her gaze to Tyson. Her eyes widened when she noticed that Tyson’s feet were no longer to visible.
“Where did he go?” she asked in a hushed tone.
There were a few seconds of breathless suspense before – “Tag, you’re it!”
Tyson had successfully snuck up on the two girls and caught them by surprise. The sound of their playful laughter could be heard for a moment until it was replaced by Sabrina’s scream.
“What’s wrong, Sabrina?” Katie asked. “It’s a game! Now it’s your turn to find us!” She said with a playful smile. Her smile quickly faded when she saw Sabrina’s face glow red.
“No, I won’t play if I’m it!” Sabrina shouted. A few cars drove by, unaware of the three children.
“But that’s the point! You hide and if you get tagged, it’s your turn, and you have to tag someone else,” Katie explained, her face now showing signs of annoyance. “That’s how we’ve always played!”
“I won’t!” Sabrina said with such a tone of authority that she seemed to believe herself a queen, though others would call her a brat. In Sabrina’s world, she was in command, and she always got what she wanted.
“But you have to!” yelled Katie.
“No, Katie, I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do,” Sabrina was shaking with rage. She tried to control herself, but with little success. Tyson was standing behind Katie, who was kneeling in front of Sabrina.
There was a slight breeze. Sabrina’s eyes were slowly turning red, and her hair was turning darker and darker by the second until it looked jet-black.
