Awakening by Catrina Burgess

Awakening (The Dark Rituals #1)
by Catrina Burgess
Release Date: October 7th 2015
Full Fathom Five Digital

Summary from Goodreads:

In Awakening, the first installment in the Dark Rituals series, a former healer turns to the Death Arts to seek revenge.

Seventeen-year-old Colina was born a healer. But after a horrific event forces her to leave her clan, she becomes desperate to learn the dark magic of the death dealers, mages who draw their power from the spirits of the dead. Colina was taught to fear and hate death dealers, but becoming one of them is the only way for her to get the revenge she seeks—and the only way for her to survive.

Colina asks a young death dealer named Luke to help her, but he’s reluctant to train her in the Death Arts. Little does she know convincing him to teach her will be the easiest part of her journey. To become a death dealer, Colina will need to undergo three dark rituals, each more terrifying than the last. At the same time, she’ll have to deal with her growing feelings for her mentor. Too bad the first ritual involves him strangling her to death.

As Colina undergoes the trials, she discovers an untapped darkness within herself. If she survives the horrific rituals and gains dark power, what will she become?

Catrina Burgess’ Dark Rituals series originally appeared on Wattpad with over three million reads. Awakening is the first book of four and was named Wattpad’s Best Suspense Story of 2014. 

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Excerpt

“Ready?” Luke asked. 

No. I would never be ready to be possessed by spirits. But we were here, and I was committed. Or should be committed, I thought wryly. This was crazy. I took a deep breath. “Let’s do it.” Goddess protect me. I said a prayer under my breath. 

He walked over and picked up a leather-bound book. He flipped it open and looked at me.  “Here we go.” He started to read from the book. Latin flew from his mouth. 

I recognized some of the words—I’d been given some lessons in Latin, but had forgotten most of them. And yet, words seemed to whisper in the corner of my memory. 

“Animus,” Luke said the word for spirit. He raised his arms and shouted out, “Ex vita abire!” That was something about death. As the last word left his lips, a light began to form by the window. 

At first I thought it was a trick of the eye—perhaps the shadows from the candles flickering against the ceiling and the floor. But these shadows were moving independently. They were coming at me. I didn’t bother to stifle my horrified scream as the shadows stretched out and rushed toward me. 

I was drowning. It felt like my mind was being sucked down into a whirlpool of darkness. The worst part, I suddenly realized, was that I was not alone. There was something there in the darkness with me. I could feel its presence. It was close, watching and waiting. I tried pushing myself to the surface of consciousness, and for a brief moment I broke free and felt myself rising up. 

Then something grabbed me and started to pull me back down. I kicked and struggled to no avail. The grip of whatever held me was too strong. 

Then all movement stopped, and I found myself in a small, gray place. I could no longer feel my body, but I could hear voices. My ears strained to make sense of the words. 

The conversation was garbled at first, but then it became clearer. I realized in horror that it was my voice speaking. But then again it wasn’t my voice—it didn’t sound like me at all. There was sound coming from my lips, but only because something had possession of my body, possession over my lips and vocal cords. At this realization, I felt myself fall further into the oblivion. 

“Good evening, death dealer.”

About the Author

I’ve been known to eat pizza and cold Chinese food for breakfast, and I’m the queen of the board game Stratego. I’ve never been beaten. NEVER!

You can find me online at: 

Wattpad // catrinaburgess 

Website // http://www.catrinaburgess.com/

Owner/Operator Romance Junkies // http://www.romancejunkies.com I write because it helps keeps the darkness away and reminds me that there is magic in the world. I live with one husband, two dogs, and a cat named Shitty Kitty in a small mining town in Arizona. At night this place is definitely spooky. I swear I’ve heard the wind giggle, and sometimes there’s a very odd breeze. Luckily, I love all things that go bump in the night. I adore old movies. I’m a huge Joss Whedon fan.

RJ Blog // http://www.romancejunkies.com/rjblog/ // @RJBookReviews

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