Hello everyone and welcome to my stop on the Escapist Book Co. virtual book tour for D. Alexander’s Dark Coming of Age Fantasy novel The Memoirs of Elikai: The Children of the Solstice! Today, I am excited to help close out the tour by sharing an excerpt from the book to further whet your appetites!
You can find the excerpt below, along with all of the info about the book, the author, and links to purchase a copy of The Memoirs of Elikai: The Children of the Solstice for yourself! Also, be sure to take a look at the schedule here or at the top of the post and follow along to see the stops from our other awesome hosts!
Book Information:
The Memoirs of Elikai: The Children of the Solstice by D. Alexander
Series: The Memoirs of Elikai
Genre: Dark Coming of Age Fantasy
Intended Age Group: 15+
Pages: 330
Published: June 8, 2018
Publisher: Self Published
Blurb
“The Fall of Free Will begins at sundown. The Generals of Destiny will rise at the height of the Winter Solstice. Come, King of Free Will, to the place where you allowed true love to perish and bear witness to the end of Free Will.”
Danny Elikai is a teenage boy who lost his family in a devastating car accident. He finds himself in a swirling depression in the mystical city of Grenoff as horrific events begin to unfold. He learns of an ancient conflict between the two philosophies that seek to rule humanity: the individual liberties of Free Will and the predetermined peace guaranteed by Destiny. The agents of Destiny have risen and threatened life as we know it. Danny must choose to find the King of Light and fight for Free Will or leave humanity to the iron grip of the Emperor of Darkness. The Final War is coming, and soon we will need to pick a side. Will you fight for the freedom of choice offered by Free Will or the harmony promised by Destiny?
Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Memoirs-Elikai-Children-Solstice/dp/1523215941
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/70097438-the-memoirs-of-elikai
Excerpt
Chapter II
The Broken
~Danny Elikai~
The pounding of my fists echoed through the darkness. I watched as my blood smeared on the invisible barrier that kept me from the Door of Light. I could not face this nightmare again. I screamed at the barrier as the door began to be consumed by the icy darkness. I felt the horrors that waited behind me, and I knelt before the light. I pleaded with it, I begged it, but it could not hear my pleas, or it chose to ignore them. It knew as I did that this was where I belonged, destined to an eternity of misery in the unimaginably icy remains of this fortress.
“Please, don’t leave me here!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. My breath made white puffs of warm air that sank to the cold stone ground of the small, claustrophobic room. The Door of Light shuddered as its light was consumed by the suffocating darkness, and with a wink, it left me alone in ice-cold desolation. The darkness crept upon me, curling around me like wisps of cold black smoke. I huddled around myself to try and stay warm, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts. I rubbed my palms together as the fire ignited in my hands to give a small flame, a pinpoint of warmth. I was trapped, alone in my own personal nightmare.
I let my fire warm me enough until I was able to turn around and face a small opening in the stone wall. I knew where this small room would lead me. My bare feet dragged along the stone floor, the immense weight of dread slowing my movements in response to the nightmare below. I had to duck my head as I left the small room, my hair brushing against the ceiling. I moved a few yards into the next room, seeing nothing but pitch darkness around me and the small flame in my palm.
I approached the descending grand stone staircase; the smell of blood engulfing my senses as hushed whimpers from below broke the silence. They were the whispers of the damned, those who had been left in the frigid desolation to suffer. The fire was the only light in the darkness as it washed over me. I knew that even the fire in my veins would eventually burn out, so with a terrified breath, I continued to the edge.
I slowly descended the steps and felt the warmth of fresh blood under my bare feet. I could feel the cracks in the stone steps of this ancient grand staircase. My light wasn’t bright enough to penetrate down the steps, the steps that I had walked down every night in this relentless nightmare. I carefully crept down to prevent slipping into the mangled bodies waiting for me at the bottom.
I could feel my warden calling out to me in the darkness as he waited in his throne room. Danny… I felt the whispering voices fall silent in response to his icy words. Come to me…
The cold stabbed at my exposed chest, and I continued to descend. The fire in my hand grew dimmer as if it were beginning to be suffocated by the sorrow, guilt, hatred, and misery that echoed in the darkness below. The smell of rotting meat assaulted my senses as I crept closer to the bottom.
When I reached the final step, an expansive hallway stretched before me with giant spiraling pillars supporting the high stone ceiling. I raised my hands as the fire illuminated the darkness around me, and I saw them, the innumerable souls, suffering and forgotten. They writhed on each other, their bodies mutilated and bloody as their agony echoed off the stone walls, and their purpose was clear. His words echoed in my mind; They must suffer for you to continue…
The horror and repulsion made me close my eyes, and I took a deep breath. The only way to continue was to burn them to ashes. I raised the ball of fire in front of me and commanded it to reduce their mutilated bodies to ash.
Their screams and torment weakened me as I fell back onto the stone steps behind me. The inferno engulfed the cavern of these tortured souls, but it provided no warmth to me. I felt the cold overcome me while my fire raged. I watched for hours as their bodies melted, disintegrating until nothing remained except for the rancid smell. The last scream continued to echo in my mind. I could barely move; my fingers were stiff, and my body was violently shaking.
I reached out to the small embers in the ashes, feeling the charred bones. I watched as the small fire removed itself from the ashes of the victims, and slowly returned to my palm. I held the small flame and breathed icy life back into it. The fire roared, consuming my hands and returning the heat to my soul.
I got to my shaking feet and proceeded through the ashes of the countless bodies I had just scorched. Their remains came up to my knees, and I felt bones crumble and snap under my feet as I made my way down the hallway. I wanted to vomit, to scream and run back up the stairs, but that would only make it worse.
I walked through an opening at the end of the hallway, and I stepped out of the ashes into a vast room with ceilings so high that the darkness kept them from prying eyes. I could feel more souls everywhere, the fire drawing them closer to me. The fire, the only light in the darkness, would call them, those lost in this nightmare.
A pair of large, beautifully carved stone doors loomed in front of me. I raised the ball of fire high into the air, and focused the remaining strength I had into it. The fire breathed and flexed as it formed a small sun, giving light to the entire enclosure. I couldn’t help myself as I turned around, taking in the scene around me.
Thousands of souls were curled up in the fetal position, whimpering the names of those who could not comfort them anymore. They were all as pale as snow, their skin translucent, and I could see the blood on the stone floor where they writhed. They were nothing more than spirits, forgotten memories of those who had come and gone.
The screams brought me back to reality as they cringed away from the light and warmth. A few screamed and fled for their lives further into the darkness. Their eyes were hollow because they believed there was no hope for them, that there was no chance for peace. All they would have was an eternity of loneliness, sorrow, and regret, and I knew one day I would lie among them.
“Please!” I heard someone call from behind me. As I spun toward the voice, I saw him. A young man who had scars all over his body pulled himself across the floor toward my light, pleading with the sun to take him away from this place.
Invisible to them all, I walked toward the grand doors. I was not yet damned to the frozen darkness as they were, reliving every mistake and atrocity they had committed in life, so I was nothing more than a ghost to them.
A small rusty blade was wedged in the seam of the grand looming doors. My energy was nearly depleted, and I struggled to pull it out, but the rusty blade eventually came out of its stone sheath. I placed a hand on the stone doors as the anguish thundered in my veins in response to what was waiting for me. The worst part of my nightmares, the masterpiece crafted by my warden.
Come to me, Danny… My warden whispered just beyond the doors, waiting with his final torture, the one that he knew would break me. This hell would end with me pleading for death, as it always did.
I stood in front of the doors, unable to move as I prayed, just like the souls around me. I prayed to whoever ruled the light to have mercy on me, to take me from this place. But, like always, I was left alone in the dark.
You deserve this… The voice echoed as I slid the rusty dagger across my palm. The poison ripped through my body, robbing me of my abilities and my will to fight back. Blood pooled in my palm, and I smeared it on the doors. The small sun shuddered and quickly faded away.
I felt the world shake as the doors cracked open and slowly slid apart to reveal the most haunting light I had ever seen. I felt sobs against my leg and looked down at the young man who had crawled right next to me.
“I’m sorry,” he said as he stared at the spot where the small sun had just flickered from existence. I wanted to comfort him, to hold him in my arms and let him know that he was not alone, but I could not give him false hope. He puffed white clouds as he whimpered on the floor, and I turned back to the slowly opening doors.
“Danny?” The startled voice sent a wave of shock through me. I turned away from the doors to stare into the depths of the darkness, where my eyes fell upon a woman. Her black hair almost touched the floor, her bright eyes were fierce, and she wore a plain white dress. Her features would have been beautiful, except for the frostbite that had warped parts of her skin. We held eye contact, and I felt a single tear fall down my face. I could feel agony radiating from her.
“Tell him I’m so sorry. Tell him I love him and that I am proud of the man he is becoming. I know he doesn’t miss me, but please, tell him how sorry I am,” she said, her voice ringing clear and bright in the darkness.
“Who?” I asked as I stepped toward her.
Before she could answer, a burning whip appeared from behind her in the darkness and wrapped itself around her throat. My shock prevented me from doing anything as the whip quickly dragged her back into the darkness with a sharp snap. I remained frozen as another burning whip flew out of the darkness and lashed my face. The strike was so violent that it made me crumble on the floor.
The doors had opened far enough for me to slide through, so I forced myself to stand up and walk into the next level of his torment.
His throne room was exactly as I remembered it. Nothing was out of the ordinary, and while it sent ripples of horror through me, I could not help but admire its majesty. It was a triangular room, and I entered at the middle of one of the sides. All along the black marble walls were large hearths that had crackling violet fires burning in them. Directly ahead of me, in the center of the room, was a glistening throne encrusted with green and purple gems that glittered in the firelight. A cloaked figure sat gleefully on his self-proclaimed throne.
I reluctantly walked further into the room, and an uncomfortable wave of choking heat surrounded me. The shimmering violet flames felt unnatural, evil, and cast an ominous feeling over the throne room.
“Welcome, Danny,” my warden called out to me in a deep voice that echoed in the room.
I felt the heavy stone doors close behind me, and the freezing air that had been creeping in dissipated. I didn’t dare look back at the doors, in fear of taking my eyes off of the warden before me. My warden wore a shredded black cloak that had fragmented pieces suspended in the air. I had never seen his face, which was masked by the darkness of his hood. The only thing to be seen were his piercing violet eyes, the eyes of perdition.
“Hello,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Come forward, child.” He raised his finger and crooked it toward himself. I felt my legs move, even though my heart screamed in wild protest. I struggled against him as his laughter filled the room. “Do not be afraid, Danny. After all, this is your home.” He was pulling me toward him, and there was nothing I could do to fight him.
My legs finally stopped moving, and I stood only twenty feet away from him.
“Please, don’t do this,” I pleaded. I didn’t want to see this again, to experience it for the millionth time. “Oh, Danny. Do not be rude to your family. After all, they are just dying to see you,” he chuckled sadistically.
My insides tensed as he snapped his gloved fingers, and they appeared at his feet. My parents and my brother were lined up in a row on the black marble floor. They were as lifeless as the day they were buried. My knees slammed to the floor, and I lost my breath, leaving a hollow ache inside me.
“Please don’t do this,” I repeated. My pleas were ignored as he snapped his fingers again, and my dad’s lifeless torso lifted to face me.
“This is your fault, Danny. We are dead because of you! We died because you were too weak! I wish I had taken you out before we lost our lives. We all died in agony, and it’s all your fault!” My dad’s words echoed in the vast throne room as if to make me hear the words a second time. I watched in horror as a hole opened in his chest, and blood seeped out. All warmth escaped from my veins as he bled profusely, and his body splashed lifelessly in a pool of his blood.
“Please, I’m begging you.” I looked at my warden, who wanted me to suffer.
He raised his hand again and snapped his fingers. My mom’s corpse lifted her head just enough to look at me. Her hair had been completely burned away, and her skin had peeled back in places to reveal blackened bone. I could taste the bile rising in my throat as the smell of cooked flesh hit my nose. Her eyes had burned away, leaving empty sockets. Blood began to drip in various places as he forced her heart to beat again. She could not walk, so she dragged herself on the ground, leaving a growing trail of blood and flesh in her wake.
“I was once beautiful. Now, look at me! Look at what your actions have done! You were my greatest regret, my ultimate failure. You are an abomination! You will burn the world to the ground!” She spat blood on me, and with a snap of his finger, she exploded into a pile of ash on the floor.
I could not plead with him to stop anymore; my voice was gone, and I just wanted to die. My throat was so tight that I could barely breathe. The tears were now pouring down my face. I couldn’t even move my lips to apologize to my family for the agonizing pain that I had put them through.
I wanted this nightmare to end, and as if to honor my request to die, the warden snapped his fingers one final time, and Matthew got to his feet. His physique was not grotesque, and he looked as happy and vibrant as the last time I saw him alive. I remembered he was sitting next to me in the back seat as we approached Grenoff, and he was trying to make me smile by cramming popcorn in his mouth and talking like a chipmunk. Now, he smiled at me, but I knew his punishment would be the worst.
“I know how much this hurts you. I know how much you want to end our suffering.” Matthew looked at our father and the ashes of our mother. “You can see what your actions have done to us. You can see what will happen if you don’t end it. Your life, your existence, is a disease upon the true order. Only you can bring us peace after everything you have caused.” He knelt before me as our family’s silver dagger appeared in his hands.
“It will be okay, Danny. End this before more people die. The darkness will not be a punishment but a blessing. You can finally be at peace and give us the peace we need.” The cold hate in my brother’s electric green eyes burned as he spoke the last words I needed to hear. The words that would pierce my heart like the silver dagger. “I would still be alive if you had just killed yourself a long time ago.”
I took the dagger out of his hand, the guilt unbearable. I looked up to him, but I didn’t see my brother anymore. Only the violet eyes burning through the darkness in the hood.
“Don’t you understand yet?” The warden asked, vexation clear in his voice. “This is how it will all end, and I will rule Creation!”
The warden grabbed my hand with the dagger and pointed the tip of the blade toward me. I gasped for air, clutching the dagger as he thrust it into my chest. I stared into his eyes as my blood pooled around us. I felt his fury as he pulled the dagger out, and I fell into my own blood, and everything went black.
My eyes opened, and I found myself curled up in a ball under the only apple tree in the graveyard. The sun was rising in the east, and I could hear the morning chimes of the bell tower. I began to sit up as my stiff body protested furiously, and I wiped away the dirt on my face. I was wearing nothing but the shorts I wore in my nightmare, and I couldn’t locate my shirt or shoes. I had black smudges on my legs and arms, along with dirt and dust all over my body.
I pulled myself into a seated position to get a better look at their headstones. The nightmare was over for the night, but the true horror was waiting before me.
Three months ago, my family died in a terrible car accident, and I survived. I picked up the small silver locket from Matthew’s headstone, and I could feel the pain and anguish they went through in my heart. I didn’t have to imagine their mangled and burned bodies just below my feet. I never saw their bodies on that horrible night, and the ceremony had been closed casket. My aunt thought I had been through enough, but the warden made sure that I knew the horrors they suffered. I stood there, unscathed, and physically whole.
“I’m so sorry, Matthew.” My voice was weak as I touched my brother’s headstone, my heart burning to be buried with them.
Matthew Philip Elikai
03.16.2000 – 06.08.2018
Beloved Brother, Nephew,
Believer in the Light
About the Author
Hello Readers! I am so unbelievably excited to be the story-teller for the heart-wrenching series, The Memoirs of Elikai. I have a master’s degree in literature and information research, and I hope that training will help me tell this impossible story. I live in Pullman, WA with my Husband and our two Aussies, and my love of literature knows no bounds.
Tiktok, Hive Social & Insta: Author.Dalexander
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