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Djinn
Serving the Scales
Prequel
Niki McAlister
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Publisher: Niki McAlister
Date of Publication: August 1, 2020
ASIN: B08BTTKJK1
Number of pages: 132
Word Count: 45,690
Cover Artist: Niki McAlister
Tagline: From Silver Spoon to Silver Tongue
Book Description:
Born into a wealthy family on the west side of the Naga Kingdom, Djinn De’monte has always lived a life of undeserved luxury. He parties every night courtesy of his father’s money and, with a flick of his hand, can bed any woman he chooses.
Why would he ever give any of that up to settle down and work a regular job? Everything he needs is right at his fingertips, but when an unexpected tragedy strikes the rug is suddenly yanked out from under him. Djinn is forced to sink or swim.
Join him on his forced pilgrimage as he reluctantly discovers that there is more to life than having everything served to you on a silver platter. Will he learn just what he stands for, or will he be swept up with the rest of the garbage?
In this short prequel we travel back to Djinn’s youth to find out exactly what transpired before he met a very unusual servant girl. This story can be read before Serving the Scales, after, or by itself. Though Djinn’s story isn’t part of the Serving the Scales Trilogy, it is an important part of the history that took place in Iruli.
“You’re
probably wondering why an elf like me is able to leave the kingdom so easily.”
Jerry said slyly, once we were on a set path.
I
rolled my eyes. Not really.
“It’s
because I have this!” He whipped out the little notebook I’d seen
before.
I
offered him a tight-lipped smile. “Nice.”
His
face fell slightly as he turned back to the road, fiddling with the reigns for
a minute. I began to settle down in the wagon, trying to prepare myself for
sleep of some kind when I heard him sigh.
“See,
I had to get this little booklet that marks me as property of the naga
kingdom.” He continued as I withheld a growl. “I’m given a time limit of
course, to get the goods to the city of Kijul and return with payment—but I’d
never try to run. Do you want to know why?”
I
remained silent, trying to stay as still as possible in the hopes that he’d
think I’d fallen asleep. Around us the marshes smelled like rotten eggs. The
sounds of frogs and crickets were so much louder up here, but not loud enough
to drown Jerry out.
“It’s
because my master treats me so well. Truly he does!” Jerry chuckled. “I’d had
so much fear in me about being beaten or abused when I came to the kingdom but
my master is the best!”
He
continued chattering throughout the night. Every time I thought he’d ran out of
stories to tell about his five years in the kingdom I was wrong. Eventually I
did pass out, losing myself to exhaustion as the wagon bounced along the
marshes of the naga kingdom. The elf allowed me to sleep until the sun started
to peek over the trees. I awoke to him shaking my shoulder and shoving a piece
of bread in my face.
“Hey!
Come look at this sunrise, it’s gorgeous.” He exclaimed with his mouth full.
I
scowled at the crumbs that hit my face, but took the bread because I was
hungry. It was stale, but was better than nothing as I struggled to produce the
saliva to wash it down. Jerry was already going off about his journeys to
Kijul, elbowing me every so often to see if I was paying attention. I hunched
over in the wagon, looking out at the sunlight illuminating the marshes in the
morning. From below it was impossible to see the beauty of it all. I’d spent so
much time believing that everything aboveground was either ruins or a war zone
that I’d never thought to see it for myself, but as the fog rolled off the
shallow water to reveal flowers and wildlife waking up I found myself
understanding why Jess had wanted to see it. A little red bird hopped along the
ground, pecking at the moss and fallen branches as it hunted for breakfast. All
around us dew-covered spiderwebs hung like delicate tapestries from the
thick-trunked trees that covered the area. In the distance I saw a deer grazing
on the moistened grass, a white-speckled baby following closely behind.
As
we traveled east the trees began to thin until we turned right, onto a
well-worn road. I looked over at Jerry quizzically, as we were now heading
south to somewhere unknown instead of to Kijul.
“Don’t
worry my friend. My route has me going to Ranpur first to drop off some
vegetables in exchange for some of their famous smoked fish and medicinal
powder. You ever been to Ranpur?”
I
shook my head, following the flight of a small black bird as it fluttered along
in the grass with us.
“I
don’t blame you. Ranpur isn’t exactly a friendly town. It sits alongside this
lake they call Siren Lake. Weird name right?”
I
began to realize that I wasn’t going to get a proper sleep in until Jerry and I
parted ways. As we traveled the trees began to thin until we turned onto a
well-worn road. Jerry talked the entire way to Ranpur, and at some point I
figured out how to tune him out—turning my attention instead to the scenery. We
were closer to the southern coast of Iruli now, and I could almost see the
ocean if I squinted, though the thick stench of cow shit was the only thing I
could smell.
As we neared the town I spied a body of water
on the right side of the road. Something about the stillness of the water set
me on edge, heightening my senses as I took in more oddities in the land
surrounding the water. Large boulders had been planted around every inch of the
water’s edge that was visible through the trees. The formation didn’t appear to
be natural, as the rocks were stacked evenly atop each other in patterns along
the water’s edge. The trees all appeared to be leaning in toward the lake as
well.
“Jerry,
what is that body of water there?” I asked, elbowing the chattering elf.
“That’s Siren Lake, like I told you.”
“Siren
Lake…” I echoed.
Jerry instructed me to stay in the wagon,
leaving me behind as he carried crates loaded with cabbage, carrots and peppers
into the small building we were parked in front of. I spotted some of the
locals eyeing me from various vantage points of the main road. A young centaur
filly was pulled inside by an overweight mother as she eyed me suspiciously. A
couple of older elves sneered at me warily as they stood up from their creaking
rocking chairs and shuffled into their home. Everything I could see of Ranpur
felt old and untouched, as if they were cut off from the rest of Iruli. The
buildings were remnants of older human homes, made of logs with metal roofs and
long, sprawling porches. It had a unique beauty to it but the more I looked
around, and was looked at, the distinct feeling of something sinister lurking
amongst the townspeople became impossible to ignore. By the time Jerry returned
with his crates of smoked fish I was itching to get out of here. I helped him
load the crates onto the wagon and curled myself around them, resting my torso
on the back of the driver’s bench.
“Coming
along to Kijul then eh?” He laughed, cracking the reigns against the horses
lightly to get them going. I shrugged.
“Does
it always feel like that?” I asked, looking back at the town as faded from
view.
“Yeah,
usually. Sometimes the townsfolk aren’t there when I stop by. I can hear them
out at the lake having some sort of festival. They’re pretty strange.”
About the Author:
Niki McAlister is an avid reader of romance and fantasy. She’s always lived in a little world inside her own mind, often getting herself in trouble while daydreaming. She currently resides in Tennessee with her husband, two boys, and many pets.
Mailing list: https://bit.ly/2VyfNcU
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NovelsByNiki
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Niki_McAlister
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/niki_mcalister
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