Ran across this today. Over the years, I’ve been known to send this travel advisory to enthusiastic Midnight Guardian readers.
~ATLANTEAN TRAVEL ADVISORY~
The Mogdoc Royal Empire has been informed of your imminent crossing of the barrier. According to our records, you have been classified as HUMAN. Therefore, we would like to welcome you to the beautiful, lost continent of Atlantis.
We hope you find our residents charming. If any should extend an invitation to dinner, please do not hesitate to comply.
Just a few rules to help make your trip more enjoyable…
Bring a flashlight
The evil that banished our land across the barrier plunged us into a world without sun or moon, a land of forever night. From our experience, humans often find it difficult to see in the dark without assistance. This beacon will also make it easier for us to find you if you should escape become lost.
Discard your Token upon arrival
While it is true that humans must hold an Atlantis token to cross the barrier, once you arrive you should discard it or hand it over to the nearest mogdoc authority. Common sense may tell you that you need to hold onto it to get back, but common sense is so overrated.
Avoid the village known as Elsted
Please know that this destination is not a safe haven for humans as you may have been told. It is old, secluded, and infested with rodents.
Congrats to Emma Michaels, winner of last week’s big YA Indie Carnival Anniversary Giveaway. Emma receives 13 indie novels including books 1-3 of the Midnight Guardian series. Nice!
To mark the release of Midnight Child, book 3 in the Midnight Guardian series, Swancrest Publishing and the Dr. Samuel L. Bossard Memorial Library are holding a drawing contest for high and middle school students in the U.S.
This week I’m handing over my Indie Carnival duties to the nefarious bunch over at the Mogdoc News Network. What’s a mogdoc you ask? They’re the ancient, evil creatures hunting down Keira Ryan. Think of a gremlin crossed with a swamp monster then give it super speed and a taste for human blood. I think they have this week’s post in the bag.
YA Indie Carnival fans, you’re in for a special treat this week. It’s Best Indie Scares…BOO!
I’ve got two for you, a recommendation and an excerpt.
1) The Recommendation
For a chilling Halloween read, check out Beyond the Veil: A Ghost Story Anthology by fellow indie carnival author Rachel Coles. I highly recommend it. I remember reading the story Kisses on my iPad in bed one night and had to turn it off because I was getting the heeby-jeebies from every shadow in the room. It’s great.
2) The Excerpt
Thought I would also include a scary short that I’ve written. This is one of my favorite scenes from the Midnight Guardian series. Keira shares this guardian bedtime story with Colby in Of Sun & Moon. Enjoy!
Once upon a time…
A band of explorers were returning home after a long journey. Their expedition had taken more than two decades to complete. They now were making their way through Greece. Once they reached Athens, it would only be a few days more by ship to reach their homeland. When they, at last, reached the city, the weary travelers sought supplies and a night’s refuge before embarking on the final leg of their journey.
They found the city of Athens to be glorious and progressive. The citizens welcomed the strangers with open arms, even though they were creatures, like none they had ever seen before. Mogdoc was the name they grunted. The guttural name bubbled up from the primordial mud out of which they crawled. Of course, that’s not how they made their first impression.
They looked like monsters, but they were not judged on appearance. The kind-hearted people embraced their differences and took them in. They gave them warm food, cold drink, and soft beds. The mogdocs, no longer thinking of home, found excuses to stay first one night, then another, and another.
On the third night, the mogdocs were the special guests of a general in the Athenian army. The youngest female mogdoc, equivalent to a human of 6-years-old, had become fast friends with the general’s daughter. They spent every waking moment together. They skipped arm-in-arm, shared toys, and even played tea party with sweet drink and cake. On that night, the third night, the young mogdoc snuck out of bed for a midnight snack. She crept down the stairs, stole an apple from the kitchen, and slipped into the rose garden. To her astonishment, her friend, the general’s daughter was already there. The young girl was seated on a concrete bench at the garden’s edge. As the mogdoc got closer, she could see that the girl was crying. A rose thorn had pierced her finger. The tiny mogdoc took her finger, pulled out the thorn, and sniffed the blood.
In those days, mogdocs carried pouches of healing herbs. The elder mogdocs still carry them today as a reminder of this story. This young mogdoc had one and immediately delved into it. She pulled out some sweet smelling herbs and wrapped them around her friend’s finger. This made the young girl feel better. She hugged her mogdoc friend before returning to bed.
The next morning, the girl told her father of how the curious stranger had nursed her finger. The general was delighted and in gratitude invited the mogdoc clan to extend their stay. So, over the next few days, the mogdocs continued to stay at the general’s home. The children’s midnight meeting in the garden became a nightly occurrence. On the sixth night, the mogdoc was the first to arrive in the garden. The human girl skipped to the bench. The young mogdoc smiled at her friend and offered her a bite of her midnight snack. The general’s daughter screamed in horror. There was no apple. That night’s midnight snack was a human infant, blue and drained of blood. The young mogdoc took delight in the girl’s fear. She slashed the girl’s neck and fed from her friend until she was no more.
This story has been handed down from generation to generation as a testament to the manipulative nature of the mogdocs and the evil found in even the youngest of their kind. The mogdoc child had befriended the human girl to gain access. She had played tea party to sweeten the blood. She had healed her a few nights before out of greed, in order to save every drop of blood until the time was right.
If you dare for more scares, check out these other YA Indie Carnival blogs:
