Today I’m interviewing a fascinating
young lady for a segment called Meet Your Demons. This is Cassidy
Martin, from Elliot Indiana. Cassidy, can you tell us a little bit about
yourself?
It’s Cassie.
I’m sorry. My card said Cassidy.
No worries.
It’s just, well, only my mother called me Cassidy.
I see.
I was born
in Elliott, Indiana and then later moved to Phoenix, Arizona. My mom died when
I was five and I lost my brother and father last year on my birthday.
That’s terrible! I’m so sorry. How
have you been coping?
With NyQuil,
coffee, and lots of books. I guess it wasn’t enough. My boss sent me to a
therapist, who recommended that I return to Elliot for a while.
How did that work out?
It’s
unnerving to return to a house that’s been vacant for a year, with everything exactly
as you left it. It was so different. So lonely. So possibly haunted. But my
friend Josh Tucker came by, and it was easier after that.
Josh Tucker?
I’ve known
Josh all my life. He was my older brother’s best friend. When I was a kid he
saved me from drowning. I’ve had a crush on him ever since.
Did Josh return the affection?
It’s hard to
say with Josh. He’s such a good guy and we’ve always had a connection, but I
think he felt like I was more of a kid sister than a romantic interest. He was
sure shocked to see me all grown up, though!
Did you get to spend much time with
him?
As luck
would have it, the annual Demon Dun in Woodland Creek a few hours from home happened
to coincide with our meeting. The two of us decided that we would attend
together, and even share a cabin. I have to admit, that did help me forget some
of my troubles.
So things were looking up for you?
Or so I thought!
Unbeknownst to me, Josh also invited someone else along. A woman, almost as
beautiful as he was.
How did that make you feel?
How do you
think it made me feel? Jealous. Confused. Uncertain as to what to do.
Especially given my new… condition.
Condition?
I have, um,
been hiding a little secret, even from Josh. About the time that I returned home,
I started developing horns.
Horns? What kind of horns?
Little bone appendages
on the top of my head. Just like it sounds. I also learned that I hail from a
long line of demons.
Demons? Real demons?
I guess I
should clarify. Not demons from another plane. Earth-bound demons.
I’ve interviewed dozens of people for
this segment, and I’ve never met an actual demon!
In fairness,
I’m only half-demon, on my mother’s side. I’m also part English and Dutch.
Does being part-demon make you feel,
well, evil?
Not evil,
really. More like raw, primal, and… hungry.
Hungry? For what?
Carnal
things.
Um, I see. So how are you coping with
all these new changes Cassidy? I mean,
Cassie?
Every day is
a challenge, but I’m getting there. Josh still doesn’t know, and I’m trying to
figure out a way to tell him. He’s going to be a youth pastor so… It is what it
is.
Is there anything you want people to
know about being a demon?
Just that we
all need to stay true to ourselves, whatever that looks like. We might have
been born one way, but we still have free will and can shape our lives the way
we need to.
Also,
despite the myth, demons need love to, maybe even moreso than ordinary humans.
Demons need love, huh? That’s
interesting. Do they need anything else?
Like possessing
people? No. They let us out of that contract around the middle ages. We do,
however, enjoy parties, red meat, and an occasional late night with a sexy
human. Work hard, play hard. That’s our philosophy. Though I haven’t quite
figured out what we are working for.
Well, thank you Cassie. I wish you
luck on your personal journey.
I appreciate
it. Now, if you’ll excuse me I better get back to bed. I’m not fully myself
until around midnight.
The Good Girl’s Guide to Being a Demon
April Aasheim
Genre: (sweet) Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Dark Root Press
Date of Publication: Nov 15, 2015
ASIN: B016NZTP4C
Number of pages: 157
Word Count: 42,000
Cover Artist: J.M Rising Horse Creations
Book Description:
Strange changes are happening to Cassie Walker. She’s losing track of time, seeing shadows, and developing…horns?
Fearful, she returns to her childhood home to solve the mystery of what she’s becoming. There, she meets up with childhood friend, Josh Tucker, who convinces her to enter the annual Demon Run in Woodland Creek.
But things aren’t always what they seem in Woodland Creek, and people aren’t who they appear to be.
Soon, Cassie finds not only herself in danger, but Josh as well.
Can she save them both? Or has her lineage tainted her forever?
Available at Amazon
Excerpt: Prologue
The creek
churned, black and thick as tar under the cloak of night.
Cassie Martin
stumbled along the raging waterway as she searched for the North Star,
Polaris––the star that would guide her home.
It was in the
tail of one of the dipper constellations, she remembered, but which one? She
tried to call it up as she ambled along, while her ears listened uneasily to
noises created by the dark: howls and heavy footsteps, scurries and whisperings.
To her right
there was smoke accompanied by the crackling sound of a roaring campfire. She
wanted to run to it––to tell whoever was tending the s’mores that she was lost
and afraid and could they please escort her back to her cabin?
But fear kept her
out of the woods. She had read enough books to know the woods were full of bad
things––bears and werewolves and things that wanted to eat you. So she followed
the creek, for lack of other options.
She shouldn’t
have been so stupid, she scolded herself. She knew there was no such thing as a
Snipe, but she went along anyway because her brother Kevin teased her about
being afraid.
“I am not,”
she’d said, balling up her fists.
“Then prove it,”
Kevin returned. “Go into the woods and find a Snipe. If you do, I’ll never call
you scared again.”
Her best friend
Jenn wrapped an arm around Cassie’s shoulders. “I’ll go with you, Cass. We’ll
find that Snipe.”
Only their
friend Josh seemed worried, elbowing Kevin in the ribs. “They’re only nine,
dude.”
“So?” Eleven-year-old
Kevin argued. “At nine we were sneaking beer out of dad’s cooler and watching
late night HBO. These girls need to man up, Josh. We won’t be around to take
care of them forever.”
“We can take
care of ourselves,” Cassie said, sticking out her tongue. “We’ll get that
Snipe. Then you’ll admit that girls are better than boys.”
“If you bring us
a Snipe,” Kevin said, “I’ll admit anything you want.” He spit into his hand.
Cassie spit on hers too. The siblings shook on it.
The problem was
that Jenn disappeared shortly after entering the woods with her. Now Cassie was
alone and disoriented. “Jenn!” she called nervously, trying not to awaken the
bad things lurking. She hated it in here alone. She felt watched, as if the
trees had eyes.
When she heard
the sound of rushing water she remembered the creek ran behind her campsite.
She would follow
it back…
She ran through
the trees, half covering her eyes, and when she emerged in a narrow clearing
she spotted her watery guide. The creek was swollen and bloated. It didn’t
trickle. It gushed. In the dark it moved like a winding, creeping serpent on
the hunt, ready to devour her.
“Kevin!” she called out, cupping her mouth
with her hands. “Jenn! Josh?” Her words were met with a low mournful wail,
followed by an even more frightening silence.
Her father once
told her that if she got lost, she should find a spot and wait for someone to
come. Spying a tree stump, she sat down. The summer moon was nearly full and
several fireflies lent their talents to holding back the dark. It would have
been beautiful, if she wasn’t so scared.
“One
Miss-issippi,” she counted, deliberately slowing the first syllable. “Two
Miss-issippi…”
Another wail
echoed through the night, bouncing off tree limbs and ringing through boughs.
It was quickly followed by another. Banshees? Ghosts? Wolves? Tree branches
rustled as if spirits played an invisible game of tag.
Dad will come,
she told herself. He always came. He’d see she was missing and he’d find
her––and Jenn as well.
The sounds grew
louder, like the moans of old ladies crying at a funeral. Cassie shivered,
wrapping her arms around her chest to shield herself from whatever came.
Several twigs snapped nearby, followed by the sound of small, scurrying feet.
With building fear, she bolted from the stump and raced along the water’s edge,
following as it churned towards its unseen destination.
Soon the
clearing ended and the woods began. She spun around, uncertain where to go.
Back towards the moaning sounds or into the blackness of the trees?
Her decision was
made when she saw them.
The Shadow
People.
An army of them,
dropping from tree branches and skittering her way. Their sizes were varied but
their faces were all the same, dark expressionless blobs with unblinking eyes.
They were quiet
as cats as they came for her, and more terrible than wild animals or werewolves
or things that would eat you. The Shadow People didn’t eat you. They took you
away.
Cassie fled in
the opposite direction, away from the forest, screaming as she went. Her voice
joined in with the chorus of wails, until it all became the sound of the wind.
Risking a glance
back over her shoulder, her foot hit a sleek stone. She slipped and tumbled,
falling into the cold raging water.
“Help!” She
called out just before she was pulled under.
When she
surfaced she caught hold of a branch extending out from the bank. She clung to
it with both hands while her feet pulled her downstream. The creek gnawed at
her, biting and ripping at her skin and clothes, chewing up one shoe and then
the other. She couldn’t hold on for very long. At any moment she would be swept
away.
Above her, she
spotted the North Star.
“Mom,” she
whispered, focusing her wish on the star as the water dragged at her and the
Shadow People advanced. “If you can hear me, please send help.”
A figure sprang
from the woods. A boy, not much taller than herself.
“Josh!” she
called, kicking with her feet as water filled her lungs.
“Cassie!” Josh
grabbed her hand just as she lost her grip on the branch.
He slowly pulled
her from the river’s maw. She crawled onto the bank, coughing up water. He
removed his flannel jacket and wrapped it around her shivering body. When she
could stand again, she hugged him, nearly crying as she rubbed her nose into
his chest.
“I don’t think
there’s such thing as Snipe,” she sputtered.
He laughed and
kissed the top of her head. “But you were brave to find out.”
Her father, her
friend, Jenn, and her brother, Kevin, all appeared, hollering and racing in
their direction.
“Thank God
you’re alright!” Cassie’s father said, scooping her up in his arms. “You had me
scared to death. You can’t go traipsing off by yourself like that, young lady!
You’ve got to be more careful.” He lifted her chin firmly. “Promise me.”
Behind him,
Kevin’s eyes were imploring. If she told about the Snipe hunt, her brother
would be in big trouble. And possibly Josh, as well.
She nodded.
“I’ll be careful from now on. I promise.”
“Good.” Her dad
carried her back to their rented cabin but her gaze remained affixed on Josh.
He walked alongside them, his blue eyes shining like the moon.
About the Author:
April Aasheim is a full time writer with interests in the paranormal, the supernatural, and the metaphysical. Having ‘seen things’ at an early age, April has made it her life’s work to seek out the truth, and then to write about her findings in the guise of fiction.
She lives in Portland, Oregon with her family and is the author of the Amazon best-selling witchy series: The Daughters of Dark Root.
@aprilaasheim
0 comments:
Post a Comment