The Waking of Ghosts (Lost Souls Academy Book 1) by Lilliana Rose

The Waking of Ghosts 

Lost Souls Academy Book 1 

by Lilliana Rose 

Genre: Teen, YA Paranormal Fantasy

There is an evil awakening.

At the Lost Souls academy, students aren’t your typical everyday alumni.

Rejects from clans, packs, and covens walk these halls, but there’s something more sinister haunting the academy.

A resident ghost has new student, Zarya, on the fight to banish it. Will her actions cause more enemies at her new school than friends?

‘I’m coming for you.’

A message from beyond has Zarya fearful. Her skills are underdeveloped, but as a ghost hunter, she must stand and fight this new evil.

Can Zarya grow to be the ghost hunter she’s destined to be or will forces overpower her and bring chaos and destruction to the Lost Souls academy? 

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Excerpts:

One:

Zarya kept to the concrete path that pushed away the patches of green grass, full and lush from a gentler-than-normal summer and overwatered by the city council. Her breath eased, despite her keeping a fast pace and the heaviness on her shoulders as if she fought off the memories, but they continued to chase her. The park was doing as it was designed, offering a sense of peace for those who passed by and gave the city a chance to breathe, instead of concrete over every inch.

Nature wasn’t somewhere Zarya sought in the modern thoughts of being mindful and at peace. She preferred the high-rise buildings, tons of concrete, smell of heavily polluted air, and buzz of life in its business as well as the tension of how the paranormal lives resided undetected with humans¾at least most of the time.

Zarya looked ahead to see how much further until the edge of the park. She wanted to get back walking on the sidewalks, the cars rushing past on one side, and the comfort of buildings on the other with people dashing in between.

A swirl of wind picked up a handful of fallen leaves, breathing false life into them as they floated upward, circling in the air.

Her skin prickled.

Her thoughts tangled.

She tried to discern what was attacking her. A ghost? A typical mundane mugging? It wasn’t something she wasn’t used to.

A rush of energy came from behind, but Zarya reacted too slow, side-stepping out of the way. The bolt of energy partially hit Zarya, knocking her to the ground. The path hit hard on her backside, sending a shooting pain up her spine, and her breath rushed from her lungs. Zarya’s mind raced thinking of what had just happened. How could she have missed sensing a ghost? She’d never had something like this happen before. Her skills were reliable, good, and she always had enough time to prepare.

The air chilled around her. It smelled of a rotting ghostly spirit. Yet, she wasn’t sure.

She sat, stunned, hands by her sides, ready to push herself up, so she could fight back.

But no one was there.

Two:

Confused, Zarya looked around. Leaves rustled on the surrounding trees in a chaotic movement, so she couldn’t see the direction of the source. The park seemed to darken in the afternoon light. Time slowed. Her senses sharpened as she engaged both her ghosthunting and witching abilities.

Another chilled rush of wind wrapped around her. Every muscle in her body fired on alert, ready to contract so she could spring into action. The problem was with nothing obviously there, she couldn’t fight back, let alone defend herself.

Adrenaline coursed through her body. Zarya ached to release the pent-up energy instead of being unable to do anything.

Snapping her head to the left, then the right, she scanned her surroundings, desperate to detect any anomaly. Her skin prickled as she realized she was the only person in sight. Zarya realized with a panic she was way too vulnerable there. That this might be some sort of trap, even though she was certain ghosts weren’t capable of that type of thing. The ghost was here somewhere, it had to be. It was the only logical reason why she saw nothing.

There was no vibe that this was a spell, so it had to be a ghost.

“Show yourself.”

Was that laughter in the air?

She glanced to the left where she thought the sound might’ve come from.

Nothing.

What the hell is happening?

“Chicken,” Zarya yelled out, struggling to keep her nerve. She summoned her magic, ready to block anything that might attack her, but again she was too slow.

A coldness wrapped around her neck. She gasped. Air pushed from her lungs. Unable to refill, she wheezed hard. Cursing herself for being so slow to react, she knew better than to have stayed exposed as she had on the ground.

Why didn’t I get up and run?

She knew damn well running wasn’t her thing. She was a fighter through and through, and her style was to stay and fight.

Three:

“I’m Avery Blackwood, and I’m the one who sent you the invitation. I’d be pleased to have you join my academy. You will fit in perfectly.”

They were the words Zarya had wanted to hear for so long. Her heart ached to have somewhere to belong, and while this hadn’t been the most ideal welcome, maybe they could actually work things out. But then again, she had tried to remove the ghost, Crowe, once and for all, and this surely wouldn’t bode well for her. And what the hell was he doing here attached to a witch?

Avery stretched out her hand.

Zarya allowed her to help her to stand. “Zarya Burke. Witch and ghosthunter, as you know.” A tingle left her palm where Avery had touched her. An imprint of Avery’s magical ability. Zarya felt conflicted about whether or not to trust her.

“I’m so glad you accepted the invite.”

“I don’t know that I have.” Zarya was surprised by the words she’d spoken.

A flash of disbelief went across Avery’s face. “Of course, you’d like more details. Right?”

“Well, yeah…” Zarya wasn’t about to accept any old invitation, even though her heart ached to have somewhere like this to stay. She could feel the energy of the books vibrating from the shelves above, and she knew they would contain knowledge she was desperate to learn, which could help her be a better ghosthunter and even witch. This place might smell old and dusty, and needed a good airing out, but she reckoned she could live here. It was so much better than the apartment she shared with Peta.

However, there was a very big ‘but’ welling up inside of her, followed by a lot of questions.

“Come… let’s go to my office, sit down, and talk about my academy and why you would be the perfect addition.” Avery’s smile was too sweet for Zarya’s liking. But when the witch turned, Zarya found herself following. At the end of the day, she had nothing to lose by listening. And this had to be a better option than the life she was already living? Didn’t it?

Zarya felt as if someone was watching her. She looked up and saw a young man around her age looking at her. He was partway up the stairs, his hand on the balustrade, his stance paused as if he’d suddenly been struck by a stunning spell. His eyes followed her, dark and big, with shadows underneath, suggesting he didn’t sleep much. His hair dark with gentle waves was styled with wax to make them stand out. But she didn’t sense anything gentle about him. His skin was pale, his lips a hungry red. Zarya’s breath caught in her throat, and she felt her pulse quicken, her body beginning to react to simply seeing him.

She kept his glance as she walked past on the ground level, turning her head, not wanting to look away. He smiled at her, his teeth a brilliant white. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t smile back, a different sort of spell seemed to have taken control of her. Her primal instincts were rising, and her body temperature increased, simply from seeing this young man for the first time. Zarya quickly turned away, but the connection between them remained.

This had a feeling of danger, and she knew she should beware.

Keep away from him.

Use him as an excuse not to stay here.

She smiled to herself, following Avery into her dark office.

Yeah, as if. She wasn’t one to shy away from danger.

Lilliana is an Amazon Bestselling author, who writes romance in the subgenres of contemporary, paranormal, steampunk, and rural. She enjoys helping characters overcome problems, or issues, and the misunderstandings that often plague relationships, to help them fall in love. Whether it city heels being replaced with country work boots, or some magic beyond this world, or cogs and gears and corsets, each story shows how love can prevail. 

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