Lux
The
Veritas Series Book 1
by
MJ Vieira
Genre:
Dark Fantasy, Paranormal
After
being found, inexplicably, standing over a brutal scene involving a
pair of recent murder victims, Jade comes to in a hospital with
limited memories. Labeled as paranoid by the seedy medical team and
locked up, she seems more a victim than a deviant. Promptly drugged
and plunged into sleep, she is submerged into a chronic dreamland
that seems controlled by another, she soon gives in to a lavish life
with a Malum who seems all too eager to see to her every desire. She
awakes in yet another reality with no memories of her past, or even
herself. Something is making her forget... and just like that she
steps into her new life.
Malum
is deeply in love with Jade and is only agenda is to give her the
world... Or so he claims. Blindly followed by his people, the Luxans,
he works tirelessly to keep them safe from the Rebels, with Jade by
his side. Surely his motives are pure... yet, the more time Jade
spends with him, the further she seems to fall from herself.
All
the while, Jade is plagued by vivid dreams of another life... one she
struggles to understand while Malum works to make her forget. As Jade
struggles to hold onto her soul and discover her past, Malum seeks to
possess all that she is.
I wake in the dark. I’m lying on my back. My body is sore and resists my commands to move. The air around me is dense, causing beads of moisture to form on my feverish skin. There is little relief in the atmosphere, for it feels as hot as the skin I lie in. My parched tongue makes a futile attempt to lick the water droplets from my lips.
I realize I need to get up. With no concept of where I am or what is going on, I’m a sitting duck. I also need water. Desperately.
Some deeply rooted instinct stops me from groaning in protest as I push myself up. Every muscle screams its displeasure. I can feel the unyielding ground scrape against my bare skin. Some part of me knows I'm dreaming, but this all feels so real.
My eyes sweep the area around me. There isn't much to see as night embraces the land. I am becoming accustomed to the darkness and soon make out lush vegetation and the outlines of rocks; I’m in a forest. As if someone has turned the volume up, sound evolves around me. Insects chirp and chatter and seem not to heed me at all. That doesn't mean there aren't other things out there that will.
I begin to make my way east, or toward what I think is east. My entire body is singing with tension. Every footfall I make is carefully placed. Giant leaves brush past my bare skin. I suddenly realize I'm naked but find myself not caring. This is how humans were meant to live. Before Eve ate the apple. Stupid bitch.
I continue to walk until I notice the moon has risen, casting an eerie glow around the forest. Through the din of insects and nocturnal life, I hear the faint trickling of water. I begin to hurry forward, becoming more aware of my thirst as I draw closer to the sound. Elation fills me, for the dense flora is thinning. In a moment, I find myself at the bank of a stream. I crouch down and use my hand to scoop the icy cold water to my mouth. I've never tasted anything so good.
I sit for a time, leaning against the smooth trunk of a tree while I contemplate this reality. It cannot be real. I feel myself dozing only to be jolted awake by an unnatural silence. Abruptly, the noises around me vanish. It is as if the creatures around me have taken a collective breath and held it. The silence is a warning, something is coming.
MJ
Vieira resides in Southern Maine with her husband, Alan, son, AJ, and
their St. Bernard, Roxy. As a child, she traveled around the state
with her parents, seeing the vast history the New England state had
to offer as well as touring the nation while showing her American
Quarter Horse. While traveling, she read many of the great authors of
the time including JRR Tolkien, Stephen King, CS Lewis and Ann Rice.
It is these writers combined with power of music, mainly hard rock
and folk, MJ draws her inspiration.
In
between writing, MJ enjoys reading, collecting music and attending
concerts. Lux is the first installment in the Veritas series which is
MJ's first published work.
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