Wraithsong

WRAITHSONG

By

E. J. SQUIRES

This is a work of fiction. All the
characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are
either products of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously.

First Edition, March 6, 2014

ISBN-13: 978-1492219903

ISBN-10: 1492219908

Copyright © 2014 E. J. Squires

All rights reserved.

Fans of the writings of
Cassandra Clare, Claudia Gray, Kami Garcia, and Margaret Stohl have
a new author to take notice of, E.J. Squires. Squires joins the
ranks of these paranormal-romance greats head on with her thrilling
new novel,
Wraithsong
. She perfectly weaves the old world and the new in her
novel, so that readers never know what new creature they will be
facing next. The action scenes the author has written are well
thought out and exciting. The farther I read, the harder it was to
put down, and I wasn’t ready for it to end when I turned the last
page.

~ Tania Staley—Goodreads
User

As much as this story is
about mythology and paranormal concepts it is also a coming of age
story that young adults will recognize as the same changes that
occur within everyone as they enter that frightening realm of adult
life a time when anything can happen to alter the step into the new
world. This is a well-written book that will appeal to a large
audience of young adults, especially those who have followed such
successes as the Twilight Series. Squires appears to have a bright
career ahead.

~ Grady Harp—Hall of Fame
Amazon Reviewer

At this point in time, I
feel more than comfortable in saying that if I walked into a
bookstore and saw this author's name on a book, I wouldn't even
have to read the covers, I would buy it straight up. I have read
enough to know that I will be pleased with what she writes. Anyone
who is looking for a good romance, some Norse mythology and fantasy
all mixed together, this is your book. Young and old alike, I even
feel more than comfortable allowing my teenage daughter to read
this book.

~ Michelle Lynn
Randall—Professional Reviewer Reader’s Choice

Wraithsong by E.J. Squires
is an amazing story about a girl who, on top of being at a fragile
age as a teenager, has to deal with secret powers that mess with
her emotions and can either be her salvation or undoing. E.J.
Squires' writing style and skill sets a tone and mood that
perfectly fits the plot and the characters, each in their different
way, bring this incredible story to life. The manner in which the
story bounces between the contemporary setting and the fantasy
world is done in such way that is very distinct and flawless, and
adds to the excitement to give a thrilling reading experience. I
totally enjoyed this page-turner and I cannot wait to pick up book
II and see where the story goes from here.

Faridah
Nassozi—Professional Reviewer Reader’s Choice

I have read E.J. Squires
debut novel Winter Solstice Winter before, and I immensely enjoyed
it. When I learned about her new book, I had to make sure that I
get a copy of this. Once again, I fell in love with her new book,
Wraithsong - Desirable Creatures.

~ Arienne—a Bookworm Loose
Blogspot

I’m not sure how to
explain what I’m feeling at the moment without sounding like a
young adult madly in love with a book, but I love everything about
this! “Wraithsong”, book 1 of Desirable Creatures is an
action-packed YA fantasy book laced with humor; it’s safe to say
this is one of the best YA books this year. Characterization is
very spot on, the plot itself is very interesting and I’d love to
see it play on the big screen!

~Ella Larena—Goodreads
User

Other books Available by
E. J. Squires:

Blufire

Desirable Creatures Series, Book II

(Coming July 31, 2014)

Winter Solstice
Winter

A Viking Blood Saga, Book
I

Summer Solstice
Summer

A Viking Blood Saga, Book
II

Ragnarok Spring

A Viking Blood Saga, Book
III

(Coming June 30,
2014)

Trepidation

White Witch Black Warlock
Series, Book I

(Coming August 31,
2014)

For more information, go
to:

http://ejsquires.com

Acknowledgments

First of all, I want to thank all my
readers, whether they be professional reviewers, bloggers, friends,
family or anyone who read my books. You are the reason I continue
to write and you are the reason I have gotten this far. There are
so many of you who encourage me and propel me forward to becoming a
better author, and to all of you, I am eternally grateful.

I also want to thank my parents for their
support, my father for teaching me to work hard and my mother for
teaching me to go for my dreams. I couldn’t ask for better
parents.

I also want to thank my beta readers,
editors and proofreaders for the valuable input they provide.
Because of them, this book is much stronger and infinitely more
compelling.

And last, but not least, I want to thank my
husband for giving me the idea to write in the first place and for
supporting me 100%. Since then, I have never looked back and
without his support, my dream would be impossible.

If you enjoyed my novel, or even if you
didn’t, I would love it if you left a review on amazon.com or
goodreads. I read all my reviews and learn something new from each
and every one of them. If you would like to connect, please feel
free to friend me on goodreads, follow me on twitter or facebook or
email me (Go to my website). And again, thank you so much for
reading!

Eve, mother of all living,
labored and toiled long days and nights. One day, God came down and
visited her. Embarrassed that she only had enough time to clean
seven of her thirteen children, she hid the six soiled ones from
him. God found them, and reprimanded Eve for having been ashamed of
her own flesh and blood. “Those you have hidden from me…” God said,
“…they will stand out from the rest of mankind. I will clean them
for you so that all men and women will aspire to be that which you
have cast aside. From this day forward, they will be known as the
Huldra, meaning secret desire.”

Chapter 1

The day is sunny and
ridiculously humid, even for Florida. We get into the SUV and my
mom secures her seat belt, turns the engine on, lowers the volume
of Mr. Tchaikovsky—her favorite—and faces me.

“
You
have
to be more careful, Sonia,” she says with a look of utter
disappointment if I’ve ever seen one: teeth clenched, glaring eyes,
head cocked to one side, right eyebrow raised. It’s a look I hate
and will do almost anything in the world to avoid.

We just left the
principle’s office and it went a little something like this: I was
blamed for the fight with Savannah even though she’s the one who’s
been bullying me all year. Savannah didn’t get any punishment at
all—I think Principal Jenkins has a thing for her—even though I was
the one who ended up with a bloody nose and the only thing I did
was spit in her face. Anyway, so I was sentenced to ten hours of
weeding the school’s premises with a guy named Anthony (probably
some plant geek), starting Monday. Not looking forward to
it.

“
I’ve already spoken to you
about not letting your saliva come in contact with anyone else,” my
mom says angrily.

And she has. One day at
lunch, I asked Lisa, a friend I had in third grade, if she’d share
her brownie with me. She said no, but let me take a sip of her
juice instead. After that, she gave me the brownie, and every day
until she moved away two years later, she would bring me some kind
of sweet treat to school. Finding it strange, I told my mom about
it and she said I ‘must never share my drinks with anyone’ (same
angry tone). That was also the week I got the
no-kissing-until-I-turn-eighteen lecture from both of my
parents.

Apparently, when my saliva
comes in contact with a person, they’ll do whatever I want them
to—or something like that. My mom has the same ability as me, but
she refuses to tell me exactly what it is or where the ability
comes from. I’m starting to think we’re just freaks of
nature—unnatural and potentially dangerous misfits. And what’s
worse, lately, I find myself obsessing about how I can make others
do what I want, even though I know deep inside that it’s not the
right thing to do. I wish these urges would just go away or I wish
my mom would tell me why I’ve recently developed such strong urges,
and how to get rid of them.

“
I know, but Savannah’s
been bullying me all year and I just couldn’t take it anymore!” I
say in my defense.

Savannah’s one of the
meanest girls at our school, and recently I’ve been the target of
all her attacks.
Her actions against me
started off small—petty pranks that were quite easy to disregard,
like the tacks she put on my chair and the garlic she smeared in my
locker. It was a while ago, but my locker still smells, and I'm
careful now to always check my seat before I sit down. I can’t
prove that it was her that did this to me, but every time I check
my chair for tacks in algebra class, I see her smug little smile in
the back of the room. Lately, her attacks have escalated. Every
night for a week, she called my house and left a message on the
voicemail, saying that she had seen my dad at the mall making out
with another woman. My dad died eighteen months ago and she knows
it. I can't fathom why anyone would be so cruel
.

All year, my best friend
Ashley said I should go to Principal Jenkins and tell him about
what Savannah’s doing. She’s always encouraging me to fight back,
‘for the sake of bullied kids everywhere,’ as she puts it. Ashley
has been my number one supporter when it comes to hating Savannah,
and I’m really grateful for her. The reason Ashley is so tough is
that another girl bullied her mercilessly, and she quickly learned
to stand up for herself—and others—almost a little too much.
Ashley can be as sweet as an angel, but will
rapidly turn into a demon if anyone mistreats those she cares
about. Last time Savannah pulled my hair, Ashley snuck behind her
in the lunch line and cut a chunk out of Savannah’s hair. Ashley
proceeded to warn Savannah that if she ever touched my hair again,
she’d follow her to her house and shave the rest of her hair off
while she was sleeping. I laughed when I heard that, but then I got
a little worried on Savannah’s behalf, thinking that Ashley
actually might do it.

Like Ashley, I’m convinced
that Savannah’s cruelty toward me has to do with her ex-boyfriend
asking me out. Tyson has asked me out a few times, but I always
decline. I don’t want to date him, since he’s made out with nearly
half the girls in our school, girls just like Savannah. Status
seems important to Savannah, and she certainly had that when she
dated Tyson, the quarterback of our football team. Savannah
probably thought she could wrap him around her little finger and
have him swear fidelity to her, but he quickly lost interest and
moved on, asking me—a complete nobody—out instead.

Right before the fight,
Tyson approached me in the hallway and I think he was going to ask
me to the prom. I cut him off and fled as fast as I could because
1. I absolutely don’t want to go with him and 2. I was afraid
Savannah would see us talking. Unfortunately she saw us and started
harassing me the second Tyson left. That’s when I lost it and now
I’m here trying to explain everything to my mom.