Chapter Excerpt
"You guys ready?" Ben whispered, the low rumble of his voice traveling through her whole body.
Niko nodded. She had their script memorized.
"Names?" Asked the bored Official when it was finally their turn.
"Wyatt and Hanna Reeves." Niko said. "And that's my brother Jaime Brennan."
"We just got married." Ben said cheerfully. Then he kissed her.
The Official was unimpressed. "That's nice." He monotoned, his demeanor never straying from its phlegmatic path. "Do you have the admittance fee?"
"There were bandits." Ben said, his golden skin still flushed from the attempted kiss. "They stole my darling's boots." He cast an injured look her way and Niko resisted the urge to roll her eyes, she should have know he wouldn't act naturally. My darling?
"And some of our money," he continued, "now we only have enough for two. But I can kill Slithers."
"That's nice." The Official yawned. "If you can only pay for two only two can enter. No exception." He'd heard too many tales of woe. Fabricated or not, they no longer aroused his sympathy.
Ben and Niko glanced at each other.
"I can kill Slithers." Ben said again, slower this time. In Amaryllis anyone who could prove their ability to slay Slithers were allowed inside, free of charge. The scale tipped heavily on the side of the monsters and the cities were eager to employ any means of leveling it. At least, that's what her experience in Amaryllis City had taught her, the fact that this Official was refusing Ben's expertise left her baffled.
A hint of annoyance began to creep into the Official’s bland tone. "If you're not going to pay please move aside."
"What about –"
"We've already chosen our quota of Grey-men for the day." The Official said before Ben could finish. "Please move aside, sir. You're holding the line."
Ben's eyes darted around the place, as if he hoped to chance upon the magic words that would convince the Official to let three in for the price of two. Finding nothing, he let out a loud sigh and stepped to the side.
"This is insane." Ben groused once they'd regrouped a few yards away to discuss their limited options. "They've always let Slither hunters in free. Why the change?"
***
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Acknowledgments
In the movies they usually showcase the writer holed up alone in his broom closet with a typewriter that's duct-taped together as he hisses at anyone coming too close to his creative abode. While I do own a typewriter Niko was written in the modern way with modern help and I'd like to thank all those lovely people who told me broom closets are bad for my skin.
Hana Kura, for drawing the awesome cover for Niko, being a general sounding board as I struggle to kill my darlings, and being so creative that on the days where I’m at my most lazy all it takes is one look at you diligently toiling away on your newest endeavor to get my butt into gear.
Breanna Perkins, for editing Niko on such short notice and for doing it so well that I learned lots of new stuff about writing. Any mistakes are because I’m a stupid person who didn't listen to sound advice. :p
Madhuri Blaylock, for being my first writer friend and a generally cool person. We 'met' kind of oddly, but it turned out all right in the end, no?
All the readers and writers on Storywrite, who read, inspired, and left comments about Niko back when she was just a baby and helped her grow into such a cool young-adult.
About the Author
Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Kayti Nika Raet moved down South when she was 11, where she was bitten by the writing bug, as well as other, less friendly insects.
She is the author of the Outsider Chronicles, a five book series starting with NIKO and set in a world where the rain burns like acid and flesh eating monsters roam.
She's also a reviewer for Readers' Favorite and has her own Youtube Channel: Kayti Edition.
When she is not hard at work on her fourth book she has fun reading, listening to K-pop, and photography.
Kayti lives in Milledgeville, Georgia. Visit her online on Twitter, Goodreads, on Facebook, or email her at KNRwrites(at)gmail(dot)com.
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