Black Beauty
Everleaf Series
Book Zero
By Constance Burris
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Horror
Publisher: BE Publications
Date of Publication: September 2015
ISBN: 1515275892
ASIN: B015VEGE0Y
Book Description:
At Vista Apartment Complex, life
drastically changes for four of its residents when they decide to do business
with Crazy Jade—the supposed voodoo witch that can grant your wish for a price.
Shemeya wants the confidence to stand up
against the girls bullying her at school, but she soon has to choose between
keeping her dreadlocs or living a normal life. After catching her boyfriend
cheating, Latreece just wants to have the same curves as all the other girls.
Ashley will do whatever she can to have “White Girl Flow”, but takes her
pursuit too far when she steals from Crazy Jade.
Everyone who comes into contact with
Crazy Jade soon learns the true price of her magic—and how horribly wrong it
can go.
Excerpt:
Shemeya knocked on Jason’s door.
For the past two years, they’d ended up in the same chemistry course as lab
partners. He’d asked her out a few times, but she’d politely said no. He bored
her. Turning him down made her feel like an idiot who only went out with thugs,
but she wasn’t stupid. She only wanted a little thug, not a full serving.
When Jason opened the door, she
pulled off her backpack and stepped into his house. “Is your mom home?”
“No, she’s with her new guy.” He
led her into his kitchen. “Want something to drink?”
“You got some juice?” She
desperately wanted to get rid of the dry, earthy taste that the herbs had left
in her mouth. Water hadn’t worked.
“I got something better.” He
reached under one of the kitchen cabinets and pulled out a bottle of Hennessy.
“Jason, really?”
He smiled innocently.
She rolled her eyes. “Sure. I
need a drink after the day I’ve had.” And liquor should kill the taste in my
mouth.
He poured the cognac into two
yellow plastic cups before they walked into the living room and sat on his
couch. The alcohol warmed her insides and seared away the taste of the herbs.
“We should be talking about
absorption, not sitting here getting drunk,” Shemeya pointed out.
“We always finish our projects
tipsy. Why should this time be any different?”
Shemeya laughed. “Anyways, let’s
get started: absorption vs. adsorption.” She pulled her chemistry book from her
backpack.
“Stupid names. Why do they have
to be so similar?” He sat back on the couch with a glazed look in his eyes.
“Are you going to get your
books?”
He licked his lips and leaned
forward. “I’ve heard stories about you and Latreece’s boyfriend.”
“So?” The buzz she had from the
liquor quickly dissipated while her heart rate increased. She dreaded where the
conversation was headed.
“I don’t understand. I’ve been
asking you out for months, but you go out with him instead. He has a
girlfriend.”
“I didn’t go out with him,” she
said through clenched teeth. She’d expected to be harassed at school; she
hadn’t expected it here. She had hoped her anger would shut him up, but no such
luck.
“I saw you go in the room with
Corey last weekend at Serena’s party.”
She threw her books on the table
and stood. “Oh damn, Jason. Really?”
“I’ve treated you with nothing
but respect since I’ve known you.”
“I’ve had a horrible day with
everyone teasing me at school. Now I get here and have to deal with it from
you, too. I’m leaving.” She turned from him and bent over to pick up her books.
“Are you crying?”
She brought her hand up to her
face, and it came back wet. Why was she crying in front of him? Wasn’t the fake
weed supposed to give her courage?
“Don’t go. I’m sorry.”
She was so busy wiping away her
tears that she didn’t fight it when he grabbed her hand and pulled her back
onto the couch. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
She let him hold her as she
cried. Maybe it was the liquor, maybe it was the fake weed, or maybe it was her
loneliness, but whatever the reason, she didn’t stop him when he brought his
lips down onto hers.
His sweaty hands on her breast
brought her back to reality. He wasn’t who she wanted. “No, Jason.” She pulled
back. “I have to go.”
“Don’t go,” he pleaded, with his
hand still under her shirt. Somehow they’d ended up on the couch with him on
top cradled between her legs.
“No.” She tried to move from
under him.
He loomed above her, flushed
despite his dark skin. “Do you like it rough? Is that what it is?”
“No. This isn’t what I came here
for.” Shemeya tore at his chest, but Jason refused to budge.
He kissed her neck. “I’m tired of
being the nice guy,” he murmured, pinning her further beneath his body.
“Get off me!” she screamed. His
erection rubbed against the crotch of her jeans. She punched and kicked, but it
made him more excited. Her scalp itched as she fought. She wanted to scratch,
but she needed both hands to fight Jason off. I’m getting raped, but I can’t
fight the urge to scratch. The inconvenience of it almost made her laugh.
Something above moved. She looked
past Jason. Five snakes were hovering above his head.
“I’m going crazy.” This time she
did laugh, and the snakes, which were the same rusty brown color as her dreads,
smiled.
Jason looked towards her. “Why
are you laughing?” His eyes darted above her. The feel of his erection
disappeared as he crept away, but she wrapped her legs around his waist.
Her itching scalp had been
replaced with pleasurable tingles that ran from her head down to her toes. “Where
are you going?” she asked.
“We need to leave,” he said,
trembling. “There are snakes in here. There are snakes in your hair.” She
pulled him closer while he fought to be released. “Let go. We need to get out
of here.”
“No, stay,” she whispered in his
ear. “They won’t hurt you.”
Shaking, he looked from Shemeya
to the snakes. He tried to force himself from her legs. This time, when she
tried to pull him closer, he punched her. Pain exploded in her jaw, but she
never let go.
“Jason, that hurt.”
He looked into her eyes.
“Please,” he begged. A snake sunk its fangs into his cheek. Another struck his
ear. One clung to his nose, and another hung below his left eye. He writhed in
pain as he tried to escape the snakes and her thighs. His pleading eyes came back
to her before he stopped moving completely. The snakes retracted their fangs.
She relaxed her legs. Jason fell onto the carpeted floor.
She stood and nearly fainted
before she righted herself by grabbing the side of the couch. She brought her
hands up to fix her hair but hesitated a few inches away. She’d never touched
snakes before. But the snakes came to her, caressing her open palm. They were
cold and smooth and full of life.
The Bucket List
By Constance Burris
Josephine lifts her arthritic
knees up the steps of the small Japanese tour bus and stares past the rows of
empty seats before she settles her gaze on a middle-aged woman with a curly
afro.
When the woman turned and smiles,
that is all the invitation Josephine needs. “May I sit,” she asks after she
wobbles her wide hips through the tight aisles.
“Of course,” the woman says.
“Thank you. I’m Josephine from
Texas.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Keisha
from North Carolina.”
“Are you traveling alone?”
Josephine asks.
“Yeah, are you?”
“No. My no good husband is at the
hotel in bed. He ate some bad sushi or some shit.”
The woman blushes. She must be
from the suburbs, Josephine thinks. Suburbanites are always blushing over curse
words.
“Are you looking forward to
seeing Mt. Fuji?” Josephine asks the girl once the bus starts moving.
“No, I’m getting off at the
Aokighara forest.”
“The what?” Josephine asks.
“The suicide forest at the base
of Mt. Fuji.”
“I’ve heard about that place.
It’s where people go to die.” Josephine shakes her head. “I wonder why so many
go there?” Josephine asks. “I suppose they’re all unhappy.”
“They can’t all go there because
they’re sad,” Keisha says. “Maybe some are just finished.”
“Finished with what?” Josephine
studies the woman. She’s too pretty to be so morbid.
“With life. Maybe they’ve crossed
everything off their bucket list.”
“Well, then you create another
list. Believe me; I’ve started over more than a few times. You can always
reinvent yourself and create a whole ‘nother bucket of lists.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“You’re not thinking about going
there to die are you?” Josephine asks suddenly concerned.
Keisha laughs. “Of course not.
I’m just curious.
Josephine brings her hand to her
chest. “Oh my goodness. You about gave me a heart attack.”
“You don’t have to worry about
me. I have a husband and a little girl at home. I would never leave them.”
“Good. Good,” Josephine says as
she stares at the woman, looking for any sign of depression.
“I promise. It’s just a weird
curiosity of mine. I’m not going to kill myself.
“Well if you’re sure,” Josephine
says, finally at ease.
“Ms. Josephine,” the Japanese
tour guides says with an almost flawless American accent “We’re here.”
“Oh my. I didn’t even know I was
sleep.” Josephine looks over to Keisha, but the woman’s seat is empty except
for a folded sheet of paper. Josephine glances around the bus for the woman,
but she is nowhere in sight. All of her belongings are gone. Satisfied she has
done her due diligence and no one can call her nosy, Josephine unfolds the
paper.
Keisha’s Bucket List
Visit the
suicide forest
All but the last one is marked out.
About the Author:
Constance Burris is on a journey to take
over the world through fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Her mission is to
spread the love of speculative fiction to the masses. She is a proud card
carrying blerd (black nerd), mother, and wife. When she is not writing and
spending time with her family, she is working hard as an environmental engineer
in Oklahoma City.
