Taiya looked furious. She stood in front of Alex’s house, waiting for him to go in, but he refused.
“I’ll take you home.”
“I don’t need you to take me home.”
“But I want to.”
“Alex, please, it’s getting dark.”
“I’m not afraid of dark.”
“You’re so pigheaded.” Taiya rode away.
“Will you at least tell me why I can’t be out after dark?” Alex said, having a hard time with the holes, which Taiya seemed to know by heart.
“Because of a very evil spirit.”
“Oh, c’mon. We’re running from a ghost?”
“Spirit.”
“Whatever.”
When they reached Taiya’s house, the door swung open and Kala, her mother, loomed in the doorway. She glared from Taiya to Alex. Now that’s scary.
“Don’t bother. He doesn’t believe in spirits.” Taiya left her bike and ran in through the door without giving Alex as much as a glance.
“Go home, Alex. Now,” Kala said, before she banged the door shut, leaving no room for discussion.
Offended and humiliated, Alex started on his way back. “Stupid people. Stupid beliefs. And stupid lack of lights,” he mumbled, as his front tire hit a hole and he realized he couldn’t make out the road. The lack of street lamps would be a definite reason to get home before dark.
Alex had his eyes glued onto the ground when he heard the high-pitched whistle split the air, followed by a gust of icy wind that made his bike wobble. This is not happening. The wind picked up, and he lost his balance. In slow motion, the bike fell sideways.
Alex tried to move his arms to cushion the fall, but his hands seemed glued to the handlebar. A sharp pain gripped his right upper arm as he landed on a rock.
He looked around, terrified, while he scrambled to get up. The high-pitched whistle stopped and the wind died down as he lifted the bike.
“Whatever.” He peddled as fast as he could, while struggling to stay on the road. His arm ached every time he swerved. He expected to see the lights from his house at any moment, at least the ones from the porch, but there were none, only pitch black. Maybe the trees were blocking them, or maybe his mother hadn’t turned them on yet.
He gasped when he saw two gray shadows speed across the road, a few feet ahead of him. His bike wobbled, as he pivoted to see where they’d gone. He could fight one guy, but not two. What did they want? Why not just attack him?
Beaty, Eleanor T (2013-02-05). Souls of Darkness (Kindle Locations 593-621). . Kindle Edition.
Taking a trip to a strange and exotic land can be a life altering experience. The everyday things you take for granted in your home town might be different or not even exist in the land you visit. Music, politics, technology, food and religion can be unlike anything you are familiar with and might leave you wishing you had just stayed home. If you were Alex, the main character of Eleanor T. Beaty’s Souls of Darkness, you would have wished that and then some before you even reached your final destination.Souls of Darkness follows the adventures of a teenager named Alex as he takes an extended vacation with his mother to the Polynesian island of Mahini. It is not the first place Alex would choose to visit, but his father had died six months earlier and his mom found an old brochure in his father’s things, so when she wanted to go, Alex reluctantly agreed. Mahini is an island paradise at first glance, despite the utter lack of technology, but from the moment they approach the island, Alex can sense something is off. Why does everyone have to be inside before the sun sets? Why does Alex feel like he is being watched? And why can’t Alex keep from looking like a fool in front of the cute girl working at the general store?
The author does an excellent job of bringing the fictional island of Mahini to life, filling it with memorable characters, intrigue and a healthy dose of terror. This is one of those books that it is easy to get lost in because the writing allows the reader to picture the locations and people with such clarity that it almost takes outside interference to bring you back to reality. The story moves along at a good clip, but there are a few points where the action slows in order to impart some nugget of necessary information.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who likes a good thriller with a healthy helping of the supernatural.
You can buy the book on Amazon HERE.
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