Sparks by Trisha Thacker

I am pleased to be able to share an excerpt from Sparks the fantasy novel by Trisha Thacker. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

The Blurb

Fateh’s world was turn upside down when the fae invaded his home. Caught between fighting for his life and protecting his family, he doesn’t know who to trust. Enter Tabor, an enigmatic fae that has his own plans for Fateh. When the fire sparks, where will Fateh find a safe haven?

The Excerpt

After Fateh had run off, Tabor moved through the town easily, ignoring all that came in his path. They were all so boring after Fateh. It helped that they were simply human with nothing else to spice up their existence. Here in one breath and gone in another. Still there was one particular human he needed to find and speak with, before time ran out. 

There—she was unmistakable and he zeroed in on her location, tugging her to the side so that he could talk with her privately. He didn’t miss the fear in her eyes or the sweat that suddenly beaded her brow and he pulled back a bit, cooling his temperature so that he could converse with her easier. 

"You-you're Fateh’s mother." His expression gave nothing away, waiting to see if she would lie or run. Humans always lied, but mothers lied the most when it came to protecting their children. Still, this human woman seemed intelligent, so perhaps she would try and start by telling the more valuable truth. She gave a cautious nod. 

"What’s he done now?" she asked, leaning back on her heels and relaxing a little, now that he didn’t try and kill her immediately. "I have warned him." The note of exasperation in her voice made him think of his own mother from so long ago and a smile twitched on his face. 

"He’s going to be in trouble soon," he said bluntly. "You can see the signs and you know your son and what dangers he can fall into." There was no time for prevaricating; if he had any hope at all of pulling Fateh away from this place, he had to give the proper warnings now. 

Instead of protesting, her shoulders sagged. The truth was there and no matter how much she had tried to lie to herself about it when one of the enemy was telling her, she knew it was true. 

"You have seen some of the effects on the people that have been taken by the dark ones in this town, have you not?" he asked. "What happens to their… souls, their existence?" He watched her frown before she slowly nodded. "It can be much worse for Fateh. I have seen what else can be done to a person, more than a little mind control." 

"Get on with it." Her tone was blunt. "What is going to happen to my son?" She was getting a little bolder and Tabor couldn’t help but grin a little in return at her attitude. It seemed that Fateh got his stubborn streak and big mouth from her. 

"He’s not like the others around here," he pointed out. "You should know the stories." 

She bit her lip and rubbed at her arms as if she was cold now. "He is my child," she said forcefully. "He’s not a changeling of any sort." 

He grinned even wider at that. "No, no—he’s not anything of that sort, but he is… well, there is more to him than what is simply on the surface. Thus his nature is like a shining jewel to the Shadows that run this town." 

"… and you’re offering to help." The disbelief was thick in her voice. 

"I’m offering to help because I know what it is like to be on the wrong side of their interest," he snapped. "Your son possesses many of the qualities that they kill for. He needs real protection, not the false promises that are being offered. This isn’t an offer I’m making lightly." 

"So it’s coming down to making deals with the tylwyth teg." She ran a hand through her hair. "Mama had talked about it. Warned me that it’d happen and that I just had to be smart about which one I made a deal with." 

"Your mother had clear eyes as well, hm?" he asked. "Perhaps there’s an explanation for Fateh’s little quirks after all." He crossed his arms against his chest. "Listen well to this warning, then. If your son is under my protection, the Shadows that roam here can not hurt him. I have my own patrons and they are not willing to cross them for the sake of one strange child. However, if that child does not have protection, there is no force on earth that can save his soul from those abominations." 

"Then they’re not your companions? You’re not all in this together?" She looked almost hopeful; as if she was expecting a rescue from the darkness that had taken over the town. 

Tabor barked out a faint, scornful laugh at that hope. He didn’t have an army and the higher courts cared nothing for humans except as something to play with. The humans were lucky that the higher courts cared even less for the cast-offs that were created from the humans' own ill-wishing and hopes gone awry. "No," his tone was curt. “, "but they’re not something you would trifle with lightly. There are others of us here that are not tied up with those creatures, but none of us are so suicidal to go up against them so carelessly." 

"I see. So you’re just as scared as the rest of us." She shook her head. "So you’re saying that I have to agree to hand protection of Fateh over to you so that something nastier isn’t going to snatch him up? Is that it?" 

Tabor nodded seriously. "They’re starting to push and push—trying to tangle everyone here in their threads until there is nothing left. Unless you want your son to join the list of the casualties… or worse, their ranks, you’d best take my advice. When the time comes, you need to hand Fateh over to me." 

The Author

Trisha Thacker is an Arizona transplant that hides from the sun while watching explosions on her favorite science show on television. You can find her obsessing over cats, foxes, and other furry creatures that are just too cute. She is the author of the Ablaze series, which starts with Sparks.