Young Adult Scavenger Hunt: Melissa Giorgio is the author of the YA paranormal Silver Moon Saga and at least 81 other stories and novels. Today I’m giving you a sneak peek of the second book in her Smoke and Mirrors YA fantasy series, The Burning Chaos, which is coming out July 12th, 2016. This is an excerpt from the first chapter. The book Melissa is giving away for YASH is the first book in the series, The Fading Dusk. [Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. Read to the bottom for a link to Melissa’s page and a giveaway from me.]

The Burning Chaos excerpt by Melissa Giorgio

Parnaby said, “It’s time.”

Opening my eyes, I followed them out onto the stage, where we were greeted by the deafening roar of the crowd. Even though I wanted to turn around and flee, I forced my feet to move forward until I was standing on the stage next to a beaming Elyse. Staring straight ahead and seeing no one, I silently pleaded with Parnaby to hurry up and get this over with.

Whenever I’d performed with Bantheir, we did it in cramped courtyards. We never had a stage, and we never drew a crowd as large as this. I felt sick, my body slick with sweat despite the freezing winter temperature, and I wondered if Parnaby would yell at me if I fainted.

He probably would.

After introducing himself, Parnaby called Elyse forward, and the noise of the crowd increased even further. Beautiful blond Elyse had many, many fans, and it appeared they were all in attendance today. She waved and smiled, and they cheered in response.

Then Parnaby said my name. I expected silence, or maybe a smattering of applause, but instead a group to my left roared their approval. Blinking in surprise, I sought out the noisemakers—

And my heart swelled.

Leading the group was Leonid; he cupped his gloved hands around his mouth and shouted my name proudly. Next to him was Vernen, who offered me a small wave and a smile. And next to him was Aden, who put his fingers into his mouth and whistled shrilly. Surrounding them were more of Leonid’s soldiers; they clapped and hollered until the rest of the crowd joined in.

I shut my eyes briefly, savoring it. In all my years of performing with Bantheir, I never imagined myself standing on a stage, listening to them cheer for me.

The stage fright was worth it, if I could have moments like this.

“See, it’s not so bad,” Elyse said, shouting in my ear.

Overcome with emotion, all I could do was nod and grin—my first smile since appearing on stage—and Leonid’s men went wild. I caught his eye and mouthed, “thank you.” He nodded in return, giving me one of his rare, beautiful smiles.

Parnaby clapped his hands and the crowd settled down. I stepped back, allowing Elyse to take center stage with Parnaby. It was my job to select volunteers from the crowd for some of the later tricks. Parnaby had already told me I couldn’t pick Leonid, much to our equally shared disappointment. It had to be someone we didn’t know, Parnaby instructed, to keep the illusion real.

Illusion. I snorted to myself. Even now Parnaby was working magic into his tricks to wow and amaze the crowd. He magically forbade us from telling anyone his real identity, but he had no problem flaunting his magic in the open like this. If the crowd knew the magic was real, they’d flee in terror, convinced the old wars were starting again and the extinct dragons would come back to life to kill us all. I understood Parnaby’s need for secrecy, but I could still shake my head at the irony of it all.

When it came time for me to select someone from the crowd, I walked down the steps from the stage, mindful of my heels, and purposely ignored Leonid and his men. I could feel the heat of his gaze on me, which made avoiding him that much harder. I picked a boy a few years younger than Leonid, and he blushed to the tips of his brown roots. It’s the dress, I reminded myself, hoping Leonid wasn’t watching too closely. Knowing him, he’d shove the boy aside and mount the stage in his place.

After I led him back to the stage, Parnaby performed card tricks with the youth, the crowd gasping each time Parnaby selected the right card. When he was finished, he gave one of the cards to the boy, who clutched it to his chest proudly. The crowd roared its approval, and he smiled and waved to them before leaving the stage.

A few more tricks, a few more volunteers, and then the three of us began setting up for the big finale. The crowd hushed, those who had seen the show before knowing what was about to happen.

The last time I’d seen this trick, I’d been with Bantheir, right before our final magic show together. Parnaby would take center stage with Elyse next to him. He’d throw powder to the ground, creating an explosion, and when the smoke cleared, Elyse would be the only one left on the stage. Parnaby, meanwhile, would show up in the middle of the crowd, as if by, well, as if by magic. Because that was what it was. Teleportation magic was risky, so of course Parnaby had to include it in his show.

We had practiced this trick quite a few times in the past week. It was still shocking to see Parnaby use real magic, and my stomach churned dangerously each time he appeared and disappeared. I couldn’t help but wonder what else he used the teleportation spell for. Would he suddenly appear in my room one day? I shuddered, pushing that thought from my mind. I needed to focus or else I would mess up the trick and face Parnaby’s wrath.

My job was simple: After he disappeared, I would wander the crowd, looking for him until he found me, which would delight the crowd. What they didn’t know was that we worked out Parnaby’s location beforehand, and me wandering around, pretending to look for him, was just part of the act. It would help build up the tension, Elyse explained. The longer I took, with my desperation showing on my face, the more frightened the crowd would grow, as if Parnaby had truly disappeared. Then, when all hope seemed lost, he would appear, and the crowd would go wild. We hoped, at least. This was a new act; Parnaby had never gone missing before, and we weren’t certain what the crowd’s reaction would be. A lot of it depended on how well my acting skills were, Parnaby had said.

“Please,” I’d said with a sniff reminiscent of my old master. “I grew up watching Bantheir practice his expressions in front of the mirror. I know how to act.”

Not to anyone’s surprise, the joke had fallen flat.

As Parnaby and Elyse set up the last act, I stood to the side, my hands clasped behind my back. Elyse had wanted me to help, but Parnaby had forbidden it for fear of me accidentally messing up the spell. I didn’t know the full extent of the magic—no one but Parnaby did—but I did know there was a summoning circle drawn directly under the stage. If Elyse or I stepped into the circle while Parnaby was casting, the results would be disastrous—and involve missing limbs and severed heads.

I was quite comfortable where I was.

The preparations done, Parnaby wowed the crowd with fancy arm movements and nonsense words that were meant to be part of the spell. Out of range of the circle, Elyse clutched a handful of exploding powder in her fist. This was new, too. The powder wasn’t magic, so anyone could use it.  Parnaby had wanted Elyse to be more involved, so he’d assigned her this task, which she’d enthusiastically accepted. At the end of Parnaby’s speech, Elyse threw the powder to the ground, and the courtyard was rocked with a loud explosion. Plumes of green smoke flooded the stage, and I used the distraction to descend the stairs and walk amongst the crowd.

“Parnaby?” I called, making a show of looking around furtively. When he didn’t answer, I creased my brow with worry. “Parnaby, where are you?”

Elyse called to me from the stage, as planned. “Irina, what’s wrong?”

“I can’t find Parnaby! He isn’t where he’s supposed to be!” I let my fear show on my face and in my voice, and the crowd began murmuring nervously as they watched me.

Calling his name again, I cut through the crowd to the spot where I knew Parnaby would be waiting, a hood covering his face to keep his identity a secret until the last possible moment. Scanning the crowd, I spotted him and made my way over without being too obvious about it.

Cupping my hands around my mouth, I shouted, “Parnaby!” I kept my back to him, waiting for him to “scare” me. But when nothing happened, my cries dwindled, and I turned to meet Elyse’s eye, confused. Why wasn’t Parnaby doing anything?

She looked as perplexed as I was. Shrugging her shoulders, she nodded her head in the direction of the hooded figure. Taking that as my cue to act first, I reached out to flip the hood down.

“Aha!” I said. “There you—” My words died on my lips.

It wasn’t Parnaby.

If you enjoyed this snippet, you can find out more about Melissa Giorgio at her website.  

Then follow on to the next YASHer Bloggist – Dax Varley

But, before you go, please enter my giveaway for a set of four Deserted Lands download cards, a Deserted Lands T-shirt or a signed paperback of ALL IS SILENCE. [There is also an Amazon giveaway on my homepage!] a Rafflecopter giveaway