About
the Book
Title:
Child of War – A God is Born
Author:
Lisa Beth Darling
Genre:
Adult Paranormal / Mythological Contemporary
Do you remember
Damien? Raven makes that kid look like an angel.
In book #2 of the OF WAR Series, Ares settles down with his wife, Alena, to await the birth of their son, Raven. As Alena struggles to enjoy what should be a blessed event, prophetic visions of an adult Raven haunt her dreams. Are they true visions or false ones implanted by Cernunnos who told her the boy would bring glory to Ares but only pain and agony to her? The strong but delicate Fey is relentlessly bombarded by hostility from the Olympians making her yearn to be back on Ares’ secluded island home, far away from all the bickering and backstabbing that makes up Life on mighty Mount Olympus.
Before Raven is even born, Zeus outwardly despises him for his Fey blood given to him by his filthy Celtic mother. With no way out and no way to keep his family safe from his father, Zeus the God of Gods, Ares enters into a blood pact that could cost the God of War everything he holds dear.
After a harrowing birth wherein mother and son are nearly lost to Ares, it quickly becomes clear that Raven may be the most powerful and cunning Olympian ever born despite his muddled bloodline.
As Zeus, Apollo, and Aphrodite plot against the new family by carefully planting the seeds of rage and doubt in Raven’s mind, they turn son against mother. It appears as though Alena’s visions and Cernunnos’ prophecy are coming to life as Raven grows to be a very angry young man.
As the true past between the Olympians and Celts is revealed, the battle for Ravens’ mind and the ultimate control of Olympus begins. Before it’s over, the white snows of Olympus will run red with blood.
In book #2 of the OF WAR Series, Ares settles down with his wife, Alena, to await the birth of their son, Raven. As Alena struggles to enjoy what should be a blessed event, prophetic visions of an adult Raven haunt her dreams. Are they true visions or false ones implanted by Cernunnos who told her the boy would bring glory to Ares but only pain and agony to her? The strong but delicate Fey is relentlessly bombarded by hostility from the Olympians making her yearn to be back on Ares’ secluded island home, far away from all the bickering and backstabbing that makes up Life on mighty Mount Olympus.
Before Raven is even born, Zeus outwardly despises him for his Fey blood given to him by his filthy Celtic mother. With no way out and no way to keep his family safe from his father, Zeus the God of Gods, Ares enters into a blood pact that could cost the God of War everything he holds dear.
After a harrowing birth wherein mother and son are nearly lost to Ares, it quickly becomes clear that Raven may be the most powerful and cunning Olympian ever born despite his muddled bloodline.
As Zeus, Apollo, and Aphrodite plot against the new family by carefully planting the seeds of rage and doubt in Raven’s mind, they turn son against mother. It appears as though Alena’s visions and Cernunnos’ prophecy are coming to life as Raven grows to be a very angry young man.
As the true past between the Olympians and Celts is revealed, the battle for Ravens’ mind and the ultimate control of Olympus begins. Before it’s over, the white snows of Olympus will run red with blood.
Author
Bio
It was in the 4th
grade when Lisa Beth Darling discovered she was a naturally gifted
writer. For her very first creative writing assignment, the teacher
asked the class to pen a story about a baby bird's first flight and
read them to the class. Putting pencil to paper, Lisa was instantly
whisked away by a force she couldn't explain. When they were
finished, all of the children read their happy stories to the class.
Not Lisa. She got up and told of how the baby bird flew too high, hit
a plane, crashed to the ground and died. She told of how the mama
bird and daddy bird cried of how even God was upset sending the rains
pouring from the sky. The class was speechless when she finished all
they could do was stare at her. The teacher kept her after class told
her the story was very good but it was different from the others. She
asked Lisa if she'd ever heard of Icarus and had she based her story
on him. Lisa had yet to encounter Greek Mythology or hear a whisper
of Icarus. As Lisa left the classroom the teacher again told her how
good the story was but suggested she might want to write something
happier next time. Perplexed, Lisa turned and asked her teacher:
"Why?" The teacher had no answer. Luckily for us, Lisa
never took that teacher's advice.
Today she brings us
complex multi-layered stories rich with the trials and tribulations
that make up the world in which we live. Not one to be pigeonholed
into any single genre, Lisa's stories revolve around the intricacies
of couples from range the intimacy of lovers, to mothers and sons,
and brothers and sisters.
Lisa Beth Darling is
49 years-old, lives in her hometown of New London, CT with her
husband of nearly 30 years, Roy. She is the author of more than
fifteen novels along with several short stories and non-fiction
books.
Links
Website: http://www.lisabethdarling.com
Twitter: @lb_darling
Facebook:
http://facebook.com/lbdarling
Purchase Links:
Kindle/Amazon
(paperbacks available on Amazon):
http://amazon.com/author/lisadarling
Excerpt
#1
Certain help would never arrive in time, Alena allowed that instinct to take over. She began pushing as she gasped for breath and sweat ran into her eyes. With her knees up by her shoulders, she could nearly see between her splayed legs but as hard as she pushed, Raven's head did not emerge. He didn't even seem to move downward as she dug in with her heels and gave it all she had with the next contraction. Feeling as though her abdomen was caught in some wicked vice holding her in its unyielding grip Alena bore down, throwing her head back against the footboard as she held onto her knees, hoping for extra leverage. Blood and fluids ushered forth, but Raven did not. Instead of making his way down the birth canal, Raven continued his struggle to claw his way through his mother's stomach as though he knew that was his only true way out.
Certain help would never arrive in time, Alena allowed that instinct to take over. She began pushing as she gasped for breath and sweat ran into her eyes. With her knees up by her shoulders, she could nearly see between her splayed legs but as hard as she pushed, Raven's head did not emerge. He didn't even seem to move downward as she dug in with her heels and gave it all she had with the next contraction. Feeling as though her abdomen was caught in some wicked vice holding her in its unyielding grip Alena bore down, throwing her head back against the footboard as she held onto her knees, hoping for extra leverage. Blood and fluids ushered forth, but Raven did not. Instead of making his way down the birth canal, Raven continued his struggle to claw his way through his mother's stomach as though he knew that was his only true way out.
"A-Ares!" she
screamed without any force of breath. "Where are you?" He
picked a fine time to run down to the mortal world for a gallon of
milk.
Her Son was not going to
wait for his Father or his Grandmother to come aid in his arrival.
The contractions were so close together it felt like they never
ended. Just one long burst of unending agony as she struggled to
give birth and Raven fought her from inside. One hand on her knee,
she tried to ease the baby downward with the other hand while she
bore down again. "I know it's t-t-tight but puh-lease."
Raven wasn't having any of
it. He punched upward with a force so brutal that it knocked her hand
away from her belly. Then he continued on, stretching upward until
her undulating stomach looked like the Gut-Buster scene in 'Alien',
and she was certain he would just explode out of her the way the
slimy little alien had done, leaving a gaping bloody hole where her
innards had once been.
"N-no! D-down!"
Tears streaming down her ashen cheeks, Alena tried again to coax the
baby downward as she pushed and prayed with all of her might. More
blood and fluid expelled and then, under her hand, she felt Raven
move downward. "G-good, good boy, good," she stuttered as
she tried to catch her breath. Wiping her silver hair away from her
sweaty brow, she prepared to push again with the next contraction,
but suddenly found her body rising into the air. Looking up with
startled eyes she saw Ares, he was lifting her off the floor and
putting her on the bed. "I th-ough-t you'd n-never…make it."
"I'm here. I'm here,"
he soothed, looking at the bloody puddle on the floor. "Everything's
going to be all right now."
"This place is
disgusting. Why would you ever bring her down here?" Hera
openly complained as she gave her surroundings a quick glance.
"I cleaned it, Mother!"
Letting out a grunt, she
gave Ares a shove. "Get out of my way." Before she could
maneuver between Alena's open legs to get a bead on the situation,
another contraction hit. Alena bore down hard. "Stop, stop,
stop," Hera commanded. "Don't push, Alena."
"I have to…"
"Stop, I know it's
hard, I know, but don't push." Hera looked up from between
Alena's legs where Raven was just beginning to crown, to Ares. "Why
did you wait so long to come get me?" she hissed. "You
knew how important this is!"
Panic rising within him as
he tried to stay calm and hold Alena close, he roared at her through
lips thinner than a dime. "Do what you have to, Mother."
"It's too late."
Alena had done what any woman in her position would do and she pushed
with each contraction until the boy dropped just enough to get his
head past those slender hips, but his shoulders were too wide to make
the same squeeze and now Raven was stuck in her pelvis. Opening
Alena's womb would do them no good. Pulling the boy back through the
narrow opening would only result in injury to him and her. On the
verge of losing her Grandson, the only thing the grand Goddess of All
the Olympian Gods could do was stand here and watch both of them pass
into the Underworld.
Not believing his Mother,
Ares left Alena's side to stand at the end of the bed and inspect the
precarious situation. As they stood there watching Alena writhe in
agony as she tried to hold back the urge to push, they saw Raven's
feet push upward. The little toes curled as though they were fists
as he started slamming them against the inside of Alena's womb.
Listening to Alena's near silent screams and seeing her face gnarl
and twist in a way he never wanted to see again, his Warrior's Mind
hit upon a plan. For a split second, he tried to talk himself out of
it, but in his heart, he knew it was the only way to save them.
Reaching out cautiously with one hand, he held to it Alena's cheek as
he stared into her stormy eyes. "Do you love me?"
What a question! Here she
was in the deepest clutches of labor with his Son and Ares wanted to
know if she loved him? If this wasn't love, what was it? "Y-yes."
He leaned in further as his
hand slid down to her hip where the other was waiting on the opposite
site. "Do you trust me?"
"Yes."
"I love you, Alena."
With that, Ares planted his lips over hers. In one brutal but
mercifully swift motion, he pushed down on her hips with all of his
strength and did the unthinkable. With a loud snap, her slender hips
cracked open like a clamshell. His mouth over hers silenced the
shriek of utter agony that went through her.
The
way to freedom suddenly open, Raven began making his way toward it
with much haste. But he couldn't
do it alone. m
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