Book excerpt: My name is June Dunbar, and I am a photojournalist for SBN. I live in Livermore, California, and everyone knows they work with radiation in the labs around here. I was minding my own business at home when a shining box appeared on my kitchen table one night. Obviously, I thought it was radioactive. Mind you, this happened in the middle of the night. Anyway, I thought everything was contaminated and needed to be removed from my house. So, I grabbed the damn box and POW. I was blinded, but when I got my sight back, I was on another planet with two moons and blue trees with leaves the size of chairs. To top my shitimetter off, I got sucked inside the blue tree. You heard it right. The tree pulled me in, or my dog pushed me. I can’t remember. Yeah, a year later, I got out of the damn tree; I am blue and have magic. I meet these giants called Athany, and they tell me their land is about to be destroyed. They tell me I am the chosen one, whatever that means. I am supposed to be the leader of this fantastic group of Thirteen. I have no way to get back home. Now I am stuck like Chuck in this hell, where zombies collect taxes, and if people don’t pay their taxes, these zombies eat their kids. Now, I am on this quest from hell, and I need my meds. Hello, I am Kara Ter Kushtaneo. I am an Athany. My people were born judges, but we are cursed. I am now a murderer. The king tells us we are the King’s Legion, and we are in the Kingdom to serve him, but we murder people. I want to revel and be free, but our curse binds us to the emperor. My lover, Jon, says to do my job and not think about it, but I can’t kill any more men, women, or children. So, I took a vow of fealty to spare all children, and if I die, I die. I hope one day, our people can be free of our dark Lord and Emperor. I would do anything to free my people. “Two of the four are ready to take their place in the Assembly,” said the Blue Tree. “Yes, but the eight must be gathered fast. The magi are scattered, and some are in great danger,” said the lonely Red Tree. “Emperor Klastos Falestos will try to kill them all. He already destroyed almost all the dragons,” said the Father Black Spire. “He will try to kill them, but we chose wisely this time. This set of four will be mighty.” Amparo the Green replied as she walked through the Land in Between. “There is too much hate, envy, murder, and darkness. Do we have time before everything is destroyed?” asked the Black Spire. “I don’t know. We can only hope the Thirteen stops the devastation from coming," said the lonely Red Tree. The Assembly of Thirteen: The First Two Companions is the first book in an enthralling high fantasy series. If you like ensemble casts, intricately detailed plots, and worlds filled with rich magic and wise mages, then you’ll love Omayra Vélez’s page-turner. Author’s Note: This book was written by an award-winning author. It is a dark and epic fantasy written for adults. It is the first in a series and ends on a cliffhanger. For a list of CW, please visit the author’s website.