SERPENTINA
Faith Consiglio
Publication date: June 27th 2024
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Driven to find a cure for her brother’s illness, Emma embarks on a research trip to the island of Crete, a land brimming with tales of the gods. There, she is drawn to the myth of Medusa, a beautiful priestess turned monster, cursed at the hands of a jealous Athena.
Her exploration leads to a dangerous encounter with a mysterious serpent in the forest, and after the snake’s venom nearly kills her, Emma slips even deeper into the myth, her own fate intertwining with the woman at its heart.
She returns home, eyes set on attending Columbia University after graduation, but it isn’t long before she notices changes to her body and mind… changes that are nothing short of serpentine.
As she pulses through Medusa’s memory, she unlocks an unexpected truth that alters her world. She discovers the scope of her new abilities, including her blood’s power to cure illness, but with a cost. When Emma is betrayed by those closest to her, she finds herself hunted by an enemy hungry for her blood. And she is not the only one in danger; a horrifying plan unfurls as young girls disappear from the streets.
Emma must embrace what she has become to fight an enemy more ancient and evil than she imagined, for the chance to heal her brother, save the girls, and avenge the mythical source of her power.
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EXCERPT:
“Dark leaves rustled in the forest, their dried tips rubbing against each other like the slow rattle of a snake. Emma paused, a warning echoing in her mind. Since her arrival to the reptile research base on Crete, she had ventured into the palm forest alone each afternoon, wandering deeper each time.
Never enter the forest alone. It was the rule her research mentor emphasized most during orientation. But there was nothing truly dangerous on the island. Hercules had cleared away all the deadly creatures to honor Zeus’s birthplace. She smiled, recounting the myth the airport taxi driver had told them. Emma knew, out of all the snakes there, only the cat snake had venom, and it was too mild to hurt a human.
Still, if Dr. Belken discovered her sneaking out at dusk, she might as well kiss a Columbia University recommendation letter goodbye. Yet the forest called her in, beckoning her to explore its ancient grounds.
She stepped over sandy soil, glancing over her shoulder at the wooden stairs and scanning to see if anyone was watching before turning into the trees. She savored a breath. The air was dry and the heat tame, with an endless breeze carrying wisps of sea salt and the spice of wild herbs through the dancing shadows of leaves.
A rustling halted her steps.
Her eyes darted to catch a beige, reptilian tail slipping into the nearby shrubs.
She held her breath and crept toward it, afraid to scare it off. It would sense the vibration of even her lightest step.
She peered through a thicket of narrow, glossy leaves and clustered pink flowers. Her heart pounded, instincts heightened, but she reminded herself that even a bite couldn’t kill her.
At first, she didn’t see anything. Then scales materialized among the leaves on a thick, coiled body. Only now they were green and pink. She squinted. Was it a different snake, or had it changed?
Its serpentine head emerged through the leaves, forked tongue flickering. She froze.
This was not a cat snake.”
Author Bio:
Faith grew up in Sloatsburg, NY, and finished medical school in Stony Brook to become a psychiatrist, with a passion for storytelling. When she's not writing or seeing patients, Faith enjoys traveling, taking her cat for walks, trying different types of green tea, and seeing how many plants she can fit in her apartment.
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