WRITER'S VOICE

Wow, that filled up fast!  I just managed to squeak in at number 72.

Plot Summary portion of query:

   Fallen's mother was murdered and his father died getting revenge. Of the three people responsible, only one, Zata, escaped – and it's Fallen's duty to kill her. At least, that's what his father's ghost says. Zata fights on the opposite side of a war, so getting to her poses a challenge.

   After years of searching, he's just spotted her when a celestial being named Auris appears. Claiming to be a god, Auris bans killing. Fallen has no idea what a god is, but anyone to break Auris's ban is fried by lightning on the spot.

   Auris can't be omnipotent; Fallen just needs to find a way around the ban. He sticks to Zata like a shadow, biding his time. But the longer he spends with her, the more she seems, well, normal. Father says he's a traitor. Zata is the enemy, Fallen should kill her, simple as that.

   As long as Auris is around, killing Zata is out of the question. Whenever anyone tries to break the god's bans, it fries them and makes a new rule to fix the loophole. Soon, the god has made so many bans, it's dictating everyone's lives. Auris has got to go.

   But to get rid of the god, Fallen must defy his father, forget the past and ally with Zata. Because if either side wants to stand a chance, they must do the unthinkable: unite

   HALIDOM is a 70,000 word YA fantasy with series potential. It is told through three points of view: Auris, Fallen and Zata.

Annnndddd first 250 words!  It starts in Zata's perspective.

 

There was always that brief moment, falling, sky bright and wind rushing past her ears, drowning everything else out, when Zata truly thought she might die. She could imagine herself tumbling, faster and faster, until she would hit the ground with a smack and become a pile of broken bones. She flipped over in the air and watched the ground coming ever closer. Her instincts were screaming at her, and ignoring them made adrenaline flood her veins. Zata grinned. It just never got old.

At the very last moment, she snapped out her wings.

It was longer than she'd ever waited before. Her muscles screamed as she forced her wings straight out, catching as much air as possible. She barely managed to bank in time, the middle talon on her left foot scratching a dark line in the dirt as she forced her wings down, forced herself to get lift. In spite of rising, the tips of both her wings smacked painfully on the ground. Her second wingbeat lifted her further up, the momentum of the fall already worn out. Zata knew that changing her course earlier would have given her more forward speed, but she couldn't resist the urge to see just how far she could push it...

No further. Her heart was pounding so hard she could watch her chest move, her cheeks aching from the width of her smile. That's the longest I should wait. She chuckled. That was what she'd told herself last time, too.