Book Excerpt The Ivory Staff ~ Bookish Madness

Book Excerpt

Ali wasted no time with formalities. He took his dega in his left hand and swiftly slashed upward diagonally from right to left, leaning into his left hip. Stepping forward with his right leg, oriented himself for the stance of his second strike. See, to parry with the dega is an art, a dance, and when it is taught to young boys, it is taught as such…as a series of dance phrases and ballet clauses held together by two-step conjunctions to create different choreographed sentence structures.

I blocked his blows accordingly, only fighting defensively, for I served Ali just as much as I served Chad and could never forgive physical harm to either. I also improperly clenched my dega with both hands for much of my tango with Ali, since in all my experience I’d never come across a skilled left-handed combatant. It also did not help that Ali was far sharper and quicker than me in the dance of the dega.

We clinked and clanked against one another with strained agility, but my noble attempts did not last as long as I would have liked. Ali succeeded in ramming the sensitive part of my knee against the bedpost, ripping skin and cracking bone. He also did well in nicking me deeply just below my left ribcage. A white-hot current of agony boiled from the small of my back to the base of my neck. Stunned by the vicious blow, my dega slipped to the floor. I hit my head against the wall with a loud clack and could not get up for the life of me. Just like that, I was out of commission.

Ali’s feral green eyes flew over to Chad, who’d honorably stayed out of the dance, bracing himself from any stray blows. “Tell your people to bow to me, and I may spare your life.”

About the Book

Title: The Ivory Staff

Author: M. Lachi

Genre: New Adult Fantasy

How was young Samiyah to know that her simple grace, wit, and beauty—exceptional traits given her peasant class—would land her in the middle of a chessboard of high-level political turmoil or that the love that blinds politics, the hate that blinds brotherhood, and the lust that blinds love would flip that chessboard on its side? Rife with passionate dialog, edgy suspense, and epic conflict, this Dark Fairy Tale follows our heroine as she journeys to heal a nation broken by the internal prejudices of class warfare, armed with nothing but stark determination.

Author Bio

M. Lachi is a published author and an award nominated songwriter and composer. Her resume includes features on Oprah Radio, CBS Radio, The CW, Oxygen, and the E! and Style Networks among others. M. Lachi lives in New York City and enjoys reading, composing and catching live performances.