Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read: From a Youth a Fountain Did Flow Tour and Giveaway

Supernatural meets The Raven Boys in this thrilling young adult fantasy horror novel about a girl who has lost everything and finds herself in the center of a war between witches and demons.

From a Youth a Fountain Did Flow

The Fountain of Youth Book 1

by Miranda Levi

Genre: YA Dark Urban Fantasy Horror

Supernatural meets The Raven Boys in this thrilling young adult fantasy horror novel about a girl who has lost everything and finds herself in the center of a war between witches and demons. In a world where anything is possible, can she find the things that keep her human? Or is she doomed to a dark destiny?

Love. Fate. Courage. Darkness.

Thrust into a timeless battle between an ancient network of witches and the demon underbelly who will stop at nothing to possess her regenerating body. Scarlet Singer must decide what is worth fighting for in this life. Love, fate, and a greater destiny are all at stake.

When Scarlet stumbles upon a poem written in a journal for her more than a hundred-and-fifty years earlier, she must face her greatest fears and accept the possibility that she is the fountain of youth personified.

Only a Telepath named Marcus and a Void named Zig stand between Scarlet and the battle over her future. Whom can she trust when both sides have enough reason to end her? If any of them knew the truth, her life would be forfeit.

Praise for From a Youth A Fountain Did Flow

"Pursued by demons, a teenage girl must confront darkness and a terrible destiny in Levi’s YA fantasy novel. In Washington State,17-year-old Scarlet Singer is haunted by nightmarish shadows and a feeling of wrongness. Her bad dreams come true when her home is invaded by a monster in the guise of a man. Her mother sacrifices herself to give her daughter time to escape, and a teenage telepath named Marcus Castillo is drawn to Scarlet, sensing her distress. His grandmother, a witch named Kara, accompanies him and slaughters the demonic killer with magic, and Scarlet’s perception of reality is forever changed (“I know magic isn’t real, and demons are like fairytales designed to scare children. Except, I am now swayed to the argument that demons are real, and magic seems to exist despite my reservations”). Packed with demons, humans reduced to “meat suits,” blood-letting and blood-drinking, witches, telepathy, time-shifting, and supernatural realms reachable through magic portals, the novel is never dull. The abundance of fantasy and horror tropes could have been overkill, but the author weaves them into a neat twist on the concepts of the fountain of youth and reincarnation. The catalyst is the 19th-century journal of a young woman named Kelby, which causes Scarlet, sheltered by a powerful Witches Council, to begin to wonder who—and what—she is, leaving her with a secret she can’t share, hunted by demons and ostensible friends alike. Throughout, Scarlet’s closeness to Witches Council members Marcus and the handsome Zig complicates things... The author effectively keeps the plot moving forward by shifting narratives between Scarlet, Marcus, Zig, Kelby’s journal, an enigmatic witch named Azeltha, Scarlet’s demonic nemesis, Dagon, and a few minor but essential characters. The shocker of a cliffhanger at the end signals a sequel to come. An imaginative fantasy-horror tale anchored by a relatable teen hero, engaging ..." Kirkus Reviews

“A fast-paced, intriguing, richly written puzzle box of a book. Every twist and turn left me breathless. That first paragraph grabbed me and wouldn't let me go.” –Aaron Michael Ritchey, award-winning author of The Sages of the Underpass and The Cunning Man series.

"This is a captivating tale about witches and demons and a battle as old as time. It is a story of love, loss, and being captured by purpose. The main character is likable and brave, and her growth as she discovers the truth about her past and her power over the future makes a story well worth reading. I highly recommend Mrs. Levi's 'From a Youth a Fountain Did Flow'" ~Cheree Alsop, author of the Werewolf Academy series.

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SCARLET

ith each step, the city sucks a little more light from me. I’ve become a shriveled fraction of my former self. My insides let sorrow and darkness take hold. It grips onto my heart and seems to weave a thread through my core, sewing torn and broken pieces together again. I want to stop walking and lay down to die. But giving up is only an option for the broken. I’m patchwork now. So, I keep walking.

I’m not sure why I follow the old woman and a boy named Marcus. We walk for twenty minutes in silence. I consider leaving, turning right when the others go left. Each step is moving lead. I am dead weight.

I should have called the police myself. I should have stayed behind with mom. When I think about what’s happened, it feels like lies slipping off my tongue to speak my truth out loud. A tightness rises in me, choking out my ability to ruminate rationally. I don’t think I would even believe it had I not witnessed it myself.

The pizza delivery guy crouched over my cat’s slain body. He looked up at me with inhuman black eyes.

I’m going crazy.

The scene plays over and over in my brain. Like a movie on repeat, I can’t shut off. I was backing out of the bedroom, knocking things over along the way, stumbling into Mom as I clamber over the top of the couch to get away from the black-eyed man.

Limp fur, black eyes, and Mom telling me to run.

I don’t let myself think past that. I don’t want to remember.

“Run.”

It is the last word Mom ever spoke to me. She looks at me with chocolate brown eyes and points.

“Run.”

Mom’s voice is calm, collected. It’s not a question.

“Run.”

It’s not a demand either. I want Mom to grab my hand and drag us out of the house together.

“Run.”

It’s a plea.

All I want is her, whole and perfect. To be in her warm arms one more time. Hear her voice whisper me to a safe harbor. Only I know one more time would never be enough. No amount of time would be.

Her screams still echo in my mind.

I can hear her begging for a savior, for someone to help her.

But nobody came.

My mom is dead, and it’s all my fault.

There she is.

Cane is positioned between a girl and a meat suit, vertical, spinning at sixty-six miles per hour counterclockwise. Cane starts to glow. An energy field stretches beyond the girl, encompassing her and Cane in its white light.

I move to Abuela’s side. She puts her arm out in front of me, forcing me to take a step backward. I want to move in front of the girl—an internal need to put me between her and the meat suit.

“What do you want, hag?” the possessed boy says. He can’t be much older than I am, seventeen or eighteen.

“Oh, the meat suit can speak. Good for you,” Abuela takes a step closer, and so do I.

Dark trundles shadow his eyes. A red t-shirt with a Pizza Time logo clothe the stolen body. “I will have her first. Then I’ll have you for dessert,” The meat suit winks at Abuela, his voice silk.

Abuela smiles, “Aw, you think I’m sweet. But first, Cane, let’s see if this demon has a heart.”

Cane moves quicker than a melting snow-cone in hell. Flesh rips away from the body snatcher’s chest cavity leaving Cane embedded.

“You were wrong. She wasn’t the one to worry about. I am,” a wicked smile plays at Abuela’s paper-thin lips. I start to understand why she didn’t want me to come, why she put off my street training for this long.

Wide eyes blink back as a bloodied heart pulses its last beat.

Silence falls in the ally. My stomach turns its lunch, and I think I might hurl. One, one, two, three, five, eight, thirteen… I take a deep breath to calm my stomach and look away from the pizza delivery guy, away from the demon.

Miranda Levi is an accomplished fiction writer and poet hailing from the Pacific Northwest. Her writing is known for captivating readers with her evocative storytelling and lyrical prose, which transport readers into other worlds and perspectives. With a passion for exploring the human experience, Levi’s works delve into the complexities of life, love, and loss and offer a glimpse into the human soul. She lives in Seattle with her husband, Peter, and their cat Hamilton.

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