ACCIDENTS for The Writer's Voice

Looks like I made it past the raffle stage of The Writer's Voice! Good luck to my fellow entrants. Here's the query and first 250 words for ACCIDENTS.

Artemis Masters always expected her sire would return for her, though he left before she'd even stopped bleeding. He wants her, forever, never mind that she's seventeen and thinks he's a certifiable lunatic. It's been a year of nightmares and sickening daylight since Genesis forced his blood on her. She has coped and pretended and re-built a life. She won’t just roll over, hopeless as it is to fight a man who holds his strength, her fear, and their bloodline over her like the sword of Damocles.

Artemis clings to her home, her last bit of normalcy – stirring up a bloody fight between her sister and her best friend under the pressures of the last year – until Genesis recaptures her. He expects she'll play house with the family he has created: a collection of eerily loyal vampire "daughters." Though she escapes to Japan, he's still her sire. He will keep coming back. Artemis sees no point in a life of constantly looking over her shoulder.

Her one chance is a Jinni, a trapped spirit powerful enough to erase Genesis from her blood. With monsters, vampires, and a legion of demons cat-fighting over the spirit, chasing wishes might get Artemis killed before she can turn human again.

ACCIDENTS is a complete YA urban fantasy at 75,000 words. It is a stand-alone novel with series potential.

Chapter 1

~Artemis~

I spent the eve of my anniversary freezing my butt off on a playground. Before I'd even put on my pajamas I knew I wasn't going to bed. I'd been restless all year; I didn't know if it was not needing as much sleep or just not wanting it. This ache in the lining of my stomach said I hadn't drunk in too long, and usually the ache meant I was safe from the nightmares. I really didn't feel safe from anything that night. Maybe that makes it stupid of me to leave home, where at least my family and walls surrounded me. I guess it was less stressful or more natural to be afraid out under the dark than in my house. The nightmares were enough without feeling scared of my own bedroom when I was awake.

If I wasn't going to sleep, I at least should have gone for some blood. Can't run on empty forever. But that's what a good, sensible vampire would do. I was not good at being a vampire. It should have been a relief but most of the time it was just pathetic. I probably wouldn't have been so bad if I practiced, but I wasn't good at practicing either. Too bad I couldn't drop vampirism like I did guitar lessons.

The sun called in a sick day, leaving dawn a sad affair. Blocked by thick-walled towers of cloud, her efforts to claw through were dull, gray, and noiseless.