Tattoo of the Black Angel Vol. 1 (SAMPLE. Full book available on Amazon)

Tattoo of the Black Angel: Chapter 1

Tattoo of the Black Angel Book 1

(Book 2: Mark of the Water Nymph - has been published by Three Acre Books. The first couple of chapters are on Wattpad. You can purchase the entire book on Amazon, or Waterstones.)

Book 3 is Scar of the Centaur- it is currently not on Wattpad)

The right of A. E. Kirk to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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Chapter 1

© A.E Kirk 2015

"That's the thing with magic. You've got to know it's still here, all around us, or it just stays invisible for you." Charles de Lint

Chapter 1

When I look back on it all, I think, 'How did this all take place?' and 'What would've happened if I'd never gone into the tattoo parlour?' Naturally all the events that happened after that now feel like a dream or a fading memory. Did I really train in a secret base? Did I really fight with mythical creatures? And did I really fly? I try to imagine life without magic, but find it dull and boring. Of course, magic is real, but only to those who believe.

So I suppose you could say that my new life began when I was invited to May Cup's Cafe one blustery October afternoon by some university friends. The cafe was quaint and bright and was usually quite busy during the weekend. Nestled down a little narrow lane between some small miners' cottages, in the heart of rural West Wales, the cafe sat opposite the only tattoo parlour in town called Needle and Ink.

Approaching the cafe, I saw my friend Amanda heading in the same direction. She glanced at the tattoo parlour as we went past it. Her friends Beth and Heather tagged along.

'Amanda, don't be such a baby,' Beth snapped at her. Amanda sighed heavily, looking forlornly at the window. It was ridiculous. There was nothing to see in the window apart from local advertisements. Two stood out in bright yellow flyers: "Wanted, Solo Singer for new and upcoming Punk Rock Band, the Shazmo's", or "Snake's for Sale, £130 O.N.O". It was a weird parlour run by a very heavily tattooed bald man.

Pulling my coat tightly around me to ward against the cold, I followed the girls into the warm aromatic-smelling café and saw a small clean table by the window.

'Oh hey, Tara,' Beth called waving at me. 'Come and sit with us!' Amanda and Heather turned around; they gave me a small smile and beckoned me over. Taking my coat off, I sat opposite Amanda, she seemed sulky but I didn't ask why.

'Have a look,' Beth smiled, passing me the menu. 'We already know what we want; we come in here a lot.'

I had a quick flick through and decided on something chocolaty. 'Special hot chocolate it is.'

Sitting directly in front of a still pouting Amanda, I tried to infiltrate their conversation about the upcoming Halloween Dance at the University. I wasn't planning on going, but I found their conversation interesting.