Bones at the Crossroads (Blood at the Root, 2) - Hardcover

Williams, Ladarrion

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593711963 ISBN 13: 9780593711965

Verlag: Labyrinth Road, 2025

Inhaltsangabe

In the sequel to the “unforgettable” (People), New York Times bestselling fantasy debut Blood at the Root, a Black teenager with magical powers returns to Caiman University only to find new dangers and new secrets.

It's Homecoming season at Caiman University, and all 17-year-old Malik Baron wants to do is be a regular college student…or as regular as he can get at a magical HBCU for young, Black Conjurers. He’s ready to go to parties, hang out with his new friends, choose a major, and talk to girls. Instead, he's reeling from a summer of revelations, heartbreak and betrayal, and still uncovering the truth about his powers and his legacy.

The family he only just discovered is already fractured beyond repair, and a new relative who shows up on his doorstep brings even more questions. Then there’s the mother he risked everything to find, who might be the biggest threat to the life he's trying to build. To protect his new community, Malik joins an elite secret society with roots in ancient magic.

His journey takes him even deeper into his own heritage and the history of the magical world, while bringing him closer to a classmate whose friendship might mean something more, if Malik is ready to let her in. But how can he use powers he can’t even control to defend a world he’s not sure will ever fully accept him? And as the pressure and danger builds, will he be able to confront the deepening cracks within the magical society, and those building within himself?

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Hailing from the small town of Helena, Alabama, LaDarrion Williams is a self-taught playwright, filmmaker, author, and screenwriter committed to shaping a new era of Black fantasy. His theatrical work has garnered attention at notable venues, including the Echo Theatre Playwrights Lab, the Great Plains Theatre Conference in Omaha, TSU’s Black and Latino Playwrights Festival, and the Boise Contemporary Theater BIPOC Playwrights Festival.

An esteemed alum of the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, LaDarrion’s play Hurt People was selected for the 2024 conference, further solidifying his place as a bold and necessary voice in contemporary theater. His play Coco Queens was featured in the 2019 Sundance Institute’s Playwriting Intensive, won the New Works@theWorks Playwriting Award, and celebrated its world premiere at Playhouse on the Square in July 2024.

His Jeff Award-nominated play Boulevard of Bold Dreams—a poignant exploration of Hattie McDaniel’s historic Oscar win—debuted at TimeLine Theatre Company in Chicago, had its East Coast Premiere at Greater Boston Stage Company in March 2023, and was part of the Orlando Shakes Theater Signature Series in October 2023, with plans for national productions in 2024-2025.

Beyond theater, LaDarrion has directed three short films featured on YouTube and made his mark as a debut author with Blood at the Root, a New York Times and USA Today Bestseller. Through storytelling across multiple mediums, he continues to craft narratives that amplify Black voices, history, and imagination.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Chapter One

Legends never die.

You really only hear that statement when celebrities die. Not regular folks. Death be having folks do funny things. It definitely have folks make their little social me-dia posts offering up their hundred-and-forty-character prayers and then they keep it pushing. What about those who were taken away from us so early or so fast that we haven’t even gotten to know yet?

Does death care?

Naw. Death doesn’t give a fuck that you’re sad, that you cry, that you stop living, because no matter what, the world is gonna keep moving.

Grief got me feeling a myriad of things. Guilty, sad, fired up, and angry. Truth be told, the shit is exhausting. In the late nights after my nightmares, I look up the stages of grief. There are seven of them, and to be perfectly honest, I’m not too sure what stage I’m on. But the way life is life’ing right now, I ain’t got time to think about it.

On top of all that, I have to do what Baron Samedi says. Be a kid. Have fun. It’s like, when I made that promise, it was a magical bond, and every part of me has to uphold it. So, I’ve been doing just that. Going to class, hanging out with the crew, trying to forget about what happened this past summer.

I can’t forget, though.

Honestly, I will say Baron Samedi got me thinking on the “be a kid” thing. Being a kid just reminds me of innocence and pure joy. No worries, no pain, nothing. But come to find out, Black boy joy doesn’t mean it comes without trials and tribula-tions. Nah. That’s just life. And being stuck between joy and pain since I came into this fucked-up world is gonna have me confront some things head-on and not sweep them under the rug. You can’t escape your problems anymore because the tables will always turn.

All in all, when I think of legends never dying, everybody in the magical community talk about Mama Aya too. She may not be a celebrity, but she was well known around here in the magical community, and she will forever be the GOAT in my book. Even though she’s dead and gone.

Well, not dead. Transitioned. Saying death demeans it and erases her existence here, so I say transition to help me feel a bit better.

Appearing in my hands are my new pair of Auditori noise-canceling headphones. These are fire as hell, created by the technology majors, who are handing them out to a few select people to test. They’re like nanobuds with a cool gel tip that can detect your mood and build a playlist off how you’re feeling any given day. And when you place them on your ear, they magically transform into headphones. Yeah, they on their Afrofuturism shit.

I press play, and D Smoke fills my ears while I zoom on my scooter through a throng of sluggish college students making their way to their morning classes. The freshness of the semester is wearing off. Most of us are already over some things, including these professors who be assigning extra work just for the hell of it. With the September sun shining on my face, I navigate through the quad area, dodging dizzying magical practice blows from defense hexes and a few girls recording themselves to post on the CaimanTea app. Eventually, I pull up on the dining hall. Mrs. Ernestine’s bright smile is the first to greet me as I stumble through the door. She’s one of those older ladies that’s just nice. She asks how your day is going and can always tell when something is off. Also, she’ll hand you an extra ticket to get more stuff at the hot food bar. She is the realest, for real. A couple of hellos, hugs, and pinching of the cheeks later, I grab my typical breakfast: Ocean Spray Cran-Apple juice and a bacon and egg sandwich with two packets of grape jelly.

In the mornings, the dining hall be real busy, crammed with all the folks who took the summer off returning for the fall semester and those that are new and official-ly starting their year here at Caiman U. The only reason I started in the summer term was because Mama Aya and Chancellor Taron wanted me to get in extra time to catch up, but now I’m starting my first full semester as a freshman.

My eyes dance around the dining room, clocking a full table in the middle with JB and Natasha. They’re choppin’ it up with this dude name Shaq Reeves, a new stu-dent from their neighborhood who’s in our intro class. Shaq is getting the warm welcome treatment since it’s his first semester at Caiman. It turns out he’s also JB’s younger cousin. As the conversation flows, Shaq occasionally runs his fingers through his neatly styled two-strand twists, subtly showcasing his fresh lineup.

Me and JB dap each other up as I pass by.

“Ready for that assignment in Professor Azende’s class?” Shaq asks me, confident. We have to go up against each other for our defense next week. He thinks he’s gonna beat me.

“Always ready,” I tell him.

All in one motion, Natasha hugs me and asks to borrow my homework for Profes-sor Atwell’s class so she can copy it.

In the corner, the Daughters of Oshun sorority hold court at the cereal station. Their table is a place of significance, and their spot by the cereal is a coveted prize, accessible only with their approval. I’on even blame ’em because that Cin-namon Toast Crunch be good as hell.

A couple of steps away, at the tables lining the bay windows showcasing the out-side campus, you have the Deacons of the Crescent members. They’re all dressed up in suits and ties and eating with a sense of calm. They don’t talk to each other, just eat and sit in silence. One of them is praying. It’s that serious.

Ole boy Oliver Smith-Perrin is capturing footage with his really nice camera. He exudes the enthusiasm of a little kid on too much sugar as he snaps photos of stu-dents eating. He accidentally bumps into me.

“Oops, sorry, Malik,” he says. “Since you’re here, can I snap a picture of you for the school paper?” The camera is already raised; I really can’t say no.

“Uh, yeah, I guess.”

Oliver always wants to take folks’ pictures. I nod and give him a little pose that most dudes do. Just a simple lean with the peace sign.

He snaps a few pictures. “Thanks, Malik!” he says, and continues on.

Back outside on my scooter, Lil Baby blares through my headphones and I’m like a blur until the BCSU comes into my view in the distance. The atmosphere at Caiman U is noticeably different during the fall semester, more vibrant. Since classes be-gan a few weeks ago, there have already been block parties and a flurry of invita-tions to join various clubs. The Student Government Organization has been actively involved in the ongoing political events and is encouraging all eligible students to register to vote. They’ve arranged debates, voter registration drives, and other ac-tivities to get the student community involved. As I pass by the gazebo, I notice more tables set up for club sign-ups. The Holistic Mystics focuses on the art of healing and is associated with Caiman’s medical school. They’re known for having some of the best healers on campus. One of the members greets me with a nod and a smile; if I remember correctly, he also leads the COBA, aka the Coalition of Black Anime. Their content on the app is really fire. Niggas don’t play about their anime, and even I like some of it myself. Professors and students are mingling off to the side while a group of film students prepare to film this girl named Safir Hamilton, the admissions advisor, as she records informational videos about cam-pus life. The videos will be posted on the Caiman U website. Meanwhile, a...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Labyrinth Road
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2025
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0593711963
• ISBN 13: 9780593711965
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 523
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar