Now that the words are all in place, I’m thrilled to share the opening of Chapter 1! Welcome to the world of Deathless Creatures, my dear readers.

I wake to the sound of rain pattering on the window, like a thousand tiny, impatient fingertips. I force myself upright. It was the same dream, the only dream, that I’ve had since I died a month ago. Sharp rock walls. Cave air, cold and wet, and ahead, the red tree with sprawling black roots. Whispers in languages I don’t speak. The dead floor awakening, flowers springing to life and dying in minutes, and ahead in the center waits the tree. Its roots crawl along the floor like vines; its bark shimmers an unnatural red. Each night, it calls to me. Each night, I get closer.