Crystal Milk
14-year-old Lucas is going to betray his best friend.
After spending four years trying to find the mother his father sent away, Lucas will do anything to get her back. Living as Exiles has taken its toll on Lucas, his insanely competitive sister, and maniacal father. Sure, no longer having to steal for a bite to eat is tempting. So is finally having indoor plumbing and that awesome invention called a T.V., but it’ll all come at a price. Crystal, Lucas’s best friend and crush, is the Witch Queen’s niece and the perfect way to gain access to the Queen’s scepter, which has the power to free Lucas’s Exiled people. Of course, that doesn’t matter to him, but it does to his father who hungers for the dark magic to finally take down the Witches.
Lucas’s father gives him a choice: betray his best friend in exchange for his mother’s whereabouts or give up all hope of seeing the mother that sacrificed everything for him.
WITCH COUNTRY (Formerly CRYSTAL MILK) is an upper middle grade fantasy complete at 34,000 words.