Tor.com Original Prequel to V.E. Schwab's Vicious: An Exclusive Excerpt

Warm Up: A Tor.Com Original Prequel to 'Vicious'

by Renata Ramalli

4 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	2117 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Word Wise	:	Enabled
Print length	:	16 pages

FREE

We are thrilled to present an exclusive excerpt from Vengeful, the prequel to V.E. Schwab's Vicious, which will be published on September 27, 2023.

Prologue

In the beginning, there was Elion.

And Elion created the world, and it was good.

But Elion was lonely.

So Elion created the Elohim, and they were like him, but they were not him.

The Elohim were beautiful and powerful, and they loved Elion.

But after a time, the Elohim grew restless.

They wanted more than just to love Elion.

They wanted to be like him.

So the Elohim rebelled against Elion.

And Elion was angry.

He cast the Elohim down to the earth, and he cursed them.

He said that they would never be like him, and that they would always be cursed with the knowledge of their own mortality.

And so the Elohim became the first humans.

And they were filled with sorrow and anger.

They longed for the power that they had lost, and they hated Elion for cursing them.

And in their anger, they turned to violence.

They killed each other, and they killed the creatures that Elion had created.

And the world was filled with blood and chaos.

But even in the midst of all the violence, there was still hope.

For some of the Elohim remembered the love that they had once shared with Elion.

And they longed for a way to make things right.

And so they began to search for a way to redeem themselves.

They searched for a way to make the world a better place.

And they searched for a way to find their way back to Elion.

Chapter 1

Eli Ever was born in a small village on the outskirts of the kingdom of Mytica.

He was a quiet and thoughtful child, and he loved to read and learn.

But Eli was also different from the other children in his village.

He had a strange power.

He could control the elements.

Eli could make the wind blow, the rain fall, and the earth shake.

He could even control fire.

At first, Eli was afraid of his power.

He didn't know how to control it, and he was afraid that he would hurt someone.

But as he grew older, Eli learned to control his power.

He learned to use it to help people.

He used his power to heal the sick, to protect the weak, and to fight against evil.

Eli's power made him a hero to the people of his village.

But it also made him a target for those who feared him.

One day, a group of soldiers came to Eli's village.

They were led by a cruel and powerful warlord named Victor Vale.

Victor Vale had heard of Eli's power, and he wanted to use it for his own evil ends.

Victor Vale and his soldiers attacked the village, and they killed many of the villagers.

But Eli fought back.

He used his power to defeat Victor Vale's soldiers, and he drove them from the village.

After the battle, Eli was hailed as a hero.

But he knew that Victor Vale would not be pleased.

Eli knew that Victor Vale would come back for him.

And he knew that he would be ready.

Chapter 2

Eli was right.

Victor Vale did come back for him.

He came back with a larger army, and he was determined to destroy Eli and his village.

Eli and his friends fought bravely, but they were outnumbered and outmatched.

Just when it seemed like all was lost, Eli remembered the words of an old wise man.

The wise man had told Eli that he had the power to create his own destiny.

Eli believed him.

And so, as Victor Vale and his soldiers closed in on him, Eli unleashed his full power.

He created a massive storm that swallowed up Victor Vale and his army.

The storm raged for days, and when it finally subsided, Victor Vale and his army were gone.

Eli had defeated Victor Vale, but he had also changed himself.

The power that he had unleashed had corrupted him.

He was no longer the same kind and gentle boy who had once used his power to help people.

He had become something darker.

Something more dangerous.

Eli had become a Vicious.

About the Author

V.E. Schwab is the New

Warm Up: A Tor.Com Original Prequel to 'Vicious'

by Renata Ramalli

4 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	2117 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Word Wise	:	Enabled
Print length	:	16 pages

FREE