False Earth: A YA Fantasy Adventure to the planet of the Demon Overlord

Contents Ebook title page Title Page Copyright Dedication Books by Cami Murdock Jensen Contents 1. Agnes Ann Cavanaugh—Cockroach 2. A Super-Secret Spy 3. Unwitting Allies 4. Over the Edge 5. My Nasty New Tour Guide 6. Swallowed . . . Again 7. The Final Task 8. Amrak 9. Tainted Magic Torture 10. An Unfortunate Change of Guard 11. Jailbreak or Die 12. Three . . . Two . . . One . . . Contact! 13. Not Alone for Reals 14. Cyclops Short-Circuits 15. Whispers of Twisted Lies 16. A Thousand Flying Demons 17. The Burden of Freedom 18. What the Heck Is That? 19. A Crazy, Desperate Shot in the Dark 20. Viva La Revolution 21. Eccentric but Effective 22. The Best Kind of Revenge 23. Walking on Eggshells 24. There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Win 25. My Own Personal Colony 26. Into Psycho-ville 27. A New Earth 28. A Well-Earned Happy Ending Pronunciation Guide Acknowledgements Special Thanks to Kickstarter Backers About the Author Connect with Cami Title Page Copyright Books by Cami Murdock Jensen Contents Beginning About the Author 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 False Earth
 Book Five in the Arch Mage Series
 
 
 
 Cami Murdock Jensen
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 False Earth
 © 2022 Cami Murdock Jensen
 All rights reserved.
 No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
 Cover design by MiblArt
 Cover art by Sarah Keele
 Book logo by Chris Murdock
 Interior and eBook design by Adam McLain
 Edited by Adam McLain, amclain.com
 Paperback ISBN: 979-8-88796-004-3
 Hardback ISBN: 979-8-88796-007-4
 Ebook ISBN: 979-8-88796-003-6
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 To Mom—
 who taught me the magical combination of creativity, hard
 work and study. Throw in a little faith, and no task, trial,
 or misery is beyond defeat. Thank you, Mom. I miss you.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Books by Cami Murdock Jensen
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The Arch Mage Series
 
 
 
 
 
 First Earth
 Second Earth
 Third Earth
 Fourth Earth
 False Earth
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Musicals by Cami Murdock Jensen
 
 
 
 
 
 Castles and Dragons
 Robin Hood: Tales of Ye Merry Woode
 Sleeping Beauty
 The Impossible Mystery
 Way Out West
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Contents
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1. Agnes Ann Cavanaugh—Cockroach
 
 
 2. A Super-Secret Spy
 
 
 3. Unwitting Allies
 
 
 4. Over the Edge
 
 
 5. My Nasty New Tour Guide
 
 
 6. Swallowed . . . Again
 
 
 7. The Final Task
 
 
 8. Amrak
 
 
 9. Tainted Magic Torture
 
 
 10. An Unfortunate Change of Guard
 
 
 11. Jailbreak or Die
 
 
 12. Three . . . Two . . . One . . . Contact!
 
 
 13. Not Alone for Reals
 
 
 14. Cyclops Short-Circuits
 
 
 15. Whispers of Twisted Lies
 
 
 16. A Thousand Flying Demons
 
 
 17. The Burden of Freedom
 
 
 18. What the Heck Is That?
 
 
 19. A Crazy, Desperate Shot in the Dark
 
 
 20. Viva La Revolution
 
 
 21. Eccentric but Effective
 
 
 22. The Best Kind of Revenge
 
 
 23. Walking on Eggshells
 
 
 24. There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Win
 
 
 25. My Own Personal Colony
 
 
 26. Into Psycho-ville
 
 
 27. A New Earth
 
 
 28. A Well-Earned Happy Ending
 
 
 
 
 Pronunciation Guide
 
 
 Acknowledgements
 
 
 About the Author
 
 
 Connect with Cami
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1
 
 
 Agnes Ann Cavanaugh—Cockroach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 An ominous, persistent schhhlep thump, schhhlep thump rang between the stone walls of Sharir’s fortress and piqued my fight-or-flight instinct. Stumpy’s uneven, hind-legged gait neared as his demon-doggy snout panted and sniffed the stale air. Drat it all. He must have noticed the armful of jellied fat missing from the giant table. He’d catch me red-handed. For the umpteenth time, I wondered what sick twist of fate laid the future of the universe on the shoulders of a skinny, scarred, teenage girl from a planet that banned magic. I grew up in Melrose, Massachusetts, for cripe’s sake. How was I supposed to survive on a demon prison planet?
 Crap. This wasn’t the time to ponder my derailed destiny. Time to run.
 The bits of fur I’d wrapped around my mesh armor boots muffled most of the sound of my running on the dark stone, but the sound didn’t matter. Stumpy hunted with his insane sense of smell.
 Safety lay just around the corner beneath a rusty drain grate set in the center of the stone floor of the fortress’s mess hall. At least, it might be a mess hall. Maybe it was just a huge slaughterhouse. Either way, it had tables as tall as motor homes, a solid butcher’s block the size of a bus, fireplaces, and enormous iron kettles.
 Twenty-seven days ago, the overlord of demons and all-around jerkface Sharir brought me to this space purgatory called the Nia Nega Abyss and robbed me of my truth magic. I escaped through a crack in his floor. Hiding like a roach inside the hollow stone walls, I cried for my family, my friends, my awesome boyfriend, Temnon, and my magic. With crusty tears dried on my face, I had curled up into a ball, expecting to die from sheer sadness. But, contrary to the plotlines of cheesy romance novels, sadness isn’t fatal.
 Starvation is, though.
 Twenty-five days ago, my stomach overrode my emotions, and hunger drove me to