The Uncommon Rider Snippet #2 Is Here!

Don’t hate me when you get to the end…

Chapter Two

On the edge of a giant’s yard, in a city that was never quiet, the first dragon’s egg in over a century began to hatch.

Sophia Beaufont sucked in a breath, watching as a large crack started at the top of the blue egg and split down the side.

The full moon was the only light in that area of the yard, showing the progress the dragon made as he worked his way out of the eggshell, making a strange noise that wasn’t music and wasn’t crying. It was the sound of birth. Of awakening. The echo of the soul of the dragons that lived deep in the consciousness of the creature taking his first glimpses of the moon rays in this lifetime.

Only a few months ago, Sophia had found herself in a strange magical shop, among mortal dwellings. That’s when she’d magnetized to the egg before her, sealing her fate.

A dragon hadn’t magnetized to a rider in a hundred years. Dragons were actually thought to be extinct. But the truth was, there had simply been little reason for them—until now. 

The time of the dragon riders was starting anew. And only a few knew that it was being reborn with the gentle cracking of the shimmering blue egg sitting on the soft patch of ground before this young girl now.

Sophia and the egg had both grown at alarming rates since magnetizing to one another. She had always been well ahead of her age, but now her body had caught up with her.

Losing her childhood hadn’t mattered. Having her fate chosen on a random trip to a shop, hadn’t bothered her. It all made sense from the beginning—because Sophia Beaufont always knew she wasn’t a normal magician.

Most don’t come into their magic until they’re older, in their teens at least. Honing those skills takes time. None of that had applied to Sophia. She might have been born to parents who she couldn’t remember—taken from the Earth when she was only three years old. She might have spent much of her childhood alone. But she was no victim. From the beginning, Sophia knew that her life wouldn’t take a predictable course. And at this point, there was absolutely no certainty in her future. But she knew something with true conviction—one day, she wanted to be like her big sister.

Without knowing why, Sophia was positive that the dragon quickly breaking out of the egg had chosen that night in particular to hatch for a specific reason. Over the last few months, Sophia had spoken telepathically to the dragon. Hearing him in her head had felt second nature. Right then though, all her attention was on the cracking that seemed to echo so loudly she thought everyone nearby could hear it.

However, no one approached as the dragon poked his head up through the top of the shell, knocking a large piece out of the way. He swept his neck to the side, breaking out of the bonds that had held him for so many years. Had it been a decade? A century? A millennium? Sophia didn’t know. The dragon had simply said, he had been waiting for her to be born—to be ready.

She reached out, wanting to help with the arduous process, but pulled back her hand, sensing that wasn’t her job. The dragon, she knew so well and was meeting for the very first time, threw his head covered in small horns down and to the side, smashing the rest of the shell to bits. His tail whipped behind him, knocking the back of the egg to dust at once. He shook like a dog, shuddering off the rest of the shell. It was then that the moon light shined down, properly showing the entirety of the dragon.

She’d never seen a blue like what covered him. His scales were sapphire, dipped in crystals, radiating the light.

This girl didn’t know what it felt like to be in love… until that moment. She knew, at her core, that she loved the creature before her with her whole heart. He was good and brave and undeniably connected to her in every way for the rest of their lives.

This dragon would be her life force and she his. Neither could prosper without the other. His aches would be hers. Hers he’d feel intimately. A rider and its dragon signed on for more than a long life of sacrifices and challenges. They signed on to experience everything exponentiated.

The dragon stood, steady as if it wasn’t his first time. He took a step, no falters as he lowered his green eyes, blinking at the young girl before him. He only came up to Sophia’s shoulder, but he was growing moment by moment.

She took a step forward, not feeling steady, but hiding fumbles.

“And so we meet, like it’s the first time,” the dragon said.

“Isn’t it?” Sophia asked, running her eyes over the dragon as he tested his wings, with a sticky sound, unfolding them and then pressing them back beside his body.

He shook his head. “Oh, no, we’ve met many a times, Sophia Beaufont. Or so I believe.”

She nodded, turning her gaze to the moon. “Why tonight?”

A pleasant expression fell on the dragon’s face as he followed her gaze. “Each dragon is connected to an aspect of the Earth, whether it be night, day, the ocean, the winds—”

“The moon,” Sophia said, sudden realization dawning on her.

“Yes,” he affirmed. “For however long we have here, I’ll be strongest on the full moon. And so will you.”

Sophia took a step forward, kneeling down and looking up at the dragon before her. He was more beautiful than she could have ever imagined, full of timeless wisdom. It was impossible to think that the consciousness of the dragons lived in him. And yet, as she stared into his eyes, she could hardly doubt it.

“It’s time to name me, Sophia Beaufont. But do it with diligence.”

She lifted her hand, not hesitating before running her fingers over the top of his snout. Her hand sank to his scales at their first meeting, the union as natural as a baby’s first breath.

Sophia smiled, unafraid, as she stared into the eyes of the most ancient type of magical creature in the world—and the one that would live beside her from now until the end of her own life.

“I named you long ago,” she began, her eyes dimming from the bright moonlight. “Even before I met you. Before I became a dragon rider, I knew you. And I knew that you’d be <REDACTED>.”

The blue dragon bowed his head, a silent respect in the movement. “Yes, my name has always been <REDACTED>. But only my true rider would know that. Well done, Sophia.”

____________________________

Ok, Ok, I know. I want to know the dragon’s name as well. I have some ideas. What are yours?

If you pre-order the book, the moment it’s released you will have it in your e-reader and you can go to the end of chapter 2 and find out the name.

Here’s a Chuck Dixon double feature snippet! After you read the first chapter of Blooded, keep going for the first chapter of Gomers!

Blooded:

This wasn’t the first time I woke up in a cheap motel wondering how I got there. After three rough divorces, I know the turf. Only not a shack-up as cheap as the one I found myself in this time.

I opened my eyelids as far as I was able. Stained ceiling tiles. Never a good sign. Drop ceilings hide things like mold or bullet holes. I tried to raise my head for a better view. Bad move. Nausea. The room shimmied like I was seeing it in a home video. I caught a glimpse of the plastic alarm clock on the nightstand before my head dropped back on the pillow.

1:21.

AM or PM?

That’s how hungover I was.

Only this was like no hangover I’ve ever had. I’ve had the dry heaves hangovers. And the ones where your tongue feels like it’s been replaced with a dead slug. And the ones where your eyes can’t seem to look in the same direction. And the headaches. The epic, put-me-out-of-my-misery skullbangers that feel like they’re never going to go away.

This one was nothing like any of them.

I felt like my body had no weight to it. Something like a tingling chill over my whole body but not unpleasant. My head felt funny but there was no pain. No headache at all. I tried to remember what I’d been drinking. The taste in my mouth was tinny. Whatever I’d been abusing the night before, it wasn’t my usual.

It took a year and a half but I managed to turn on my side to face the front of the motel room. A sliver of yellow light under the drawn blinds. Afternoon then.

The room was grim. And it reeked. My nose took in every funky smell like they were in high definition. Spilled beer, cigarettes, sweat, and sex. And something else. A dense, organic smell that was sweet and musky all at the same time.

Walls covered in cheap paneling that shared the secrets concealed by the ceiling tiles. An old Samsung tv was secured to the wall with a bicycle lock. An ancient chest of drawers dotted with cigarette burns. Yard sale paintings of horses crooked on the walls.

And blood.

There were dried drops on my pillow. I lifted the once-white sheet to find a broad smear of blood fringed with red fingerprints. Some of it was still tacky. The bed was sticky under me. My naked ass came off the sheets with a ripping sound.

Something barreled up my throat from my stomach. I made it to the bathroom, sliding on my knees over the cracked tiles. I tore the shower curtain aside to empty my guts into the tub.

More blood.

I vomited up what looked like a gallon of blood. Bright red with black clots sliding down the walls of the tub toward the drain.

I was dying. Right?

I ran a shaking hand over my sides and back. No stiches there. No one had taken any vital organs from me. My fingers found a wound on the side of my throat. Two crossed slits about two inches long with the flesh at the edges puckered. Someone had cut my throat and left me for dead.

My hand came back without blood on it. Maybe I was all out of blood. Maybe I was bleeding out internally. I had no idea then how much blood an adult male holds. I do now. But then I figured I must have puked up most of my supply.

On shaking legs, I levered myself off of the side of the tub to get a better look at that cut on my neck.

I didn’t get that far.

Scrawled across the glass of the mirror were words spelled out in blood. My blood.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB

__________

Uh-oh! I think I know what just happened, do you? Find out Friday when the Chuck Dixon Paranormal Double Pack is published!

Now, on to the Gomers snipper!

Gomers:

The military vehicles passed them in the opposite lanes going hard and loud.

A long stream of deuce-and-a-halfs, Hummers and army semi-trailers, including a tank on a flatbed, all rolling tight and fast, northbound.

“That’s the third one this morning, right?” Mercy said from the suicide seat of the Coachman.

“Some kind of maneuvers or something,” Uncle Fuller said, watching the trucks flash by on the other side of the grass median.

“Maybe those riots that were on the radio?”

“I don’t know much about being a soldier but I don’t think they bring tanks to a riot.”

“Still, something’s going on,” she said.

“Nothing to do with us,” he said and lit another Camel.

Mercy turned on the dash radio and switched to AM. It was all talk radio, gospel, and Spanish language stations. Nothing more about the riots up north in Philadelphia and Camden. She moved the dial a little more to a country oldies station.

“Keep it there,” Uncle Fuller said.

Mercy sat back and watched the trees go by while some old-school redneck warbled about lost love and getting drunk. She liked riding up front in the RV, but Uncle Fuller’s taste in music had fossilized back in the ’70s. But she could deal with that.

The Coachman was better than riding in the minivan with Mom, Bill Tom, and Raquel. She didn’t miss Mom harping on her for every little thing. And she could do without the way Bill Tom, her mother’s latest boyfriend, watched her when he thought no one else was looking. And Raquel, her little sister, was only six months into puberty and having her time of the month, which turned her usual annoying self into the Bitch Queen of the Universe.

Her other ride option, which was no option at all, was in the crew cab of the pickup. Hard to tell which smelled worse: Doe at the wheel or the four hundred gallon tank of used motor oil sloshing around in the truck bed. Doe was a first cousin and named that for all the John Doe warrants out for him from Maine to Florida and as far west as Indiana. He smoked a lot and didn’t talk hardly at all.

Five miles before the next exit, a highway sign was flashing to tell drivers to be prepared to stop. State trooper cars, blue lights whirling and flashing, were parked behind barricades placed across both lanes. Troopers on the shoulder directed traffic onto the exit ramp. The staties wore surgical masks. Mercy saw that some of them had shotguns out and ready. One had a rifle cradled in his arms, an ugly black thing with a curved magazine. There were a few cars pulled onto the grass median with no drivers or passengers in sight.

Uncle Fuller slowed down for the exit. The crucifix swung from the rear view on its beaded chain as he tapped the brakes enough to holler out to a trooper, asking what was going on. The trooper only waved on with more emphasis, stabbing his hand ahead, eyes hard over the top of the paper mask.

“Still think this is nothing to do with us?” Mercy said. Uncle Fuller grunted and powered up the exit ramp.

Mercy’s smartphone lit up playing “Fallout Boy.” It was Mom in the minivan following behind.

“Mercy? What’s going on?”

“We don’t know, Mom.”

“What’d that police say to your uncle?”

“He didn’t say nothing, Mom. Just waved us on.”

“What’d Fuller ask him?”

“Same thing you’re asking me, Mom.”

“Tell her I’m pulling off into that K-Mart up ahead,” Uncle Fuller said.

“You hear that?” Mercy said into the cell.

The phone went dead. Mercy sighed heavily and tossed the cell phone to the dash hard enough to bounce it off the windshield.

“You know, you don’t need to be a bitch alla the time,” Uncle Fuller said.

She looked at him, brows furrowed, eyes mean.

“Like that.” He laughed and turned his eyes back to the road.

“I don’t like how she treats me,” Mercy said.

“That ain’t it and you know it.”

“Then why don’t you tell me what it is, Dr. Phil?” she said with a crooked smile, eyes still mean.

“She told me you want to go to school. College. And I’ve seen you reading that GED book.”

“And why can’t I go to school? Learn something?”

“You’ve learned plenty of knowledge out here on the road. You knew more about human nature at ten years old than most girls learn their whole lives,” he said, slowing as he came to the rear of the stopped column of cars.

“Maybe I’m tired of always moving. Spending half the year on the road. Maybe I’d like to stick in one place. Learn something different. Talk to someone who isn’t a cousin of mine for once,” she said, gazing ahead to where a group of men were pushing a stalled pickup off the road. Horns hooted encouragement.

“Well, that’s between you and your mother,” he said, pulling up as the traffic ahead began to inch forward.

“And there it’ll stay,” she said with a bitter smile.

They gathered in the K-Mart lot. The lot was close to full so they had to park in a row of far spaces near the road. Cars were pulling in and pulling out. Some parked on the walk in front of the store. People were pushing loaded carts from the store. More people crowded the entrances.

Mom and Bill Tom were busy talking to Uncle Fuller. Mercy took the opportunity to bum a beer from the cooler Doe kept in his truck bed by the oil tank. Doe made a chirping sound and she tossed him a cold Miller.

“Is there a hurricane coming or something? Looks like a hurricane,” Doe said, leaning back in the open door of his cab after his first pull on the can. His usual Marlboro burned between his yellowed fingers like a natural appendage.

“Nothing on the radio but bullshit,” Mercy said.

“Sure looks something like a hurricane. Everybody shopping like Jesus was on his way.”

“Look at the sky. Not a cloud.”

“I mean the people. They’re stocking up on shit like there’s no more shit left. At a K-Mart, for Christ’s sake. You know what that means, right?” Doe said, nodding toward the crowded storefront.

“What?” Mercy said.

“Means the Walmart ran out of shit.” He grinned, showing the silver tooth in the middle of his uppers.

“Is that a beer?” Mom said, leaving the conference by the RV to charge back toward the pickup.

Before Mercy could answer her mother swatted the can from her hand. Foam went everywhere.

“What’d I tell you, Doe?” her mother said, voice rising, her own Marlboro waggling where it was pressed in the corner of her mouth.

“What? She ain’t driving.” Doe shrugged.

“You’re riding with us, Mercy. Get in the car with your sister,” Mom said, taking Mercy by the arm.

“Where are we going?” Mercy asked.

“This county road takes us to Harrow. There were new developments going up last time we were through here.”

“That was only last year,” Doe said, crushing his empty in his fist.

“Fuller says two years. We passed it by last year,” Mom said and turned to follow Mercy to the minivan.

“Could be right,” Doe said and climbed behind the wheel of the pickup.

Mercy got in the rear seat of the minivan beside her little sister. Raquel never left the minivan and her eyes never left the monitor set in the back of the driver’s headrest. The movie on the screen was something with cheerleaders. Tinny music escaped from her earbuds. Her full attention fixed on the movie.

“Nice to see you too, sis,” Mercy said and strapped in.

___________________

Keep your eyes peeled to the LMBPN Facebook page on Friday to see when the ‘Zon releases this double pack! You know when you get a Chuck Dixon book you’re going to get one hell of a ride!

The Uncommon Rider, now on pre-sale!

Here is the first snippet in the exciting upcoming series, The Exceptional S. Beaufont! You get to follow Liv’s little sister and see what she’s been up to in the background. Well, she’s really not so little anymore.

The Uncommon Rider Snippet #1 is HERE!!!

Chapter One

 Nothing in the last eight-hundred years had prepared Adam Rivalry for this.

Atop and aside his dragon, Kay-Rye, he’d defeated leagues of armies, taken down lines of trebuchets and sent murderous monsters into extinction. And yet, he’d never faced a beast like the one trailing them presently.

Icy winds raced through his long hair and beard, sending them flying over his shoulder as Kay-Rye swerved to avoid the strange projectiles the thunderous monster fired at them. It was a magic that Adam had never seen before.

The beast didn’t move with the wind, like the dragons, but rather cut through it—making a noise like a thousand vibrating drums. And the monster left behind a chemical smell that burned Adam’s nose.

Daring to look over his shoulder as they passed through a dense cloud, Adam tried to make out the form of the enemy. As far as he could tell, it was covered in a strange armor. Not a dragon. And not a bird. Its wings didn’t fold and expand like Kay-Rye’s.

Instead they stayed stick-straight.

Its attacks didn’t come from its mouth or from its rider, who was locked inside a clear compartment on the top. They shot from under the wings, large metal capsules that had many times whistled by Adam’s head or scraped Kay-Rye’s wings, injuring him little by little. There was also a weapon on the top of the creature that fired rapid attacks which were harder to avoid since they were smaller. 

The dragon was okay though.

They’d make it to the Barrier of the Gullington soon. Then no matter how close the beast was to them, they’d disappear into the mists—safe once more.

Adam and his dragon would return once they’d rested. He knew the monster was guarding something that it had harmed. The dragon rider may not know much about his new enemy, but he knew that it deserved no mercy.

It was Adam’s job to protect. He and Kay-Rye had taken an oath to uphold justice. And even if they hadn’t been able to do that properly for several hundred years, there was little stopping them from returning to that mission now.

The sun had just set on the other side of the Pond. Night belonged to the black dragon, giving it speed and increased agility. Adam lowered himself, his chin barely grazing the neck of the dragon he’d known for most of his life.

We’ll be through the Barrier soon, Adam thought, feeling the dragon slow. Only in battle did they choose the more draining method of telepathy to communicate with one another.

We won’t make it in time, Kay-Rye insisted. He nearly halted in mid-air, the lights from the modest village below blurring as they began to free-fall as the dragon folded his wings into its body.

Wind whistled by Adam’s ears as they plummeted. Pushing against the force of the fall, he peered up, to find that the monster had a sudden burst of speed. It shot forward, quickly covering the distance where they had been. The beast turned into a nose dive as soon as it caught the change in their direction.

How did you know that was going to happen? Adam asked.

Instinct, Kay-Rye simply answered, unfolding his wings and regaining height.

The cottages on the eastern hills were all turning on their lights for the night. Adam watched them with affection, remembering when that area was unsettled.

He’d spent most of his life in this area of Scotland, and he wasn’t going to allow this monster to ruin it. As a dragon rider, he wouldn’t stand for anyone to bully, especially not in what had become his homeland over these centuries.

Kay-Rye’s wings flapped furiously, in perfect rhythm with the wind. They were headed back for the Barrier. As fast as Kay-Rye was at night, he couldn’t outpace the beast. It made up the space between them in seconds, sending multiple attacks.

Adam tried his best to shield, but the assaults were unrelenting, exploding through his spells and continuing undeterred. 

He sent two attacks off course as Kay-Rye sped through the clouds, spiraling to the side, his massive wings soaring through the darkness, perfectly camouflaged by the night. Although, wherever they flew, no matter how much the dark masked the black dragon, the monster’s attacks seemed to find him.

Almost like it was using a homing spell of sorts.

We must make it to the Barrier, Adam insisted, feeling Kay-Rye’s exhaustion like it was his own. This chase had gone on for what seemed like hours, the strange creature behind them never slowing. It wasn’t natural. It almost didn’t seem to be alive at all—but rather a machine. 

Adam had never heard of a contraption the size of a dragon that attacked like this one did. However, there were many things he didn’t know about the modern world he realized.

If granted more time, he’d learn. He’d adapt. He’d figure out how to outmaneuver and overpower the thing gaining on Kay-Rye’s tail, flying several yards behind the dragon.

Even with the increased power of the night, Kay-Rye was no match for the many attacks that whizzed by, one of them tearing straight through his wing, sending it back at a weird angle.

Adam held on for dear life as his dragon toppled to the side, his wing flying uncontrollably in the wind like a flag, knocking into him.

The dragon’s screams unleashed a pain inside of Adam so deep that he felt his heart might pound out of his chest. They had to land. Kay-Rye was too injured to continue much farther. But the monster would pursue. It was out to kill. And the Barrier was too far to reach.

Adam had one only option left.

Don’t, Kay-Rye urged, a soft pain in the one word as he tried to make his broken wing work.

I have to, Adam stated, feeling the adrenaline shoot through him as he stood up on the back of his dragon, twisting around to face the strangest enemy he’d ever seen. He pooled his and Kay-Rye’s collective energy, not unleashing it until it nearly made his chest explode.

With a guttural scream Adam shot the attack at the monster barreling through the night’s sky. The use of that much magic depleted them both severely, leaving them with few options should they need more power. However, Adam’s attack hit the front of the beast with a punishing blow, knocking it to the side, tearing off one of its wings.

Adam was about to rejoice, feeling the first bit of hope in hours. Smoke flew up from the center of the creature as it spiraled to the dense mountain range below, crashing with a fiery blow. Thankfully they were past the village and over the unchartered territory that surrounded the Gullington.

Yes! Adam whipped around, ready to guide his injured dragon home when he froze, his eyes wide as his mouth sucked in what would most assuredly be one of his last breaths. Racing towards them, faster than they could avoid, uninjured or otherwise, was another of those strange weapons the monster shot. This one must have been sent prior to Adam’s attack. It sped forward, turning around and coming back in their direction.

Kay-Rye, worked to hold his injured wing straight, gliding for the hills below. They might be able to make it. Out maneuver the attack. Get to the safety of the grass and caves.

Both held onto this hope, feeling the doom in the other’s hearts as they made their final descent. The projectile zoomed at their back, closing in like a hungry dog on a hunt.

Adam gripped the reigns tighter. Held closer to the creature that was more a part of him than his own skin and bones. He didn’t close his eyes when the blast met its target, hitting Kay-Rye straight in the backside, exploding fire over Adam as well.

The dragon rider didn’t let go of hope even as Kay-Rye stopped flying, spiraling into a free fall, his wings like broken kites, tangling in the wind.

Adam didn’t let go even as they tumbled onto the stony earth, the dragon rolling onto his already broken body, smashing it even more. He did close his eyes when he felt Kay-Rye’s breaths slow to almost non-existent quickly after impact.

Whatever the monster was they’d angered that night, it was a force they weren’t prepared to defeat or survive. The oldest living dragon rider hoped with everything that he had left that his brothers would be in a better position to fight this enemy if they should ever come in contact with another like it. And he hoped they did—because it was evil, and what it guarded needed their help. He knew that much, without knowing why.

Kay-Rye pulled his head around, awkwardly gazing back at Adam, lying half under him. There was no point in moving the dragon. They both knew it was over.

“It’s been a good reign, my friend,” Adam said, coughing up blood, feeling something sharp cutting into his chest.

“It has,” Kay-Rye replied, his breaths too far apart, eyes drifting closed.

“Thanks for the ride.”

“The pleasure has always been mine, Adam.”

And with that, the dragon and its rider took their last breaths together, closing out the end of an era.

__________________________

I swear I don’t have tears in my eyes, only chills going down my spine, honest! Ok, I’m totally ready for this new series! Who’s joining me?

You can pre-order book 1 now and get it auto-delivered to your eReader the second it goes live!