Etheric Recruit – Snippet 2
Etheric Recruit
By Stephen Russell and Michael Anderle
Snippet 2
Jinx looked at the chew toy and sighed as she laid her head on her paws. She, her siblings and parents were the most advanced, intelligent canines known to exist, thanks to Kurtherian nanotech.
It was somewhat ironic that they still had an urge to chew.
Their dad’s human had threatened to turn them into throw rugs if anyone chewed on her shoes. They had all decided that despite the wonderful way they smelled, shoes were off limits.
It was a good thing humans were so accommodating towards their four-footed companions. People had created a myriad of items that satisfied the desire to chew.
It wasn’t the chew toy that had caused the sigh, however. Jinx was feeling a restlessness, something close to failure. It sat in her mind like an itch on the top of her back that she couldn’t scratch.
Once she and her siblings had reached an age where they could learn to understand the noises the humans made, their dad had told them the story of how he had met his human, Bethany Anne.
Their mom’s human had mentioned how the people of Earth bought and sold animals without regard for the animal’s feelings or desires. All five of the puppies decided that they didn’t think that sort of thing was in their best interest. They informed Yelena they would choose their own companion person.
After all, it was family tradition. Ashur had chosen, way back when, to help Bethany Anne fight the-stinky-like-death-but-not-dead creatures, and to share her life afterwards.
Jinx sighed again, wondering if something was wrong with her. Three of her siblings had already found their companions. Matrix and Snow had even chosen aliens to pair up with.
Jinx didn’t think she would be happy pairing with an alien. She secretly didn’t know how Snow put up with the smell of Kael-ven, because all the beings called Yollins had a slightly bitter odor to Jinx’ nose.
She was just contemplating heading to bed for a nap when she heard the door to their den open.
She snorted at the thought. It wasn’t a den, but she had learned that others of the canine genus on Earth lived in dens, so that’s how she thought of Yelena’s apartment.
A sharp bark followed by a higher pitched bark announced the arrival of her dad, coming to visit her mom.
Storm Breakers – Snippet 2
Storm Breakers, Storms of Magic Book 3
By P.T. Hylton and Michael Anderle
Snippet 2
Unedited
“I’m going to fucking kill her.” Syd reached for the twin swords on her back.
Dustin cocked a thumb at Abbey. “Yeah, that was pretty much her reaction, too.”
Abbey held up a hand. “I know this is upsetting, but—”
“Upsetting? That crazy bitch sold my brother into slavery! I’m beyond upset.” Syd took a deep breath and set her hand on the ship’s rail. “I’m not really going to kill her. Not yet. After all this time, we finally have a lead on Elliot.” She cracked a smile. “This is pretty amazing.”
“I know, right?” Abbey replied.
They were on the deck of The Foggy Day, Syd’s ship, just Abbey, Dustin, and Syd. The rest of the crew were still on the Farrows celebrating the recent victory over the Barskall fleet.
The three of them being alone together made Abbey think of the night they’d escaped The Foggy Day in a little sloop just before Captain Tor took possession of the ship. They’d had quite the adventure: sailing south, disappearing into the mountains, defending a village from Barskall Warriors, and finally doubling back to save The Foggy Day from Tor and Dahlia.
And now it looked like they were going to be setting off on a new adventure.
“We’re actually going to Gren. Who would have thought?” Abbey shook her head in disbelief.
“We’ll need a small crew.” Syd talked slowly now as she considered the details of the plan. “Enough to sail The Foggy Day and defend ourselves, but no one we don’t trust completely. I’m thinking thirty people is the ideal number.”
Abbey nodded her agreement. “We’ll bring Fannar, if he’s willing. Clemens, too. And Olaf.”
Syd cocked an eyebrow at that last name but didn’t object.
Abbey continued. “And we’ll want to bring Viktor and some of his Storm Callers. Enough that they can team up with Dustin to create some serious firepower if need be.”
Syd met Abbey’s eyes. “I’d like your father to accompany us as well.”
Now it was Abbey’s turn to be surprised.
“What? The guy can create fireballs and he’s as good with a sword as anyone we have. Why wouldn’t I want to bring him?”
“Okay,” Abbey said. “I’d like to have him along, too. It just caught me off-guard, was all.” But there was something about the way Syd had said it. She’d seemed a little too excited to invite Benjamin along. “I’m just going to ask straight out. Do you have the hots for my father?”
“What? No! This isn’t about that!”
“Okay, whatever. If so, you have my blessing, but I’m not calling you ‘Mom.’”
“Can we move on?” Syd asked, her face flushed.
Abbey smiled. Sometimes it was too easy to harass Syd. “Okay, so we’ve got Dustin stormcalling, and a good core team. You sure you don’t mind kicking your old Storm Caller off the ship?”
Syd laughed. “God, no. He’s fifty percent blind and one hundred percent asshole. I’ll be glad to see him gone.” Her tone was serious when she spoke again. “One more thing, Abbey. I want you as my first mate.”
Abbey was so surprised that for a moment she didn’t know how to respond. “Listen, thanks and all, but just because we’re friends doesn’t mean—”
“It doesn’t have jack shit to do with us being friends,” Syd interrupted. “Look at everything you’ve done in the short time since you first set foot on a stormship! You exposed Captain Tor and Dahlia as Storm Raiders, you helped save Holdgate, you rescued the Barskall king’s secret Storm Caller, and you helped destroy his fleet.”
Abbey smiled. “Dustin may have had a little something to do with that stuff, as did a lot of other people. Besides, how the hell can I be First Mate when I can barely handle being a normal stormship sailor? There’s no way I can run a crew. The terminology alone—”
Syd held up a hand. “I don’t care about any of that. I can teach you that stuff. You’re a natural-born leader, and that’s what I need at my right hand. I mean, Clemens is the prickliest bastard I’ve ever met, and he’s calling you ‘boss.’ If you could earn his respect, I have no doubt you’ll be able to do the job.”
Abbey had to admit her friend had a point. Only a few days ago, Clemens had been using the term “boss” sarcastically and challenging her at every turn. Now he truly respected her.
Still, being First Mate on a stormship—even on a small mission like this—was daunting.
Most of her leadership had been impromptu. She’d stepped up because lives were on the line and someone needed to lead. It hadn’t been anything but a willingness to do what others wouldn’t, to do anything and everything required to keep her friends and family safe.
But maybe that was what being a leader was all about.
She looked at Dustin. “You okay with all this? You’re the Storm Caller, and it’s your ship, too. You want me as first mate?”
Dustin nodded slowly. “Yeah, of course. There’s no one I’d rather have watching my back.” His voice sounded distant, like there was something he wasn’t saying.
Abbey put her hands on her hips. “What are you really thinking?”
Dustin looked out at the water for a moment, as if deciding whether to continue. Then he turned back toward them. “Look, I know saving Elliot’s important, but are we being idiots here?”
“How so?” Syd asked. Her voice was even.
“We went through a lot to capture Dahlia, and now we have her. She’s told us Elliot’s in Gren. Maybe we should proceed with the execution, then head to Gren on our own.”
Syd took a step toward him. “She says we won’t be able to find him without her. What if she’s telling the truth?”
Dustin shrugged. “Honestly? We just snuck into a secret stormcalling school on a damn mountaintop guarded by a hundred Barskall warriors, and we lived to tell the tale. I’m not too worried about Gren.”
Abbey had to admit he had a point. Dahlia wasn’t doing this out of the goodness of her heart. She’d held onto the information about Elliot and guarded it jealously until the time was right. Then she’d played it like a card, using it to save her own life.
Dahlia would betray them at her first opportunity, of that there was no doubt. Her only goal was to prolong her own life.
That, and perhaps to learn the secret of Dustin’s ability to stormcall on land.
Dustin had said there was no secret, that there was nothing for her to steal. The only thing keeping her from being able to do it was her belief that there was a secret knowledge she had to obtain in order to do so.
If she watched Dustin long enough, perhaps she’d overcome her disbelief and break through her mental wall.
A Dahlia who could stormcall without seawater was a terrifying prospect, especially now that her fleet had been destroyed and her only army was the Barskall horde hidden somewhere on the Kaldfell Peninsula. They couldn’t let that happen.
“Look, I know it’s a risk,” Syd allowed, “but there’s still no question in my mind. This must be done. We’ll assign four men to her, and we’ll keep her hands bound. As soon as we get to Gren, we’ll bring her on land and keep her the hell away from any seawater. I know she’s a fierce enemy, but she’s not all-powerful.”
Dustin shook his head. “You’re underestimating her. She’ll use that to her advantage. She always does. Captain Tor and King Elias both thought of her as an underling, but she manipulated them until they no longer served her purpose and then cast them aside.”
“Technically, my sword and I cast Tor aside,” Abbey interjected, “but I take your meaning.”
“Point is, this is what she’s good at. She looks weak, lets you think she’s cowed, and then she strikes when you least expect it. She’ll do the same to us if we let her.”
“We’re not going to!” Syd was shouting now, passion clear in her voice. “That’s the difference. We know what she is, and we’ll never let our guard down.”
“That’s not how it works!” Dustin matched Syd’s tone. “She’ll find our weakness. It’s what she does.”
Abbey was barely listening. Something Dustin said had sparked an idea in her mind. “What if we can guarantee she won’t use magic?”
Dustin and Syd both looked skeptical.
“Okay, First Mate,” Dustin said. “Tell us how you’re going to ensure that.”
Etheric Recruit – Snippet 1
Etheric Recruit
By Stephen Russell and Michael Anderle
Snippet 1
Unedited
Dead.
I’m so freakin’ dead, thought the girl, as she tried desperately to hold back her tears.
Crying at school would just make matters worse. She didn’t need her classmates to be on her case for being a cry baby. As it was, the D she had just received on her chemistry test would be enough for her parents to ground her for two weeks…again.
Anne had constantly been in trouble with her parents for the last couple of years now. They claimed she was acting out because they had been required to leave their old life behind when some very bad people threatened her and her mom to make her dad do what they wanted.
Her parents seemed to have forgotten that Anne was the one who had sent a letter to Bethany Anne to ask for help.
The truth of the matter was, Anne just felt so tired nowadays that it was hard for her to stay awake, let alone focus, in class. And she hurt so much her aches had aches. Not normal, she thought, for a sixteen-year-old girl.
Her parents insisted that she was only suffering growing pains, which in their minds were no excuse for bad grades. They had been very clear in stating they expected her to excel.
Failing the entrance examination for the Etheric Academy had resulted in her being grounded for a week.
To heck with it, thought Anne Jayden. Knowing she would be subject to yet another lecture and probably grounded again, Anne decided to take a detour on her way home.
She, and probably ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the people on the Meredith Reynolds, knew that Bellatrix and Ashur had had a litter of puppies. She hadn’t been able to see any of them yet.
Heck, she thought to herself, she hadn’t even seen Ashur in person for the last couple of years. As things had gotten worse on Earth and the Etheric Empire headed into Yollin space, her parents Mason and Sheila Jayden had forbidden her to go near the Queen’s quarters. This meant that not only could she not talk to Bethany Anne, but she didn’t get to play with Ashur anymore either.
Anne decided to go to Yelena’s quarters, hoping she could see Bellatrix and some of the puppies for a little while. She’d get some video of them on her tablet so she could watch it as she served the prison sentence her parents would impose as soon as she returned home.
Anne exited the tram and walked to the intersection nearest Yelena’s quarters. Leaning against the wall, she crossed her fingers and hoped that Yelena or one of the dogs would show up soon, since she wasn’t quite forward enough to knock on the door. Thirty minutes later she sighed in defeat and walked back to the tram station to head home and face the music.
Anne couldn’t help sigh as the door hadn’t opened completely before …“Where have you been
“Where have you been young lady?”
FROM STEPHEN>>> Once Michael added Bellatrix and then puppies, I decided I would try to write a story for one of the pups. Since Anne was already somewhat special in her ability to understand Ashur, it seemed she’d be a good subject. I asked Michael to ‘save’ Jinx, for me, as the canine character.
Storm Breakers – Snippet 1
Storm Breakers, The Stroms of Magic Book 3
By P.T. Hylton and Michael Anderle
Snippet 1
Unedited
Chapter One
Abbey slammed Dahlia down into the chair and leaned in close. “Tell me everything you know about Syd’s brother.”
Dahlia grimaced, but the slight smile stayed on her face.
It had only been ten minutes since they’d halted Dahlia’s execution. Abbey had been in attendance to watch the event, but Dahlia had saved her own life by revealing she had information on Elliot, the long-lost stormship sailor who’d once served aboard Thunderclap. Syd had been looking for her older brother for years, and she kept her head shaved as an outward display of her ongoing mission.
They’d hauled Dahlia to a small room in Liv’s nearby home. Dustin, Abbey, Liv, and Fannar hovered over the seated Storm Caller, who sat with her hands bound in front of her, an uncannily serene expression on her face.
Abbey clenched her fists, trying to keep from shaking with anger. After everything she’d been through—they’d been through—at Dahlia’s hands, again the woman had avoided death.
This was a woman who had helped Storm Raiders sack dozens of towns up and down the Kaldfell coast and beyond. She’d orchestrated the Barskall secret invasion of the Kaldfell Peninsula. She’d compelled the Barskall king to force his people into military service and addict them to seiderdrek, the potion that gave them enhanced speed and strength at the cost of increased rage and lack of control.
And again, the woman was avoiding her rightful fate.
Not forever, Abbey promised herself. She’d let Dahlia live a little longer out of respect for Syd, but the woman’s lifespan would be measured in days.
“Like I said before,” Dahlia reminded them, “I’m not going to tell you. But I will show you.”
“That so?” Abbey asked. “I am not going to tell you what I’m going to do to you with my sword, either. That way we’ll both have a nice surprise.”
Dustin crossed his arm and sighed. “Look, we can’t sail somewhere if you don’t tell us where we’re going.”
“And we’ve spared your life,” Fannar added. He held the seax, the dagger-like weapon that he’d intended to use to execute Dahlia, tightly in his hand. “That is a big show of trust. You need to give us something in return.”
Dahlia stared back at the Barskall for a long moment, then nodded.
Abbey crossed her arms and waited.
“This was fifteen years ago,” Dahlia began. “Perhaps a bit more—I lose track. Tor and I were Storm Raiding, but only far away from Kaldfell. We’d struck the Lost Isles a number of times, and we’d also raided in the area the Arcadians foolishly call the Frozen North. As if the mountains and the sea north of their lands were the edge of the world.”
She shook her head in disgust.
“Try to keep your revulsion at the Arcadians in check,” Abbey interjected. “What’s any of this have to do with Elliot?”
Dahlia continued. “It was around that time we first made our way to Barskall. The land was in the midst of a conflict between two warlords. We thought to raid the coastal villages, but we quickly discovered there was little worth taking—most were living in poverty—so I came up with another plan. I approached one of the warlords, a man named Ragnar, and made him an offer. We would help him defeat his rival in return for his promise to send Barskall warriors to Kaldfell in the coming years to help us defeat our enemies.”
“Did he accept your offer?” Dustin asked.
Dahlia shook her head. “Afraid not.”
“I wouldn’t take it personally,” Abbey told her. “He was probably just turned off by your face. Or possibly your personality. Or maybe your weird voice. Who’s to say?”
Dahlia ignored the comment. “But his enemy Elias did. So, with the help of Undertow and Summer Wind, we harassed Ragnar’s coastal strongholds, burned any villages that supported him, and helped transport Elias’ warriors quickly by sea. It was enough to turn the tide of the war.”
Fannar grimaced. “And so King Elias was crowned.”
Dahlia nodded. “The warlord became King. But before that could happen, he had to negotiate a surrender with Ragnar. The man still had his supporters, especially in the villages on the western coast, so Elias wanted to avoid killing him, if possible. It only made sense to build goodwill with those villages if he was going to rule them. Tor and I went with Elias to negotiate the terms of Ragnar’s surrender.”
“Ragnar ended up leaving Barskall, did he not?” Fannar asked.
“Yes,” Dahlia confirmed. “He agreed to exile. He would go west to a place called Gren, a land of ice and forests. A place he could begin a new conquest.”
Abbey and Dustin exchanged a glance. Abbey had heard tales of Gren, but she hadn’t been sure the place really existed. The storytellers in Holdgate told the children of the giants of Gren, jovial but stupid creatures who were quick to anger. In the stories, stormship sailors always outsmarted them.
One story in particular stuck in Abbey’s mind. A stormship was trapped in a Gren harbor with an enormous boulder blocking its only path to escape. A giant was on the verge of destroying the ship, but the hero of the story tricked the giant into eating the boulder. The ship sailed to safety as the giant laid on the shore suffering from a stomach ache, moaning.
Dustin had heard those same stories, and Abbey could see he was wrestling with the same thoughts, wondering if Gren was even real.
Dahlia continued, “Ragnar had a strange request. He was intrigued with the way we sailed and fought. He demanded that Tor and I give him a few of our stormship sailors so he might use them to train his people.”
A look of fury appeared on Liv’s face. “You didn’t. Tell me you give sell your own people to a Barskall warlord.”
“And how many lives were saved because of what I did?” Dahlia asked.
“Spare me.” Abbey leaned toward Dahlia. “You didn’t care about ending a war. You just wanted a Barskall army of your own.”
The Storm Caller shrugged. “Does it matter? I helped end a war.”
“How many did you give them?” Liv growled.
“We allowed Ragnar to select five of our sailors. Elliot was the one he really cared about. He’d seen Elliot fight. The man was an average sailor, to be honest, but he fought with the sea’s own fury. And Ragnar had taken notice.”
Abbey imagined what it would be like to be traded to an enemy warlord like livestock and taken to whatever mysterious lands were beyond the sea. “You said Elliot’s still alive. How do you know?”
Dahlia paused a long moment before answering. “I suppose I can’t be certain.”
Fannar raised his seax. “So you’re a liar then?” He glanced at the others. “Let me end her now.”
She held up her bound hands. “But I know Elliot. And I know the regard Ragnar had for him. Elliot was a survivor. For all I know, Ragnar’s army was wiped out by the legendary giants of Gren, but even if it was, I have a feeling Elliot would have found a way to survive.”
Abbey wanted to object to that line of thinking, but if Elliot was anything like his sister, Dahlia might be correct.
Liv scratched at her chin. “From what I’ve heard over the years, Gren is a vast land, mostly covered with ice. It would be next to impossible to find him there—if Gren even exists.”
“Oh, it exists.” Dahlia smiled. “I’ve been there. As part of the terms of surrender, Thunderclap herself transported a portion of Ragnar’s army there. I can show you exactly where we set them down, and I can show you the first town Ragnar attacked. I promise you you’ll never find it without me.”
Abbey sighed. That was all the information they were going to get out of Dahlia for now. Much like Elliot, Dahlia was a survivor. She’d do everything she could to preserve her own life.
It was time to tell Syd.
FROM P.T.>> Book 3 of the Storms of Magic series is almost here, and that means it’s time for a snippet.
I hope those of you in the paths of real storms this week are staying safe. Even watching on TV from a distance, these storms are scary. If the people I’ve chatted with online are any indication, my readers are a tough-as-nail lot. You’re all in my thoughts. Stay safe!
Storm Breakers picks up exactly where Storm Callers ended. That means if you haven’t read Storm Callers yet go do so before digging into this snippet.
The Dark Messiah Audiobook Release!
The Dark Messiah: The Second Dark Ages, Book 1
The audiobook for The Dark Messiah: The Second Dark Ages, Book 1 is now available!
Michael returns to fulfill a promise to his love, but the world isn’t the same place.
Michael, the Archangel himself, has returned after a hundred and fifty years rejuvenating in the Etheric Dimension.
Now, the most powerful male Vampire the world had ever known is back.
The problem? The world went through an Apocalypse and what little honor and justice that previously existed, is gone. Further, his love has left to the stars somewhere, fighting for those on Earth.
Now, Michael has to figure out where he is, where he needs to go, help those who need help and figure out how to follow in his love’s path. Because if there is one thing that Honor Demands, it is that he make good on his promise to Bethany Anne.
Those feeding themselves on the backs of others have very little time to realize an important fact.
This Dark Messiah has little compunction about killing.
Redemption – Snippet 5
Redemption, The Boris Chronicles
By Paul C. Middleton and Michael Anderle
Snippet 5
Unedited
Leaving the bodies to be destroyed by the blast had been too disrespectful for Olaf. Maybe it wasn’t the battle wise decision. Maybe it would improve the enemies chance of tracking them, if there was enough of a trace to track after the blast.
Either way, it was still the right, the respectful, decision. Besides, while the digging was going on…
Everything paused as the sound from the earth shattering explosion hit them. Even at this range, sheltered by a hill, the sound of a catastrophically failing etheric reactor was impressive. The shaking of the earth as the shock wave passed was less so. Most of the energy would be directed up, even with the containment of the alloy hull.
“Andre, Richard, test those railguns. Aim for the blast site. Breaking it up will make investigating harder.” Olaf ordered. He’d known about half of his bodyguard most of his life. He was more comfortable going by first name with them.
An Amazon and two of his bodyguards were the dead. Nestor he knew, but he’d needed dogtags to identify the others. Marina and Timothy. He bowed his head, anger and grief mixing. If he’d not been so confident in the security of the shuttle, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.
Of course then it could have happened to others. No-one had really expected someone on planet to have a weapon that could take out a shuttle. At least not outside of Japan. Any other officer he could have sent would have only had a squad with them. Their chances of survival even if they had taken no casualties would have been lower still.
It had been the right choice to come. Or at least the best choice available.
There was a single whipcrack from the hilltop as one of the railguns fired.
The tears of grief and regret flowed down his face as he dug the grave. Slowly other started to help him. Within half an hour they had it as deep as it would go, about four feet.
Even with all their technology, even relative to life before the fall, certain injuries were truly fatal. A crushed skull. A charred hole through the chest. A bolt of energy through the eye. At least it would have been quick, Olaf consoled himself.
He carefully placed each body into the battlefield grave. Anatoly, one of the Weres, handed him a hip flask of vodka. Nodding, Olaf carefully poured some over each corpse’s lips. They would reach Valhalla with drink on their breath.
Then he threw the first spadeful of dirt into each grave before letting others complete the task.
He saluted as the three rocks were placed to mark the graves, the earth was stomped back into place and the turf put back over to hide them from casual sight.
Olaf would forever remember this moment as the moment he learnt a core soldiers truth. That loss and grief are at the center of war. He was coming to realise fast that glory was no balance to them.
He took a swig of the vodka before he handed it back to Anatoly, who took a swig himself before he put it away in his gear.
Olaf made an oath that moment. He couldn’t stop people dying to protect him because of who his father was. Either out of fear or respect. But he would become a man worthy of any who died for him.
One of the railguns was working. The other would still have to be lugged with them. Olaf would not let it fall into the enemy’s hands. For now, carrying it was better than slagging it with one of his few thermite grenades.
He had a feeling he might be happy for every weapon he had.
It was why the only weapon he’d left with the soldiers to arrive at Valhalla with had been their Tomahawks.
He knew they’d understand when the doorkeeper asked why they were so poorly armed.
Their comrades would put their other arms to good use.
Release the Dogs of War Audiobook Release!
Release the Dogs of War, The Kurtherian Gambit Book 10
By Michael Anderle
Book 10 in The Kurtherian Gambit Universe, Release the Dogs of War is now available in Audio!
Saved by Valor RELEASE!
Saved by Valor, Reclaiming Honor Book VII
By Justin Sloan and Michael Anderle
A dream of peace. A hand of justice. A time for closure.
Valerie has found her way full circle, heading back to Europe, where it all began. New enemies await, calling themselves The Gods, and the journey to put an end to the atlantic pirate problem means dealing with the local trouble makers as well as these false gods.
For Cammie and Royland, it also means bringing a boy to his home, and ensuring he has a safe place to live.
Meanwhile, Diego and Sgt. Garcia begin their journey to secure their side of America. While victory is close at hand, theirs is a world where cutting off hands seems just as likely as shaking them. Will they be able to convince the locals peace is worth having?
Saved by Valor – Snippet 3
Saved by Valor, Reclaiming Honor Book VII
By Justin Sloan and Michael Anderle
Snippet 3
Unedited
How the hell everyone had survived that, she had no clue. For what seemed like an eternity she just laid there, watching the rain. When it finally started to let up and rays of sunlight hit the airship’s balloon, she sat up and scanned the deck.
The ship was damn full, half of them at work, half just trying to get out of the way.
They saw her sitting up, and started to cheer.
“Enough of that,” she shouted, leaping up and pulling at her clothes, as if she could brush the water away. “You all did it.”
“But we lost the ship,” Reems admitted morosely.
She looked back at the storm in the distance. With her vampire sight, she was just able to see the shape of her ship where it had landed on the side of a hill, not far from the coastline.
For a long moment, nobody spoke. It as likely they were all waiting for someone, likely Valerie, to explode. This shouldn’t have happened. One little storm, and they lost their shit.
Truthfully she wanted to go off on her captains, to start kicking stuff and swearing. That ship had started to grow on her. Instead, she just continued staring for a long moment, letting them all consider what had happened and process it in their own way. Getting angry at someone and trying to point fingers wasn’t going to do any good now.
“Where is that, would you guess?” she asked, immediately followed by sighs or relief when the others realized she wasn’t going to kick their asses.
A man stepped forward, the boy Kristof next to him. They spoke in a foreign language for a moment, then the man said, “Not a clue, but the boy remembers seeing that land on his way over.”
Kristof nodded. “I distinctly remember that hill. I thought I’d never seen a hill so green in all my life.”
“Wait, you speak the same language?” Valerie asked excitedly. “You’re from the same area, then?”
The man nodded. “My family, it turns out, emigrated from near his town. Outcasts; left over some dispute long ago. But I know his country, and spent some time there as a teen.”
“Well, sir,” she beamed at Captain William, “you might just be the hidden puzzle piece we’ve been looking for.”
“And the islands?”
“My best guess? Judging by the size of the island, or what we saw anyway, I’d have to say the Faroe Islands. Not that I’ve ever been, but I’ve seen a map or two in my time.”
“Remind me to go back and get my ship someday,” Valerie commented, though she knew that was unlikely to happen. She really did like the carving, though, and the map, and would hate for those to fall into someone else’s hands.
She turned back to the sailor and asked, “Do you think you could find this city, or at least the general vicinity?”
He nodded. “Not exactly, but the area? I can at least ask around, get us there.”
With a laugh, she turned to the crew. “Does anyone else not realize we are headed to Norway? Now that you know, does anyone have anything they can offer?” The crew laughed, and she held her hands up. “That’s on me. It’s taught me an important lesson about making sure to share my plans with everyone involved.”
“We coulda told you that, boss,” Reems said. “Like, I would’ve loved to have known about the plan to send one of our ships down like that. I would’ve advised you to send this one instead.”
“Hardy-har-har.” Valerie looked at him. “Tell you what, we find another awesome ship, she’s yours.”
“Deal.”
Suddenly her eyes went wide and she ran to the rail, staring at her ship as if that alone would bring her back.
“What is it?” Cammie asked, stepping up next to her. “The comm device, it—”
“This one?” River asked, fishing it out of the pack at his side. “Why do you think I was late getting to the ropes?”
A smile spread across Valerie’s face. “You angel! I knew I saved you for a reason.”
He laughed. “You saved my life because you somehow knew I had this on me?”
“I’m an all-powerful, all-knowing vampire, don’t you see that yet?”
“Hmm, must be that my simple human eyes are incapable of seeing such B.S.”
Silence followed that remark, broken by Valerie’s laughter. “Boy, I’m liking you more every day.”
He smiled, then gave her the comm device and gestured to his wet clothes. “I’m going to check with William and see if there’re dry clothes for everyone on board.”
“Some of us’ll have to go without a spare,” one of the sailors interjected. “Tell him I said you can have mine.”
“If he doesn’t have the spares stowed away,” River replied, then walked off to the control room.
“We need to get all of you dry,” Valerie told Cammie, glancing around at the sailors. “I don’t want anyone getting sick on this trip and ruining all the fun sightseeing.”
“Sights?” Cammie laughed. “Ladies and gentlemen, on your left you have the lost airship of Valerie… Wait, how is it I don’t know your last name?”
“Vampires kinda get rid of the whole last name thing. Just something we do.”
“Huh.”
“I guess it has to do with separating ourselves from our pasts.” Valerie shrugged, turning to look toward their destination. “In a way, I get it. There’s so much I’d like to forget. The path lies ahead and all that.”
Cammie nodded, arms wrapped around herself for warmth. “Sure, that works. Makes sense, in a delusional sort of way.”
“Excuse me?”
“Not meaning offense, but everything we do, every choice, comes from who we are and what we’ve been through. Hell, some would even argue we aren’t really making the choice, that a combination of our past experiences triggers an automatic response.”
Valerie pursed her lips, then shook her head. “Something’s wrong with you.”
“Oh, something’s been wrong with me for a very long time.” She shrugged. “But I’ll take it, because it makes me who I am, and I happen to love that person.”
“You are kinda great,” Valerie replied with a wink.
“Hey, no winking at me anymore. Don’t think I haven’t heard about you and your carpet-munching ways.”
“What the fuck?”
“Sailors talk.” Cammie laughed. “Hey, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. You don’t think I’ve munched on a few carpets in my day? It was practically a carpet buffet back in the Golden City, though the buffet had much more to it than just that. That place was totally fucked up, honestly.”
“I’m not a… I’m not repeating it. But I won’t be reduced to some stupid label like that.”
Cammie eyed her a moment. “You exclusive now?”
“What?”
“Meaning, if you didn’t have the carpet, only…” She glanced around, her eyes stopping at one of the sailors standing watch, an arc rod hanging from his belt. “I’ll word it this way. Would you rather lie around on a carpet, or be out there wielding an arc rod?”
“That’s the weirdest metaphor I’ve ever heard.” She positioned her hand as if attacking with an arc rod, moving to hit her opponent, and then frowned. “You’ve had your mind in the gutter so long, it’s covered in shit.”
“Fuck you,” Cammie said with a laugh. “Just answer the question.”
“You want to know if I’m dedicated one way or the other now?” Valerie rolled her eyes, turning away from Cammie.
Her feelings for Robin hadn’t had time to subside yet, and it had never really been about the sexual side of their relationship. Sure she’d had those feelings, but that wasn’t the whole of it. Thinking back to Jackson, it was kind of the same way. He had swept her off her feet, made her feel something, and not just with his arc rod.
Finally she sighed and turned back to her friend. “I wouldn’t say I’ve made a choice, in that sense. It’s about who I have feelings for. Maybe in this world, we don’t have to make choices based on some physical aspect of the body?”
“Sure, sure… But which do you like more?”
“Oh, for the love of all that’s holy, can we change the subject?” Valerie scoffed. “I mean, really! This is pretty damn typical Cammie right here, and I thought you’d changed.”
“Me? Change?” Now it was Cammie’s turn to scoff. “No, no, no. And no. I’m still as charged-up as ever. Just, now my energy’s all flowing into one man.”
“More than I need to hear, I’m sure.”
Cammie frowned.
“But I’m happy for you,” Valerie added. “I mean, really. Cammie settling down? That’s something I never thought I’d live long enough to see, and since I’m some crazy powerful vampire now, that’s saying a lot.”
“Thanks,” Cammie replied with a chuckle. “Surprised me as much as anyone, but at least I’m not about to have a baby anytime soon.”
Valerie scratched her chin, considering that.
“What?” Cammie asked.
“It’s just… Have you ever wondered if we’re able? I mean, you’re a Were, and we all know there are no problems there. But vampires?”
“Now we’re getting into uncomfortable discussion topics.” Cammie started to walk away. “Think I’ll check on Royland. See about some combat practice with an arc rod.”
“Wait, seriously?” Valerie blinked, trying to understand her friend. “You can talk all day about what’s going on downstairs, but the minute I bring up children you freak out.”
“Sorry, can’t hear you over the wind!” Cammie smiled, then vanished belowdecks.
Valerie stood there staring after her for a moment, then noticed a sailor walking past.
“She could totally hear you,” the man said.
“Thanks, I figured as much.”
Valerie shook her head, unable to comprehend Cammie sometimes. She found herself talking with the sailor, hearing his story, then starting to tell hers. When she got to the part about her brother leaving her for dead outside Old Paris, she noticed half the sailors on the ship around her now, leaning on the rails or sitting cross-legged, listening like a bunch of school children.
“This isn’t very exciting,” she said, looking around at them. “I feel like the old woman with her stories.”
“No, please tell us!” the sailor said, and the others nodded with wide eyes.
So she gave in, continuing to tell them about her journey west to Old Manhattan and how she had liberated it and stopped her brother from invading.
“It started as revenge, you know?” She looked around at them, quite sure not a one of them would be alive without having felt that at some point in their pirate communities. “I felt betrayed, alone…and, I’ll admit, afraid. But that didn’t last long, because I knew that the people of America needed me. They had a vampire army, led by the second most powerful vampire I knew at the time, heading their way to kill or enslave them. I had to get over there before him, to stop him and see justice done. Little did I know, justice would soon become my driving force in this life.”
“So you intercepted him and put a stop to it?” the sailor asked.
“After a pirate attack on the way over, finding out that people were hunting vampire blood and putting a stop to a large portion of that, and making a few friends along the way, yes. I had a small army by the time my brother arrived, and with their help we took him out the moment he got there.”
There were several mumbles of excitement about this. Valerie lost herself for a moment, thinking back to the moment Michael had arrived, interceding to level the playing field between her and her brother. Without Michael, the fight would have been one-sided, and she was pretty sure she would have died. He liked to keep his secrets, though, so she left that part out.
“One would think a city would implode after witnessing a battle between vampires like you’re talking about,” the sailor said, frowning. “I mean, hell, how’d you keep everyone from losing their minds?”
Valerie thought about that. “Most of the population wasn’t around. It took place at night, and I remember lightning and rain, so they were probably inside. Most of the police and whatnot had suspicions, or there were the Enforcers. Many of them were actually part of the hunt for vampire blood.”
This brought on new questions and Valerie relaxed, diving into the rest of her journey. By the time she told them of her final take-down of the corrupt and evil CEOs, the sun was setting and the sky was covered in streaks of purple and orange clouds. She left out key moments, such as meeting Robin and what followed with her. This crowd didn’t need all the details, and the topic was certainly still too raw for Valerie to feel comfortable even hinting at.
She had excused herself and gone to the side of the ship to watch the sunset, leaving the others to discuss everything she had just told them. Some were skeptical about all of that being possible in such a short amount of time, but many of them were in awe.
A laugh snuck its way up and escaped. When had she gone from ultimate vampire warrior lady to storyteller extraordinaire? As long as it served to motivate them, she supposed it all worked out in the end.
“Land ho!” William shouted, stepping out of the control room and glaring at all of them for just sitting around. “You all want to get to work, or will we have naptime after story time?”
The sailors laughed at that and thanked Valerie for the tale before getting back to business.
“Story?” she asked no one in particular.
“Well, none of that really happened, right?” River asked. She hadn’t noticed that he was still there, leaning against a barrel of food stores. “I mean, it’s all pretty ridiculous.”
“Is it?” She smiled, nodding to herself. “I guess you’ll just have to wonder then.”
He frowned, then nodded. “Okay, I’m done wondering. You were pretty badass on the island, but everything you just told us? No way. Not believing it.”
“Hey, it happened. I did everything I just said.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” He winked and ran off, jumping out of her reach as she playfully tried to swat him.
“Get back to work!”
Stupid kid, she thought in amusement, and then turned to look out over the rail. They were sailing in smoothly, the land growing larger as they approached. Judging by the direction they had been traveling and assuming their guesses were right about what was where, this had to be it.
They had found Norway.
FROM JUSTIN >>> Oh, man! I really just want to throw you into the middle of the book, but I know that would be insane and give you way too many spoilers. So for now, this early intro stuff 🙂 This week in writing world I have reached the mid-point in my latest novel, but it’s almost at the same word count as a finished regular novel of mine. So… that’s good, right? Lots of words = more fun reading without knowing it’s going to be over as soon as you started.
Of course, some people just skim it anyway, right? No skimming allowed!
Also, I had sushi with Chris Fox yesterday. He’s a cool dude, and has some really cool scifi fantasy stuff coming out soon. So today, instead of my normal sharing of one book, I’m going to point you all to his page for this new Magitech Chronicles, and share some other sweet scifi fantasy books I recommend.
FIND THE POST HERE, along with links to my interviews with the authors on my Creative Writing Career podcast.
Find out more about Justin Sloan and his other books at http://www.justinsloanauthor.com
Saved by Valor – Snippet 2
Saved by Valor, Reclaiming Honor Book VII
By Justin Sloan and Michael Anderle
Snippet 2
Unedited
Over the Atlantic
Valerie’s ship had been struck and was, in all likelihood, about to be out of commission. But while the ship had grown on her, especially with the great logo her crew had carved for her on its side, the lives of the men and women sailing her were her responsibility.
She ran over to Captain Reems, chest pounding. “Where do you need me?”
“We don’t have a chance with that ship above us like that. Don’t suppose they have one of those comm devices or something?”
“You just brought me the one.” She looked up, noting the angle of the balloon and the trajectory of their ship. She sure hoped she wasn’t going to regret this. “Don’t worry, I have an idea.”
His eyes followed hers, then narrowed. “You can’t possibly be serious?”
“It’s our only chance, right?”
For a moment his lips twitched as if he wanted to argue, but finally he nodded. “Please don’t mess this up.”
“Believe me, I don’t want to be at the bottom of the ocean any more than you do.”
She got a running start, then leaped and grabbed of one of the ropes that led to their quickly deflating balloon. She put all of her power into shimmying up the side as fast as possible.
Gusts of wind blew and the ships shook, causing her to lose her footing more than once, but she held on tight with her right hand, refusing to give in. Whatever higher power was out there knew it wasn’t her time, whether that was gods, Michael, or simply herself. She shouted and pulled against the wind, clenching the rope with her other hand and then her legs. Rain pelted her as the storm started to catch them again.
“Hurry!” a voice shouted, carrying distantly in the wind.
Lightning flashed in the nearby clouds, lighting the dark sky, and for a split-second her mind went back to nights training with the Duke. Stormy nights, just like this, where he would have his closest few, his chosen, climbing buildings, shinnying across electrical wires that had long ago been removed from use, and crawling through mud. In part it had been to test them and train them for what was to come, but Valerie had always known that the larger part of his purpose was reminding them of their places beneath him.
Now she was at the top, in a sense; the most powerful being she knew besides Michael and Akio. Yet there she was, climbing some damn rope in the middle of a lightning storm over the Atlantic. She had to shake her head at the thought, wondering what sort of idiot got herself into such a predicament.
She finally reached the rain-drenched balloon at the top of their airship. It was losing air fast, though still maintaining its bearing, to a degree.
If it had been fully inflated, she wasn’t sure this would have been possible. With all her power, she thrust herself up and out, losing connection completely, and in that moment she could imagine simply floating away, never to be seen again.
Then she connected, grabbing the balloon, nails digging into it. Her muscles bulged as she pulled herself up over the edge until she reached the point where she could run along the top. It caved in slightly with each bounding step, and each time she imagined the next one would simply pull her into its folds.
Not ten paces ahead she saw the other ship. She could even could make out Cammie at its helm shouting orders, and then saw two sailors being lowered over the edge, preparing to cut her ship loose.
“HOLD!” Valerie shouted, her voice projecting over the storm. They looked up in shock, and one nearly had a heart attack. He slipped, the wind and rain doing their worst, and slid off toward the edge of the balloon.
Valerie threw herself forward, catching him with one hand as her free hand’s nails dug into the balloon to keep them both from sliding off.
With a heave, she had him back on his feet and they joined the other sailor.
“Not yet,” she told them when they were secure, then shinnied up one of the ropes they had left dangling over the side of their ship.
Cammie met her at the top, hand out to pull her up. Valerie took the hand, and was soon on the solid deck.
“What the hell do we do now?” Cammie demanded. “This is a complete shit-kerfuffle!”
“Shit storm,” Valerie corrected her.
“Too easy, so no. But what’s not easy is figuring out how to get us out of this mess.”
“I got this,” Valerie told her, darting toward the control room. “You just tell your men to cut us free on my mark.”
Cammie gave her a skeptical look.
“Have I ever messed up something like this?” Valerie asked.
“There’s always a first time.”
“Not for me.” Valerie reached the door and threw it open, then shouted back. “Get them ready!”
She waited to see that Cammie was conveying the order, then stepped in and closed the door behind her.
Judging by Captain William’s wide, confused eyes, she must’ve been quite a sight. Wind-swept, drenched hair going in all directions, she imagined. If she let her eyes glow red, she would probably have looked like some storm god.
Her ears adjusted to the relative silence, and she stepped forward. “Time for some quality bonding time. And by that I mean, do exactly what the hell I say. Got it?”
“Of course.”
“Good.” She gestured to the wheel. “Hard left when you feel us lurch, then I’m going to need you to bring us around so that we’re nearly even with my ship.”
His eyes lit up. “You meant to mount me!”
She frowned. “It’s ‘board’ you. Yes, we mean to board you.”
“Yes, same thing.” He blushed, turning back to the wheel. She knew he’d just realized what he’d said, and had to chuckle despite the annoyance at how her clothes were clinging to her. A glance down, and she completely understood why his mind would have gone there.
Opening the door, she waved to Cammie. “NOW!” She nodded to William, and then it all happened in a blur. The ship jolted free, then practically nosedived, turning as she went. After a moment she leveled out.
Men and women shouted, then another jolt was felt as hooks met the side of the ship.
Valerie came back out on deck, watching as the ship, with her awesome carved skull and the new map she’d been working on in the captain’s quarters, began to drop away.
“QUICKLY!” Eyes scanning the ship, she watched her men and women shinny over the rails. There was River, working to ensure that Martha was on a rope, but it wasn’t looking good for him personally.
She turned, looking for a hook and rope. There wasn’t time to act rationally, so she did the next best thing—she acted like a maniac desperate to save someone. She snatched up the rope and ran, swinging the hook as she did so, and jumped.
As she fell, she threw the hook so that it caught on the side of the ship, then held on tight as she swung down. With one arm, she scooped up River as her ship lurched onto its side.
Had someone not been on a rope at that point, they would have certainly fallen to their death.
Valerie jolted as the rope came to the end of its swing, but she held on tightly to both rope and boy, and then, as the started to swing back, she hefted him up.
“Hold on,” she shouted, glad to see that he did. “Everyone up, before the next gust gets us!”
When they were all safely aboard she followed, falling to the deck after she topped the rail. She was keenly aware of the inch of water she was lying in, but she was already so soaked at that point that she didn’t care.
“Will someone tell the captain to get us the fuck out of this storm?” she said, not bothering to raise her voice now. She knew they would be on it.
FROM JUSTIN >>> As we move into the final days of our pre-book 7 lives, I’m happy to bring you another snippet from the book to tide you over. There are some cool connections in this book to others in the KGU… did you notice any yet? Or guess at what might be coming? I think this is the most fun about writing in a shared universe – the cross-promotion and little “Easter eggs” we can place in the stories for you all to find.
To check out Justin Sloan’s other books – http://www.justinsloanauthor.com