Archive
Monthly Archives: September 2013
- by Tara Maya
20. Attack of the Mob
The Unfinished Song: Initiate
“Of course the mighty Imorvae War Chief spares his own son!” someone else shouted.
Father’s knuckles whitened on the ledge of the balcony, but his pride would not let him stoop to correct the accusation.
“Let Kavio begin his exile, here, now!” cried another voice. “We’ll see how long it lasts!”
Ugly laughter rippled through the crowd.
“Lower the ladder,” Father said to the Tavaedi warriors who still guarded Kavio.
Even the guards looked dubious. “The crowd will rip him apart as soon as he’s down the ladder.”
“Lower the ladder,” repeated Father.
Kavio might have expected Mother to object to this, but she had not accompanied Kavio and Father back to their house from the kiva. In her typical way, she had disappeared without a word of goodbye. I guess she hasn’t forgiven me for turning down her offer.
The warriors lowered the ladder to the street. The crowd began to cheer. Someone took up the chant again.
“Death to Kavio! Death to Kavio!”
He knew his cue when he heard it, Kavio thought sardonically. He stepped forward into the torchlight and the sight of the mob.
Another roar went up in the mob, and so many people tried to press close to the ladder that it almost fell into the street. One of the men pushed back the others, shouting, “Let him come down first, if he dares!”
“That’s my invitation, I believe,” he said to Father, grasping the ladder.
“If new evidence or new witnesses step forward to exonerate you,” Father said, “You could resume all your duties as a Zavaedi in the Labyrinth. Is there anything you want to tell me, Kavio, which you didn’t want to say at the trial?”
Kavio thought of Zumo, and what he might have said, did his cousin not share Auntie Ugly’s unreasoning hatred of everything Kavio was. The chances that Zumo would change his testimony seemed slight. To say the least.
“Goodbye, Father.”
He swung his legs around and descended the ladder into the waiting crowd.
They didn’t even let him climb down the ladder, but shook it and pushed it over. He flipped in the air as he fell and landed on his feet, but at once, enraged men and women assaulted him from all sides, some with their hands and feet, some with rocks and sticks. The sheer volume of kicks, sticks, punches, pinches and pummels drove him to the dust in a heap of bruised flesh.
And he thought he had been ready to die. He fought for every last breath, made them pay for every blow with two blows back of his own, but still they were winning, they were going to beat him to death right under his own balcony, as Father watched impassively from above.
A strong arm clasped and dragged Kavio back to his feet. He could breathe again.
“The judgment was exile!” his helper shouted at the crowd. “You will not commit murder tonight!”
Blood dribbled into his eyes, so it…
TO BE CONTINUED
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- by Tara Maya
Kinetic by S.K. Anthony
Being strong is one thing. Being an unlimited source of power is quite another.
Genetically altered by the Organization, Annie Fox takes down criminals CIA-style with her luminary strength. With nothing to mend but her broken heart, she is relentlessly pursued by her boss Derek Lake. Just when Annie is about to give him a chance, her ex-husband unexpectedly comes out of hiding.
A wanted man, Nick Logan is a cold-hearted murderer who is considered enemy number one, and orders are clear: kill on contact. He is more powerful than ever and threatens the lives of those she holds most dear. His plan? Get his hands on Annie and use her Kinetic energy to destroy them all. When Annie finds herself with an opportunity to end him, she pauses, horrified by the scars covering the face she once loved. A split second that will cost her everything …
** Kinetic is a stand-alone novel. All books in series are part of the same world with the characters intertwined. **
Download Kinetic on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and iTunes. Kinetic will be only 99 cents on Amazon during the first week of release (September 20-28).
Excerpt
I stooped down and back-elbowed him across his jaw. His head fell sideways, but not for long, he turned to watch me but said nothing. I got up and slammed a good kick to his side. He winced but remained silent.
“What are you up to?” I demanded.
“Killing.”
“Why?”
He smiled. “It’s fun.”
“I’m about to call Derek, but I’d like to know what you’re after first.”
“Let me go,” he said.
“Oh… you’re hilarious.”
“You’ll regret keeping me here, Annie. I can’t afford to be captured right now.”
“Oh, RIGHT, what was I thinking? I should have called ahead to schedule an appointment for your capture. I just didn’t have your number!” I watched him in disbelief.
“I don’t have email or Twitter either. You know why?” His lip twitched. “I can’t have followers.”
I heard a chuckle from behind.
“Really, Beth? You’re going to encourage him?”
“What? No, it was just… I thought it was… funny,” she finished saying in a low voice.
I turned back to Nick and was about to grab his neck when I realized being that close to him would not be a good idea. If I allowed myself to get that close to him, he could hypnotize me to let him go, so instead, I kicked him.
“Now you’re just doing this for spite,” he said.
“Yes.” I kicked him again. “You started it at Worldsafe.”
“What are you, ten? I pinch you, you pinch me? Actually, I wouldn’t mind pinching you…” I was about to slam him again. “No, stop. Stop! Your kicks are more painful than mine. Stop it.”
“Any more requests? It seems you think you’re in charge here,” I said.
“Just, wait, all right? Don’t call Derek. Don’t let anyone know I’m here,” Nick begged.
“Scared?” I smirked.
- by Tara Maya
19. Nothing to Lose
The Unfinished Song: Initiate
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| “Dindi” by Tara Maya |
Dindi
…but also makes you want to rage and weep because it reminds you the enemy has captured your cousins, your friends.
A strange thing happens. You’re terrified, disoriented, humiliated, helpless, panting with exhaustion, focused on trying to place one foot at a time while avoiding the switch. You’re also angry. As your hearing and sense of balance returns, your anger creeps up on you, growing fiercer, until it strangles your fear.
Despite the enemy’s precautions, your woodcraft whispers certain secrets. The brush of the air on your skin, the texture and tilt of the ground, these tell you you’re heading west, toward the ocean.
You know you will be sold as a sacrificial slave, a mariah, as soon as they leave the boarders of your clan and tribe, too far away for your kin to find or avenge you. Obedience doesn’t bake well in your oven; you’re certain you wouldn’t last long as a slave. They warn you they will kill you if you don’t do what they want, that your life is worth less to them than a fistful of seed. They call you wormbait, carion.
Their aim is to make you think you are going to die, and they succeed.
So you have nothing left to lose.
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| “Kavio” by Tara Maya |
Chapter Two
Rover
Kavio
Kavio stood on the balcony of his father’s house, back in the shadows, and the mob hadn’t seen him yet. That couldn’t last.
The mob filled the dusty streets between the blocks of adobe houses. Torches waved like luminous war banners. The throng had been gathering every evening for days before the trial, shouting for blood. Wild fae whirled around them, vicious little Red and Orange imps, unseen by most of the people in the crowd.
“Death to Kavio! Death to Kavio!” the people shouted.
Kavio inhaled the dry summer night. The decree of the Society of Societies might have been commuted to exile, but he still had to get out of the tribehold alive. Now that he faced a mob ready to rend him limb from limb, he found he preferred life in exile to death after all.
Father, still in his face paint and dance regalia, went to the edge of the balcony. Like the kiva, the adobe house had been painted white and the mud walls of the balcony rose organically out of the lower story of the house. For defensive purposes, none of the houses in the tribehold had doors on the first story. Ladders allowed access between the balcony and the street.
Father held up his arms to silence the crowd. It took some time to still their chanting.
“Your cries have been heard. Justice is served!” he shouted. “Kavio has been judged guilty. He will be exiled!”
This appeased few in the mob.
“In the Bone Whistler’s day he would have been stoned!” some- one shouted.
Thunderous rage contorted Father’s face, but he never lost his self-control. “The Bone Whistler is dead and so are his ways. The judgment is exile.”
TO BE CONTINUED
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- by Tara Maya
The Making of a Mage King: Prince in Hiding by Anna L. Walls
What would happen to you if you lost your parents at 17?
And then… what if they weren’t your parents at all?
When Sean loses his parents within a year of each other he can’t see past the tragedy… until he finds out his father isn’t really his father… and Sean isn’t who he thinks he is. Follow Sean through his journey to a magical world where he is royalty and his powers are only beginning to bloom… and family is a relative concept – evil uncles and all.
Prince in Hiding by Anna Walls is the first in The Making of a Mage King series that follows young Sean from boy to Mage King! You can download it on Amazon. Book 2 in the series, White Star, is also on Amazon.
Excerpt
Sixteen-year-old Sean stood in the queue, waiting his turn to compete with the saber. He looked up at the bleachers. He had no problem locating his dad; his parents sat in the same place every time. His dad was talking to their flat mate, Gordon; his mom couldn’t make it this time – she had to work. Every year since Sean’s first tournament, his parents gave him a choice. Since the tournament and his birthday were generally only a few days apart, Sean got to pick which event his parents would attend; it was impossible for them to get both days off from work. Sean thought of a compromise. He really wanted them to watch him compete, so as a birthday present of sorts, they could take him out for a special dinner afterwards.
When Sean, Gordon and his father returned home that evening, they were greeted by a squad car waiting out in front of their apartment building.
“Sorry sir,” said the officer as he met them at their taxi. Sean’s father was a sergeant of the mounted police. The officer looked uncomfortable about talking in front of Sean and Gordon.
“Go ahead officer. We’re family,” said Elias.
“Sorry sir,” said the man. He hastily pulled his hat off his head and gripped it in his fists. “Sir, you need to come down to the station. It’s your wife, sir. She’s…she’s dead. You need…”
Sean didn’t hear anything else. The monotone of his father’s voice and the officer’s voice no longer translated into words. He found the hood of the police car and leaned on it, his sword case hitting the pavement with an audible thump.
Gordon wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Come on, I’ll get you inside.”
Find more from Anna on her website, blog, Facebook, Goodreads and Twitter.
- by Tara Maya
18. The Kidnapping
The Unfinished Song: Initiate
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| “Kidnapped” by Luke M., PhotoAlterations |
Dindi
…Shuffling in the dark, followed by silence. You wake up with your heart already racing. Intrusive smells, chalk paste and feathers. Sweat. Beer. Heavy male breathing.
Their aim is to terrify you, disorient you, and they succeed. Grotesque heads loom over you, claw-like hands grasp you, yank you to the hay-strewn dirt in the goat pen under the loft. More hands smother your scream.
Their aim is to strip you of dignity, of comfort, and they do this literally. Horrible things, uglier and taller than men, surround you. They shove you from one to another, casual but brutal, tear off your clothes, smack your bare flesh, gag you and snag your wrists behind your back with scratchy twine. Beside you, your clan sister Jensi suffers the same abuse. Tibi cowers in a corner of the goat pen, but the kidnappers ignore her.
They herd you into the courtyard. Whitewashed adobe reflects the moonlight like bone. Night leechs color from the intricate designs painted on the houses, so the buildings look strangled by black nooses.
Firelight winks on a dozen naked captives, all in a line, a snake winding around the houses, preyed on by monsters. For a moment, you think the monsters are fae, some hideous sort, trolls or harpies, but fae do not carry torches or cast shadows. Fae glow with their own light. The kidnappers must be men in masks and mantas. As the enemy Tavaedi warriors shuffle and cavort, deformed shadows spring up to dance beneath and between them.
Their aim is to crush you, to grind you down like corn meal. They steal your senses one by one. You’ve already been gagged so tightly you find it hard to breath. Now they blindfold you. Have you ever had black cloth wrapped so tightly you can’t see a torch held right next to your face? No, you’ve only played at it, in children’s games. Real blindness, forced blindness, petrifies you. They shove a hol- lowed tree drum over your head, then pound it, assaulting your ears. Your hearing and balance, gone. A heavy basket, a mountain of stones, is forced onto your back. Your knees buckle under you, you want to collapse and cry, but you can’t afford weakness. A switch against your thighs drives you forward.
You hate the switch, the ropes, their rough hands, yet, in your helplessness, you crave even the touch of these things to guide you, assure you the rest of the world is there, that you aren’t lost alone blind and deaf in the dark.
Their aim is to keep you so exhausted, so helpless, you can’t think beyond surviving the next step, and the next after that. They never let you rest, they hit and curse and threaten you. They force-march you down a narrow trail through bushes and trees that slap you. Occasionally, you trip, slip, bump against another captive tied in the line, and this brief rub of flesh on flesh reassures you that you aren’t alone…
TO BE CONTINUED
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Author’s Comments
I was kidnapped once. I was a cheerleader, and it was part of the hazing for the Senior boys from the band to kidnap the Frosh girls from the dance squad. I in no way objected to this kidnapping (I was really looking forward to it, in fact) but there was one girl whose parents opted out on her behalf because she had actually been kidnapped as a child, and they didn’t want her to have any traumatic flashbacks.
- by Tara Maya
Aberrant by Ruth Silver
In the future dystopian society of Cabal, the government instills equality for all and offers its citizens the perfect system. There is food, shelter and jobs for everyone. The one requirement is to follow the rules without question, including the government’s match in marriage and “The Day of the Chosen”, a lottery that randomly selects families to conceive children as natural means hasn’t existed in generations. Following her eighteenth birthday, Olivia Parker accepts her requirement to marry her childhood best friend, Joshua Warren, and is eager to start her work assignment and new life when it all comes abruptly to an end as she’s arrested and thrown in prison. The only crime committed, her existence. Olivia is unlike the rest of the world born not from “The Day of the Chosen.” The truth haunts the government and puts her life in grave danger as one simple fact would destroy the perfect system.
With Joshua’s help, Olivia breaks free of prison and is forced on the run. Together they set out to find the promised rebel town in search of a new home and new life together. Their situation seems less than promising as they reach the town of Haven. New rules and customs must be adhered to in order to stay. Leaving would mean most certain death in the large expanse of the Gravelands. Time is running out as the government mounts an attack to destroy Olivia and bury her secret with her. Thrown into a world unlike their own, they must quickly adapt to survive.
Aberrant is available for download on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Excerpt
Joshua came into my room, ignoring all rules as he helped push the dresser further from the wall, knocking it to the floor allowing me more than enough room to grab the journal and go. I tossed it inside the pack and Joshua put the map inside before we stepped out of my bedroom. I glanced down the hall, not sure what I expected to see. To the right the dormitory had been hit, and a roar of smoke and fire filled the confined space. Jacqueline was gone. Hand-in-hand we ran in the opposite direction toward the staircase.
My eyes burned. Coughing, I refused to let go of his hand as we stepped outside. Drones weren’t the only things attacking Haven. Tanks rolled into town. A few soldiers jumped off, taking over the perimeter, guns drawn. I paused, gripping Joshua’s hand as we were shrouded in smoke. Just a few feet away, a soldier lifted his weapon and unleashed fury on a group of innocent people. I covered my mouth with my hand to keep from crying out when a child no older than three hit the cement. His eyes remained open as blood seeped from his head. He didn’t move. Didn’t blink. It took only a moment to realize he’d died instantly. All I could do was stand there in shock.
“We have to move,” I heard Joshua’s voice, but it didn’t register. The smoke swirled around us and gunfire erupted in every direction. He grabbed my arm. “Olivia, I need you to focus.” I nodded once, trying my best to clear the cobwebs from my mind. I couldn’t, though. I wanted to run out to the child and protect him, but it was too late. I was too late. They were here because of me, innocent blood on my hands. I felt the heat radiating from the dormitory and my eyes flashed back. “I need you here with me, Olive.”
“I am,” I insisted, knowing if I didn’t focus we’d both be dead. I spotted more soldiers – their standard issue uniform and the Cabal crest on their jacket sleeve told me all I needed to know. The government had come looking for us. “Which way?” I couldn’t see the exit. With the smoke enveloping us and the fear coursing through my veins, I forgot the direction we’d come from.
Find more from Ruth on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and Google+.