Everyone, I am pleased to announce that an upcoming romantic comedy and life experiences book will be hitting shelves soon from an associate of mine, C.R. Burnett! Read below for more details!
Ghost Protocol: Dating In The New Millennium delves deep into the realms of ghosting, online dating, and the ever-elusive search for true love. Ms. Burnett’s empathetic approach to the subject matter allows readers to relate to the struggles and triumphs of the characters, offering valuable insights and advice for navigating the turbulent waters of modern romance.
With her unparalleled ability to capture the essence of our time, C.R. Burnett emerges as a visionary voice within the realm of relationship literature. Her debut short story collection promises to be an indispensable guide for anyone traversing the dating landscape of the new millennium, providing both solace and inspiration in equal measure.
C.R. Burnett is an emerging author who has brought forth a captivating insight into the intricacies of modern-day dating with her inaugural book, Ghost Protocol: Dating In The New Millennium. With a unique perspective and a knack for understanding the complexities of human relationships, Ms. Burnett masterfully navigates the ever-evolving world of romance in this thought-provoking and engaging read.
As an author, Ms. Burnett’s writing style seamlessly blends humor, wit, and astute observations, creating a literary experience that leaves readers both entertained and enlightened. Through her compelling storytelling, she sheds light on the challenges faced by contemporary individuals seeking connection in an era marked by technological advancements and societal shifts.
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I sat down with Ms. Burnett for an interview that I’d love to share with you!
When did you start to write and what drove you to write this book?
I began writing at a very young age—just three years old—when I first mimicked the words in the letters my father sent to my mother when he was in the Air Force and stationed abroad. This early exposure to the written word sparked a lifelong passion for writing. I was inspired to write Ghost Protocol: Dating in the New Millennium based on my own experiences and those of others as we navigated the complexities of attempting to form genuine relationships in a digital age. As online dating became the new norm, I witnessed firsthand the challenges and often awkward moments that come with trying to connect with others in this evolving landscape. This book aims to explore those experiences and offer insight into finding meaningful connections in a world increasingly defined by technology.
What can you tell us about the book?
Ghost Protocol: Dating in the New Millennium delves into the complexities of forming genuine relationships in an era where access to anyone, anywhere, paradoxically leads to greater disconnection. It explores various relationship types, including friendships, romantic connections, and family dynamics, highlighting the breakdown of communication in our interactions with each other. Drawing from both personal anecdotes and the experiences of others, it uncovers the challenges and awkward moments of navigating relationships in general while seeking to provide insights for fostering meaningful connections in real life in this increasingly digital world.
Tell us more about yourself. What’s your background?
Well, I was born on an Air Force Base in Kansas, lived in quite a few states due to my father’s enlistment, and once he completed his duty, we settled in Nashville, TN where I grew up and call home. I graduated from high school and college in Kansas, where my parents are both originally from. I’ve always had a passion for storytelling, which first emerged in grade school when I began writing short stories featuring my friends and me as heroines in supernatural adventures. This love for writing continued into junior high, where I served as an editor for the school newspaper, honing my skills in crafting engaging narratives. In high school, I turned to poetry as a way to process my experiences and emotions, and I contributed to a poetry review publication that deepened my appreciation for the art form.
I pursued a Bachelor of Arts in English Creative Writing at Kansas State University, followed by a Master’s in the same field from Southern New Hampshire University. It was during my graduate studies that I began working on my book as a capstone project, culminating in my graduation in 2017. Since then, I have also had the privilege of teaching English at the college level, where I share my love for literature and writing with my students.
What made you decide to write about the perils of modern dating?
You know, if I had a dollar for every crazy conversation screenshot that I’ve collected over the years, I could probably fund a small indie film about modern dating! I’m saving them for the revival of my Woke Girls Don’t Date podcast. Seriously, it’s astonishing how decorum seems to have taken a back seat in today’s online interactions.
What really drove me to write about the perils of modern dating is how vastly different it feels now compared to the 80s and 90s. Back then, dating had a certain simplicity and sincerity that seems lost today. Now, with the internet providing both a shield for people to hide behind and an overwhelming number of options, it feels like many people are reluctant to truly commit, fearing they might miss out on something—or someone—better. It also seems like everyone is afraid of being who they truly are for fear of being either judged or rejected. These paradoxes complicate connections, making the pursuit of anything genuine and meaningful feel much more daunting than I remember from my single days before marriage.
Do you have any other ideas you’d like to write someday?
One writing project that I am focusing on next is completing my novel, Snow Falls on Darkness, which I’ve been developing for quite some time. The story is loosely based on my real-life experience of surviving a relationship with a narcissist who became dangerous after I discovered his infidelity and broke up with him. It delves into the complexities of relationships, the importance of female friendships, and how longevity doesn’t always equate to loyalty. The narrative highlights an unexpected bond formed between women from different backgrounds—an African American female lead and a white woman seeking help to escape her toxic marriage to that same man. It’s a story I believe needs to be told, and I hope it resonates with many. You can find the prologue to the story at http://snowfallsondarkness.blogspot.com.
In addition to completing my next novel, I’m fleshing out a book of poetry and another novel I started some time ago that’s tentatively titled The Marilyn Monroe Syndrome. This story follows a woman into her golden years who explores the idea of having multiple men in her life for various purposes (most of them nonsexual), reflecting on Ms. Monroe’s belief that no one man can fulfil all the qualities a woman seeks to have in a successful relationship with a man. I’m particularly looking forward to interviewing a vibrant 80+ year-old woman in North Carolina who has lived this dynamic since the passing of her second husband; I can’t wait to learn about her insights on this intriguing concept!
Which series or films do you think people who would like your book watch? Is your book similar to something they’d already recognize?
While there isn’t a specific series, film, or book that closely resembles Ghost Protocol: Dating in the New Millennium, I believe readers who enjoy relatable narratives about everyday life and relationships will appreciate my work. I intentionally steer clear of stereotypes and the typical overdone African American tropes; instead, my characters are just like you and me, facing universal struggles such as communication and connection. This focus on authentic experiences makes the story relatable to a diverse audience, allowing them to see themselves in the characters’ journeys.
You currently reside in Dallas, TX. Did that have any influence on what you wrote in the book?
While I believe the experiences highlighted in Ghost Protocol: Dating in the New Millennium are universal themes, Atlanta, Georgia, serves as the backdrop for the stories in this book. It’s often stated that Atlanta has a notably imbalanced ratio of eligible women to men especially in the African American community, which adds a unique context to the narratives of my stories. From ghosting to catfishing, this book delves into the ups and downs of relationships in the digital age, offering insights and perspectives that I hope will resonate with readers everywhere, including those in Dallas, TX and beyond.
What made you choose the title Ghost Protocol: Dating in the New Millenium?
I chose the title Ghost Protocol: Dating in the New Millennium because it perfectly captures that Urban Dictionary definition of ghosting — “when a person is seen as not being fully present in their dealings and communications with other people.” It’s like everyone’s playing hide and seek, but without the seeking part! The term “protocol” adds a dash of humor to this deliberate process of avoiding conflict and communication, like we’re all part of an unwritten rulebook on how to disappear. I think I just invented a new diagnosis — Ghost Protocol Syndrome! Haha! It is both fascinating and frustrating how in a world where we have more ways to connect than ever, we often end up feeling more disconnected. It’s like we’ve got smartphones but lack the heart-signal strength for a true connection!
Which other writers and books do you enjoy?
I have a deep love for many great African American authors that I studied in college and continue to read, such as Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Maya Angelou, Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin, and Frederick Douglass — there are so many more! I also enjoy works by Neale Donald Walsch, Richard Bach, Dan Brown, Robert Ludlum, Dean Koontz, Stephen King, and J.K. Rowling. I’m drawn to stories and ideas that open the mind to new possibilities and perspectives, especially unique character journeys that break the mold, as well as narratives rooted in reality, such as the mysteries throughout humanity’s history that leave you questioning their truth and the conspiracies surrounding them.
Interested in more? This book will be available on November 23rd, 2024 in e-book and paperback! Stay tuned for the pre-order link, plus a chance to win prizes!
That’s right, the first entry in my trilogy with Falstaff Books is out today! Make sure you grab yourself a copy and save it to Goodreads or LibraryThing!
The Starlight Contingency is Titan AE meets Nikita!
Orphaned siblings Scarlett and Duke Nam have had it rough. Cast aside by society, they’ve managed to stay afloat by being thieves on the streets of Alexandria, Virginia. Things plunge straight to Hell when a heist goes wrong and they’re on the run from the cops, but after they stumble into a nearby home to escape, something seemingly impossible happens – the house transforms into a spaceship and leaves the Earth’s orbit.
Scarlett and Duke awaken to find that they are now prisoners about the Titan International Spaceship. The Earth has been destroyed by the Bergleute des Todes, aka The Miners of Death. Scarlett and Duke are given the chance to become soldiers to fight the aliens who destroyed their world.
The only thing left for them is the hardest thing of all: Survival.
We’re getting closer to our release date, so here’s an all-new excerpt from my upcoming science fiction space travel novel with Falstaff Books, The Starlight Contingency #1! If you haven’t already read the opening chapter in the first excerpt, go here first, and then catch up.
The Starlight Contingency is Titan AE meets Nikita!
Orphaned siblings Scarlett and Duke Nam have had it rough. Cast aside by society, they’ve managed to stay afloat by being thieves on the streets of Alexandria, Virginia. Things plunge straight to Hell when a heist goes wrong and they’re on the run from the cops, but after they stumble into a nearby home to escape, something seemingly impossible happens – the house transforms into a spaceship and leaves the Earth’s orbit.
Scarlett and Duke awaken to find that they are now prisoners about the Titan International Spaceship. The Earth has been destroyed by the Bergleute des Todes, aka The Miners of Death. Scarlett and Duke are given the chance to become soldiers to fight the aliens who destroyed their world.
The only thing left for them is the hardest thing of all: Survival.
I woke up on the floor. It was colder than ice, colder than the Arctic Circle, colder than a penguin’s ass. Thankfully, my wrists and ankles were no longer in handcuffs, but my head was splitting. Nausea rolled through me in a sickening wave. It took a few minutes for it to pass and that was when I opened my eyes.
The room was white. The walls, the floor, the ceiling, were all blindingly white. I closed my eyes again and pushed up on my hands as slowly as possible. My arms felt like they were gonna fold under me at any second. The room was only about ten feet across, from what I could tell with my blurry vision.
I sat up and my back hit something solid. I glanced behind me to see a plain green cot, a white pillow, and a blue blanket. And when I turned my head to the left, I saw a man in black leaning against the metal bars on the far wall.
I scrambled backward on my hands and knees. The man shook his head and spoke with a smoky voice.
“Don’t get up too fast. You’ll—”
I stood up, walked two steps, and vomited in the corner of the room. My entire body shook, and the headache got worse. It felt like my brain was vibrating inside my skull.
“Told you so.”
I wiped my mouth clean and glared at him. “Who the fuck are you?”
My vision cleared somewhat, and I could see him properly. He was white, late twenties, tall, gray eyes, brown hair, goatee, wearing an expensive black suit, tie, and dress shoes. His hands were in his pockets as he watched me.
“Travis Hallstead,” he said. “Not that I owe you anything.”
“You owe me an explanation,” I sneered, trying once more to stand up. This time, I didn’t puke and my legs held.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “So do you.”
I snorted. “Don’t tell me. You’re gonna ask me about the Star Wars Contingency.”
“It’s the Starlight Contingency,” Travis corrected. “And yeah, I was.”
“I’ll tell you like I told the last guy. I don’t know what the fuck that is and I don’t care. Where is my brother? Where are we?”
He shook his head, smirking. “You’re a hard ass, I’ll give you that. But that’s not gonna get you what you want. If you play ball, maybe you won’t spend the rest of your life rotting in this cell and all the charm and anger in the world won’t get you out.”
I walked closer, my mouth set in a firm line. He pushed off from the wall, staring me down without an ounce of fear.
“I’m gonna ask you one last time, Mr. Travis Hallstead. Where…is…my…brother?” I enunciated each word with a venomous tone.
“That’s the least of your worries right now, trust me.”
“Wrong answer.” I threw a punch at him.
He ducked and grabbed my wrist, throwing me against the wall behind him. “You really don’t wanna do this, little girl.”
“Fuck you!” I threw another punch, two more, but he dodged them, stepping back so that they went right past his nose. I switched to low jabs, trying to hit him in the stomach, but he blocked them each time with liquid-fast reflexes. This man was trained, and well. There was no way I could beat him with my fighting skills. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t gonna try.
I faked a haymaker that made him sidestep, and the back of his legs hit the cot, giving me a couple seconds to move. I shoved him and he fell back onto the cot. I grabbed his tie and yanked him up so that he dangled there awkwardly, raising my right fist.
“Tell me where my brother is or I’ll pound that goatee right off your pretty face,” I growled.
To my surprise, he offered me a slick grin and then punched me in the right kidney, making me let go of the tie. I fell forward onto his lap, and he grabbed my arms, crossing them over my chest so that I couldn’t move.
“You done?” Travis asked in an infuriatingly calm voice.
I struggled, but his grip was like iron. I couldn’t move backward out of his lap or to the side, which made me even angrier. “Not by a long shot.”
“Well, as much as I’ve enjoyed playing with you,” he replied in a sharp, sarcastic tone, “you need more time to cool off and think about your priorities.”
“Oh, I’ve got those straight. Kick your ass, get out of this cell, get my brother, and get the hell out of here.”
He shook his head. “You don’t get it. There is no ‘out of here.’ Like it or not, this place is all you have left now. It’s what we all have left.”
“What are you talking about?”
His dark eyes searched mine for a long moment and then a look of interest spilled through them. He tilted his head a bit, frowning. “You really don’t know, do you?”
“How many times have I said that already? I don’t know what happened before we blacked out. We were in the Rosewoods’ mansion and then everything started shaking and then we passed out. That’s all I know. Nothing else.”
His hands loosened on my wrists. “Why were you in their mansion?”
“We…” I bit my bottom lip, choosing my words carefully. “…were on the run. We needed a place to hide and that’s where we hid. They weren’t our targets—they were just convenient. Nothing more.”
His grip tightened to the bruising point. “You’re lying again.”
“I’m not lying,” I snapped. “What do you want me to say? The Rosewoods aren’t dead, right? If we had been sent to kill them, then we would have known about their freaky steel doors and magic house vibrator and crazy grandma—”
His eyes widened. “You spoke to Evelyn Rosewood?”
“Briefly. She was just babbling. I figured she was senile.”
“What did she babble about?”
“Something about us being chosen, that there was someone waiting in the darkness.”
Another look went through his eyes—not fear, but maybe a cousin of the feeling mixed with genuine surprise. Before I could ask him about it, he spoke again. “Last thing—what’s your name?”
I eyed him. “Who wants to know?”
His fingers finally went slack around my arms and a ghost of a smile returned to his lips.
“Me.”
I stared at him. I couldn’t really lose anything by answering him. I was already in a prison. Things couldn’t get much worse than that, by my account.
“Scarlett. With two t’s.”
He glanced at the two streaks of bright red hair at my temple. “Changed your name to fit your hairstyle?”
I smiled. “No, but I get that a lot. It’s after my birthmark.”
His eyes immediately started searching for a blemish on my skin. “Birthmark? Where?”
My smile stretched. “Not on a first date, Mr. Hallstead. Though I think we’re about halfway there anyway.”
He then noticed I had been sitting in his lap this entire time and let me up. I flopped against the cot as he stood, letting the humor drain out of me. “I answered your questions, now answer mine.”
Travis dusted off his suit and adjusted his tie, then regarded me with a serious look.
“Your brother is being detained and questioned in this facility as well. It’s unlikely that the two of you will see each other again any time soon.”
His words scared me to my very core. I took a deep breath to calm myself. “Who are you? CIA? FBI? NSA? Division?”
“It doesn’t matter. The point is that if your brother corroborates your story, you might have options, but as of now, you’re to remain a prisoner.”
“For how long?”
He said nothing, only rapping his knuckles against the metal door to his right. A guard dressed in black body armor walked over and unlocked the jail cell, letting him out. He left.
I pulled my legs up to my chest, blanketed in total silence.
ICYMI, my upcoming science fiction space travel novel, The Starlight Contingency #1, has a cover and synopsis, so now it’s time for your first taste of the adventure!
The Starlight Contingency is Titan AE meets Nikita!
Orphaned siblings Scarlett and Duke Nam have had it rough. Cast aside by society, they’ve managed to stay afloat by being thieves on the streets of Alexandria, Virginia. Things plunge straight to Hell when a heist goes wrong and they’re on the run from the cops, but after they stumble into a nearby home to escape, something seemingly impossible happens – the house transforms into a spaceship and leaves the Earth’s orbit.
Scarlett and Duke awaken to find that they are now prisoners about the Titan International Spaceship. The Earth has been destroyed by the Bergleute des Todes, aka The Miners of Death. Scarlett and Duke are given the chance to become soldiers to fight the aliens who destroyed their world.
The only thing left for them is the hardest thing of all: Survival.
Please enjoy the below excerpt!
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DUKE
The binoculars in my hands were stolen.
Stealing wasn’t hard. The clerk had been swamped on a Saturday night when it was still warm and people populated the street like schools of fish. Besides, Scarlett was perfect for distraction if he hadn’t been anyway. The process is simple, almost childishly simple. Scope out the shop two days ahead of time. Mind the cameras. Browse. Remain casual. Ask the clerk questions about the products, make it look like you’re gonna make a purchase. Clerks think that shoplifters avoid eye contact and immediately head for the corners of the store. Those are the amateurs. The kids looking for cheap thrills. The poor single moms struggling to make ends meet. The pathological liars.
We weren’t like them.
A leather jacket would be too obvious. Cargo pants too. My favorite was a pair of old, ratty jeans that hung low off my ass. The clerk was a straight guy, so he wouldn’t be paying attention to my ass when I carefully slipped the binoculars inside the back pocket after skillfully removing the tag with my pocketknife. 3.2 seconds. I had it down to an art.
I’d met eyes with Scarlett, and she knew the deed was done. We weren’t twins, but people thought we were because we had so many non-verbal cues. Thieving wasn’t like in the movies. We didn’t have elaborate schemes and escape plans. We didn’t wear rubber masks with nuns or presidents on them. Though, we did wear all black at night robberies. That was actually pretty useful.
My mind reeled itself back in to the task at hand. We had been planning this haul for a month. No more petty crooks. Big leagues. But more money also meant more time in jail and so we had to be careful. Cautious. Smart. Direct.
“Traffic?”
“Nothing. It is three a.m., after all.” Scarlett stuck out her hand for the binoculars. I handed them to her and lowered my hands to the belt. The darkness of the alley concealed us. I didn’t need light. I felt the tools one by one with my fingertips to check that they were all there and breathed a sigh of relief. Things would be fine. Just fine.
“Alright, let’s cross. Head low, casual.”
“Yes, boss,” she snorted, tucking the binoculars on her belt. I walked across the street first, scanning for cars or people. It was a cold October night, and no one was around. I liked it that way, even when we weren’t working. The rear entrance to the privately owned jewelry store—embarrassingly cliché, I know—was directly across from a pet store, which provided us with cover. No cameras on this street, but there were some two stoplights down, which was why we were on foot tonight.
Scarlett came over a couple minutes after me. I pried the rear entrance open, having already turned off the alarms. That was why we’d chosen this place. Large chain jewelry stores had intricate security systems that couldn’t be externally shut down even in the event the power went out. We’d cased the place last month, getting to know the owner and the staff, and we’d worked out that it was minimum security and, therefore, worth the risk.
Cold silence and shiny linoleum greeted me. I walked inside, holding the door for my sister. I motioned for her to put her ski mask on and then did so myself. I shut the door and locked it before doing a quick scan of the employee lounge. Everything was laid out just like Scarlett said. Perfect.
There were a lot of ways to crack a safe, but we had found the fastest method was using a handheld welding torch. The modern safe of a place like this one wasn’t spectacular. It sat in the corner of the room. Like most retail stores, there wouldn’t be a sizeable amount of cash inside because most customers paid by card or check and the employees made weekly drops to the bank, but some bills were better than none. But that wasn’t all we were here for anyway.
Scarlett burned through the metal door of the safe and flicked the welding torch off, her gloved fingers tugging at the mostly melted lid to reveal the drawer inside. I unfolded a bag and dumped the drawers from the cash registers inside, calculating that we had maybe two-thousand dollars in cash. Not bad.
The next priority was the loose diamonds, which were kept in a separate container with labels for where they went in the displays. This was the real reason we’d come. The private owner had a handful that amounted to about fifty-to-sixty grand altogether. I’d had a friend in our apartment building who said he could find a fence for the diamonds. All they needed to do was make sure there weren’t serial numbers etched inside them and we’d be home free.
We walked out of the back room to the front display and split up. She went to the far side of the shop near the window, staying low, and I worked on the alarms set up on each display case. Once they were open, I stuffed the important pieces in individual sacks: necklaces first, bracelets second, and rings last. Anything else wouldn’t be worth the trouble because we only had another two minutes to get the hell out of dodge. Scarlett always called me a Five-Minute Man. I found that both disturbing and irritating, but it was still better than my usual nickname.
I lifted my eyes toward her to let her know I had finished my half, but then I saw it: sleek and shiny like a Great White cruising through the surf, aching for prey. My mouth felt as if it had been filled with sand, but I pushed the words out anyway.
“Lettie, drop!” I hissed as the cop car glided past the window. She hit the floor with a loud thunk,and I did as well, panting for air as panic gripped my chest. I froze, listening for the sound of the tires scraping against the road but heard nothing. Slowly, I tilted my head upward to see the cop car had stopped in front of the building. I caught a glimpse of two patrol officers climbing out and one of them touching his walkie talkie. As soon as both of them shut the doors to their car, I hollered at my sister.
“Go!”
Scarlett leapt to her feet and raced toward me. The officers spotted us and broke into a run. I slung the loot across my shoulder and led the way out of the shop, kicking the door open once I’d slid the lock back. Our feet punished the ground, but it wasn’t enough. I could hear the unintelligible jabber of their radio as they called in the robbery and ran even faster, turning down alleys left and right until we reached our escape route. Three streets and then straight into the woods. Five minutes and we’d be out of here.
Car horns blared as we pounced into the street. Scarlett had to do a front-hand flip over the hood of one that didn’t stop in time. Sirens cut through the air, meaning that the cops had a second unit nearby, further mucking up our plans. The ski mask stifled my heaving breaths. I wanted desperately to take it off as we crossed the second street, climbing over stone dividers across the freeway.
We reached the last and most dangerous road and had to stop as an eighteen-wheeler thundered past. My foot hit the concrete and then everything flashed white for a second. At first, I thought I’d been hit by a car and died, but then I heard the unmistakable roar of helicopter blades and squinted up into the sky to see a police copter.
“Are you fucking kidding me?!” my sister spat, reading my mind.
I jerked my head in the direction of the forest. “Keep going!”
We crossed the last street and dove into the woods, eluding the spotlight for a few precious moments by hiding beneath a rotting log. Dirt and loam clung to my ski mask, making it even harder to breathe, and mud clumped on the front of my pants. We flattened ourselves as much as possible as the copter continued searching for us in the dark, but I knew we couldn’t stay there. I could see the pair of cops who had spotted us crossing the second street. They would find us in mere minutes.
“This wasn’t part of the plan,” Scarlett hissed, her brown eyes slicing into mine.
“I know,” I snapped. “Will you just give me a second to think?”
“Sure. You take your second and the cops crawl up our asses. Where did they even get a chopper? How are we this unlucky?”
“No one gets away with everything.” I craned my neck to peer at the forest behind us, trying to remember where it led. Then it hit me.
“The Rosewood mansion.”
Scarlett stared at me. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“They haven’t spotted us yet. If we make a break for it, we should be able to get on the grounds before they see where we went.”
“Duke, we don’t know what’s in there. We don’t know how their security system works. For all we know, they have attack dogs with lasers on their heads!”
“We move on the count of three.”
She swore at me, pointing a long finger in my face. “Duke, this is a stupid idea.”
“One…”
“We’re gonna get caught!”
“Two…”
“If you say three, I’ll punch you in the nuts.”
“Three!”
I jumped to my feet and bolted. Scarlett let out an unearthly growl and came tearing after me. Branches smacked my chest, leaves scattered beneath my feet, and the cold air made my eyes tear up, but I kept going until the sound of sticks crunching and my ragged breath were all I could hear. A soundtrack of desperation and the need for freedom. A snide little voice in the back of my head told me it was pointless, that we’d get caught and locked up, but I didn’t listen. Maybe God had one trick left up His sleeve and He’d slide it to me under the table.
The Rosewood mansion was surrounded by a four-foot brick wall with black fencing atop it. Lanterns adorned the front gate, giving me a point to focus on as we ran. Not that we were going to use it. One does not simply walk into Mordor, nor does one simply waltz into one of the most expensive homes in the state of Virginia.
My lungs ached and my hands shook as I hoisted my sister up over the fence in the back yard, straining to hear where the helicopter had gone. I saw dashes of light in the forest and followed the skyline until I spotted the flying mammoth thirsty for our capture. Briefly, I wondered if there were families at home eating buckets of popcorn and watching us like we were the circus, their entertainment for the night. They were programmed to hate us, the bad guys, the criminals, the scumbags. Bastards.
Thankfully, no attacks dogs with lasers on their heads greeted us as we hurried uphill toward the mansion. We might have tripped a silent alarm triggered by cameras, but I hadn’t seen any wiring in the fences to indicate otherwise. It was possible that the mansion itself was wired instead of the premises.
The spotlight hit the grass four feet away from us, and I shoved my sister forward, pointing to the wooden porch connected to the third floor. We scurried over to it and flattened ourselves against the wall, praying that they hadn’t seen us yet. The light veered back and forth on the ground like a drunk driver, drifting closer, making my heartbeat drown out the sound of the helicopter blades beating in the air. It passed over the porch, and the slats let in some of the blinding light, shocking my dilated pupils to tiny stars. Then, mercifully, it vanished.
Scarlett’s shoulder bumped mine as she slumped down, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath enough to make a smartass comment.
“Well, wasn’t that fun?”
“Exceptionally,” I replied, yanking the horrid ski mask off my face and mopping up the sweat dripping down my skin. Once clean, I pulled it back on and crooked a finger at her.
“The cops will be searching the premises in no time. Let’s get inside and get supplies so we can move on.”
Nodding, she pressed her face to the plate-glass window of the first floor. I watched as she scanned what she could see of their kitchen.
“What kind of system?”
“A damn good one,” she admitted, flipping her black hair over one shoulder. The ponytail had come loose during our escape. She’d have to tuck it under the mask, which she hated to do.
“From what I can see, there’s a security pad on all the doors. Cutting the power might give us enough time for a hit-it-and-quit it, but not much else. The alarm system might be on a separate power source.”
“We’ll have to risk it. We’ve got to get out of here before the cops come. Let’s just hope none of the Rosewoods are night owls.”
I took out my flashlight and crept around the long brick wall, searching for the power line. It was about three feet behind the porch, nestled just out of range of the garden and the tree line. I reached into the last pocket on the left side of my belt, lamenting that I’d have to use a miniature charge. These things weren’t cheap, and I’d only gotten three of them over the course of the past year. Emergencies only. But I’d be damned if this wasn’t an emergency.
“Spot me,” I said, sticking the flashlight back into my pocket and climbing up the pole. This was private property, so the pole had thin metal sticking out to serve as steps for maintenance purposes. I ascended as quickly as possible, occasionally checking for the helicopter’s current position, and then withdrew the flashlight and charge.
I stuck the small explosive on the transformer between the lines leading toward the mansion. It would shut the power off, then the backup generator would kick in and reset the security system, but we’d already be inside. I set the charge and climbed down, motioning for Scarlett to follow me beneath the porch for safety. We both plugged our ears just before a muted pop crackled through the back yard, punctuated by sparks and a bright flash. Power out.
Scarlett went to the sliding glass door and flashed a nervous look in my direction. I nodded once. She picked the lock and gingerly slid the door back as I held my breath. Silence. Thank God.
She crept inside and I followed, closing the door and pulling the curtains shut. We both stood still, breathing lightly in unison, ears straining to hear any commotion in the house. I estimated that there were probably six rooms on this floor, maybe more in the basement. The main goal was to get a set of wheels, meaning that we were heading for the garage on the other side of the compound. The cops would be looking for people on foot, not in a vehicle, until they found out that we’d broken into the mansion, and by then, it would be too late.
I found a knife rack on the counter and took two of them. Scarlett took three of the smaller ones. Neither of us intended to kill or maim anyone, but they were good for intimidation.
I held the long knife in my left hand as I started past the den and down the hallway, mindful of every creak of the hardwood floor. There were four closed doors on either side. I stared at them, keeping my steps as light as possible. They looked like gigantic mouths waiting to swallow us whole.
We were past three of them when I heard an unmistakable click of a light switch. I whirled to see the light at the end of the hall was on and heard a doorknob turn. Two choices: run or hide.
Cursing, I opened the door to my right and waved Scarlett in. We darted inside and closed it, praying no one heard us. I pressed my ear to the door, listening. No footsteps. I couldn’t tell if that was good or bad.
“Duke,” Scarlett whispered, but I shushed her. She grabbed my arm and squeezed, saying my name again.
I glared at her. “I can’t hear. What are you—?”
She was looking at the bed. I shut my mouth, my throat going dry as I realized there was an elderly black woman sitting there, staring at us.
She was short and plump with long white dreadlocks tucked in a messy bun at her nape. She wore a plain, light blue nightgown, her feet bare, the bed unmade from where she’d been lying in it. There was a cane leaning against the nightstand and a pair of slippers nearby.
Immediately, I lowered the knife to my side and held out my other hand toward her. “Ma’am, I need you to stay calm. We’re not going to hurt you. We just need a car and we’ll be out of here, I swear.”
“They’re waiting to take us,” the old woman said.
I glanced at Scarlett. She shrugged. I kept my voice low as I addressed the woman. “What?”
“Waiting and waiting. Long time. Cold, where they are. Dark too. It’s all they know.”
Her voice was soft and trembling, but the Jamaican accent made it sound cryptic. The darkness made it hard to tell, but she looked to be nearly eighty years old. No wonder her mind had gone. She didn’t seem upset by our presence. It almost felt like she had been expecting us.
Scarlett spoke up this time. “Ma’am, where is the garage on this property? Is it connected to the house?”
The old woman put her bare feet on the floor and walked toward my sister. Scarlett tensed, not sure of her intentions, but the old woman lifted her frail hands and touched her hair—ran her fingers down the black satin and the steaks of red at my sister’s forehead.
“Chosen, you two. Never thought I’d see the day.”
Scarlett glanced at me. “What the hell is she talking about?”
I opened my mouth to reply, but then a screeching sound tore through the silence like a knife through a veil. I clapped my hands over my ears, nearly keeling over at the volume of the alarm. It was unlike anything I’d ever heard—louder than ambulance sirens, louder than police sirens, damn near louder than God Himself.
“What is that?” Scarlett shouted, panicking.
I shook my head. “I don’t know! Just hide! Now!”
I ran to the closet and pulled the double doors back, stuffing myself inside next to the fur coats and silk pajamas. Through the slats, I could see Scarlett flattening herself on the carpet and crawling beneath the bed. The old woman didn’t move from her spot as if she were deaf, staring at the door as if expecting something.
Seconds later, a bald black man in his fifties opened the door and spotted her, wrapping his large hands around her forearms.
“C’mon, Mama, we’ve got to get ready.”
He pulled her into the hallway and disappeared. What the hell was going on? Why were they leaving? Had the police notified them of our presence?
I could hear some sort of commotion from the hallway—panicked voices, footsteps, the clamor of dishes hitting the floor—the urge to run increased tenfold. I closed my eyes and counted to ten, trying to slow my heartbeat, but my pulse wouldn’t cooperate. It beat hard and fast in my throat, along my tongue like the salty flavor of sweat, clinging. I couldn’t think with this damn alarm slamming against my eardrums, plowing the sanity from my skull.
The carpet beneath my muddy boots started to vibrate. At first, I thought it was because of the alarms, but when I knelt and pressed my gloved hand to the ground, I knew it wasn’t them. It rumbled like thunder had been trapped underneath the house. What the hell was going on?
The rumbling abruptly changed to shaking, unlike anything I had ever experienced. I pressed my hand to the wall on my left, trying to stay on my feet as the quaking worsened and shoes began falling off the shelf over my head. An earthquake in Alexandria, Virginia? Impossible.
The alarms and the falling shoes almost blocked out the sound of something outside of the house clicking and whirring like the innards of a clock. I stumbled back over to the closet doors to see the window on the far wall, ignoring the painful bumps on the head from boxes sliding off the shelf as I saw something amazing.
Huge metal panels shot up from below and clicked into place over the window, swallowing me in complete darkness.
The house was…transforming.
It didn’t matter if we got caught any more. We had to get out of here. I shoved the closet doors open and turned on my flashlight. Scarlett crawled out from beneath the bed, her eyes red and wet with fearful tears. I pulled her to her feet, my voice nearly giving out because I had to shout so loud.
“We have to get out of here. Come on!”
I went for the door, which had slammed shut after the man and old woman left, but it wouldn’t open. I pushed my sister back and kicked the doorjamb once, twice, a third time, but it didn’t budge. Scarlett joined me, kicking in unison at the white oak until it splintered. I stuck my hand in the hole we’d made over the doorknob and ripped a chunk of the wood out. The flashlight shook in my hands as metal glinted out from beneath the wood.
Solid steel. Escape was impossible.
We stared at each other, the light allowing me only a glimpse of her face, but I knew our expressions were the same. End of the line.
I wrapped my arms around her and knelt, kissing the top of her head.
“I’m sorry, Lettie. I’m so sorry,” I whispered hoarsely, hot tears tracing the lines of my cheeks as the quaking and clicking and screaming alarms worsened.
An explosion rocked beneath the house, and before I blacked out, I felt one sensation.
Flying.
–
TO BE CONTINUED IN THE STARLIGHT CONTINGENCY #1!
Release date: October 29th, 2024
Pre-order now for only $4 on the Falstaff website or from Amazon and you can also get it with free shipping directly from Falstaff Books! There is also now a second excerpt and a third one to read too! Stay tuned for more excerpts and other goodies!
Orphaned siblings Scarlett and Duke Nam have had it rough. Cast aside by society, they’ve managed to stay afloat by being thieves on the streets of Alexandria, Virginia. Things plunge straight to Hell when a heist goes wrong and they’re on the run from the cops, but after they stumble into a nearby home to escape, something seemingly impossible happens – the house transforms into a spaceship and leaves the Earth’s orbit.
Scarlett and Duke awaken to find that they are now prisoners about the Titan International Spaceship. the Earth has been destroyed by the Bergleute des Todes, aka The Miners of Death. Scarlett and Duke are given the chance to become soldiers to fight the aliens who destroyed their world.
The only thing left for them is the hardest thing of all: Survival.
The time has come for me to make the biggest announcement of 2023: I have a short story in the upcoming anthology, Captain America: The Shield of Sam Wilson! Take a look at that cover and tell me if you see anyone familiar…
This wonderful anthology will be hitting bookshelves January 14th, 2025. Description and pre-order link below.
The new Captain America has a big shield to carry. Is he up to the task? In these short stories inspired by the Marvel comic book universe, Sam Wilson takes up the shield and proves his mettle.
Sam Wilson has a heavy shield to lift as the new Captain America. Read an action-packed anthology of stories about Sam Wilson. Inspired by the Marvel comic book universe, the stories will see Sam prove he is ready to carry the shield as he faces Skrulls, Sabretooth, Kingpin, and other infamous villains.
A revolutionary anthology of stories written by authors of African Heritage and inspired by the Marvel Comics universe. Slated to take part are several noted, award-winning authors including bestselling author Kyoko M., fantasy author L.L. McKinney, crime writer Gary Phillips, sci-fi author Sheree Renée Thomas, comics creator Alex Simmons, horror and mystery writer Nicole Givens Kurtz, and many more. Edited by Jesse J. Holland, distinguished visiting scholar in residence at the U. S. Library of Congress who edited the Marvel anthology Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda and wrote the novelization of the graphic novel Black Panther: Who Is the Black Panther?, which was nominated for the NAACP Image Award for outstanding Literary Work.
Of Wings and Shadows (Of Cinder and Bone #5.5) is now available on ebook and in paperback! Get it today-only for .99 cents. The price will increase tomorrow. Read excerpt one here if you haven’t already.
In a modern-day world teeming with marauding dragons, there is only one solution: The Wild Hunt.
The United States government has decided to hold a tournament called The Wild Hunt to determine who will be responsible for the capture of wild dragons by the Knight Division. The four challengers Noah Wilson, Charlie Howard, Su Jin Han, and Beowulf have to catch five deadly dragons alive if they want to win the tournament and become the new Knight Division dragon hunters. Their journey will take them through the mountains of South Carolina, the seas of Key West, the caverns of Ruby Falls, the Redwood forest, and finally, the murky bayous of Louisiana. Will they succeed against their competition, or will the dragons of the Wild Hunt be too wild to tame?
Here is an all-new excerpt for your reading enjoyment!
–
“Well, at least we picked a nice day.”
Charlie chuckled as he held his hand out for the camerawoman to steady her as she stepped onto the bay boat. She was a stocky Brazilian woman decked out in a fisherman’s rain slicker, the camera rig on her shoulder already outfitted with waterproof plastic as well. Rain pounded down from the heavens, thick droplets splashing all over the marina, but that was normal for this time of year in Key West. After all, they were currently in hurricane season, which might have been why the storm dragon had been so active in the area.
“I’m Elena,” she said, shaking his hand once before letting it go. “The fella with your eye in the sky is Kevin. We’ll be coordinating to make sure we get a good capture, but I’ll stay out of your way as much as possible.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m assuming you’re well-versed in boat safety?”
“Absolutely. They tapped me for this specifically since I’ve shot a few documentaries about fishermen in the area, so we’re good to go.”
“Great.” He pointed to one of the larger boats to their right. “The Florida Department of Natural Resources is on standby to help us transport the storm dragon once caught. They can back us up if things get really ugly and we have to reassess how to catch it. The plan is for Penelope to spot it, then we’ll chum the water to draw it closer and employ the netting.”
Elena saluted him. “Got it. Yo-ho, a pirate’s life for me and all that.”
“Ha! In this kind of weather, it does feel like we’re in a Pirates of the Caribbean movie, doesn’t it?” Charlie took his spot by the helm and fired up the engine to pull out of the marina. Elena took a seat at the stern and began to film.
“Agent Okamura, do you read me?” Charlie said into the comm-link.
“I’ve got you, Charlie,” Yusuke replied. “Though it is a bit spotty on account of the bad weather.”
“Tell me about it. I wish I had windshield wipers on this helmet. We’re leaving the marina now. How’s Noah?”
“He’s seen a medic for the bruised ribs. Should be headed for New Orleans shortly.”
“Good. That midnight dragon was one tough customer. I’m glad he’s alright.” He glanced at the panel on his armored suit. “We should reach open water in a bit, but it’s likely going to be a long hunt. There is a lot of ground to cover, metaphorically speaking.”
“Understood. Just be careful. We’ve already seen these creatures can throw quite the left curve at you when you least expect it.”
“Amen to that. I’m gonna check in with Penelope; back in a few.”
Charlie switched channels. “Penelope, this is Charlie, over.”
“Got ya, Charlie,” the pilot replied. “Having fun so far, over?”
“Oh, I’m having a ball. Lead the way; we’re ready to rock and roll, over.”
“Great. The dragon’s last sighting was a little after six o’clock this morning.” She read out the coordinates of where they were headed and Charlie adjusted the boat accordingly to follow. Once they left the marina, he went to full throttle. The DNR boat followed at a safe distance. Most of the path had been cleared by the Coast Guard. Key West saw less visitors during this part of the year, so unlike Libby’s hunt of the aquatic dart-backed wyrm, civilian interference was far less likely.
“Charlie, I’ve got a visual. Can you confirm, over?” She read the updated coordinates to him and he adjusted his course, then slowed the boat. He then adjusted the HUD scope to zoom in as he spotted the shifting waves.
The storm dragon had been circling a school of fish, borrowing some technique from the local sharks—it would stalk them at a distance, then close in and attack from below, pushing the fish up to the surface where they would be easier to catch. Its dark blue scales blended in with the deeper sea water and made it harder to detect. It also shared traits with seabirds, being covered in plumage that allowed for buoyancy and protection against the salty waters and harsh winds during hurricane season. It had a long, narrow body that was fifteen feet from snout to tail and webbed feet with sharp talons on each, its wings doubling as fins when it was fully submerged.
Charlie whistled. “Thar she blows. Sighting confirmed, Penelope. I’m going to start chumming the water and I need you to keep an eye out for other predators in the area, since it’s bound to attract some that want a free meal, over.”
“Roger that, Charlie. Be careful, over.”
“Thanks. You too, over.” Charlie headed towards the stern where he’d had a cooler waiting, the bucket of frozen chum inside already prepped. “Elena, we’ve got the dragon in view.”
“Fantastic.” She headed for the bow and took a look. “Wow. Que linda. You all ready to go, Plankton?”
Charlie paused. “Plankton…cute. And yeah, let’s see if we can get Moby Dick over here.”
He shut off the engine once they were several meters out and then dropped the anchor. He picked the side of the boat facing the marine reptile and lowered the metal mesh chum bucket into the ocean. Though visibility was harder thanks to the storm, he could see bubbles and blood beginning to blossom out from the bucket and spread into the ocean water.
They waited. The storm dragon had submerged but hadn’t left the area. Charlie knew from experience that it wasn’t always an instantaneous reaction. He resisted the urge to pace, as the vibrations it would cause in the hull might deter the dragon.
“Uh-oh,” Penelope said over the channel. “We’ve got incoming. I’m spotting something on radar headed your way, to your starboard about fifty meters out, over.”
Charlie went over to the right side of the boat and peered through the rainfall, muttering under his breath, “Please be a hammerhead. Please be a hammerhead.”
As it reached twenty meters away, Charlie could see a fin and a wake, giving him an idea of the species. “Shit. Looks like a Mako, at least ten feet long. Things are about to get messy.”
“Why?” Elena asked. “What’s wrong?”
“Not all sharks are aggressive,” he told her as he pulled up the anchor and then turned the engine over. “In fact, Key West has never had a fatal shark attack in its entire history, but Mako sharks are among the aggressive ones, which means we might have a confrontation here in a second. We need to be ready to boogie if that happens; a fight could capsize us.”
Sure enough, the storm dragon changed directions to head for the chum just as the Mako made contact and began eating the bits of barracuda that had floated loose from the bucket. Charlie gave the boat a bit of gas to help it float along at a steady pace, then began working on laying the net while keeping a wary eye on the two approaching predators.
The storm dragon circled behind the Mako and then dashed towards it, aiming a bite at its caudal fin. The Mako had anticipated as much and darted out of the way, then swung around to face its rival. Its powerful jaws snapped as it attempted to bite the right wing of the dragon when it swam past, missing by mere inches.
The storm dragon dove out of sight beneath the boat, the water swirling behind its long, powerful tail.
“That can’t be good,” Elena remarked, practically reading Charlie’s mind. He gave the boat more gas as he started to try and strategically lay the nets in a wide semi-circle around the area. The storm dragon proved them both right when it surged up from below and rammed the shark, causing it to flip upside down. The shark wriggled for less than a minute, but then went completely still on its back along the water’s choppy surface.
Charlie’s eyes widened beneath his helmet. “Holy hell. It’s figured out tonic immobility.”
“Who-whatta-huh?” Elena asked.
“If you flip a shark upside down, it enters a kind of trance and can be motionless for up to fifteen minutes or so. It’s how orcas sometimes catch and eat sharks. This dragon’s not only smart, but definitely experienced.”
Both of them jumped as the storm dragon grabbed the motionless shark and bit a hole into its side. The water churned red with blood as it began tearing chunks of its soft sides and belly off.
Elena swallowed hard as she watched. “Yeesh.”
“You said it,” Charlie agreed. “Nature don’t play.”
He switched back to the comm-link. “Agent Okamura, we may have a bit of a problem. Our storm dragon decided it wanted some Mako shark instead of sushi for lunch. I’m working on laying the nets now, but I’m not sure how long it’ll stay stationary.”
“If it gets airborne, we might have trouble following it with this weather. The best bet might be to dart it and slow it down while it’s distracted with the meal.”
Charlie winced. That was risky, but he knew he was running low on time. The tournament timer had already clocked him past the hour mark, so he had to finish this hunt now or it would hurt the team’s average. “Copy that.”
He grabbed the tranquilizer rifle leaning up against the helm and checked that it was properly loaded. Then he stepped over to the starboard side of the ship and took careful aim at the wriggling mass of dragon beneath the Mako shark carcass, which it had already eaten a great deal of in only several seconds.
“Charlie, we’ve got more incoming,” Penelope said. “One to your one o’clock, the other at your three o’clock, over.”
No sooner than she said it, the storm dragon released the Mako shark’s corpse and swam deeper beneath the surface.
“Dammit,” Charlie swore as he readjusted the sights on the rifle to look at the surface of the water. “We’ve got a feeding frenzy on our hands. Visibility is next to none. I think I’m gonna have to go down there.”
“What?” Yusuke demanded. “Charlie, that’s too dangerous. You can’t possibly out-swim it and there are other predators being drawn to that spot.”
“With all due respect, sir, we’re already lagging behind. If I can get in range, I can attach a syringe to a harpoon gun and dart it from a distance. The sharks will be more concerned with the chum and the Mako carcass than me.” He pulled open a waterproof suit bag that contained scuba gear as well as a diving oxygen tank. “I’ve spent my entire adult life around these animals. I need you to trust me, Okamura.”
There was a long pause, then he heard him sigh. “Alright. I trust your judgment.”
“Thank you.” Charlie removed his helmet and replaced it with the breathing apparatus, sliding his arms into the straps for the tank. He removed one of the syringes from the tranquilizer rifle and attached it to the end of the harpoon gun he’d brought with him. He fitted the flippers onto his feet and took the mouthpiece out long enough to address Elena. “I’ll be back as fast as I can. Keep an eye on the activity at the surface. If it gets too rough, move the boat.”
She nodded. “I will. Be careful, huh?”
“I will.” He smiled before putting the mouthpiece back in and grabbing the harpoon gun. The boat rocked slightly as he walked to the port side away from the bloody mess and jumped into the water.
Charlie let his weight allow him to sink several feet below the surface and switched on his head lamp. The two sharks that closed in on the Mako shark’s body were a bull shark and a tiger shark. The two predators didn’t want to be bothered with one another, so in the time it took him to prep, they’d torn the corpse in half and were devouring the remains. He swam below them, keeping a wide berth, and spotted a dark shape moving towards the chum bucket that was up near the surface.
Though a formidable opponent, the storm dragon must have reasoned it couldn’t fight two fully grown sharks for the rest of its meal, so it returned to sate itself with the chum. He knew he had to work fast; once it was full, it would likely fly away or simply swim back into open water. The nets he had lain had straightened out and surrounded them, meaning he would need to dart the dragon and then guide it into the netting, so he swam forward steadily to make his presence known.
And it didn’t take long for the storm dragon to notice him.
The marine reptile had been nosing at the bucket to release more tidbits, but it angled its head when it spotted his light. The glow of the flashlight shone over one of its pale blue eyes, its pupil contracting, and then the dragon let go of the chum bucket to focus on him instead. There had been many a time it was just him and a large aquatic predator in the shifting seas and something in him was always awed and terrified at the same time.
The dragon swam towards him much like a crocodile, its streamlined body cutting through the water, and stopped just shy of a few yards to examine him. The creature had encountered humans before, and unfortunately took a man’s life, but it had been an accident when the fishermen pulled up their nets. It seemed rather curious instead of afraid or agitated. Charlie let it observe him for a moment, then cautiously offered his hand to the creature, palm out. The dragon drifted closer. His hand landed on its snout and petted it gently. It didn’t seem to mind.
Its curiosity satisfied, the storm dragon glided past him. Charlie prayed for the safety of himself and his colleague as he let it go by, then turned and fired the harpoon gun. The syringe struck the dragon’s tail on the underside near the base. He hoped with the creature’s size that such a small prick wouldn’t be felt.
The dragon’s head snapped around, its teeth bared.
Hope is a thing with feathers, Charlie thought to himself.
Then he swam as fast and hard as he could for the boat.
–
Read the conclusion to Charlie’s hunt in Of Wings and Shadows, out now on all platforms! Thanks for all of your support so far and happy reading!
In a modern-day world teeming with marauding dragons, there is only one solution: The Wild Hunt.
The United States government has decided to hold a tournament called The Wild Hunt to determine who will be responsible for the capture of wild dragons by the Knight Division. The four challengers Noah Wilson, Charlie Howard, Su Jin Han, and Beowulf have to catch five deadly dragons alive if they want to win the tournament and become the new Knight Division dragon hunters. Their journey will take them through the mountains of South Carolina, the seas of Key West, the caverns of Ruby Falls, the Redwood forest, and finally, the murky bayous of Louisiana. Will they succeed against their competition, or will the dragons of the Wild Hunt be too wild to tame?
Of Wings and Shadows is the sixth book in the Of Cinder and Bone series. It takes place in medias res of Book Five, Of Claws and Inferno. It follows Of Cinder and Bone, Of Blood and Ashes, Of Dawn and Embers, and Of Fury and Fangs.
It’s time for our first look at the fifth book in the Of Cinder and Bone series, Of Claws and Inferno! Below the synopsis is a sneak peek at the action. Enjoy!
In a modern day world teeming with marauding dragons, there is only one solution: The Wild Hunt.
Dr. Rhett “Jack” Jackson and Dr. Kamala Anjali have worked for the Knight Division capturing wild dragons for years, but now the government has decided to hold a tournament called The Wild Hunt. Jack, Kamala, and their teammates Calloway, Libby, Agent Shannon, and Yousef, must capture five of the deadliest dragons alive before the opposing team or they lose their jobs at the Knight Division. Jack and Kamala are also chasing after Kazuma Okegawa, the yakuza lieutenant who has been trying to kill them. Okegawa is planning a hostile takeover of the worldwide illegal dragon trade and if he succeeds, everyone will be in grave danger. Between the Wild Hunt and Okegawa’s plot to destroy everything in his path, Jack and Kamala have to rely on each other to stay alive in the middle of an inferno.
Of Claws and Inferno is the fifth book in the Of Cinder and Bone science fiction/contemporary fantasy series. It follows Of Cinder and Bone, Of Blood and Ashes, Of Dawn and Embers, and Of Fury and Fangs.
–
CHAPTER ONE
THE MAD HARVESTERS
The abyss gazed back.
That was what Dr. Rhett “Jack” Jackson, MIT scientist and Knight Division dragon hunter, had learned over the last year.
Jack wiped the sweat from his brow, brushing his dark brown hair away from his sticky forehead, and then concentrated on the high-powered binoculars in his hands again. He winced as a bit of reflection off the water seared his retinas for a brief moment and then did another careful sweep of the area before him. Nothing yet.
He sat back on his haunches and popped open his canteen of cold water, the ice cubes inside it rattling around as he took a sip. He set it down beside him and then checked the digital screen built into the forearm of his gunmetal grey armored suit. The screen showed him numerous dots indicating the massive flock of flamingos several yards away, feasting on the spirulina algae that made Lake Natron its unique reddish-orange color. He adjusted the dragon tracker to expand the area and studied it. Still no sign of their mystery guest who had been gobbling up flamingo eggs and leaving behind torn up bird corpses as of the last two weeks. However, the lake’s natives had been kind enough to give him detailed information about the sightings of the unidentified dragon interfering with the local ecosystem. They’d said it usually fed around this time, so he just needed to be patient. Which, unfortunately, wasn’t exactly Jack’s strong suit, but the more retrieval missions he went on, the more he learned to be patient.
Besides, he had a two-year-old daughter back home. Parenting a two-year-old meant he’d had to acquire oodles of patience lately.
“How’s it coming, boss?” a male voice said through the link in his ear.
“Somehow both boring and weird?” Jack said. “I’m not sure how that works.”
“Life’s funnier that way,” Yousef al-Badri mused. “I take it our party guest is being shy, then?”
“I can’t imagine he or she can smell me, not with what’s going on in the lake. Maybe they just want me to get a tan.”
“You are pretty pale sometimes, cowboy.”
Jack pretended to scowl and deepened his voice into indignation. “That’s racist.”
Yousef laughed. “My bad. I need work sensitivity training.”
“Clearly.” Jack’s forearm beeped. “Oh, wait a sec. We might be on.”
He picked up the binoculars again and focused on the muddy bank roughly forty yards out where he spotted several nests clustered together. A few of the pink birds had nestled on top to nap in the afternoon sun, but some had been left bare as the flamingoes had gone into the caustic waters to feed. The beeping had indicated that the dragon tracker picked up on a reading consistent with a dragon. He swept the area twice and didn’t confirm a visual, frowning as he glanced down at the screen again to see a blob quite a bit larger than the dots that represented the flamingos. “I don’t know if I should have Faye take a look at my equipment or if I’m going blind. No visual, but I’m getting a reading on the tracker.”
“You sure the sun hasn’t cooked your brains?”
“Not yet, I don’t think.” Jack rubbed his sinuses, then his eyes, and checked the area again.
And this time, he spotted something unusual.
Lake Natron resided in northern Tanzania near an active volcano known as Ol Doinyo Lengai. It was part of the reason the lake had such unique characteristics. The mud had a curious dark grey color over where he’d been set up for observation, and he noted that there was now an odd-looking mound of it to the right of one of the flamingo’s nests. He zoomed in further and further, peering at it, and then realized what he was actually seeing.
The dragon had crouched down beside the nests and blended into the mud. From snout to tail, Jack calculated it had to be twelve to fourteen feet long. Its wings were folded against its back, which had small spines running down the length to a spiky tail. It had a fin with three prongs along the base of the skull and webbed feet tipped with sharp black talons. He estimated the dragon was about the size of a large hyena. It peered up at its prey with beady red eyes, its black forked tongue darting out every few seconds. Its shoulder muscles bunched and its hind legs tensed.
Then it pounced.
The dark grey dragon leapt onto one of flamingoes atop its nest and seized it by the throat. The bird squawked in distress and immediately beat its wings, trying to free itself. The others around them took to the skies in panic. The dragon slammed it into the mud and closed its jaws around the animal’s throat, blood spilling everywhere. The flamingo yelped out its last breaths and then finally stilled. The dragon dropped the limp carcass and sniffed the eggs before beginning to swallow them whole one at a time.
“Holy shit,” Jack muttered.
“Have we got a visual?”
“Oh, yeah. Based on the size, the natives and the conservationists were right to be concerned. It can probably wipe out a serious number of wildlife in a short amount of time based on what I’m seeing. There’s only a handful of fauna that can survive in these conditions and it could make mincemeat out of them.”
“Alright, so what’s the plan?”
“They told me it’s very agile, which is why their attempts to capture it haven’t worked. I’m going to see if it responds to any of the usual stimuli. So far, they said it doesn’t appear to be aggressive.”
“Copy that. Be careful, cowboy.”
“Ten-four.” Jack glanced down at his utility belt and opened the pocket on his left side, withdrawing a thin silver whistle. He put it to his lips and blew for several seconds. Much like a dog whistle, Jack couldn’t hear anything.
But the dragon’s head creaked around and those beady red eyes locked onto him.
Jack lowered the whistle and licked his dry lips. “If I were in a movie, this would be the part where I said, ‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this.’”
The dragon roared, its grey wings extending out from its body, and then flew straight at him.
“Shit!” Jack leapt to his feet and slid down the muddy hill in a hurry. At the bottom of the hill, there was a miniature camp with his supplies and weaponry awaiting him. He scooped up the net launcher—an over-the-shoulder device similar in size and build to a grenade launcher—and then his helmet. He slapped on the helmet and hailed Yousef as he sprinted towards the shallow outskirts of the lake. “We’re on, Yousef! Fire up the engines!”
“I’m on it, cowboy.”
As he ran, a shadow swept across his 6’2’’ form. Jack ducked and the dragon flew over his head, missing with its sharp talons by mere inches. The dragon wheeled around in mid-air and swiped at him again. Jack threw himself into a roll. The dragon missed a second time. Jack knelt in the shallow, muddy water and peered through the net launcher’s scope, sighting down the barrel for a shot. “Non-aggressive, my ass.”
He fired. The diamond wire net shot from out of the barrel end and opened as it flew through the air towards the dragon. It flapped its wings once, hard, and the net missed it by a few inches. Jack cursed under his breath and slid it around on its strap to his back as the dragon dove at him again. He waited until the last possible second, then rolled to one side. The dragon hadn’t compensated for flying that low and lost its trajectory. It splashed into the shallow, salty waters and rolled a few feet away, hissing in annoyance. The reptile struggled onto its feet and faced him again, shaking the water off its scales as it crept forward.
“Alright, so we know you don’t like the whistle,” Jack said, keeping an eye on the agitated dragon as he hit a few things on his armor’s display. “Let’s see if maybe we need to change the tunes.”
Once more, the dragon’s muscular shoulders bunched in attack position and its hind legs tensed to propel it forward at him.
Until Kitty Kallen’s soothing voice filled the air.
The dragon’s hissing lowered in volume. Instead of pouncing, it remained in the same spot of shallow water, now focused on the sound of “It’s Been a Long, Long Time” playing from the speakers in Jack’s forearm. To the average person, it wouldn’t sound like anything more than a great song from 1945. However, to a dragon, there were subtle notes that the Knight Division had picked up that seemed to sooth the powerful creatures into a far less aggressive state.
“That’s it,” Jack said. “I’m not here to hurt you. Take it easy.”
As the song continued playing, Jack eased closer to the creature. It eyed him, snorting uneasily, but remained standing still. He cautiously held out a hand and the dragon barked at him, displeased. He rethought the gesture and instead checked the water where they stood, which was up to his ankles. He spotted one of the only fish who could survive in Lake Natron’s waters—the alkaline tilapia—and managed to snatch one up. He held the wriggling fish out to the dragon. It continued watching him warily, but snapped up the fish when he offered it. The dragon swallowed the fish whole.
Jack held his hands out in supplication. “We good?”
The dragon continued eying him.
Then it tackled him right off his feet.
Jack landed in the shallow water with a pained groan, winded, his shoulders pinned by the dragon’s legs. “I guess that was a stupid question, wasn’t it?”
He unholstered his tranquilizer gun, but to his surprise, the dragon didn’t try to bite or scratch him. Rather, it peered down at his helmet as if simply curious, the tip of its tongue lightly touching the visor. Jack decided to follow his instincts and kept perfectly still beneath the reptile. After a moment, the dragon folded its wings, indicating a change in mood from aggression to docility.
“Talk to me, Jack,” Yousef said.
“I think we’ve reached an understanding,” he said, though strained. “The frequency seems to be working. I’m up close and personal. Looks to be a female, so we need to sweep the area for a nest in case she’s already migrated and laid hers.”
“Got it. Do you have a clear shot?”
“Not sure. Scales appear to be incredibly thick. I’ll try to find a soft spot.”
“Alright, I’m inbound for pick up. Be careful.”
Jack cleared his throat. “No offense, madam, but I’ve got two girlfriends who are very jealous women. You wanna get off the goods now?”
He reached up to push the dragon off of him, but it hissed and shoved down on his shoulders again to keep him flat. The salt deposits in the water dug into his back painfully. He could hear the distant sound of the rotors on Yousef’s helicopter as it approached. In general, dragons didn’t like any flying vehicles. He didn’t want to scare her off, so he’d have to gamble on what he knew about dragons around her size.
Jack drew his penlight from another pocket of the utility belt and set it to strobe. The dragon focused on the flashing light and sniffed at it curiously. Carefully, Jack angled the barrel of the tranq gun at the creature’s belly, which had white scales from its chest to its hindquarters. He could see spaces in between the scales where its flesh would be and took a deep breath, praying before he pulled the trigger.
The dart hit a spot below the dragon’s sternum. The prick of the needle made the dragon roar and snap at his head. Jack dodged and brought up his right forearm to block the next bite. The dragon worried him like a dog with a bone, trying to chomp through the armor, and he fired a second dart near the first one. The dragon still didn’t drop, so he shoved a foot against its midsection to get from under it. He struggled onto his knees as the dragon’s jaws closed even harder over his arm, trying to keep him from getting loose.
“Okay, now you’re just being a bitch!” Jack rolled and then jerked his arm hard in the opposite direction. His arm yanked free and he reached for the net launcher on his back as the dragon charged him again. He fired just as it reached an arm’s length away. Too late, the dragon tried to launch itself into the air. The net wrapped around its upper torso and pinned its wings to its sides. It flopped into the shallow water with a yelp a scant foot from Jack’s legs.
He heaved a sigh of relief. “Jesus Christ. No wonder you’ve been giving the locals so much trouble, girlie.”
Jack withdrew a nylon band from his belt and carefully straddled the wriggling creature, slipping it onto her jaws once he’d pinned them closed. He tied her hind legs with a tether and then carefully hauled her back onto the muddy banks of the lake just as he spotted Yousef’s helicopter on its way over. As it approached, the dragon’s movements slowed. He checked her pulse and it was steady. Depending on the dragon, the sedatives in the tranquilizer gun didn’t always take effect immediately. He’d have to consult with Libby about the animal’s initial resistance.
Yousef landed the helicopter in the shallow end of the lake. He was a tall, broad-shouldered guy with a bright smile and a goatee, dressed in a Kevlar vest, black t-shirt, and cargo shorts. He helped Jack load the unconscious dragon inside. A cage with shatterproof glass, air holes, and food and water awaited her. They shut her safely inside and then swept the area for signs of a nest. After half an hour’s search, they found her nest away from where the flamingos collected, closer towards the volcano. Like many reptiles, it had buried the eggs most of the way. They were oval-shaped and had a faint greyish tone, about the size of an alligator’s eggs. Jack and Yousef collected them all and put them safely inside a basket to be transported back with their mother.
Once they finished loading them up, they called in the capture to the Knight Division headquarters.
“We’ve got our troublemaker in custody,” Jack said as he snapped photos on his cell phone. “I’m sending over proof as we speak. We’ve got twenty eggs we’re bringing with her too.”
“Good work,” Agent John Shannon’s gravelly voice said without much inflection.
“What, did I catch you before coffee, old man?” Jack snorted. “You sound like that stick up your ass got even bigger while I’ve been gone.”
“You don’t know the half of it, smartass,” Shannon said.
Jack frowned. “Wait, I was just trying to annoy you. What’s up?”
Shannon sighed. “You’ll find out when you get here. I need you back on the first thing smoking. We’ve got trouble.”
Jack and Yousef met eyes, both men worried. “How bad?”
“I’m not a fan of irony, fellas, but the Knight Division might be going extinct.”
TO BE CONTINUED
Excited yet? Of Claws and Inferno is available for pre-order for a special release price of only .99 cents. The price WILL increase to $4.99 on April 23rd, so grab a copy now. Don’t forget to add it to your Goodreads To Be Read shelves as well! You can also enter to win a $10 Amazon gift card.
We’re just two months away from the launch of Book Four in the Of Cinder and Bone series, Of Fury and Fangs! Time for another excerpt!
Spoilers ahead. Proceed with caution.
–
Jack ran a hand through his windswept hair. “Alright. I can set off Thornton’s car alarm. That should draw him and his buddy outside and you can slip in to see if you can film the dragons. Then we split.”
Kamala blew out a long breath to ready herself. “Be careful, my darling.”
He kissed her. “You too.”
Jack crept back the way he came along the wall and around the corner, waiting by the door. He heard the squeal of one of the metal doors to the container opening. “That’s my cue.”
He hunted along the shipping yard until he found a sizeable slab of rock and slipped to the other end of the warehouse. Then he hefted it and chucked it at the hood of Thornton’s Jeep.
The car alarm immediately let out a panicked squawk.
Roughly ten seconds later, Thornton and Joe spilled out of the warehouse, bewildered by the ruckus. Jack hustled around the rear of the building as the men hurried over to the vehicle. Thornton cursed up a storm as he surveyed the dented green hood and spun around, searching for the culprit.
While they were distracted, Kamala slipped inside the open door to the warehouse, staying low, and quickly crept towards the red shipping container with its massive door ajar. Its contents made her stop in her tracks.
There were four large iron cages inside, but two of them were empty. The other two housed a dragon each; the creatures bound in manacles with their jaws clamped shut in muzzles.
The first dragon was brown and so round and bulky that it could have been mistaken for a Grizzly bear. As a matter of fact, she knew that it had, for it was an urso dragon. Its lurching shape had often been mistaken for a bear from far away in the Alaskan woods and any hunter that shot it would find itself in a heap of trouble, for its scales were so thick that they could repel most common types of weaponry. The dragon could also reach a sprint speed of up to twenty-five miles an hour, at which point it could generate enough energy to flip an SUV with ease. Its wings had been clamped with round bands of metal as well. Its yellow eyes flicked open as it heard her approach and it snorted once before settling into its enclosure again, apparently not feeling threatened by her small stature.
It had two dark brown horns on the crown of its head, but one had been snapped in half, which it would regrow. She didn’t see any marks on its scales, but it made sense. It would be quite a contender in the ring of a dragon fight. She did, however, see smudges of ash along its right side and its legs, so she suspected it was still susceptible to fire.
The second dragon had iridescent scales that refracted the bits of sunlight from the warehouse windows. Its scales glittered as if made of quartz and stuck up in random, sharp spikes from head to toe. Two pinpricks of black looked up at her as she stared at it in wonder. She couldn’t help herself. It was her first time seeing a crystal dragon in the flesh. They were rare cave dwelling creatures famous for hoarding gemstones in diamond mines and other underground caverns. Many adventurers of yore would seek them out, but never return, for crystal dragons were among the most violently territorial of their species. Their scales were as rock hard as their namesake, which was why they were one of the first dragons to go extinct; people would obsessively hunt them for their beautiful hides.
Like the urso dragon, she didn’t see any outward injuries. It was clear the dragon fighting rings had gotten more thoughtful with which species they accepted for fights. It was likely both of them had survived quite a few matches with their unique characteristics.
She made sure to record clear footage of both dragons and snapped a few photos as well before she snuck out of the warehouse’s rear door, where she met Jack. Thornton and Joe had aggressively started to search the grounds, so the two hustled out of the yard back to the Volkswagen.
“What did you find?” Jack asked as he snapped on his seatbelt.
“An urso dragon and a crystal dragon.”
“Holy shit,” Jack gaped. “Seriously?”
She handed him her phone and Jack watched the video clips, whistling. “Incredible. And I thought the Knight Division had been able to crack down on the DNA sources lately.”
“Obviously, some of them have slipped through the cracks. If we’re able to get this back to the precinct in time to seize the dragons, I’m sure they’ll produce plenty of relevant data that we need.”
“Definitely,” Jack said as he started up the Beetle. “I’d love to take a look at—”
He abruptly stared past her head through the passenger window and paled. “Oh, shit.”
A second later, the urso dragon that had been sprinting towards them with its head lowered smashed into the side of the Beetle.
The impact threw the car up on two wheels and smashed its roof into the wall of the electrical shed. Glass exploded on Jack’s side of the car and there was a horrible crunching sound of metal and stone and dragon hide. The engine immediately sputtered out and died as the car lurched back onto all four wheels. The side air bags had deployed upon impact, stunning both Jack and Kamala. Ears ringing, Jack peered through the shattered window to spot the attacking dragon, but it wasn’t there any longer. He heard a snort and a throaty bellow and twisted in his seat to see the dragon behind the car, its head lowered as it prepared to ram them again.
“Shit!” Jack tried the engine once, twice. It coughed and protested, but wouldn’t turn over. He cursed again and tried to unhook his seatbelt, but the impact had jammed it. He grabbed Kamala’s shoulder and shook her hard, rousing her from her dazed state. “Hang on!”
WHAM!
The urso dragon barreled into the back of the Beetle and sent them skidding several feet across the gravel. Jack grabbed the steering wheel and tried to twist the tires to keep them from sliding towards the hill into the warehouse yard, but gravity got the better of them. Kamala tried to free herself from the seatbelt as well, but hers was also jammed. Briefly, they spotted Thornton and Joe near the fence, sneering in triumph.
“Why aren’t they shooting at us?” Kamala asked as she tried to wriggle herself free from the seatbelt.
“No need,” Jack gasped out as he did the same. He watched in the askew rearview mirror as the urso dragon prepared for one more lunge. “The dragon’s gonna push us into the river.”
“Sulemaga!” Kamala spat.
Jack yanked on the seat lever and wriggled his arm towards his pants. “I’m trying to reach my pocketknife. I’ll cut us loose. Then we’ll have maybe a minute or two to climb out before the car sinks too deep and we drown.”
The dragon charged them again. “Head down!” Jack yelled, covering his own just before the creature slammed into the vehicle one last time. The car tumbled down the gravel hill and rolled off the side of the embankment into the Charles River.