Showing posts with label Age of Deception. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Age of Deception. Show all posts

Friday, October 16, 2020

Graydon POV

I realized after a fan requested it that I haven't posted a Graydon POV yet. One of the reasons is his parts tend to give out major spoilers. This was the least spoilery piece I could find. 

I hope you enjoy!

Warning -- this is not really edited so mistakes abound. Read at your own risk 

Graydon held himself in check with a rigid discipline born from the most brutal training a Tuann could undertake. All this time and that was the first thing she wanted to say?

No “how are you” “sorry for leaving” “I missed you”. 

Fine. If that’s how she wanted to play it, he was game. He liked challenges. They were so fun to conquer.

Graydon prowled across the room, noting the way Kira subtly stiffened at his approach. 

Satisfaction rumbled through him. 

She wasn’t as unaffected as she pretended.

Good.

When the silence lengthened, Kira shot him a questioning look.

“They’ve concluded you were in the right.”

Kira dropped her feet from the desk. “I take it I can go then?”

Graydon bared his teeth at her. It wasn’t going to be that easy, colina.

Graydon studied his nails. “They’ve released you into my care.”

He didn’t have long to wait.

“What does that mean?”

“I’m so glad you asked. Let me explain.” He invaded her space, watching as she barely concealed her flinch at the merciless expression on his face that even his gentle smile didn't fully hide. “It means you're mine.”

He straightened, enjoying the temper rising behind her eyes. “At least for the remainder of your time on this planet."

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Jin Does Quarantine


If you've read Age of Deception, there's a scene where Kira worries about leaving Jin alone because of his propensity to find trouble while alone. The below scene is the reason behind that worry. 

I hope it offers you a brief break from your day.


Quarantine
Day – Who the hell knows anymore?

Morale was low. Boredom had set in.

Communication with the outside world had been lost ages ago. Since then, Jin had made no attempt to reestablish it.

Drastic measures would need to be taken to restore order amid chaos. Jin was just the drone for the job.

His enemies thought this little isolation would make him defenseless. Break him.

Jin cackled. Not likely.

He’d show them. He’d emerge victorious and make them bow before his greatness.

Jin circled his tiny cell. Four walls. No decorations. Not even a cot to rest on. It was little more than a storage closet. In fact, he was pretty sure that was exactly what it had been before current events.

That was okay. Sleep was for meat sacks; not superior beings like him.

He hovered over the carcass of his masterpiece, the parts that had once been the media system and speaker disassembled and lying spread across the floor.

Now, they resembled a Frankenstein’s monster, repurposed for his own needs. Only the truly enlightened would be able to appreciate what he’d created out of nothing. The rest would only see a jumbled mess of wires and hardware.

Jin oohed and awed, taking a moment to admire his handiwork. Not bad for something he’d whipped up from only what was available.

A spark leapt from his sphere to his masterpiece. The pieces buzzed but there was no oomph. No crackling electricity that meant life.

Power. He needed more of it.

Jin whipped around, racing to the far wall of his cell. He knew just where to go.

He reached the smooth metal and flipped on the power for the weapon he wasn’t supposed to have. He also probably wasn’t supposed to have adjusted the energy fluctuations turning the blaster Kira had installed into a high-powered welder.

Again, he cackled as the makeshift torch burned into the metal, turning it into molten putty. It folded in on itself, exposing straight little lines of the electrical wiring that ran the ship.

He paused, gloating over his genius. They were like soldiers standing in formation, just waiting on him to give them their orders.

Jin flipped on his grav boosters, which were basically giant magnets that made it possible for him to pick up and drop things. Another addition he probably wasn’t supposed to have. Too late now. It was his, and he had no intention of shutting off that little capability.

The wires shook in place before popping off the wall and sailing toward him.

Like shooting fish in a barrel, he thought smugly. If by shooting, you meant using a modified grav hook to levitate the fish out of the water.

His mission accomplished, he darted back to his masterpiece. Hooking up the necessary relays were easy. It took only moments.

Pausing, he hovered over the tangle of parts.

Soon. Soon his time would come and none would oppose him ever again.

The metallic sphere that made up his body lit up menacingly. This time when his chuckle came it was deep. Fearsome. If a meatsack heard it, it would strike fear into their hearts.

He lowered over the giant red button he’d created. It was a needless affectation—the creation could be turned on with simply a thought—but he figured the red button lent a certain gravitas to this momentous occasion.

Cackling to himself, Jin thumped the button.

Power crackled; electricity surged.

The framework for his masterpiece shook, threatening to tear apart. Jin looked down with a sense of glee. Almost there.

There was a sharp pop and a shower of sparks. The lights went off as the ship he was traveling on shuddered.

Uh oh. That hadn’t sounded good.

“Jin. You there?” Kira’s unmistakable voice came from a panel by the door.

Jin regarded it thoughtfully. He thought he’d dismantled that.

“Answer me, you worthless piece of scrap metal,” Kira growled.

“Yes,” he said, drawing out the word.

There was a pause.

“Power to several key systems, including life support just shorted out. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

Jin spun to take in the giant hole he’d burned into the wall. Hm. Those hadn’t led where he thought. He’d been sure they went to the communications array.

It was possible in his excitement he’d chosen the wrong set of wires to conscript for his little project.

“That’s weird,” he finally said.

There was a moment of silence.

“Yeah. It is,” she said. “It’s not the only oddity. Seems several systems in the ship are acting glitchy.”

“Huh.”

He could almost feel Kira’s eyes narrowing. “I’ve been trying to talk to you for hours. Why haven’t you answered?”

Jin cleared his throat, an affectation since he didn’t actually have a throat, or any biological parts at all. His soul was housed in a machine, one that had not one single scrap of biological material.

“What is that behind you?” her voice deepened into what he classified as her intimidating voice.

He spun to regard his shining work of art. It was going to be glorious when finished. With it, he would take over the universe.

But first he had to distract Kira. She wouldn’t understand the majesticness of his plans.

“Nothing important,” he chirped.

Note to self, make sure you disable ALL of the cameras before assembling your greatest masterpiece.

Silence crackled from the panel.

Kira’s sigh gusted over the comms. “Jin, you’ve only been in there two hours. There’s one more to go. Please don’t do anything that will get us kicked off the ship.”

“Of course not, Kira.”

Jin spun to face his creation again, his maniacal laugh filling the room.

“I can still hear you,” Kira said.

“Ah.” His laugh cut off.

He’d have to work on his badass ninja skills, but in his defense, Kira was a worthy foe.

Now, where was he?

Ah, right. There he was. Now which system should he take over first?

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

First Drafts and Distractions

The world is a weird place right now. Honestly, it feels like I'm watching the start of a movie thriller, only this is reality and not fiction.

 In my area, they've closed bars and restaurants and are recommending people stay at home as much as possible. My husband is now working from home and we've made two runs to the grocery store for essential items.

A few years ago my introverted self would have grabbed hold of the prospect of not leaving my house for several weeks and rejoiced, seeing it as an endless opportunity to watch anime and read books. The current version of myself, the one who already spends copious amounts of time alone except for a couple of cats is looking at the yawning span of isolation and hoping she doesn't go stir crazy.

At the moment, I don't have time to create a full short story since I'm in the final scenes of Aileen 5, but I wanted to offer a short respite from the outside world.

Below is a short, deleted scene from Age of Deception. It is an alternate version of how Kira learns where Jin has gone when he was supposed to be safe in her room. Hopefully when I finish the current book, I can take a short break and write something for the blog. Maybe a Fallon POV or something set in Aileen's world.

Until then, I hope you enjoy.

Deleted Scene

“Jin,” Kira hissed in a low voice.

Not low enough as several people looked in her direction. Great she’d drawn notice because she was acting like a crazy person.

“Kira,” Jin sounded groggy and confused.

Kira released the breath she’d been holding. “Where have you been? I’ve been trying you for the last twenty minutes.”

“I--” There was a long pause.

Kira got moving again, this time careful to keep to a sedate pace. She glanced around her noticing as Devon and Rheya seemed to shadow her on the other side of the hallway.

Were they following her? If so, they weren’t doing a very good job. They were much too young to be playing these games.

“Uh oh.” Jin's guilt and panic were unmistakable.

Kira felt her stomach drop.“Uh oh? What uh oh? There should be no 'uh oh' if you’re safe in the room which is where you're supposed to be."

“Yeah, about that," he started.

“Nope, nope, nope." She shook her head. She refused to hear what he was about to say. He was safe in the room and that was all there was to it.

Devon and Rheya veered toward her, no doubt drawn by her sketchy behavior. She watched them come with gritted teeth. As if she didn't have enough problems already.

“You can deny all you want. It doesn’t change the facts,” Jin pointed out in a pragmatic voice that made her want to scream.

“Where are you?” she snapped, picking up her pace. Maybe if she moved faster they wouldn't stop her.

She really didn’t need anyone taking an interest while she was having a mild panic attack.

Moving briskly without giving the appearance of fleeing was difficult. She had a feeling she wasn't entirely successful either.

Two other Tuann that she recognized from Joule’s training class started in her direction.

Damn. Things just kept getting worse and worse.

“You know that place on Ta Da’an they call the Nexus?"

Kira sucked in a sharp breath. No--even Jin couldn’t be that stupid.

“Well--I wanted to see if there was anything like that here.”

She resisted the urge to bang her head on the nearest wall. "Get out. Get out now."

“I can’t; I’m stuck.” The confession seemed ripped from him.

A high pitched noise escaped her. This was a nightmare. An awful, awful nightmare.

Devon and Rheya stopped in front of her, blocking her path. "We need to talk."

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Age of Deception Small Teaser

To celebrate the completed proofing and formatting of Age of Deception, I've decided to give you a small teaser of what's coming.

Enjoy!

13 days until the book goes live!!

Teaser


Kira's smile was hard. "As I said before, this is a private party. We'd appreciate you leaving."

The leader settled a heavy hand on Kira's shoulder. "How about you be the one to leave?"

"Uh oh," Raider said, alarm snaking through his expression.

He had a right to be concerned. Kira had a thing about uninvited touching, and this Tuann had crossed her invisible bubble in a big way.

"If I were you, I'd take your hand off my shoulder before I break it." Kira was no longer as concerned with playing diplomat. Quickly she calculated the possible consequences of starting a fight, for once wishing Jin would chime in with his thoughts and opinions. He'd studied Tuann law. He'd likely know the possible repercussions.

Quiet fell, spreading throughout the bar as the patrons focused on the unexpected drama. Kira spotted Rheya and Devon among those present and stuffed down the part of her that would like nothing more than to start a bar fight.

"I'd watch your mouth, mongrel. You and your humans are a travesty. They should have put the lot of you down. It would be a mercy." He raised his voice so the rest could hear. "I question Roake's strength if they accept one such as you within their ranks."

Tension filled the air as no one moved.

Kira's lips quirked. "Raider, do you hear yapping?"

He stuck one finger in his ear and jiggled it around. "Yeah, it's kind of high pitched. Sounds like one of those little toy dogs—or maybe a puppy. It's hard to be sure."

Monday, January 20, 2020

ARC Sign Up

For those interested in signing up for an ARC, please visit the link below. Slots are limited.

Sign Up Form

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Age of Deception Release

It's almost time! The cover is finished. The preorder is up. A last edit of the copy is currently being conducted.

That means it's finally time to unveil the next book in the Firebird Chronicles which will go live on February 5. Enjoy!


War hero and daughter to two Houses, Kira is just beginning to learn how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Agreeing to accompany her father’s people back to their homeworld, Kira Forrest prepares for the fight of her life. She’s agreed to undertake the Trial of the Broken, a rite of passage every member of her father’s House must pass. It offers a path to independence and freedom that is too tempting to deny.

Not everyone welcomes this lost daughter of Roake. There are those who fear what her presence might bring to light. Betrayal stalks the halls of Kira’s birthplace—its roots embedded deep in the events that claimed her parent’s lives and set her on her current path.

Walking the wire’s edge between truth and deception will test the person Kira has become as she separates ally from betrayer. An old enemy has put into motion a plan that could topple the balance of power in the universe. Letting them succeed spells doom—but the price might be more than Kira is willing to pay.

Click here for Chapter One. Warning--the chapter ends on a minor cliff hanger!

Preorder on Amazon

I will add other store preorder links on my website as they go live.