WANING MOON by PJ Sharon

I'd love to give another copy of WANING MOON to one of your readers here at Goddess Fish! You guys are so awesome, I'll give two copies away to a couple of random commenters to this blog post. WANING MOON is Book One in The Chronicles of Lily Carmichael, a YA Dystopian trilogy. Here's what the book is about: In the year 2057, in a post-apocalyptic world where a polar shift threatens the survivors of a widespread pandemic with extinction, sixteen-year-old genetically enhanced Lily Carmichael has more immediate problems. Her uncle is dying of cancer and her healing abilities are ineffective against the blood ties that bind them. In order to find a cure, Lily must leave the protection of her quiet town and journey to the trading city of Albany, all while avoiding the Industry, an agency that would like nothing better than to study and exploit her abilities. Seventeen-year-old Will Callahan has been searching for his father since severe storms blasted through the Midwest, killing his mother and sister. When he learns that his father may be in the city, he catches a ride with Lily, a girl who has come to his rescue more than once. As the two embark on a dangerous journey, the tension between them grows. But the secrets Will’s keeping could put Lily in far more danger than traveling to the city with him, and if he was any kind of man, he would have told her to run the minute she found him.

And here's another little excerpt: Zeph crashed through the screen door at that moment. “Hey, Sam, look what I…” He froze and the grin fell from his face. “What’s wrong? What happened, Lily?” I burst into tears again. Sam explained the situation briefly and Zeph lowered himself into the chair across the table from me, his face a calm mask. “Are you sure he’s dead?” “Of course I am!” I sniffled and gained control, not wanting my weakness to show in front of my little brother. I’d spent my life being strong for him—protecting him. Now he reached out a hand. To anyone else, this could be deadly, but his touch had no effect on me, a fortunate side effect of our shared DNA, and I had spent countless hours teaching him to control the power that he could summon at will. I squeezed his fingers and gazed into those black eyes. A sudden rush of peace washed over me. Zeph’s peace—the peace he felt whenever he took a life with his touch. Soothing warmth covered me like melted wax. I felt as if he were drawing the dead man’s energy off of me, trying to relieve me of my burden somehow. I pulled my hand away. Zeph closed his fingers into a fist. “It’ll be okay. You had no choice. It was him or us.” His voice sounded calm, sure, eerily complacent. I shuddered. Buy Links for WANING MOON: Amazon B&N Smashwords Or go to http:www.pjsharon.com

Waning Moon Giveaway

A BIG Hey to all you Goddess Fish party people! Thanks for the invite. As my gift to your readers, one lucky commenter will win a FREE e-book copy of WANING MOON, my new YA Dystopian release. Here's a little about the book. In the year 2057, in a post-apocalyptic world where a polar shift threatens the survivors of a widespread pandemic with extinction, sixteen-year-old genetically enhanced Lily Carmichael has more immediate problems. Her uncle is dying of cancer and her healing abilities are ineffective against the blood ties that bind them. In order to find a cure, Lily must leave the protection of her quiet town and journey to the trading city of Albany, all while avoiding the Industry, an agency that would like nothing better than to study and exploit her abilities. Seventeen-year-old Will Callahan has been searching for his father since severe storms blasted through the Midwest, killing his mother and sister. When he learns that his father may be in the city, he catches a ride with Lily, a girl who has come to his rescue more than once. As the two embark on a dangerous journey, the tension between them grows. But the secrets Will’s keeping could put Lily in far more danger than traveling to the city with him, and if he was any kind of man, he would have told her to run the minute she found him.

And here's an excerpt that might grab you: The sound of water caught my attention. “The sewer!” Will understood immediately. “After you,” he said, letting me go and then limping toward the storm drain. Water ran down through the holes of a large sewer grate. We both groaned as we lifted the heavy iron cover, Will nearly dropping it before recovering. I climbed down into the icy, churning water, sucking in a breath while Will slipped on the slimy, metal rungs of the ladder. He paused, grunting as he pulled the heavy cover in place behind him. Suddenly we heard rushing footsteps overhead and loud, angry voices. Will and I exchanged one, fleeting look and then turned toward the dark tunnel. I felt Will’s hand grab onto mine as he took the lead. “Stay with me. Don’t let go.” I let him pull me forward. The water deepened as we dragged ourselves along. The sound of rushing water ahead had me backing up against the current. “This was a stupid idea.” Will tugged me by the hand, wincing in pain. “It’s the only way out. Trust me. It’ll be all right.” “Trust you? That’s a joke, right?” I tried to pull my hand back, but he gripped harder. “Can we fight later?” Before I could argue, a wave of turbulent water rushed in from a connecting pipe, and swept us off our feet. Will’s hand tightened around mine and we dropped abruptly downward. As the slope steepened, the water picked up speed. Darkness and the stench of sewage overwhelmed my senses. Another rapid drop sent my stomach soaring to my throat as Will’s grip broke free. The thunderous roar of the cascading waterfall swallowed the sound of my scream as the rush launched us into the darkening horizon like a torpedo and then dumped us thirty feet into the icy roiling waters of the Hudson River. Buy Links for Waning Moon: Amazon B&N Smashwords

Zombies versus Robots -- ULTIMATE SHOW DOWN! Giveaway!

Zombies vs. Robots

I was originally just going to do an excerpt, but then this thought occurred to me. A random thought really. It was while I was talking with my sister and best friend at dinner, before we headed to the movies. Of course they thought I was absolutely insane, but I think it’s a logical and very feasible theory. Zombies versus Robots. Which apocalypse will happen? Will the undead rise up or will robots over throw us?

I’ve begun to wonder if the zombie apocalypse is indeed on its way. Perhaps not the dead clawing their way from their graves, but a virus-based zombie. And it’s all beginning in the south, the wonderful sunshine state of Florida. There have been two cases of human consumption, all based off of “bath salt” drug-induced delirium. Coincidence? I think not!

(Government conspiracy)

 Or it’s just my over active imagination running ramped. I have begun the starting process of editing a new manuscript for a zombie apocalypse novel (release TBA).  So maybe my mind is just a little zombie-crazy right now.

Maybe it won’t even be zombies. We’ve begun to rely heavily on technology. You can’t turn anywhere without seeing at least one person on their phone.

A zombie vs. robot showdown?

I’m for the zombies. I think they’d be harder to destroy. With robots we can just call on Will Smith and Bruce Willis.

Really, I’m probably just crazy and this is the random driveling of a writer who’s spent way too much time in the fantasy world. But still, it would be interesting to see everyone weigh in. How do you think (maybe prefer?) to see the apocalypse go down? Does everyone have their zombie survival plan in order? Weapons preset? Gear ready? Everyone brushing up on their hacker skills and mapping out escape routes?

You might want to double check your iPhone, you never know what Siri might be up to.

I really need to stop writing end of the world scenarios. You can check out some of them in my series the Theo Bourne Series.

Lay on me your survival plans and theories and enter in for a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card. Just drop your e-mail down with survival plan/theory and I'll select a winner Monday the 9th. 

EXCERPT FROM THE HUNTING MOON

His eyes were just dark enough to be called mysterious, and by the way his long black hair fell into his face, obscuring it in sultry shadows, I knew he was someone dangerous. He held himself above everyone else, with an almost predatory stance that sent delicious tingles up my spine. He was ensconced in the back of the club, sitting in a booth on the other side of the dance floor, watching the crowd as it bobbed and swayed to the addictive beats the DJ spun. His friends had abandoned him two songs earlier, and he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to join them.
I had been watching him half the night from the corner of my eye. He seemed to dominate the club with his presence, and I knew I wasn’t the only one watching him. I also knew that I was going to be the one to get him tonight.
Some people call it gaydar, though I don’t believe in that -- I just call it good instincts. It also helped that he had been watching me under the veil of his long lashes.
I wasn’t looking for love -- hell, I don’t believe in love. I believe in quick fucks and one-night stands. And tonight he was going to be my conquest. From the way his glare met my stare, I knew I was going to be his too. I took a long swig of my beer, numbing my tongue just a little more. I was working on my third bottle, and tonight I had no plans of slowing down. If I was going to be back in the shit hole known as Columbus, Ohio, then I was going to be drunk facing it. I had left Columbus in pursuit of a career with the NYPD Preternatural Task Force. I had succeeded until six months ago, when my partner was killed on the job by a deranged lycanthrope. Now, after seven years of avoiding this place, I was back.
And this dark Adonis was going to make me forget why I had returned. I finished the last of my beer and set the empty bottle on top of the bar. He tipped his head to the side, his hair spilling back to reveal the sharp contours and angles of his face. His skin, when the light played across it, was a rich burnt caramel that left my mouth watering. The gray graphic tee he had on was straining against the hard muscles of his chest and broad shoulders.
I walked around the side of the dance floor, following the row of booths that wrapped around to the back of the club. He glanced up at me, and my fingers itched to brush away the silken tresses that fell into his long face. His full lips parted into a quick smile, and hunger churned in the pit of my stomach. This was a game I was very familiar with -- one that I was fond of.
“Hey.”
His voice was like liquid silk pouring over my skin and wrapping around my body, caressing every intimate part of me, and it held the faintest Spanish accent. My eyelids lowered in a hooded glance, and my lips twitched into a smile that was pouting and promising. I wasn’t giving him the option to back away. “Dance with me.”
Amusement lit up his dark eyes, but he didn’t protest. He stood up, towering over me by a good four inches -- and that was saying something, since I was six feet even. I slid my hand up his chest, and my fingers played over the silver designs of his graphic tee before fisting in the cotton fabric. I pulled him with me as I walked backward onto the dance floor. I didn’t look to see if people moved. I made them move, nudging them with my mind and guiding them away from the middle of the dance floor. My gaze never left his, and he didn’t seem interested in anyone around us either.
Large hands found my hips, and our bodies began to move as one, naturally. I rocked my hips into his, relaxed my grip on his shirt slightly, and coiled my other arm around his neck. His hair, which had to be well past his shoulders, spilled over and tickled the exposed skin of my arms.
The song pounded in my ears, and I couldn’t tell you what the lyrics were. I was hypnotized by his eyes; it was like staring into the eyes of a wild dog. They flashed with feral intensity, their chocolate color swirling with blinding deep golden yellow, like smoky topaz. He nudged his hips forward, rolling them so that his hard-on brushed against mine. A shock ran through me, and my breath came out in a stuttered gasp, earning a broader grin from him. He repeated the motion, and my grip grew tighter around his neck and shirt, pulling him closer to my body.
His hands spread up my back, massaging the tight muscles in my shoulders. My cock was straining in my Diesel jeans, chafing against the zipper. I let out a low growl, grinding harder against him in a vague suggestion of what was to come. He didn’t seem to need any further invitation. His mouth sealed over mine, his tongue pressing past the barrier of my lips. I opened my mouth wide, and it became all about tasting and feeling. He tasted of beer and cinnamon gum.
When I broke away for air, I met his eyes. They burned with the same hunger that I felt. I turned around before he could come in for another kiss, pressed my ass against him, and shook my hips.
He grabbed my hips again, his grip hard and demanding. I could just imagine his hands running up my body, pulling and guiding me as he drilled into me from behind. I closed my eyes with a flutter of lashes and arched, letting my hands tangle in the soft mess of his hair. It ran through my fingers smoothly, and I knew I could spend hours just stroking his hair.
“So what’s your name?” I shouted over the music.
His lips brushed my right ear, his tongue flicking out to nudge the silver hoop I had in. His hands wrapped around my waist to my stomach and traced the hard muscles of my abs through the black material of my T-shirt.
“Carlos,” he said in a low growl.
The song changed, but I didn’t know what to. All I could hear, all I could feel, was the sound of Carlos’s breathing as he tempted my body with his long fingers. I tightened my hold on his hair and pulled his head down, craning my neck so I could turn and kiss him. He rolled his hips at the gesture and eagerly sucked in my tongue.
Much more of this, and I was going to come in my jeans, right there on the dance floor. I released his hair, letting it whisper past my fingertips. With another promising smile I asked, “Your place or mine?”
He embraced me against his chest, his arms wrapping around me to secure my body. His lips branded my neck in a slow kiss, and I felt a quake run through me.
“Mine.”

 

CONTACTS:

• Website: www.evelynshepherd.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Evelyn-Shepherd/133411650060305
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/eveeshepherd
• Tumblr: http://evelynshepherd.tumblr.com/
  Blog: http://singleauthorseeks.blogspot.com/

BUY LINKS:

• http://www.loose-id.com/The-Hunting-Moon.aspx
• http://www.amazon.com/The-Hunting-Moon-ebook/dp/B005IYZG3E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341689920&sr=8-1&keywords=the+hunting+moon
• http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-hunting-moon-evelyn-shepherd/1104118339?ean=9781611184334
• http://www.loose-id.com/Event-Horizon.aspx
• http://www.amazon.com/Event-Horizon-Theo-Bourne-ebook/dp/B0071CKKFA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1341689944&sr=1-1&keywords=event+horizon
• http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/event-horizon-evelyn-shepherd/1108580796?ean=9781611187397

NOAH'S ARK closes the CHRONICLES OF KASSOUK SERIES, by Vijaya Schartz

NOAH'S ARK
Chronicles of Kassouk: A Prequel
by Vijaya Schartz
Romantic Science Fiction, action, adventure.

http://amzn.com/B007QHHIL4

When Trixie's star freighter, Noah's Ark, drops out of jump space in an uncharted part of the universe, she believes the M-class planet on her viewer represents hope and salvation for her motley crew and the ragtag settlers aboard her ship.

Kostas, ex Space Marine, the expert survivalist recruited for this expedition, doesn't believe in coincidences, and knows that when something looks too good to be true, it usually is.

Everyone on this voyage to seed a new planet with life, is running from something, and harbors dangerous secrets... including Trixie, who vowed to never let a man control her life again. As for Kostas, he would get lynched on the spot if anyone suspected who he really is.

But on this seemingly abandoned planet, others are watching, herding them for evil purposes... And when the truth emerges and secrets unravel, Trixie and Kostas will have to fight for survival, for freedom, and for the right to love...

This the fifth book in the CHRONICLES OF KASSOUK series, but now it comes first, since it takes places centuries before Book One, WHITE TIGER.  Book two is RED LEOPARD, Book Three BLACK JAGUAR, and Book Four BLUE LIONESS. All of these have fabulous covers. The entire series is availalbe in eBooks everywhere, and Book One, WHITE TIGER, is now also available in paperback.

Happy Reading!

Find all Vijaya's books on Amazon HERE

Find out more about Vijaya and her books on her website at:
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

Excerpt (PG-13): Would you like to be rescued by an angel?

Action, action, action! Angels and demons and lasers, oh, my.

Check out my sexy Paranormal/Sci-Fi Romantic Adventure, Vigilant. Where do the mortals fit in the war between the angels and demons?

Reviews I made my mother memorize:

* 5 out of 5 Tea Cups from Happily Ever After Reviews: “Whether or not you’re a sci-fi fan, you’ll enjoy this stirring romantic adventure.”

* 5 out of 5 Stars from Book Binge: “Wow! What a cast of characters!...It will be a rare person indeed who does not find this story to be awesome and one of the Grade A, Top-of-the-Mark books no one should miss.”  

* Beyond 5 stars! from A Journey of Romance: “I declare Vigilant to be another hit in her series. Vigilant is beyond 5 Stars!”

***

 [This excerpt is rated PG-13 for action. The story is rated R.]

Hotel Escape 

“What if I kissed you before a room of crooks and criminals?”

Goose bumps raced over Yadira’s flesh at contemplation of Weber’s passionate kiss anywhere, in front of anyone, at any time. 

She just didn’t know why he would want to kiss her behind closed doors, as blackened with grievous offense as she was. She wished his sister hadn’t told her he could see guilt. She would’ve wept over the state of her soul, if he hadn’t been in the room.

But Weber was in the room, giving her flights of delight with his enticements and innuendo. She was supernaturally aware of his presence, closeness, and possible actions. His hands kneading hers slowed and stroked each finger, stealing a part of her mind.

“I’m available to fill your needs for the case, Marshal.” Her heart pounded in her chest. “If it keeps me from prison.”

He smiled, pleased with her answer, his olive-green eyes alight in the sexiest way. Could his vision carry the power to blank her thoughts and still her actions? Perhaps it was a gift of the unusual gene the I-Marshals carried that made them special. It was a preposterous thought, but she began to think he was something extra-human. Wasn’t a law enforcement officer who saw guilt more than just a cop?

Were delusions of an angel prowling her subconscious messing with her mind?

She wondered how long Weber’s testimony of their being lovers would stay a lie. A firestorm of attraction raged through them. They sat together on a bed now, his hands intimately massaging hers and relaunching all the heat he commanded. He’d kissed her moments ago, programming her to respond to him. Her thighs were on fire. He stared at her lips now as though they were edible, sending her subliminal hints that he would kiss her a second time. The thought of his mouth on hers again… With this much warning, she had time to lose her breath, anticipate the softness of his lips, want him more with every passing second.

“Weber…”

“Yes, Yadira?”

“Have you sent an angel to watch over me?”

A loud bang rocked the room, startling them and breaking the electricity burning the air between them. Her question forgotten, they spun toward the hotel room door to see it had taken a strike to its metal so hard, it dented. She froze in fear.

“Oh, yeah, the Alliance,” the I-Marshal muttered under a sunken brow as though having forgotten some vital information to add to the night. He scrambled from the bed.

A second strike slammed into the security door with great force, denting its surface again. The lock was not yet compromised.

“Move, Yadira! They’ll be through the door in seven more strikes!”

Snapping herself from a terror-induced stasis, she burst from the bed, ran to and fro, looping the bag of clothes around her neck.

“Weber! Did you kill my guard?”

“No. I only kill the guilty. Your guard probably awakened in the room next door about five minutes ago.”

He grabbed her hand and tugged her into the shower room. There, he unlatched the small, highly placed window. It was the room’s only outlet for fire escape. Hotel guests were not prisoners.

Except for Yadira. She actually was a prisoner.

“Who’s coming through that door, Weber? And why?”

The window did not open all the way, so he ripped it from the metal frame, and he pulled in a knotted rope already hung outside for their escape.

“Probably, an Alliance SWAT team…or two, maybe some fed guys, a few overexcited locals. They’ll blow the door in a few seconds. The I-Marshals have taken me off the investigation, Yadira, and I’ve decided if they won’t release you from the case, I’m going to hide you from the Alliance. They aren’t happy with my plan.”

Yadira’s head snapped back to the sight and sound of new dents driven loudly into the room’s door. The noise of hovercraft blades warping the air blasted through the window.

He propped the room’s chair against the wall, assisting her climb to the high window.

“We’re on the fifth floor!”

“All you have to do is get out of this room. Take hold of the rope hanging out the window.”

Displeased with her catatonic speed, he snatched her up and put her atop the windowsill, feet first through the open window. She was about to scream bloody murder when she felt a knotted rope between her legs. She grasped it for dear life and leaned out of the building to assess their position.

The chaos was much louder outside the metal-plated room. Sirens shrieked, flashing lights blinded her. She saw the hovercrafts that belonged to the warp of blades she’d heard pivoting all around the hotel, their spotlights aimed on her and watching. How did they all get there so fast?

She turned to Weber behind her in the shower room, and snapped, “Aren’t I already under arrest?”

“Just climb onto the rope, Yadira, trust me.”

It was difficult to trust him when police on PA systems blasted, “Imperial Marshal Weber and Yadira Maxwell! Hold your position! You are surrounded! Do not attempt to escape!”

Trust him? The alternative was surrender.

Looking up the rope secured to the tube railing of the building, and seeing a variety of police uniforms aiming weapons at her, Yadira grasped the rope, put her feet on a knot, and wiggled off the window ledge, clinging to the rope and shaking. The red-and-blue flashing lights blinded her. The hard breeze set off by the hovercrafts whipped her hair across her face, stinging her. The sights and sounds of every law enforcement machine focused on her exit shocked her. She hadn’t known she was this important to the Alliance.

Or maybe capturing a rogue cop was this important. She guessed it was.

Weber climbed out of the window and onto the rope above her, and then he shimmied down to and around her, protecting her from crazy hails of rubber bullets or stunner rays. Cops with Tasers waited below the rope to take custody of them. Cops with stunners awaited atop the building. Cops in hovercrafts surrounding them, weapons sighting them, awaited any dangerous move. She’d never seen so many uniforms in all her life put together.

They’d never let her out of prison for this!

His big boots planted on a big knot in the rope below hers. “Turn on the rope and wrap your arms around me, Yadira!”

She looked around the hurricane they withstood, terrified. Emergency crews assembled below. Spectators were shooed away from witnessing their deaths or horrible mutilations when they hit the ground. Did the cops plan to plant a laser beam in the rope, melting the braid and causing their fall?

“What’s happening, Marshal? Why is all of Reigna’s force sighting us?”

“Ignore them.”

Her mouth dropped. “Ignore them?”

“I should have punched your guard harder. Put your arms around me!”

Surely, they’d fall!

“Trust me!”

She wrapped one arm around his neck, and let go of the rope with her other hand, hooking her arm beneath his to reach her other hand and locking them together. He trapped her against him with the rope, one hand gripping the lifeline above her. Sure she’d next tumble to her death or find herself behind bars, she watched Weber retrieve his palm comp with his free hand and type some numbers with his thumb.

Then Weber let go his grip of the rope, and she experienced the terrifying sensation of falling. It felt like they fell for minutes instead of the second it would have required for them to hit the pavement like melons.

***

Read more.

Explore steamy excerpts, check out the great reviews,

watch a mysterious book trailer:

http://www.michelehart.com/b27-book.htm

Discover the First Chapter of Vigilant:

http://dreneebagbypresentsfirstchapters.blogspot.com/2011/05/vigilant-by-michele-hart.html

Vigilant by Michele Hart

Buy Link: http://www.BookStrand.com/vigilant

ISBN#: e-Book 1-61034-396-4 * Print 1-61034-682-3

Available @ BookStrand, Amazon, B&N,

everywhere exciting adventures await you.

Investigate I-Marshal Stories.

http://www.MicheleHart.com/series-i-marshals.htm

Peace on Earth, Hell in Space.

Read and live an adventure.

Have an action-packed weekend,

Michele Hart
Paranormal/Sci-Fi Romance Author
~ Walk Another World ~ http://www.ILoveShape-Shifters.com/

Sneak Peek Excerpt-R-Gangbusters-Angels & Demons/Sci-Fi Romantic Adventure

Happy Scary Weekend, monster lovers.

I’m Michele Hart, and here’s a creepy Halloween bite of my upcoming angels & demons/Sci-Fi Romantic Adventure, Gangbusters. It’s coming out November 1st at Bookstrand.com. Get your monsters at the pre-order price.

What’s a girl to do when she falls in love with a killer?

“When you see me drop a demon, you'll know I'm only getting started.”

- Danny's T-shirt

“My lover slays demons, and all I get is this lousy T-shirt!” - Faith's T-shirt

 Go ahead, read some creepy stuff.

***

[ This excerpt is rated R for nasty threats of punishment. Just awful stuff.

And that’s coming from the Good Guy. He means business. ]

            Wherever Calderon went, he opened a gun shop, even on the planets where guns were outlawed. It was his screw-you to the authorities.

            The I-Marshal had a screw-you for Calderon from the entire Alliance, hand-delivered.

            Unseen, Danny paced into Calderon’s gun store, walked right past the gangster’s bulky guards and into the firing range, not needing to kill the guards to keep them from spotting his talk with their boss.

            The oily Calderon stood alone in a shooting booth, firing a variety of firearms, both projectile and beam weapons. The mobster’s range time was the only time he was without his posse in attendance or women on his arm. The familiar smell of gunpowder made Danny smile. He watched for a while to see if Calderon was a good shot. He was. But it wasn’t going to help him.

            When Danny felt like it, he walked up to Calderon unsuspecting, and he clocked the mobster, sending him to the concrete floor.

            Minutes later, Calderon awakened to find himself hanging upside down a half-meter in the air at the target-end of the shooting range, his hands cuffed behind his back, his body wrapped in and suspended by the cables that operated the target-retrieval system of the range. His eyes rolled upward to find Danny’s gold I-Marshal badge jammed in his mouth and no one in the room.

            No one visible.

            “Go ahead,” Danny spoke loudly into the gangster’s ear. “Scream all you want.”

            Calderon did. He screamed as much as he could, his mouth stuffed with a big eight-point star, and it wasn’t enough to penetrate the soundproofed range. He looked terrified. Good.

            When the criminal scourge of planet Reigna wore himself out squealing like a pig, Danny plucked the badge from his mouth and wiped it on Calderon’s expensive suit. “I’m here for a few reasons, demon. First, to avenge the wholesale death, corruption, and misery you’ve caused the mortal worlds for millennia. I’m going to visit all your brothers connected, and I’m going to destroy every one of you.”

            Calderon thrashed in his bonds to no avail. He only swung for his efforts like a pendulum blade.

            “Secondly, I’ve been sent to avenge your wife’s murder, and that of her family.”

            “Who sent you?” the gangster spat, livid to find himself in this vulnerable position.

            “Faith Vedder. You remember her, the reporter who’s on you like…blasphemy on a devil’s lips. You met her today.”

            The crook snorted. “I recognized her right away.”

            “I thought you might have. That’s why I’m here to dismantle you. She actually hasn’t asked me to kill you yet. But she will. That you will be dead before she calls the shot is just a trick of time. Going against you.”

            Calderon shouted again for his boys, and rocked himself in an effort to bring his body down from his bonds. When he tired, he gave up, still swinging from side to side.

            “Keep calling for your buddies. I’ll pick them off like duck targets.”

            “Why are you waiting to destroy me, Marshal?”

            “I want some information from you. What do you know about a street manager on planet Valdeya called Freak? Lie to me, and I’ll call upon Metatron to get the truth from you. If you make me call upon my lord, I’ll cut your tongue out, and he’ll have a hard time understanding your answer. You don’t wish to give the highest of angels a difficult time, do you? He will consign you to the Fifth Heaven where your punishment will last an eternity. He has no mercy for corruptors.”

            Calderon sweated like a turkey shown the chopping block. “Freak… He’d been a high-level employee of the Juicers. I’d sold him the job of killing Faith Vedder. He’d told me he’d taken the contract to Boss, who’d given it to Heretic.”

            It didn’t surprise the I-Marshal. Contract killings were often passed through a chain of criminals to erase the true originator.

            “Clearly, Heretic hadn’t done his job. I found him at the woman’s side earlier today.”

            Danny disengaged his invisibility, removed the helmet and the cowl beneath it, and set them down beside him on the floor. The gangster sucked in a slow breath of shock to see him and put it together that his long-time associate from the black-market underground was an undercover I-Marshal.

            “I always do my job. You’re not making any more plans for Faith. She’s fantasizing of your destruction now.”

            “Is a third-rate reporter calling your shots now, Heretic?”

            “Keep mouthing off, and I’ll put my C-breaker down your throat and cook you from the inside out. When was the last time you heard from Freak?”

            The click of Heretic’s switchblade rushed the monster into saying, “Weeks ago.”

            “Before or after Boss’s crew got hit on Valdeya?”

            “Before. A week before, I’m sure of it. I’m guessing Freak died in that hit.”

            Heretic knew Freak had survived his destruction somehow, and he knew Calderon lied.

            “So you didn’t kill Faith Vedder…and you’re screwing her now… Isn’t that against I-Marshal rules?”

            “Don’t provoke me, demon. I’m not a man of limits.”

            The gangster’s vision roamed the target range and his position in it. “Are you planning some shooting practice on me?”

            “What good would it do? We both know that won’t end your sick existence. You’ll just regenerate in a day or two in that body. Unless I give you a thorough destruction.”

            Calderon nervously chuckled, his peace disturbed. “You’ve a bit of a reputation as a torturer, Heretic. Wouldn’t you rather take your anger out on me and let me live, giving you a source of information?”

            “I’d like to take my anger out on you. Especially since I saw you put your grubby demon lips on Faith today, attempting to defile her. I’d carve my initials in your scaly chest for that. Maybe force you to transform completely, let your wings sprout…so I can slip my blade beneath them and cut them from your demon back. Carve the horns from your demon skull. Pull the fangs from your demon face.”

            Calderon shuddered, probably imagining himself stripped of his evil tools.

            “But letting you live for what little info you could provide violates my mission to destroy you and your kind. I’ll do what I must to end your existence. By the way...” Heretic lifted the gold chains hanging around Calderon’s greasy neck with his blade. “I arrest you in the name of the Draco Alliance. Now it’s official.”

            “Stop pretending to be a cop, Heretic,” Calderon growled. “You’re formed from the same dark and wicked flame as me…son of fire.”

            “I guess it’s in my nature to see you suffer.”

            “It’s a sin you love too much.”

***

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Gangbusters by Michele Hart

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Available November 1st at BookStrand.com   ISBN# 1-61034-926-1

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Have a thrilling day,

Michele Hart
Paranormal/Sci-Fi Romance Author
~ Walk Another World ~ http://www.ILoveShape-Shifters.com/