Tuesday Teaser

 

“How did it go last night?” Hudson asked.

“Very well, actually,” Kage said, sipping his coffee. “I haven’t told Austin everything, but I did hit the high points about what I am. We’re having dinner tonight. I’ll explain more then.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I know you’ve been waiting on this for a very long time.”

“That’s true.” Kage stared out the window at the Bay Bridge. “I wish it hadn’t come about under these circumstances.”

“Speaking of those circumstances, I’m having my assistant hack that bar’s camera to see if we can get a clear image of the three hunters. If Conrad can get that, he can get their names and personal information. He’ll need the chat room or message board where Austin met Tom too. It’s another avenue to follow.”

“I’ll ask Austin tonight.”

“Conrad is also going through the files we have on known hunters.”

“I’ll get Maia to go through the files we have.”

“I also alerted the master vampire of the city, the two werewolf packs that are here, the gargoyle clan, the witches, and the merpeople so far this morning. I have a few more shifters to contact.”

“Been busy, haven’t you?”

“Not all of us sleep until eight in the morning, you slacker.”

“You’re just jealous I had a sexy man keeping me up late last night.”

“Hey! Who said I didn’t?”

“Who the hell did you find that late at…. Know what? Never mind. I don’t want to know.” But it didn’t surprise Kage. “Anyway, back to the subject at hand. The more paranormals who know that hunters are here the better.”

“Do you remember that weapon Tom had? Austin relieved Tom of it, and I asked to see it. Good thing I did. It’s a dragonbone dagger.”

Kage set his coffee down and massaged his temple. It was entirely too early in the morning for this. Dragonbone daggers were deadly. They were made from bones of a dragon, of course. Hence the name.

They were indestructible. Even dragon fire didn’t melt them. They were deadly sharp and could penetrate any armor, including dragonscale armor or a gargoyle’s stone exterior.

Nothing could withstand that blade or deflect it. No spell or shield or portal. Not even hiding in a shadow could protect his kind from that weapon.

To a human it was nothing more than another dagger. To a paranormal, there was no protection against it. It was one the very few things that could kill any paranormal.

“Tell me you have that cursed thing.”

“You bet your ass I do. I’m going to make sure it disappears. No one needs to have access to something like that.”

“Which begs the question, how did those hunters get a hold of it?”

“That’s a very good question. They’re very hard to come by because we dragons guard the bones of our dead jealously. But someone, somehow, managed to get a hold of a dragon bone and create this monstrosity. If I ever find out who made this, I will personally gut them.”

Yeah, Hudson would, after he tortured that person for weeks on end. A pissed off dragon was nothing to play around with.

“I’m sorry somebody committed such a grave offense as disturbing a grave of a dragon. My condolences, Hudson.”

Even though it was very likely Hudson didn’t know the dragon the bone came from, he would still mourn any dragon’s grave being disturbed.

“Thank you.” Hudson blew out a deep breath. “Anyway, I wanted to let you know about that dagger and what actions I’m taking in regards to the situation with the hunters. I hope your date goes well tonight.”

“I’m looking forward to it. And thank you for letting me know. If I happen to come across new information, I will certainly pass it along. I’ll touch base in a few days, okay?”

“Yes. Please do. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Have a good day.” Kage ended the call and turned his chair so he was fully facing the floor-to-ceiling windows.

A hunter with a dragonbone dagger was alarming. The weapons were deadly, of course, but they were also insanely expensive. These hunters appeared to be well-funded. Whoever was backing them needed to be found and dealt with.

He made a mental note to gather his clan and inform them of the danger before his date tonight. Turning back to his computer, he started reaching out to his connections, not just there in the United States, but also throughout the world.

If there was a new group funding hunters and targeting paranormals, surely someone had information about them. What had started out as a worry about hunters possibly targeting Austin had turned into something much, much bigger.

Tuesday Teaser

 

Chapter Five – Austin 

“SO, WHAT are you?”

Oh man, did he blurt that out? Yeah, yeah he did. He didn’t always think before he opened his mouth. The lack of a filter was embarrassing at times.

“Crap. Should I have asked that?” Austin was tempted to take his eyes off the road and look at Hudson, but he didn’t. He’d already pressed his luck enough tonight. “Was that rude? I feel like that was maybe rude. If so, I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t offend you.”

Hudson groaned softly as he tried to get comfortable. “You’re certainly not a shy little thing, are you?”

Austin darted around an asshole poking along in the fast lane on the Interstate before answering. “Aw, man. I pissed you off, didn’t I?”

“You’re fine, and no, you didn’t. It takes much more than innocent questions to do that. Generally speaking, we don’t ask other paranormals what they are. There are some who would take offense.”

Austin turned down the music since it appeared Hudson was willing to answer questions. “Then how do you guys know?”

“Again, generally speaking, paranormals have an excellent sense of smell. We all have a scent, and that helps us identify each other.” Hudson glanced out the passenger window. “For example, merpeople tend to smell like the ocean—a little salty and briny.”

“Merpeople? Like… mermaids?” 

“Yes. And mermen. Vampires have a slight metallic scent. Magic users tend to smell like the ozone.”

Whoooo boy, plot bunnies were springing up all over the place. “Magic users? Like, witches?”

“Yes.”

Austin was solely tempted to pull over, dig out his phone, and start taking notes for his next book. But he wasn’t sure how Hudson would react, so he didn’t. “What about Kage?”

“Ah, he has a vanilla-almondly scent. Reminds me of night blooming jasmine.”

“Yes! That’s it exactly! Night blooming jasmine, huh? I need to smell that. Wonder where I can find some. It’s a plant, right?”

“Yes, it is, and I imagine you can find it at any garden center.” Hudson glanced out the passenger window again. “You say you’ve noticed Kage’s scent? That’s very interesting. Humans usually don’t notice such.”

“As a kid I thought it was flowers. It always was there when he was. It was how I knew he was around, even if I couldn’t see him.”

“That is truly fascinating. Does Kage know this?”

“No. I mean, I never thought about it, honestly. Usually when Kage showed up, it was because I needed help.” 

“That makes sense.”

Austin tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “Now that I think about it, that’s not necessarily true. Sometimes, after I went to bed, he’d be there—under the bed, I mean. We’d talk about whatever. Our conversations depended on my age, I guess.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Sometimes it was about the latest Disney movie I’d seen. Or a new toy I got. Then there were times he read me a story when I was a kid. It was sort of weird since he was under my bed, but I got used to it.’’

“I never knew that.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.” Austin passed another slow car. “I have the feeling Kage is considered a badass in your world.”

“Oh, he most definitely is that.”

“Yeah, well, he was also my friend. My best friend. I told him all about my failures and my accomplishments. But he was also my protector. He was there when I needed him. I don’t know if I can explain how important he is to me.”

Chasing Shadows preorder is live!

 

Blurb: 

The monster: They say I am powerful. They say I am the darkness. They say I instill fear in the minds and hearts of many.

They’re right.

I am powerful. I am the darkness. I should be feared. Then I heard his cries and everything changed. Power can be tempered. There’s safety in the darkness. And the monster isn’t always the one under the bed.

Now only the heart and mind of one human interests me. He is mine. I wait, watching over him until the time is right to claim what belongs to me.

Austin: Do you believe there are monsters under the bed? I do. I don’t just believe; I know for a fact they exist. I’ve met one. Sort of. Okay, I haven’t actually seen the monster, I’ve only spoken to it.

Kind of hard to see much of anything when you’re hiding under the covers while waiting on your father to beat your ass. The monster saved me. Literally. He says I’m his, and he’s waiting for the right time to claim me.

Someone tell him to hurry the hell up.

Preorder Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B95P38H6

Update on Chasing Shadows

 If you're in my author group, then you know that I'm finished with the book! It has a few chapters left to beta-read then it's off to editing. The cover and blurb are also done, whoot! I don't have a preorder yet, but that will be coming soonish!

~M

Tuesday Teaser

 

Chapter Four - Kage

ONCE MORE this human robbed Kage of his ability to speak. He was powerful. He was the darkness. He was feared by all… except for Austin.

From the moment he’d come into that child’s life seventeen years ago, Austin had never been afraid of him. Kage was the nightmare that lurked in the dark of night. Paranormals actively avoided his kind, and for good reason. And yet this human trusted Kage. Always had.

It was humbling.

“Also, shadow demon is a nickname. The so-called demons from the Christian Hell do not exist.”

“Okay, so…? The demon part of that makes sense, I guess. Can you explain the shadow part?”

“My kind travel via the shadows,” Kage said.

“Think of it like a portal,” Hudson added. “They use them to go from one place to another.”

“Yeah, except those aren’t supposed to exist,” Austin pointed out.

“Surprise!” Hudson grinned. “You’ll find there’s a lot of things which exist humans don’t know about. Anyhow, it’s how Kage and I arrived. Daemons can also send someone from one place to another via shadows.”

“Ah, like Tom?” Austin asked.

“Yes. As long as there is a shadow, that’s all we need,” Kage said. “Even on the brightest of days, there are always shadows. We can also manipulate them to do our bidding.”

“I’m not gonna lie, that’s terrifying,” Austin said.

“Now you know why paranormals avoid his kind, because yes, they are terrifying,” Hudson added.

Kage glared at Hudson. That was not helpful. Not at all.

“What happened to Tom and the other guy who you threw at the shadows?” Austin asked.

Kage studied Austin for a brief moment. “Are you sure you wish to know?”

“Usually, if that question has to be asked, then the answer is usually no. But I’ve been searching for answers for so long, and I’m finally getting them. So, yes. I want to know.”

“Very well. One was deposited on the plains of the Serengeti. The other one I dropped in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.” Kage shrugged. “They might live.”

“But it’s highly doubtful, I’m guessing. And all your kind can do that?”

“Yes.” Kage scowled as Austin’s heart rate rose. “I’ve scared you.”

“No, no, not you,” Austin said. “But can’t you see how frightening that is? I could be walking along, minding my own business, then boom! I’m floating in the ocean. My God. What’s to stop a daemon from doing that to me?”

“For one, we don’t attack random humans for no reason.”

“That you know.”