Souls Around The World Blog Hop!

Since the theme for this blog hop was "Things that go bump in the night" I decided to share an excerpt from one of my works in progress. This is from one of the stories in a collection I am releasing in 2014. The collection will be called "The Darkscape".

          A pair of eyes gleamed somewhere in the corner. Helene gasped and pivoted her body to face the unseen threat. Fingers gripping the bone handle of the old blade, she tensed, preparing to strike if the need arose. For hours she’d sat in the darkness, waiting, praying to the Gods. Her heart sounded like a kettle drum, knowing those filthy beings lay just beyond her vision.

The sounds came closer and Helene began to panic. She saw the light from her lantern begin to wane, the fuel almost exhausted. Once it died, she’d be in trouble. What had happened to Ortagus? Why had he not come? Tears stung Helene’s eyes but she would not cry, could not give these beasts the satisfaction of seeing her at her worst.

She cringed as something dripped into her long dark hair. One of the creatures must be on the ceiling! “Spirits be merciful…” She whispered, crouching lower, blade still at the ready.

Ortagus promised to be swift. They would never leave the Dark Lord’s estate without the Ngarara. So much was at stake, they’d come too far to give up now. Helene’s heart wrenched within her chest as she thought of him, the man who risked everything to keep her safe, to preserve the greater good. Born one of the forsaken princesses, Helene never expected to find romance. Her life centered on hiding, and fighting for the cause. There should not have been time to fall in love or dream of forever. Fate had other plans. However cruel it was to offer something so unattainable, what had been done could not be reversed.

The light began to flicker and the breath caught in Helene’s throat. “No, not yet, I need more time!”

Snarls and growls filtered out of the nothingness beyond the lantern. Helene’s lower lip quivered but she held her stance, and her fingers continued to grip the blade tight. As the last of the light faded, she waited for the evil to close in, unsure which direction she should face first.

The sensation of claws scraping over her flesh brought forth an involuntary scream. Ignoring the pain in her thigh, Helene whirled around and thrust with her knife in one long arc. Hot liquid splattered her face and she knew she’d killed one of the creatures. The stench of foul breath wafted over from the right, marking the start of a second attack. Though she couldn’t stop them from coming, Helene would fight until the bitter end.

GIVEAWAY FOR THIS BLOG. Here on my personal blog, I am giving away a copy of book one in my Therian Secrets shapeshifter series - THE MERCENARY. All you have to do to be eligible is comment on this blog entry. To view the book trailer video to see what this book is about, Please click here 

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