Excerpt from Rivers of Red: Luke Saunders
Howdy, Readers. It's been a while. The finale of the Red Wolf Saga, Rivers of Red, is currently out to beta readers, and I have re-activated my blog in order to provide information leading up to its publication. I'm going to start by offering an excerpt from Part One.
Remember Luke Saunders, the private investigator hired by the vampire Roland Trudeau to spy on Clifford Crane and his Uwharrie pack of werewolves? In the last novel, Red Wolf Rising, Luke had finally had enough of Trudeau's evil machinations, betraying him by going to Clifford to reveal his employer's plans to lay a trap for the wolves.
Knowing Trudeau would not take the betrayal lightly, Clifford offered Saunders protection, but Luke declined, choosing instead to take his chances on his own. Using skills obtained through decades of PI work, he attempted to hide from the vampire by dropping off the grid.
Let's see how that's going for him, now.
Stay tuned for more, readers. Feel free to leave a comment below.
And, thanks.
Remember Luke Saunders, the private investigator hired by the vampire Roland Trudeau to spy on Clifford Crane and his Uwharrie pack of werewolves? In the last novel, Red Wolf Rising, Luke had finally had enough of Trudeau's evil machinations, betraying him by going to Clifford to reveal his employer's plans to lay a trap for the wolves.
Knowing Trudeau would not take the betrayal lightly, Clifford offered Saunders protection, but Luke declined, choosing instead to take his chances on his own. Using skills obtained through decades of PI work, he attempted to hide from the vampire by dropping off the grid.
Let's see how that's going for him, now.
Monday, June 27, 2011 7:15 pm
Luke Saunders glanced at the clock on the
wall behind the bar and panicked. Oh,
fuck, it’s almost sunset. I gotta get home.
“Jeez,” he said to the woman who’d
distracted him with conversation for the last forty minutes, “I completely lost
track of time. I have to be somewhere before sunset.” He dropped a wad of cash
on the bar and signaled the bartender, indicating he was paying for both their
drinks. “It was really nice talking to you.”
The young woman looked genuinely
disappointed. “Oh, yeah, it’s been nice. You’re easy to talk to.” She placed a
light touch on his hand, her fingers sending a thrill up the entire length of
his arm. “Do you really have to go?”
He glanced briefly at the clock, then back
at her. She wasn’t really his type. She had short hair, dyed an unnatural shade
of red, with pale skin that was covered with more tattoos than clothing. She
had a piercing on one side of her nose, inset with some blue stone he didn’t
recognize. Around her neck was a wide choker, the same shade as her hair. Usually,
he hated that kind of shit, but not on this girl.
Maybe it was the two margaritas talking,
but there was something extremely compelling about her, right now. Vampire, his mind suddenly warned. But,
no. Her touch had been warm, it was still a while before sunset, and this
little corner of paradise was as free of the bloodsuckers as any he could find.
“Yeah,” he nodded, “Sorry, I do have to be somewhere.” At home. Always safely at home, before the sun goes down.
She dipped a finger in her drink and gave
the liquid a few half-hearted stirs. “You’re going home,” she whispered, then
cut her eyes at him, “Alone?”
Fuck,
she read me like a book. He swallowed. “Um, yeah.” He shrugged.
She nodded. Holding his gaze, she raised
her glass to her lips, drained what was left, and set it on the bar. “Can I
come?”
Adrenaline coursed through him. It would
be a violation of the rules, but they were his rules, after all. Hell, what was
the use of living in paradise if you couldn’t enjoy it, now and then? Still, he
hesitated. “Um...”
“Hey,” she said, “if it’s an
inconvenience…”
He detected hurt in her voice and reacted
quickly. “No, it’s not that. I…uh…you just caught me by surprise. I don’t
usually do…this.”
Her eyebrows rose. “This? You mean,
picking up a girl in a bar?”
“Yeah,” he shrugged, “kind of. I mean…”
Her hand was back on his arm, cutting him
off. “Hey, it’s okay. I never do
this. But, I’m on vacation, and I figured what’s the use of being in paradise
if you can’t enjoy it?”
He grinned. “Funny, I was just thinking
the same thing.”
“Well,” she smiled, “you have to admit,
it’s a pretty good argument. Is your place far?”
He shook his head. “Just up the beach a
little.”
“Good,” she said, gathering a small purse
and sliding off the bar stool, “a walk on the beach sounds nice.” She reached
for his hand and entwined her fingers with his. “Ready?”
He was, very much so. Her hand was warm,
her touch promising. They left the bar via the beach entrance. She guessed the
direction correctly and hooked her arm through his as they ambled towards his cottage.
Walking along the water’s edge, she kept a
running commentary, her voice barely audible over the crashing surf. Although
she said nothing that required a response, he was forced to lean close in order
not to miss her words. Her scent was intoxicating.
“Oh, my God,” she gasped, bringing them
both to a halt, “that’s so beautiful.”
He followed her gaze to the horizon, where
the deep red of a spectacular sunset colored a low line of clouds. “It is,” he
agreed.
They watched for a time, as the red
deepened to violet and the last tip of the orb disappeared into the ocean. She
turned to him in the fading light and lifted her lips to his, pulling him into
a deep kiss. Her breath tasted faintly of cinnamon, eliciting a vague question
in his mind as to the identity of the drink she’d had back in the bar.
She pulled her lips off his, encircling
her arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest. “That was
nice,” she sighed. “I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry?”
She pulled back and looked up into his
eyes, frowning. “Really, it’s nothing personal.”
“What?”
She took a few steps back, looking down
and away. Luke’s stomach turned to ice as a cold voice spoke behind him, “Good
evening, Mr. Saunders. You’re a hard man to get hold of, after sunset.” An icy
hand clamped down on his shoulder and the voice chuckled, “Get it? ‘Get a hold
of?’”
Luke tried to swallow, but his throat was
dry. The choker! I should have guessed.
I’m so screwed. “You’re a fucking pet,” he accused the woman. She didn’t
answer, only lowered her head further.
“Not exactly,” said the cold voice.
“Chelsea is very much her own woman, I assure you. By the way, thank you, my
dear. You gave your usual stellar performance. Your fee has already been
deposited in your account.”
Chelsea raised her head but did not look
at either one of them. “I can leave now, then.” Her tone was so flat, Luke
couldn’t tell if she was stating a fact or asking permission.
“Not yet, please,” said the voice. “I have
some questions for Luke, here.”
“I don’t want to watch this,” she said.
Her tone was now more animated, and Luke’s testicles drew up to join the knot
in his stomach.
The cold voice behind him became
irritated. “You won’t have to, if you can help me get some answers,” it said.
“It doesn’t always work, you know,” she
complained, “especially if…” She took a deep breath. “Under torture, people’s
minds go in directions I can’t always follow.”
“I’m going to have to ask you to try.”
Chelsea ground her teeth a moment before
nodding. “Very well.”
The voice waxed sarcastic. “So accommodating of you. I found the
perfect spot on the very deck of Mr. Saunders’ cottage, overlooking the ocean.
I’ll go get him ready. Take your time.”
Luke felt himself suddenly whisked off his
feet and carried swiftly over a stretch of dunes to where his beach front
cottage stood. When he regained his equilibrium, he found himself on his back
deck, securely tied between the hooks where a hammock had been strung before
he’d left for the bar earlier that afternoon.
Before him stood a tall, pale man, unmistakably
a vampire, regarding him purposefully with half-lidded eyes. “I know you don’t
want to answer my questions,” he explained, “so I’m going to have to use my
venom to put you…in the mood, so to speak.” He rubbed his chin, speculatively.
“This is not an exact science.”
A shudder ran through Luke’s body before
he found his voice. He reached for as much defiance as he could muster. “You
think your saliva can get me high enough to tell you anything?”
The vampire’s lips spread in a wide,
humorless smile. “No, I don’t. If Roland Trudeau had wanted you turned into a
compliant pet, he would not have sent me.
You see…” He was interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs
from the beach. “Ah, she’s here. We can get started. How close do you need to be,
Chelsea?”
Luke craned his head around as Chelsea
reached the top step. He watched her take a seat on a low bench built along the
railing. “I’m fine over here,” she stated.
“Okay, then,” continued the vampire,
turning back to Luke, “as I was saying…hey, hold on there, what are you doing?”
The vampire’s finger was suddenly in Luke’s mouth, pressing his tongue away
from the tooth Luke had been working at, the tooth the vampire was now holding
in front of his face, between two fingers.
“Tsk, tsk, Mr. Saunders. Nice try. You
really are a clever fellow.” The vampire sniffed at the tooth. “Cyanide?” He
looked at Chelsea, frowning, “You didn’t pick up on that?”
She shook her head. “Sorry, I wasn’t
paying attention. I was…getting ready.”
The vampire crushed the false tooth
between his fingers and wiped the residue on his shirt. “Let me know when you are ready,” he told her.
“Go ahead,” she sighed. “Let’s get it over
with.”
“Humph,” the vampire grunted, turning back
to Luke, “why does everyone have to be in such a hurry all the time?” He grasped
Luke’s chin, moving his head back and forth to inspect his neck. “You’re an
unusual man, Mr. Saunders, having been closely associated with our kind for
this long without being bitten. I understand there is a clause in your contract
for the ongoing investigation into the activities of Clifford Crane that
specifically states you are not to be
turned into a pet. For some reason, Trudeau has chosen to honor that contract,
despite the fact you have broken your end
of the bargain.” He frowned. “You know how a pet is made, don’t you, Mr.
Saunders?”
His chin still in the vampire’s iron grip,
Luke could only cut his eyes at his captor in response.
“Well, let me explain. Vampire venom
contains a paralytic poison designed to immobilize a victim during the feeding
process. The poison is so fiercely painful, however, that our original creators
mixed with it a pain killer that relaxes the victim, so that the human adrenal
system won’t kick in, rendering our meals…unpalatable.”
The vampire raised his eyebrows in a
question. Luke didn’t notice, however. His eyes were wide, casting desperately
in every direction. They settled on Chelsea for a moment, begging. She shifted
uncomfortably and looked away.
The vampire cleared his throat,
unnecessarily. “Ahem. Anyway, the pain killer has a euphoric effect that is
extremely addictive, or so I am told. If bitten more than a few times, a victim
will develop such a craving for the high that they’re pretty much willing to do
anything, or say anything, or betray anyone, just to get another fix. It’s sad,
really, but very effective. We call these addicts ‘pets,’ a rather demeaning
term, if you ask me. You know, it says something about you and your skills that
Trudeau chose to ensure your compliance with a contract rather than…you know,
our usual methods.” He leaned close, positioning Luke’s head so he could look
in his eyes. “Based on the trouble I’ve had to go through to find you, I’d have
to agree with him.”
The vampire released Luke’s chin and
straightened to his full height. “But, I digress. Let me get to the point. A
small percentage of humans lack a certain chemical substance in their systems,
called…sorry, I can’t pronounce it…but, it’s the same thing that makes them
immune to such plants as poison ivy, sumac, that sort of thing? If one of these
humans is turned to vampirism, their venom lacks the pain killer that would
allow them to create a pet. In fact, their bite is so painful that it is best
to kill a victim quickly and feed later, which is not as enjoyable a meal as it
could be. Or, so I am told.” He sighed. “I
am one of those unfortunate individuals with no pain killer in my venom.”
He shrugged. “Oh, well. I don’t enjoy
feeding as much as my brethren.” He leaned closer, again, and smiled. “But, I
really…really enjoy inflicting pain.”
He straightened and turned to Chelsea. “Have you gotten anything, yet?”
She shook her head.
He grinned, turning back to Luke. “Good.
Let’s get started, then. This may hurt a little.” His jaws opened wide, his
fangs clicking into place. He sank them deep into Luke’s neck, oh so slowly.
Luke’s screams
carried on the breeze, past the surf and out to sea, where no one could hear.Stay tuned for more, readers. Feel free to leave a comment below.
And, thanks.
I am so glad The Author missed Clifford & Claire ! I was sucked in shortly into first novel in series. Rivers of Red Is just as compelling & I hated for it to end ! I am now reading The Cargo by same Incredible Author & will be on the lookout for any other material !
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