As many of my readers know, I’ve actually had a number of series in mind that I intend to publish when time allows. Unfortunately, time has not been exceptionally kind or generous in the past, but I’m still hoping to bring to those other stories to light while continuing my three current series (Kid Sensation, Warden, and Fringe Worlds).
Occasionally, I post excerpts from those other stories/series. For instance, I previously posted a portion of one called The Seventh Shade. In fact, I just posted a chapter from that one today on my Patreon page (as well as a brief overview of Kid Sensation #10), but I also wanted to put something here as well. With that in mind, I’ve put an excerpt below from an urban fantasy/paranormal series that’s tentatively entitled Carver. (As usual, this has not been edited, etc.)
I sensed something was off the moment Rayna and I stepped into my apartment, and it only took a moment to figure out what it was: someone was present. I fought the impulse to reach for the light switch and instead spent a moment glancing around.
There! I thought. A pair of glowing blue eyes in the living room. Confident that I now knew what I was dealing with, I turned the light on.
“Finally,” Rayna uttered, stepping around me and into the apartment proper. “For a second there I was wondering if you were going to have me puttering around in the dark for…”
She trailed off as she finally noticed that I wasn’t really paying attention to her. Instead, my attention was focused on a man sitting in an easy chair in my living room.
Varlo.
He was a little taller than me – maybe six-four – with shoulder-length blond hair and a face that most women found irresistible. The glow that had been in his blue eyes – a feature that allowed him to see in the dark – was now gone. He looked to be in his mid-twenties (although I knew for a fact that he was far older) and had a chiseled physique that he tended to regularly put on display. In fact, he was wearing nothing at the moment but a leather vest – open, of course – and jeans.
“Pay the wench and send her home,” Varlo ordered, coming to his feet. “We need to talk.”
“Hold on,” Rayna grumbled, glaring at him. “Who the fuck are you talking about?”
Varlo merely looked at me. “If you don’t want this bitch dead, you better get her out of here.”
Most times, when people hear those words, usually in movies or on television, the character is exaggerating. Varlo, I knew, was not.
“You should go,” I said to Rayna, taking her by the elbow.
“No,” she stressed, yanking her arm away from me. “Not with this asshole talking to me like I’m some damn prostitute.”
“So what are you, his girlfriend?” Varlo asked, raising an eyebrow.
“And if I am?” Rayna shot back, crossing her arms defiantly.
Oh shit! I said to myself. For reasons she couldn’t understand, there was almost nothing worse that Rayna could have said at that moment.
Varlo gave me a cold stare. “You’re permitted to have relations with women. You aren’t allowed to have actual relationships with them.”
“What the hell?” Rayna said, frowning, then glanced at me. “What’s he talking about?”
“If you’ve been violating the rules again,” Varlo said, “Something’s going to have to be done.” With that, he began walking towards Rayna.
Before I knew what I was doing, I stepped protectively in front of her.
“No,” I said flatly.
“No?” Varlo repeated, almost incredulously. “No? Who the fuck do you think you are?”
“You heard me,” I grumbled, growing angry. “I’m sick of you people and your rules, controlling every facet of my life.”
“Your life?” he echoed. “You don’t have a life, you dumb fuck. You wake up every day, you open your eyes, you exist only because we allow it. Every breath you take is a fucking gift – and if you’re not careful, it can be taken back.”
I gave him a smoldering look. “Fuck y– Oomph!”
My words were cut as Varlo, moving faster than I’d have thought possible, dashed over and slammed a fist into my stomach. Pain exploded in my midsection as all the air went rushing from my body.
“Get away from him, you asshole!” Rayna yelled, then slapped Varlo.
Varlo’s hand shot out, gripping Rayna around the throat.
“Bitch, you had your chance to walk out of here,” he said matter-of-factly as he lifted her off the floor. “Now you’ll have to be carried out – in pieces.”
“No!” I shouted, raising a hand. A moment later, a bolt of blue energy shot out from my palm, striking Varlo in the chest.
The shot seemed to stagger him, causing him to step back, but he kept his grip on Rayna’s neck. He glanced down at the blackened scorch mark on his sternum, where he’d been struck. He then looked at me and smiled as I slowly straightened up.
“Well, well, well,” he muttered. “Looks like someone’s learned some new tricks.”
All of a sudden, he tossed Rayna aside like a rag doll; she hit the floor and rolled over a couple of times before coming to a stop; seemingly half-conscious and coughing uncontrollably, she gingerly raised a hand to her throat.
Focusing on me, Varlo stepped forward and gripped my neck in his hand. A second later, I found myself hoisted off the ground, effectively having taken Rayna’s place. Almost instinctively, I began trying to pry his hand away from my neck, even though I knew it was wasted effort. Varlo was stronger than I was – far stronger than any normal human, in fact.
“Now why’d you have to do that?” he asked rhetorically. “I was in a good mood, but now you’ve pissed me off. See, I wasn’t supposed to kill you – just talk – but now… Well, shit happens.”
His hand began to squeeze tighter around my neck. Desperate, I tried a new tactic. Closing my eyes, I clapped my hands in front of his face. Almost immediately, a brilliant blinding flash filled the room.
Varlo screeched in pain and dropped me. Opening my eyes, I saw that I’d been successful to a certain extent. Varlo was vigorously rubbing his eyes, plainly blinded at the moment.
“You little shit!” he exclaimed. “Wait until I get my hands on you! I’m going to tear your fucking arms off!”
Again, with Varlo, this was not, in all likelihood, a toothless threat. Not wanting to give him an opportunity to make good on his promise, I scrambled over to Rayna and started helping her up. She wasn’t rubbing her eyes, so presumably she’d still been semi-conscious, with her eyes closed, when I had created the flash. Once she was on her feet, I began hustling us towards the door. We were almost there when Varlo, apparently sensing what we were doing, turned in our direction. More to the point, his eyes began to glow blue, letting me know he was using his extra-sensory sight.
“There you are!” he exclaimed, and then charged.
I shoved Rayna out the way just before Varlo rammed me with a shoulder, knocking me into – and through – the wall, breaking plaster and wood in the process. He then gripped me by my shirt and tossed me across the room. I hit the top edge of the sofa, tipping it over, before smashing into a leg of the breakfast table and breaking it off. The table teetered for a second, but – amazingly – managed to remain upright. Somewhat dazed, I saw Varlo stalking towards me with a look of fury on his face. There was no doubt what the outcome would be if he got his hands on me again.
Desperate, I closed my eyes and concentrated, calling for my boomstick. It was in my bedroom, but responded immediately, flying straight to my hand. (That is, it literally flew straight to my hand, going right through the wall in the process, as well as a few pieces of furniture.)
Varlo was almost on me at that point. I didn’t know whether he’d seen the boomstick come to me, but it probably wouldn’t have mattered if he had. He apparently had tunnel vision at the moment, and nothing was going to deter him from his current course of action (which in all likelihood centered on me being dead). I pointed my boomstick at him and blasted him in the face. Varlo went flying backwards, somersaulting through the air before striking the far wall and sliding down to the floor.
I stayed there staring for a moment, arm still outstretched; after a few seconds, however, it became clear that Varlo wasn’t getting back up. I lay back on the floor, catching my breath, and then began slowly coming to my feet. I had made it halfway up, with one knee still on the ground, when I felt someone grab my arm, helping me rise.
It was, of course, Rayna, having seemingly recovered from almost being choked out, among other things. With her help, I staggered over to where Varlo had fallen, unable to resist seeing how much damage the boomstick had done. When she saw him, Rayna drew in a harsh breath and her eyes went wide. Varlo’s head was gone.
“Holy shit!” she exclaimed. “You did that to him?”
I nodded. “Yeah, although I wish it hadn’t gone that far.”
“Man, I thought your other friends were assholes, but this guy took the cake.”
“Agreed,” I said. “Anyway, we should get out of here before he comes to.”
“Huh?” Rayna muttered, looking at Varlo’s body and then back at me.
“His head’s going to grow back soon,” I explained, “and he’ll be in an even shittier mood than before. I prefer not to be around when that happens.”
Rayna gave me an incredulous look. “You’re kidding, right?”
“You can stick around and find out if you’re that curious, but I wouldn’t advise it.”
She seemed to contemplate for a moment, then stated, “I’ll take your word for it.”
“Good,” I said. “And by the way, he’s not my friend. He’s my older brother.”
That was fairly amusing. I look forward to seeing more