KNIGHT OF DARKNESS
BY
LINDA MOONEY
Blurb:
Sorrow Knight knew that at any time the U'Nar would attack Earth, but he needed a few more days to come out of chrystasis before he could fight the deadly enemy. With his soul sword, Rall, he and the handful of other Surge Knights would gather wherever the enemy landed, and drive them off this world. A world with so many wonderful sights and surprises. A world that contained a woman named Rachel, who had captured his heart and his imagination, but who was forbidden to him by his laws.
Sorrow Knight knew that at any time the U'Nar would attack Earth, but he needed a few more days to come out of chrystasis before he could fight the deadly enemy. With his soul sword, Rall, he and the handful of other Surge Knights would gather wherever the enemy landed, and drive them off this world. A world with so many wonderful sights and surprises. A world that contained a woman named Rachel, who had captured his heart and his imagination, but who was forbidden to him by his laws.
Rachel Grohl often wondered about the skinny, dishwater-blond young man
living in the apartment across the breezeway from her. His shyness, as
well as his clean but well-worn clothes, tugged at her heart. They'd
barely spoken a dozen words to each other since he moved in a few weeks
ago, but she had to thank him for helping her the other day. Maybe
asking him over to dinner would work.
They shared one dinner, one touch, and one kiss that would lead to one
night of love. A love which could ultimately avert the total eradication
of the human race.
Warning: Contains tiny men skirts, lasagna, human metamorphosis, glass
table tops, IOUs, comrades-in-arms, bomb shelters, and an invading alien
force that will haunt everyone's nightmares.
EXCERPT:
You should be resting.
“I can’t sleep.”
Even out here, the sword could talk to
him. Their connection was not limited by distance.
Sorrow, there is nothing you can
do.
There was a long minute of silence
before Sorrow spoke again.
“I can’t sleep.”
Sorrow, you can’t have her.
He continued to watch the city. The
lights. The people. The unceasing bustle of life filled with purpose and
promise. The city boasted it never slept. It didn’t lie.
“They have no idea what’s going to
happen to them,” he softly murmured.
And we can’t tell them because they
will never believe us. Even if they did, their reactions could put them in
greater danger.
“Seven days.”
Six, the sword corrected him.
It was after midnight. The clocks had ushered in a new day.
“Regardless, I have six more days to
be with her.”
He waited for the sword to protest, to
remind him that there would never be a future with the woman. Only if he was very,
very lucky would the woman, and the rest of this planet’s civilization, have
any hope for a future after next week.
What do you hope to accomplish in six
days?
“I don’t know,” Sorrow truthfully
answered. He pressed his clenched fists into his abdomen, knowing that the
sword was reading him with perfect clarity. “She’s affected me in ways I never
thought possible. How is that possible, Rall? Tell me! I’m a Surge Knight. I am
the front and foremost line of defense for this world! So tell me how I am able
to think these thoughts. To feel this…” He dug his knuckles into his lower
belly. The thick, rigid pole of flesh rising stiffly from his groin continued
to plague him, and had ever since Rachel kissed him. It hurt, filling him with
as much emotional pain as physical.
Was it his imagination, or did the
sword sigh?
You are still a man. Before you
were a Surge Knight, you were male. Once your metamorphosis is complete, you
will still be a man. Yes, she has touched you in a way that confuses you, but
it cannot change what will be. What must be.
The sword paused, then cautiously
asked, Do you wish for me to
find another abode?
“No. There’s no sense in it. In six
days the U’Nar will be here. Moving now may raise suspicion.”
A car honked as it drove by. Someone
walking along the sidewalk waved to it before he disappeared around the corner.
Further down the block, two people, a man and a woman, exited a restaurant.
They were laughing and holding onto each other tightly. Sorrow watched them
kiss while they paused at the street corner and waited for the light to change.
Involuntarily, he raised a hand to his own lips as he recalled the sweet
pressure of Rachel’s mouth on his.
“Rall, once I emerge and we defeat the
U’Nar, and I return to Aparandia, I will be allowed to take a consort,
correct?”
The sword remained silent, as Sorrow
knew it often did if the answer was positive. But the weapon must have known
what his next question would be.
Once we defeat the U'Nar, you will
leave this world, and there is no returning, Sorrow. This planet will need to
recover on its own, without any further help from us. Our duty here will be
done.
Sorrow bowed his head. At this point,
he couldn’t tell if the pressure inside his chest was part of the chrystasis,
or caused by something else. Or someone else.
Someone named Rachel.
He took a deep breath. By all the
stars in the heavens, he felt as one with this world. With the city and its
inhabitants. Even in his present state, he was comfortable here. More
comfortable and content than he ever had on his home world. And that, Rall told
him, was a rarity in itself.
We are being hailed by Panitor.
“Connect.”
A soft, swishing sound filled the
small apartment while Rall and the other sword locked transmissions.
“Sorrow?”
“Hello, Pan. What’s wrong? Is
everything all right with you?” There would be no reason for the other knight
to contact him unless there was an emergency.
“Plenty,” the other Surge Knight
confessed in a worried voice. “Kleet tells me there’s been a sighting.”
Sorrow was instantly on his feet and
climbing through the window, back into the apartment. “Where?”
“Majorca, Spain.”
“Who do we have in that vicinity?”
Sorrow queried, more to his weapon than to his fellow knight.
Clodon.
“Clodon,” Panitor answered almost
simultaneously. “But we can’t raise him or his sword.”
“Is Kleet certain it was the U’Nar?”
Sorrow asked.
“That’s what he said before he signed
off.”
If Clodon met with the U’Nar before
he left chrystasis, he had no chance of defeating them, or of survival, Rall informed them both.
“Is there a chance he could have given
away his identity to the U’Nar if he did try to accost them?”
Not if he was still in chrystasis,
a different voice answered. It was Panitor’s soul sword.
“Where is Kleet now?”
“In Great Britain,” Panitor said.
“Clodon gave the warning before we lost all communication with him.”
Sorrow glared at his weapon. “You told
me we had six more days.”
We do have six more days, Rall restated. If Clodon did
try to accost the U’Nar, he must have met an advance scout.
“And
there’s no chance the creatures could have learned we were planetside?” Panitor
asked.
There is no way they can find out.
That is part of the metamorphosis. As long as you are in chrystasis, their
sensors cannot detect you, Panitor’s weapon reassured them.
“What if he had his sword with him?”
Panitor insisted. “Wouldn’t the sword’s power alert them?”
The full power of any sword is not
activated until its knight emerges from chrystasis, Rall said. Until then, he would appear no
different from any other human from this world trying to defend himself.
“Do we have any confirmation other
than Clodon’s belief the U’Nar may already be trying to infiltrate this world?
Other than the fact that we’ve also lost all connection with Clodon and his
sword?” asked Sorrow.
“None,” Panitor replied.
Sorrow shook his head. “If Clodon
believed it so, then we have no choice but to act on that belief. No Surge
Knight would dare to put out a warning unless it was inescapable.”
“But we won’t be ready,” Panitor said
in near-panic. “We don’t have time to emerge.”
Sooner and sooner the Un’Nar are
attacking the outer worlds, Rall
said. With each assault, they
gain greater knowledge of us. The Elders knew that eventually the enemy would
land on a world before the Surge Knights had gone through full metamorphosis.
“What
was their response?” Sorrow asked his weapon. “Did the Elders have a plan of
action for such an event?”
It was Panitor’s weapon that replied.
To stay in hiding until full metamorphosis was complete.
Sorrow stared in wide-eyed horror at
the faintly glowing sheath containing his sword. “Do the Elders have any idea
how much death and destruction the U’Nar could wreak until then? We have six
days until they arrive! And we won’t complete our transformation for another
eleven! Everyone on this world could be extinct in the five more days it'll
take for us to emerge!”
The vision of Rachel lying blistered
and dead in the wake of a U’Nar attack came to him like a hard blow to the
stomach. Gasping, Sorrow dropped to the floor as his legs gave way. Thankfully,
Rall didn’t react to his actions, although the sword replied to his questions.
If the U’Nar begin their attack in
six days, and we have no reason to believe it will not happen at that time,
then you have no choice but to lie in wait until gestation is complete.
Otherwise, you will perish. And any chance this world had to survive total
annihilation will be gone.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Linda loves to write sensuously erotic romance with a fantasy,
paranormal, or science fiction flair. Her technique is often described
as being as visual as a motion picture or graphic novel. By day she is a
Kindergarten teacher, wife, and mother who lives in a small south Texas
town near the Gulf coast. But at night she delves into alternate worlds
filled with daring exploits, adventure, and intense love.
She has numerous best sellers, including 10 consecutive #1s. In 2009,
she was named Whiskey Creek Press Torrid's Author of the Year, and her
book MY STRENGTH, MY POWER, MY LOVE was named the 2009 WCPT Book of the
Year. In 2011, her book LORD OF THUNDER was named the Epic Ebook "Eppie"
Award Winner for Best Erotic Sci-Fi Romance.
Buy Links -
Buy Links -
Now available at:
Barnes and Noble: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/knigh t-of-darkness-linda-mooney/ 1115810327?ean=2940016684208
All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.c om/product-knightofdarkness-12 25470-340.html
And via PayPal: http://lindamooney.com/autogra phedorder.htm
Contact Info -
Web - LindaMooney.com
Blog - LindaMooney.blogspot.com
FB - facebook.com/MusicAndPress and facebook.com/OtherWorldsofRoma nce
Blog Talk Radio - blogtalkradio.com/other_worlds _of_romance
I'm also on Twitter, Goodreads, and MySpace
Barnes and Noble: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/knigh
All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.c
And via PayPal: http://lindamooney.com/autogra
Contact Info -
Web - LindaMooney.com
Blog - LindaMooney.blogspot.com
FB - facebook.com/MusicAndPress and facebook.com/OtherWorldsofRoma
Blog Talk Radio - blogtalkradio.com/other_worlds
I'm also on Twitter, Goodreads, and MySpace
GIVEAWAY DETAILS
I am giving away a bag of SWAG & $5 AMAZON GC to one lucky commenter.
Linda will also be awarding a e copy of Knight of Darkness!
Linda will also be awarding a e copy of Knight of Darkness!
please leave your email address with your comment so I can contact you.
GIVEAWAY ends Wednesday July 1, at 11:59 PM Eastern time.
Very nice excerpt
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Just found your site.. and as a paranormal fan I love it.. looking forward in following.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing read this is going to be. Fabulous excerpt thank you.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR NEW BOOK AND THANKS FOR THE GIVEAWAY! SHELLEY S. calicolady60@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt and post. Thanks for the giveaway. I have added this book to my TBR. Good luck with the new book. evamillien at gmail dot com
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