Excerpt The Uprising: Mated Hearts

Good Day

I’m so excited to be here and to share an excerpt of my debut novel The Uprising: Mated Hearts.

 February is the month of love a time for us to show the ones we care about how we feel about them. Whether it’s a card and some chocolate or romantic dinner or a simple smile and hug romance comes in many different ways. What’s the most romantic gesture you significant other can do or has done for you?

 For me it’s when I come down from a long day of writing to find my vacuuming, nothing sexier than a man doing house work.

 Don’t for get to leave a comment and get a chance to win a free copy of The Uprising: Mated Hearts.

 Blurb:

Five thousand years have passed since the Destroyer and his Disciples escaped a dying planet known as Earth. Humanity has become a force to be feared. One woman is all that stands between intergalactic war and peace.

 Liandra never asked to be a leader. Unfortunately, the Mother and Father of All have plans for her—plans that include uniting Liandra with two very different men who will help her defeat the Destroyer.

Everything changes for Starke the day he feels the other half of his soul. When Liandra is kidnapped, nothing will stop the hardheaded warrior from freeing her, even if it means war.

 Terral has lived as the Dark One for more than four decades, but a vision calls him to a new path. Determined to right the wrongs of his past, Terral raises an army to bring down the Destroyer-an army dedicated to serving one woman.

 Liandra.

Excerpt: Chapter 1

Starke strode into Azrath’s office. He slammed the data pad onto his mentor’s desk toppling a stack of data crystals. “Are you planning on releasing this information?”

“If I was, would I have sent you an unlinked secure data pad?” Azrathstood behind a waist high table, the area near dark save for the light being given off by the small bowl on the table.  The light from the image in the scrying bowl flashed over his mentor’s face, revealing his long white hair and deep creases age had set into his skin.

The simmering anger dimmed, Starke wasn’t annoyed by his former teacher’s actions. No it was the need to clean up after his brother-in-law again that irritated him Sect and family honor was sacrosanct in Iliani society, and Herzl’s failure would reflect not just on him but all of the Dar Balik Portalersect. As his nearest relative it was Starke’s job to restore the family honor. Which was why Starke had come straight to his mentors study after landing on Iliani prime, it was also the reason Azrath had sent it to him, they were Sect brothers.

 “No you wouldn’t have.” Starke strode across the room and flung himself into one of the two high backed chairs set along the far wall. “So what do you plan on doing about Herzl and this Juntagalon?”

As the head of all the Iliani Sects, Starke knew that it was Azrath’s duty to both their people and the new alliance to report Herzl’s mess up and the subsequent capture of the Juntagalon.  Why they’d given his brother-in-law the job of escorting her to the meeting he couldn’t fathom.  Despite the strength of his abilities, the Portaler was a complete and total screw up. Look at this latest failure, the man had taken a the simple task of escorting a politician from one end of a planet to the other and managed to get themselves captured by Drakar, the Destroyers right hand man.

It was times like this when he wished he could kill the man and be done with it. Regrettably, he doubted his sister would survive her husband’s death. Love really was blind and deaf and stupid.

“Why don’t you come here and look at this, then you can tell me what you think I should do. That is the reason you came here isn’t it.”  Azrath’s grin reached all the way to his deep green gaze.

Stake moved across the room, his mentor knew him well. A small light globe formed and floated up from Starke’s hand. It shed scant illumination on the dim area above the scrying bowl.

A black image filled the bowl, drawing Starke’s gaze.  The image cleared, a round chamber took shape with bright white light centered over a naked figure.  Slender pulsing filaments attached along her spinal column.

Starke hunched closer to the image, not sure what drew him. He could feel his hunter senses kicking in, his eyes dilated and his breathing grew shallow. A gruff half whisper left his lips “Her?”

He moved closer to the bowl to get a better look. Starke’s breath sent ripples through the viscous silver fluid, distorting the small figure. Azrath touched two fingers to his arm. Starke shifted back, the image settled.

“Yes.”

He studied the crumpled form. He’d been in the Randali galaxy for the past six months, helping to assemble and coordinate their fleet. More used to trading information and technologies, the Randali had no grasp of the concept of discipline and cooperation. Starke had been too busy trying to reeducate their leaders to look up any information on this Liandra Cho Hi.  Far as he was concerned she was just another useless politician.

Now looking at her tiny, fragile looking body, it was hard to believe that she’d been the one to unite the scattered races and bring them into the Coalition. It was even harder to believe she’d, if the reports read true, been able to give the Coalition the teeth it needed to finally break the Destroyer’s strong hold on the galaxy.

A shiver of revulsion pebbled along Starke’s skin at the thought of the former human industrialist Fredrick Jonas Windham III. The man and the thing he’d become an abomination. How humanity had allowed itself to be taken in and warped by him Starkecouldn’t fathom.  But they had, following a path of consumerism and consumption without care for their world. And now five thousand years later the majority of humanity had become as twisted in mind and spirit as their leader Windham aka the Destroyer.  The half human, half other realm being, known as the Dream Lord, had brought humanity into space where it promptly began to attack and destroy any race that didn’t acquiesce to its demands.

As if she could sense them spying on her she turned, drawing Stark’s thought back to the present, her body arching from the too sudden movement.  Her magnificent face distorted in agony.

 “They’ve attached her to pain inducers. She probably won’t survive. ” Starke’s fury bled out of his pours, the air stank of bad yeast and stale bread. His, goddess dammed, brother-in-law had taken incompetence to a new level this time. Starke had been against his sister’s union with the tenth level Dar Balik Portaler, but that hadn’t mattered much. The same laws that ruled Iliani society and kept order among the clans demanded once a match was discovered a union was made. While he didn’t always like them, Starke believed in the necessity of the strict laws that ruled Iliani society.   “But as honor demands I’ll bring her body to her family.

 “She will live if you get to her fast enough.”

 Subtle as it was, Starke noted the tension in Azrath’s voice. As a fifteenth level Dar Balik Portaler, a warrior of the Iliani people Starke’s senses were keen and trained to pick up the subtlest clues.  “There’s more to this than just a captured diplomat isn’t there?”

“You are correct, Liandra is not just a politician she is the leader of both her people, and if my guess is correct, soon to be elected as the new head of the Coalition.” 

Azrath’s words surprised Starke. “Really, that’s quite a turnaround from the normal Andalian isolationist view. I know they’ve had to make some changes since Drakar set up shop on Andalia and that they’ve been in near constant battle with him and the rest of the Destroyer’s troops on planet. But I hadn’t realized things had changed that much.”

 That he was out of date didn’t surprise him. Starke had been working at what felt like a flat out run since his induction as a Dar Balik Portaler.

Azrath ran a finger through the silvery liquid in the scrying bowl. The image dissolved and Starke wished his teacher hadn’t done that, he’d wanted to watch her more. He shook his head, disturbed by the odd thought.

 “I expect lots of races have had to make adjustments to their beliefs, especially with the Destroyer stepping up his efforts to take control of all known sectors of the universe. Your decade working with the Randali and Tagian must have shown you that.”

 Starke laughed. “Quite the contrary in fact, the Randali are as out for themselves as ever.” Starke shrugged. “As for the Tagian’s, the tree dwellers literally can’t see the forest through the trees. I find it hard to believe that a race as planet bound as the Andalian’s are would change that much.”

 “You’d be surprised what one determined woman can do.”