Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…a fun way to sample new books and find new authors! (Also welcome to the Sunday Snippet visitors!)
The snippet is from Two Against the Stars (story below the excerpt), my latest release. I’m continuing on from last week although I’ve skipped ahead a bit. After leaving the hotel and pawning Dobkin’s watch, Carialle rides the city’s mass transit all day, working her way into the seedier areas of town. She leaves the transport, buys lunch and studies the situation. (Edited somewhat from the published version.)
After finishing her meal, surprised at how healthy her appetite was after the traumatic events of the day, she wandered through the area, which boasted small shops with the proprietors’ living quarters above. The neighborhood was crowded and lively with street musicians playing for credits. Carialle kept her eyes open for any signs of Combine activity but detected none. Oh, there were scammers and pickpockets, but when she touched them lightly with her highly attuned senses, the petty crooks had no thought of the Combine.
Reassured she’d made a good choice, she strolled further, observing the mix of older, poorly maintained buildings and the newer, refurbished places. She encountered no police, which for her was just as reassuring as not seeing Combine enforcers. Who could predict how the mysterious authorities would view what she’d done as a Combine tool? And she’d probably be suspected of killing Dobkin, which was another huge problem.
High in the azure sky, the glint of an ascending spacecraft drew her attention for a moment. Averting her gaze, she blinked away tears – this planet was going to be her home for the rest of her life.
The story:
Empathic priestess Carialle has escaped the evil Amarotu Combine, but she’s hardly out of danger. Not when she risks everything to rescue a drugged man from a crooked veterans’ clinic. By lulling the clinic staff to sleep, she reveals her powers. And once again, criminals are after her and her rescuer.
Marcus Valerian, a wounded Special Forces veteran, never expected to have his life threatened by the clinic that’s supposed to help ex-soldiers like him. But when he wakes from a drugged state to find a lovely woman urging him to run–he does. In his family’s remote fishing cabin, he suffers the agony of withdrawal, soothed only by her powers.
In their idyllic hideaway, the two also discover a nova-hot attraction flaring. But can they stay alive long enough for it to become more? Not if the Combine has anything to say–they are not giving up until Marcus is dead and Carialle is their weapon
Buy Links:
Amazon iBooks Barnes & Noble Kobo
The planet may be foreign to her, but at least she had some abilities to help her survive. Great snippet! 🙂
I loved how subtly your showed us that she feels trapped on this planet.
Agree with Ed, you did well to convey her feelings.
Great snippet. Can’t wait to see what happens next
Your heroine takes life in stride, survive and thrive, admirably so fine. Another hit, my friend. Big Hugs.
I sense her resigned sadness.
Love the world building and somber ending!
The last line was very poignant. Great snippet.
Love the visuals, and that last line was very powerful. Is she right to give up hope?
I wonder if the pickpockets, who are experts at slight of hand, felt her lightly touch them to read their thoughts? Sorry folks, my mind goes off on different tangents sometimes…
That was a fun tangent!
Vivid description of the street scene.
Thanks for all the comments! I’ll be late on making all of mine this week, on a deadline..but I’ll get there, I promise.
Seems like she found the right neighborhood to disappear into, but how will she survive? I’ll be interested to see her navigate this world.
Oh that last paragraph is so poignant and in a few words draws us immediately into her feelings of loss and sadness. Beautiful.
I admire how she makes the best of the situation. She’s stronger than she thinks. Good snippet.
Somehow I don’t think her life is going to go as she’s planning! Those last lines are quite wistful and sad.
Great world building. I can also sense her sadness in this snippet too.
Poignant last few lines. Really lets the reader know how she feels.
Tweeted.
That is a very handy ability for someone who is escaping!
Wow, LOVE that final line! Up until then I would have never known she felt so out of place. Wonderful!