Demon Kin

I had a little sick and twisted thought. What if, during the Crusades, the angels and demons battled on the field but it didn’t work out so well for the angels. I created a race of half angels, half demons trapped in Hell because of a pact between Heaven and Hell. Lucifer gets to keep the product from a lost battle of Heaven so long as they never see the light of the human world. The problem is, this race (the name I chose is beyond stupid so I’m not posting it) is pure when born and if a human finds a book on summoning, they can call these creatures up and ask for one wish. It taints the half breed but the humans don’t know that.

Enter Maurizio–the last of his kind. Tormented and tortured by his demon, he longs for freedom. The most powerful of the half breeds, the magic of his demon master keeps him in check. The problem? It gives him the aura of being as pure as he was at birth.

An excerpt (because I’m not sure if this will be the beginning or not):

Maurizio hunched over, silently working the sharp piece of metal he’d stolen from Lucretius on the heavy shackles around his wrists. His skin smoked and bled as he shifted the cuffs for a better angle and he clenched his teeth. His swirling silver eyes shimmered black as he grunted from the pain. His tormentor would be back and as long as his shackles remained, he was a weak as a yearling (That word I’m not using).

Not for the first time, Maurizio muttered Lucretius’ name under his breath like a curse from the lower pits of Hell. He growled impatiently, his canines bared. He wouldn’t let the creeping insanity consume him and he yanked futilely at the chains. He clenched his hands, digging the metal shard into his palm. His teeth flashed again as the pain calmed him. Plucking the shiny splinter out, he began to work the chains again when a tingling sensation akin to vertigo stabbed him and Maurizio froze.

Again, I thought the characters were strong in this one, I just lost interest and it needs a spit shine. It stands at 35,887 words.

Triggers

The novel that comes before Once a Thief. The original premise of the story was the main character–Adrian Santiago–gets amnesia and begins to get his memory back. Little by little, either by visual stimulation or smells, he gets bits of his memory back and realizes the man who called himself his Uncle had a hand at getting his mom killed. Cue the revenge with a side of click click boom, please.

Triggers stands at 29,110 words and is a complete mess. It definitely falls under the category of I couldn’t kill my baby. I got so wrapped up in certain scenes, I forgot about the big picture and getting it from Point A to Point B. It’ll get there….eventually.

the first paragraph/ 100 words:

The bars slid open and Adrian walked into the waiting room. Across the way, his mother stood with a bundle of clothes in her arms. The clothes he wore now were visibly worn. Hand-me-downs from the juvenile detention center when his mother failed to return any of their inquiries as he grew in the two years he was sentenced here. She walked over to him with a warm smile and he shook his head.

“I brought these for you.” She said, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. Adrian jerked away from her attempt and walked around her.

What I did with this one is show how Adrian hated his mother because of what she was but loved her for who she was to him. So in that way, I think I nailed it. Maybe someday it will see the light of day.

Fate’s Path II

The next book–maybe–in the series. I had thought about making a trilogy, merging the two characters from I & II but it fizzled. There are enough interesting characters in both unfinished books that putting them together might make it a massive clusterfuck ALA Wheel of Time Series. Sad but true.

This one is much smaller, standing at 27,550 words. The main character is Kord Deveraux, a thief (Yes, I love the thieves). Once a prominent figure in Embry, he’s fallen on bad times. He’s lost his one true love and his freedom. The only problem is, the woman he almost married didn’t love him. She used him. Cue the evil villainess, please. Oh yes, I created a bunch of demon-worshipping women who sacrificed their first born males–or any males for that matter–to their god while still in the womb. She needs Kord and his abilities to break in and break out to gather artifacts to call up a servant to her god. Yeah, the epic quest to stop the big baddie from destroying things.

With this one I wove in a backstory of Kord’s family and where they were from–Selung. The book opens with Kord as a child witnessing the death of his father. It’s not until later in the book he finds out how his father came to Embry and starts his journey back to his parent’s homeland to redeem his family’s name.

Here’s the beginning paragraph:

The crowd cheered, a thunderous roar escalading throughout the darkened arena, Embry’s underground entertainment known simply as the Pit. Torches blazed along the oval trench and the obsidian stone glittered. A man dressed in colorful robes patrolled the seats, calling out the odds and taking numerous bets from frantic customers. Michel Kura turned briefly as the stands shook. A small smile crept on his lips as Baerius strode into the black sands below. The man from the east pleased the crowd to no end and fattened Michel’s purse. He had seen Baerius try to walk away from the ring several times but a challenge from another citizen of Embry always brought him back.