New York Times Bestselling author Beth Rider has a problem. Jack Dawn, supernatural monster belonging to a race of vampire-like beings called Rakum, has taken exception to her novel series "The Corescu Chronicles" and has vowed to hunt down and kill the young writer; punishing anyone who gets in his way. Aided by Jack's Rakum Lieutenant who doesn’t understand his infatuation with the young novelist but is compelled to help her anyway, Beth takes the fight to their world. In the face of peril and certain death, Beth and her new supernatural allies carry an unpopular Truth into the darkest places of man’s soul. Finally kidnapped and taken to the shadowy underground they call The Cave, Beth will face the ten Fathers of the Brotherhood, alive since before Christ walked the earth, and state her case with bravado only the Spirit of God can provide. Who will live and who will die is always up for grabs, but Beth knows where she is headed, and she wants to bring as many of the Rakum with her as possible.
[read full prologue at www.rabbitnovel.com]
There you have the back cover blurb about the upcoming vampire novel RABBIT:CHASING BETH RIDER. The term 'Rabbit' is given to the human who the Rakum (vampire) deems deserving of a slow, torturous death because of some crime he or she committed against the Brethren.
That is where Beth Rider comes in. The lovely and innocent young novelist is attacked and marked as a Rabbit and then released to be chased by the rest of the Brethren. I am leaking Chapter 5 today to show how the hero enters the story. The unlikely hero is a Rakum, born in 1879, and not a known softy. In fact is reputation as a brute is well established. But our story picks up when his world is turned upsidedown.
Some of the best heroes start out as monsters...
CHAPTER FIVE
Rabbit:Chasing Beth Rider, release date Dec.2009, http://www.rabbitnovel.com/
Michael inserted his time card and was satisfied with the loud click it made as he was clocked out. His shift had been uneventful, as they all were, and he was ready for a quick dinner before sunup. Because of his need to stay in during the day, he put in six three-hour nighttime shifts a week as Airport Security Personnel; working 8:30 to 11:30 nightly. The pay was average and it kept him in his cozy one-bedroom house in the city. What else did he need? The work was never-endingly boring and in five years, he’d never had an incident.
Montgomery was a quiet Southern town, end of story. Excitement was for the large international hubs in the northeast and west, and Michael was old enough to appreciate peace and tranquility. Dannelly Field was equipped to welcome only regional jets so between arrivals, the various gates emptied often any given hour. Tonight’s Delta CRJ from Atlanta due at 10:50 arrived forty-five minutes late because of weather delays in Georgia. But now as he locked his sidearm and utility belt away he could hear disembarked passengers milling about seeking their luggage. He re-entered the terminal from the restricted area and immediately noticed a familiar and pleasing aroma.
Because he knew the scent well from past experience, Michael stopped walking and leaned against the wall to his right, if nothing else than to give the aroma his full concentration. His stomach responded and grumbled uncomfortably inside him. It was a glorious and fulfilling aroma that tickled his head with an agreeable buzz. Michael sighed contentedly without even realizing it, his eyes now darting over the heads of passengers coming and going around him. Inhaling deeply, Michael stood off the wall to concentrate fully on who it might be. He was seeking his prey now; following the unmistakable scent of a Rabbit. And it was headed his way.
Michael smiled with confidence. He was the only one of his kind in the airport thus he was to have this Rabbit all to himself. What luck! Jesse who always came in on Tuesdays was expected within the hour. He had connected from New York City to Atlanta but his plane was also delayed by thunderstorms plaguing central Georgia.
Michael scrutinized the patrons as they filed past his position. A Rabbit was always easy to spot. They were contemptible creatures, the dregs of humanity, marked by the Elders for slow and deliberate execution by the Brethren. Michael had always been willing to be part of a Rabbit’s assassination crew.
It had been nearly a year since the last Rabbit came through the region, and Michael wasn’t the first on the scene that time. Boris caught the scoundrel, down at the old train yards, sneaking in and out of the abandoned warehouses like the rat he was. That particular Rabbit had been marked for treason. He was a pretty useful Cow before he turned on his master Rufus and tried to kill him. Michael heard through the grapevine that he had nearly succeeded by dousing his master with gasoline and setting him on fire. But Rufus was no mere Brother, but an Elder and an extremely powerful one at that. He had not been consumed beyond redemption, and in his anger, he tracked down and marked the Cow as a Rabbit for the others. Michael grinned as he remembered how they tormented the fat little man when Boris let them in on the game.
Me and Jesse, and that other guy…that loose cannon. What was his name? Tyson, yeah. We were merciless. That was a good time...
Michael allowed the vivid memories to come back fully as he waited for the new Rabbit to cross his path. They had gone at that guy again and again, even moving him to Tyson’s rented cottage for a few days to work him over even more. By the time the other brothers had their shot, the Rabbit was ready for the loony bin. The guy threw himself in front of a train the first chance he had to slip away. Broke his sorry back, severing his spine. One of the few ways to kill a Rabbit. It had been a shame to lose such an entertaining food source. But all of the brethren knew that despite the longevity and healing power the marking procedure provided, Rabbits had pretty short life spans.
Looking over the small crowd, Michael noticed a young woman standing across the wide hallway, a distraught look on her face. She was lovely and delicate; the kind of woman Michael enjoyed the company of when he had time, and she appeared to need some help. Her hair was long, wavy and dark blonde, and even from across the hall, Michael could see that she was beautiful by any man’s standards. He was also quick to note that she was shapely and attractive in a modest yet alluring pastel blue business suit, and she carried what looked like a laptop case in one hand and a soft leather briefcase in the other. Michael crossed the foot traffic to assist her and remained on the lookout for the Rabbit.
He was nearly at her side when the realization hit him full force. This beautiful woman, this innocent lamb, lost and alone in his busy airport terminal…this All-American beauty was his goal. Someone had marked her as a Rabbit. And as she turned into him to ask for help, Michael recognized the scent of the elder who marked her.
Jack Dawn.
His Elder. His Master.
It didn’t get any worse than that.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments welcome.