Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Book Highlight: The Hour of Tiamat
We've all heard of the Mayan predictions of a vast change coming in the year 2012; but it turns out the ancient Sumerian people had a very similar prophecy...
The dreaded Necronomicon, a book of fable said to contain all the ancient knowledge of the Sumerian civilization has surfaced and fallen into the hands of four teenagers in a small Texas town. Tonight, after years of studying its dark teachings in secret, they gather to call back to Earth those Gods that tried to enslave humanity over ten thousand years ago, and in turn become rulers themselves.
Under threat of his life, Tristan helps them complete the ritual; but does that mean it is too late to stop this apocalypse? With Evelyn, whose past and future seem inextricably linked to Tristan, their friend Hunter and a host of surprising paranormal helpers, Tristan will race against murderers, monsters, and time itself to shut the ancient gate before our evil creators are upon us again.
Excerpt:
Tristan kept his breathing shallow as he trailed behind Malaki and Tara, keeping in the trees and watching where he stepped. The animals, it seemed, were just as restless as the day before, and he had to fight not to jump every time some creature brushed him.
The more his eyes adjusted to the darkness, the more animals he saw on either side of him. They seemed to be following Malaki and Tara too, but he shook his head at the thought. They couldn’t be. The wolves and deer, rodents and birds, reptiles and bobcats, they had no reason to follow. What could they possibly know? Yet he saw all of those and more as he walked slowly and quietly, and he had to fight harder and harder to keep his breathing quiet.
“We’re here,” he heard Tara breathe quietly ahead of him. Sure enough, just up the path was the tell-tale clump of bushes that hid their cave of stashed goods. Well, it was now or never. The pistol was in the bags inside the cave, but he still had his knife on him. Why did it always have to be by knife?
He hesitated for a moment at the thought of killing again, a familiar churning in his stomach, but the rage coursing through him erased any hesitation. They would give anything to kill the only two people in the world he loved. He realized that this time, it was probably kill or be killed, and he found it didn’t matter.
“Branches in this bush are broken, they’ve been here,” Malaki said as he jogged ahead of Tara, starting to make his way through the brush. Okay, Tristan thought. Then Tara is first. And without a sound, he cocked back his arm, cold metal held between his fingertips, and flung the shining blade from the darkness, running after it even as the point sunk into Tara’s side, sending her sprawling sideways.
“What the…” Malaki started, turning at Tara’s muffled gasp of surprise, but by the time Malaki was free of the bushes again, Tristan was pulling his knife from Tara’s side, cold eyes trained on Malaki. Tara wasn’t dead, but didn’t seem to be able to move, and she grasped her side, breathing heavily, trying to hold in the steady stream of warm blood. Her dark eyes focused on the two momentarily before her head fell to the ground.
“This isn’t worth this crap,” she muttered to herself as she scooped up dirt from the ground placing it on the wound. Sure, it might get infected, she thought, but if the blood turned the dirt to mud, maybe it would help clot the wound and stop the bleeding.
Malaki paid no attention to Tara, but cocked his head in surprise at Tristan. He glanced back to the cave opening, then to Tristan.
“Well, clearly you’re still bent on saving the world, so what happened? Your little girly in there get mad at you and stop putting out?” He sneered. Tristan didn’t respond, but his blood boiled and eyes grew angrier. “Ah,” Malaki continued as if he’d just had a revelation. “I see. So she is the bitch’s daughter after-all.” He laughed at Tristan, who stood stone still. “Well that had to be awkward.” Tristan struggled to control his breathing. Don’t let him get to you, he repeated to himself. You have to stay focused. Don’t rush. As long as he’s out here, he’s not hurting them.
Unfortunately the same thought seemed to have occurred to Malaki.
“Look, I don’t have time for this,” Malaki said, stepping away from the bushes and slowly starting to circle Tristan. “So if we’re going to do this, let’s get it over with, huh?” Tristan smiled, a slightly crazier gleam in his eye than he’d probably ever displayed before.
“My pleasure,” he snarled, and for once in his life, he attacked first. Malaki jumped back in surprise, narrowly avoiding Tristan’s feint to the right, and sparks flew as their daggers collided again and again. They moved in a large circle, with Malaki continuously dodging and moving backwards and Tristan continually pressing for what seemed like forever but was probably less than a minute. Finally, Malaki got in a shot and a well placed boot to the gut threw Tristan back far enough to give him a break.
“Give it up, man,” Malaki taunted Tristan as he recovered from the blow. “If I don’t kill her, the Ancient Ones will. What’s the point? Consider it a favor when I kill you, after what you’ve done. Nothing I can do will be as painful as what the Ancient Ones will do to you.”
Tristan shook his head, breathing hard, but keeping his eyes on Malaki. “And nothing they can do will be as painful as what I’ve already done to myself.” He glared into Malaki’s cocky eyes. “Dying isn’t as scary when you’ve got nothing to lose,” he growled as he lunged forward again.
Purchase The Hour of Tiamat at:
About the Author:
Lisa is a recent graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Her degree is in physics, but her long love of writing was re-kindled when she was honorably discharged from the military. She uses her experience in the military and the science community to write compelling science fiction and fantasy. She is the author of The Hour of Tiamat, which is an interesting blend of paranormal fiction and science fiction. She has also published a collection of horror poetry, Book of Dreams and Nightmares. Currently she lives in Kentucky where she is writing a young adult fantasy trilogy and works at the local library.
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