Warlord’s Bounty – Fourth Scene Of The First Chapter
Warlord’s Bounty, the second story in the Chamele Barbarian Warlords series, will be releasing on May 14th.
I’m sharing the first chapter while we wait.
You can read the first scene here: http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=6815
Today, I’m sharing the fourth and final scene of the first chapter.
***
“Murad will be used as bait.” Berke disagreed with Khan’s participation in the plan. “The bounty hunter will try to limit our access to her ship’s systems. Countering that requires Murad’s skills. He can intercept communications, track Tolui’s approach, take over control of the vessel before that rogue male boards it.”
“I will be the warrior to do that.” Khan wouldn’t move on his position. “The bounty hunter will land on Chamele 4. While she’s tracking her original target, Murad will enter her ship and give me access.” He looked at his younger brother, seeking his agreement.
Murad shrugged. “Either way works for me.”
“It doesn’t work for me.” Berke was determined to be a hard-ass. “The warrior also has to be skilled in deception. He must lie to the bounty hunter, act as though he doesn’t want to be caught.”
“I can do that.” Khan heard the doubt in his own voice.
Berke’s expression said he didn’t believe him.
“I can do that as well as Murad can.” He amended his statement.
Subterfuge wasn’t a Chamele strength. Conversations were blunt, without artifice. Lies were abhorred. Enemies were confronted face-to-face, no tricks, no dishonesty.
Deceiving another being, especially his gerel, didn’t appeal to Khan. But if it was necessary in order to defeat Tolui, he’d swallow his qualms.
“I’m the best warrior in the Chamele sector.” He presented the case for being chosen. “Tolui tried to kill my second-in-command.” That had been a strike right at his soul. “He’s abducted some of the females and children under my protection, stolen my ships, taunted me again and again.” Fury flowed through him. “He caused the deaths of three of my warriors and two mates this planet rotation alone.” Those deaths continued to anger him. “I’ve earned the right to face the warrior, to be the one to end his lifespan.”
“He’s abducted females and children from all of our planets.” Berke leaned forward.
Khan did that same. “I’m our best warrior.” He repeated that undeniable fact.
“Khan is our best warrior.” Murad didn’t challenge him for that title. “I’ll give myself as much remote access to the ship as possible. Though I suspect Khan can merely overpower the bounty hunter if that is required…providing she’s humanoid.”
“She’s humanoid.” She was genetically compatible with him. She had to be humanoid. “I can deal with the bounty hunter.” That prospect excited him. “Leave her and Tolui to me.”
Berke held his gaze.
Moments passed, moments that could have been utilized to implement the strategy, stop the enemy.
“You have to stick to the plan.” His older brother warned him. “I’ve detailed every step of it. There’s no space for rash action, for charging into battle with your claws extended.”
Charging into battle with his claws extended was what had won the Succession Wars for them. Khan kept his countenance as blank as possible. “Why would I deviate from your plan?”
“I don’t know.” Murad’s eyes danced with humor. “Maybe because you’ve never stuck to a plan in your entire lifespan?”
Khan scowled at his younger brother before returning his gaze to Berke. “If my reward is killing Tolui, I’ll do anything you ask me to do.
There was another frustrating pause.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this.” His brother exhaled noisily. “But yes, you can be bait.”
Khan smothered a triumphant grin. He would be the warrior meeting with his bounty hunter.
“Murad, you’ll enter the bounty hunter’s ship, commandeer her systems.” Berke assigned their younger brother that role. “I’ll coordinate everything from Chamele 1.”
Berke’s planet was the farthest from the sun, closest to the edge of Chamele territory. His priority was ensuring the entire sector was protected from invasion.
“Do what you need to do to prepare.” Berke gave them those instructions. “We’ll go over the plan in detail at sunrise.” He ended the transmission.
The images of his brothers disappeared from the viewscreen, as did the footage of the ship. Khan brought that footage back, gazed at the vessel.
His gerel was inside it.
During the Succession Wars, he’d traveled to all of the planets, had interacted with almost every being in the Chamele sector. None of them had affected him.
He’d accepted he wouldn’t have a gerel, had focused on fighting, on protecting others. And he’d enjoyed that. Greatly. A born warrior, he belonged on the battlefield, had relished defeating enemies, wielding swords and axes, and utilizing his claws.
That part of his lifespan would soon end. After they’d killed Tolui, the sector would be peaceful.
Boring.
Bonding with his gerel might ease the ennui…if they survived the less-than-optimal start to their relationship.
For Berke’s plan to work, he had to deceive his gerel. And she would eventually have to betray him.
Zondoo. Khan raked his fingers through his hair. He had killed beings for doing less.
Their bond would physically last a lifespan. Emotionally, it might be severed before it could fully form.
But there were no other honorable choices. His role as Warlord meant he had a responsibility to his loyal warriors and their families.
He had to risk his one chance at companionship, at having a mate, children, to stop Tolui, to end the threats against the beings he protected.
Khan tapped on the viewscreen. “Second.”
“My lord.” Oghul’s scarred face appeared on the surface.
“There’s a ship entering the Chamele sector.” He sent his gerel’s coordinates to the male. “I want two of our best ships to escort it to Chamele 4. They are to stay as far away from the vessel as possible while still protecting it. They aren’t to communicate with its captain unless I approve that communication. Understand?”
“I understand, my lord.” Oghul’s head dipped. “One of those ships will be mine.”
“Assign the task to two other crews.” Khan needed his best warrior elsewhere. “I will be going off-planet for a while and will have limited access to communications. I need you to guard Chamele 2.”
“Yes, my lord.” Oghul stood taller, his second-in-command recognizing his assignment as the honor it was.
“If there is an incident you can’t handle, contact Warlord Berke on Chamele 1.” His brother would protect Khan’s planet and his beings also. “I’m counting on you, Second.”
“I won’t let you down, my lord.” The warrior’s chin lifted.
“I know you won’t.” The male had earned Khan’s trust. Oghul had never betrayed him, had never deceived him.
Khan ended the communication and gazed at his gerel’s ship.
Would he be able to forgive Zeta after she delivered him to the enemy, after she traded his lifespan for a handful of credits?
Would she ever view him as honorable once his lies were exposed?
Allies or enemies, there was no middle ground. Not for him. Not for them.
He hoped for the former.
Their dubious beginning pointed to the latter.
***
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Warlord’s Bounty
Wanted: One Barbarian Warrior.
The bigger the bounty, the more dangerous the target.
Khan, a Chamele Warlord, has a huge bounty on his head. His enemy wants him captured and is offering any being in the universe an outrageous number of credits to accomplish that.
Khan wants to be captured, but only if the being apprehending him is a tiny, brown-eyed female with wickedly sharp daggers and an even sharper tongue. His passion for the feisty human can’t be inhibited by restraints. He’ll allow her to subdue him…in a variety of enticing ways.
When she finally collects her credits, he’ll collect his revenge, killing his enemy and claiming his little bounty hunter forever.
Zeta doesn’t do forever. After a lifespan of chasing dangerous beings across galaxies, apprehending and trading them for credits, she doesn’t get involved emotionally…with anyone.
Khan might be fierce and sexy and the most dominant male she has ever encountered, but the barbarian is also her target, and once she sates herself with his body, she’ll betray him.
That’s her job.
* * *
Warlord’s Bounty is based on a much shorter story sharing the same title.
(If you already have the shorter story, please contact me.)
It is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes violent universe.
Pre-order Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PN8ZKK1
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07PN8ZKK1
Apple/iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/warlords-bounty/id1456156354
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1113984150
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/warlord-s-bounty-1
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/928431
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Warlord’s Bounty – Fourth Scene Of The First Chapter
Warlord’s Bounty – Third Scene Of The First Chapter
Warlord’s Bounty, the second story in the Chamele Barbarian Warlords series, will be releasing on May 14th.
I’m sharing the first chapter while we wait.
You can read the first scene here: http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=6815
Today, I’m sharing the third scene.
***
“He’s evading us by staying airborne.” Khan was certain about that. It was what he would do. “I say we ground our fleets and blast the remaining ships out of space.”
It was a drastic measure. There could be casualties amongst the innocent. But it should work.
“I have crafted a less risky plan.” Berke always had a strategy. He didn’t always deem to share it with the rest of them.
“Tell me what I need to do.” Khan didn’t care what the task was. He was ready.
His more-cautious older brother was not. “Murad, did you uncover any information on who has placed the bounties on our heads?”
Khan frowned. This was the first he’d heard of any bounties on their heads.
“All of the bounties originated within the sector. They…or he wants us alive. That’s all I could find out.” And that irked his technologically savvy brother. Khan heard that in his voice.
“Tolui must have funded the bounties.” That was the only being still seeking to harm them.
“That would be my wager also.” Berke shocked Khan by agreeing with him twice in one conversation. “He’s willing to pay to capture us.”
“He wants to kill us himself.” Khan preferred Tolui’s lifespan be ended by his own hand also. “His strategy won’t be successful. No bounty hunter would be foolish enough to enter our sector.”
They’d be blown out of the space. Chameles protected their own.
“Meet foolish bounty hunter number one.” Berke’s tone was dry.
An image of a mid-sized ship was displayed on the viewscreen. It was heading toward their border.
“That was fast.” Murad lifted his eyebrows. “The bounties were posted three planet rotations ago.”
Khan magnified the image of the ship. It was old and in poor repair. Its panels were dented and dull. The guns appeared to be barely functional. “He plans to retrieve us in that?” He snorted. That was insulting.
“Hunt, not retrieve.” Berke corrected him. “Retrievers were slaves to the Humanoid Alliance.” His elder brother’s gaze turned distant. “Bounty hunters are independent. They choose whom and where they hunt.”
What in the universe was his older brother yammering on about? “I’ll interrogate this bounty hunter-not-retriever.” Khan would force him to relay his client’s location.
“When did you suddenly become an expert in bounty hunters?” Murad stared at their older brother. “They don’t operate within our sector.”
“There will be no interrogation of the bounty hunter.” Berke’s eyes hardened once more. “This is my plan.”
He said that as though it explained everything…which it did. Their always-needing-to-be-in-control brother didn’t leave much to chance. He researched all players in any strategy he crafted.
“And she isn’t hunting us.” Berke shook his head. “She is tracking another target.”
“She.” Both Khan and Murad repeated that revelation.
Chamele females were as fierce as the males, often fighting beside them. But, according to Khan’s intelligence, many of the species outside their sector viewed females as weak, didn’t consider them worthy of being warriors.
The bounty hunter’s species must be an exception.
“She is tracking another Chamele?” Khan lifted his eyebrows. “How many of our kind have bounties on their heads?”
“I didn’t say her target was a Chamele.” Berke tapped on his viewscreen.
“Gale, are you there?” The most intoxicating voice Khan had ever heard filled the chamber.
His body responded to it, his muscles flexing, his cock hardening.
That extreme reaction could only mean one thing—the female speaking was his gerel, the one being genetically compatible with him.
She existed. His mind spun from the wonder of that realization. Some warriors never located their gerels.
He had.
“I’m always here.” Another female answered her query. “I don’t gad about the universe like you do.”
Murad’s head lifted. “What the—”
“I wished I gadded about it less.” Khan’s gerel sighed, the sound coiling around his balls and stroking his shaft. “The Vault didn’t reach its destination. That was a dead end.”
“So you’re coming home?” Hope lilted the other female’s, Gale’s words. She cared for Khan’s gerel, wanted to see her.
“Not yet. I got a ping off the target’s ship. It was faint but I was able to track its location.” His female loved the hunt. He heard that in her tones. “It’s close to my current location, but not in an optimal place, unfortunately. I should still be able to get to it.”
“If the site is difficult to access, the Designer likely died en route to it.” Gale offered that logical advice. “The client wants him alive. He’s no use to us in any other state.”
“He’s there and he’s alive.” His gerel’s optimism rang through the transmission lines. “He’s got to be.”
Gale clucked her tongue. “Don’t take unnecessary risks.”
“I never do.”
“You always do, Zeta.”
Zeta. His gerel’s name was Zeta.
“You’re right.” She laughed, her mirth bubbling around him. “Taking risks is part of the fun.”
“It won’t be fun if you die.” The other female disapproved of his female’s fearlessness. “Which reminds me…did you remember to secure the line this time?”
“Of course, I remembered.” His gerel sounded indignant.
“Did you secure both the audio and the video?” Gale pressed the issue. “You know your ship no longer syncs the two.”
The vessel didn’t sync audio and video? Khan stared at the blank viewscreen. How antiquated was it?
“Shit.” His gerel cursed. “I forgot to secure the audio.”
The transmission ended. The silence formed a void inside him, a space where her voice had once been.
“We’re not blowing up the bounty hunter’s ship.” He blurted that thought into the quiet.
Both of his brothers looked at him as though he’d lost his mind…which he supposed he had. The enemy should be his focus, not his gerel.
He would have a lifespan to dedicate to her.
“Blowing up the bounty hunter’s ship wouldn’t suit our purposes.” Berke crossed his arms in front of his chest. “We need her to trap Tolui.”
Khan didn’t like that idea either. “She’s chasing a different target, the Designer being they mentioned.” He paused, some of the pieces falling into place. “That ping was from the ship on Chamele 4, wasn’t it?” Murad’s males had downed it. He shifted his gaze to his brother. “The tracking device was left on it, fully functional.”
Murad rolled his eyes. “The tracking device was buried deep in the sand. It would have taken too long to retrieve.”
That could put them all at risk. Khan pressed his lips together. The signal could attract potential enemies.
He would have insisted his warriors retrieve the tracking device.
“Her target is dead.” Berke met his gaze. “She needs a new target.”
His brother’s plan became clear.
“I’ll be her new target.” Khan claimed that prized role, eager to take action. “We’ll use me as bait. Tolui will rendezvous with her ship, expecting to take delivery of me, and I’ll kill him.”
Read the next installment (Available May 6th): http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=6832
***
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Warlord’s Bounty
Wanted: One Barbarian Warrior.
The bigger the bounty, the more dangerous the target.
Khan, a Chamele Warlord, has a huge bounty on his head. His enemy wants him captured and is offering any being in the universe an outrageous number of credits to accomplish that.
Khan wants to be captured, but only if the being apprehending him is a tiny, brown-eyed female with wickedly sharp daggers and an even sharper tongue. His passion for the feisty human can’t be inhibited by restraints. He’ll allow her to subdue him…in a variety of enticing ways.
When she finally collects her credits, he’ll collect his revenge, killing his enemy and claiming his little bounty hunter forever.
Zeta doesn’t do forever. After a lifespan of chasing dangerous beings across galaxies, apprehending and trading them for credits, she doesn’t get involved emotionally…with anyone.
Khan might be fierce and sexy and the most dominant male she has ever encountered, but the barbarian is also her target, and once she sates herself with his body, she’ll betray him.
That’s her job.
* * *
Warlord’s Bounty is based on a much shorter story sharing the same title.
(If you already have the shorter story, please contact me.)
It is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes violent universe.
Pre-order Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PN8ZKK1
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07PN8ZKK1
Apple/iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/warlords-bounty/id1456156354
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1113984150
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/warlord-s-bounty-1
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/928431
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Warlord’s Bounty – Third Scene Of The First Chapter
Warlord’s Bounty – Second Scene Of The First Chapter
Warlord’s Bounty, the second story in the Chamele Barbarian Warlords series, will be releasing on May 14th.
I’m sharing the first chapter.
You can read the first scene here: http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=6815
Today, I’m sharing the second scene.
***
Khan tossed the private viewscreen on the console.
“How many were on board the fighter?” He asked his Head of Communications. “And did they have mates?”
Chameles bonded for life. When one mate’s lifespan ended, the other mate died within planet rotations, their hearts unable to tolerate the separation. He’d met only one exception to that reality.
His Head of Communications swallowed hard. “The three warriors were the fighter’s full crew, my lord. Two of them were mated. One had a little girl.”
Three warriors had died, two mates would soon die, and a child would be orphaned. The tension in Khan’s form increased.
“Provide for them.” He stood. It irked him that he didn’t have to specify how to provide for the mates, for the child. Too many warriors had been lost over the solar cycles. “I will be in my private working chambers.”
He stalked toward the doors to that space, his tread silent as it always was.
Warriors stepped out of his way, bowing their heads respectfully.
Khan wasn’t a stranger to losses in battle or the trickery of enemies. The Succession Wars had been long and bloody and defined by betrayal.
His parents had been older when they had miraculously conceived three heirs in three consecutive solar cycles. Berke, his older brother, hadn’t yet reached the official ruling transition age at the time of their deaths.
Aunts, uncles, cousins, and close friends, sensing opportunity, had vied for the role of Warlord, a role that rightfully belonged to Berke. Inhabitants of the sector chose sides. Either they pledged loyalty to Khan’s older brother or they were deemed to be the enemy.
He entered his working chambers. The massive viewscreen on the far wall displayed an image of the solar system, the four Chamele planets orbiting around a single sun. The other vertical surfaces were decorated with swords, battle-axes, lances, daggers, and various bladed weapons. All of them were functional.
Khan wanted to use them against Tolui.
He had wielded them against many of his relatives and friends. Being the best fighter in the system, he had faced the would-be usurpers in battle, had been forced to end the lifespans of beings he had once cared for and respected. In the heat of combat, it had been kill or be killed.
After those battles were won, the survivors were given the option to swear fealty to Berke or be executed. Khan had learned early on that there were no other options.
Incarcerating the enemy gave the other rebels beings to rally around. Freeing them meant fighting them again in a future battle.
They made their choice. He delivered the consequences, spilling the blood of many beings to earn Berke his place.
His older brother had deemed to share the responsibility of Warlord, saving the ice planet of Chamele 1 for himself, giving Chamele 3 to their younger brother Murad to rule, and granting Khan Chamele 2, the greenest, lushest planet. The hunting planet of Chamele 4 was governed by the three of them.
Only one threat to their rule remained—Tolui and his followers. Once the rogue Chamele was eliminated, there would be peace in the sector.
Peace didn’t appeal to Khan. He was a warrior, enjoyed fighting, didn’t look forward to long stretches of boring tranquility, the endless planet rotations of administration that were associated with ruling.
But boredom was preferable to the grief and anger and frustration currently swirling inside him.
And he did want to end Tolui’s lifespan. The male was a pain in his ass, had been wreaking havoc, making a mockery of his protection.
Khan opened communications with his brothers.
“Are you trying to outscowl Berke?” Murad was the first to respond, his grinning face appearing on the viewscreen. “I wager you don’t succeed.”
“I received another message from that tricky Son of a Gechii, Tolui.” Khan didn’t have the time or patience for his brother’s teasing. He sent the male their enemy’s communication.
Murad’s grin wavered. “I doubt the message is traceable. The male covers his tracks well. But I’ll see what I can do.”
Khan grunted, his irritation with the situation and with Tolui escalating. He wanted to kill the male but they had to find him first.
“You didn’t respond to him, did you?” Murad asked a question he should have already known the answer to.
“Words were a poor substitute for my fists.” Khan cracked his knuckles, wishing he could crack the enemy’s skull as easily.
“Which means you did respond.” His younger brother sighed. “I’ll ensure he doesn’t hack into your systems.”
Khan didn’t care about his systems. His warriors were being targeted, killed. That was a bigger priority for him.
Berke remotely joined them. There was a permanent frown on his stark countenance. “This isn’t our scheduled transmission.”
“Blast our scheduled transmission.” Khan’s anger flared once again. “Tolui downed one of my fighters, killing three of my warriors. Two were mated. One had a young daughter.”
Murad winced. Berke’s eyes cooled to ice.
“We have to find the slippery ass. Now.” Khan tilted his body toward them. “And we have to stop him. Permanently.”
“How do we find him?” Murad stated the problem none of them had the solution for. “We still have very little information about him. No one claims to know him or any of his followers. It is like he was manufactured out of the air.”
“That’s unee shit and you know it.” Khan’s claws pricked at his skin, his urge to fight, to kill, almost overwhelming his restraint. “He’s a Chamele.”
Witnesses had seen him at a distance. Tolui had the long black hair, golden skin, height, and the muscular build of their kind. And he dressed like them, wearing boots and an ass covering consisting of a band of leather around the waist and more strips of leather hanging to his knees.
“Someone has to know him.” Khan’s body vibrated with anger. “Not sharing that information is akin to betrayal.”
That he couldn’t identify who was betraying them infuriated him. It put everyone he cared about in danger.
Three loyal warriors had died this planet rotation, the lifespans of five beings in total had ended. His mother and father were dead.
He would not lose any more warriors, would not lose his brothers.
“Chameles have been torn apart by these wars.” Berke’s voice was flat. “It will take solar cycles to earn everyone’s trust.”
“Either beings are loyal or they’re the enemy.” Khan balled his fingers into huge fists. “There’s no other status.”
“Not every situation is either right or wrong.” His older brother shook his head. “Life isn’t that simple.”
It was for him. Khan jutted his jaw.
“Tolui wants to negotiate.” Murad put the male’s latest message on their viewscreens. “We could meet with him. We might uncover information we could use to locate him.”
“We don’t negotiate with the enemy.” They had tried that in the past, only to be ambushed, barely escaping with their lifespans. “And Tolui is the enemy. That is simple.” Khan’s gaze slid to Berke. “He killed my warriors.”
“I agree with you.” His older brother surprised him with that declaration. “Negotiating would serve no purpose. Tolui will be prepared. He won’t allow anything to slip during the meeting and it could put us all at risk.”
Silence stretched.
Khan paced around the perimeter of the chamber, unable to remain still, needing to do something, anything. His warriors were dying.
“I’ve been looking for patterns regarding the locations.” Murad, the more analytic, data-focused of the three of them, broke the quiet. “I haven’t seen any logic to it. The attacks have been evenly distributed between all three planets, throughout all regions. There’s no way to predict where he will strike next.”
Read the next installment (Available April 29th): http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=6825
***
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Warlord’s Bounty
Wanted: One Barbarian Warrior.
The bigger the bounty, the more dangerous the target.
Khan, a Chamele Warlord, has a huge bounty on his head. His enemy wants him captured and is offering any being in the universe an outrageous number of credits to accomplish that.
Khan wants to be captured, but only if the being apprehending him is a tiny, brown-eyed female with wickedly sharp daggers and an even sharper tongue. His passion for the feisty human can’t be inhibited by restraints. He’ll allow her to subdue him…in a variety of enticing ways.
When she finally collects her credits, he’ll collect his revenge, killing his enemy and claiming his little bounty hunter forever.
Zeta doesn’t do forever. After a lifespan of chasing dangerous beings across galaxies, apprehending and trading them for credits, she doesn’t get involved emotionally…with anyone.
Khan might be fierce and sexy and the most dominant male she has ever encountered, but the barbarian is also her target, and once she sates herself with his body, she’ll betray him.
That’s her job.
* * *
Warlord’s Bounty is based on a much shorter story sharing the same title.
(If you already have the shorter story, please contact me.)
It is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes violent universe.
Pre-order Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PN8ZKK1
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07PN8ZKK1
Apple/iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/warlords-bounty/id1456156354
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1113984150
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/warlord-s-bounty-1
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/928431
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Warlord’s Bounty – Second Scene Of The First Chapter
Warlord’s Bounty – First Scene Of The First Chapter
Warlord’s Bounty, the second story in the Chamele Barbarian Warlords series, will be releasing on May 14th.
I thought I’d share the first chapter while we wait.
Today, I’m sharing the first scene.
***
Chapter One
Khan, one of three Warlords in the Chamele sector, divided all of the beings within his terrain into two groups—those loyal to him and to his brothers and those he deemed to be his enemies.
Loyal beings were to be protected and cared for. Enemies were to be hunted down and killed…once they were located.
One adversary was proving to be frustratingly elusive.
“Where are you, you slippery Son of a Gechii?” Khan stood in the center of his command chamber, his booted feet braced apart, his hands on his leather-clad hips. He stared up at a flattened view of Chamele 2, the planet he was responsible for ruling.
His warriors worked energetically around him, all of them seeking to find Tolui, the rogue Chamele guilty of abducting females and children from their homes, stealing and downing ships.
“Show the locations of every sighting.” Khan gave that instruction to his Head of Strategy.
“Showing the locations of every sighting, my lord.” The older male tapped on a private viewscreen.
Dots appeared on the map.
There were too many of them. Khan pressed his lips together, wanting to take action now, immediately stop the Warlord wannabe.
He had to find Tolui first. Searching for a pattern in the sightings, he saw none. “Calculate the time required to—”
“My lord.” His Head of Communications interrupted him. “One of our fighters is tracking an unidentified ship.”
That ship must belong to their enemy. Finally, something was happening. Excitement coursed through Khan. “Share the live feed.”
Since the last attack, his Head of Ship and Weapons Design had installed recording devices on all of the ships’ bridges. He could see and hear what the warriors onboard observed.
It was almost like being there. Almost.
Khan preferred to be on the front lines, leading the charge. Ruling a planet was exasperatingly passive, too hands-off for his liking.
An image of a female Chamele warrior dominated the main viewscreen. Two other females sat behind her.
“Don’t let him escape.” Her voice filled the chamber. “Continue hailing him.”
“Hailing him, Captain.” One of the other females confirmed the order.
“Show me what they’re seeing.” Khan wanted to view the enemy, not his three warriors.
The image switched to that of a ship. He immediately recognized the model.
“That’s an AXT594.” One of those ships had recently been stolen from his fleet. “Its top speed is faster than that of the fighter.” It wasn’t as nimble, couldn’t navigate the narrow twists and turns of the ravine as quickly. “Why doesn’t it increase its elevation, escape the confines of the cliffs, fly in a straight line?”
“It might be malfunctioning, my lord.” His Head of Strategy proposed a possibility. “An engine could be damaged.”
“Hmmm…” That could be the reason but Khan’s gut said it wasn’t. “Show me an aerial view of the ravine. Indicate their current location.”
The image shifted. He leaned forward, studying it. The ravine meandered, heading to the northeast.
Its course had been unbroken thus far. There were no alternate routes. But that would soon change. The fighter quickly approached a fork in the ravine.
“Zondoo.” His body stiffened.
A second enemy ship could be waiting on the path not taken. The fighter would be pinned between the two vessels.
“It’s a trap.” Khan yelled that revelation, gripping the edge of the console. “Tell them to abort. Abort.”
His Head of Communications relayed that order.
“We’re gaining on them, sir.” The fighter’s captain must have been high on the chase. Trained warriors didn’t argue with commands. “We can—shit. Where did she come from?”
Metal bent under Khan’s fingers. Judging by the captain’s tone, the fighter had passed the fork and was now wedged between two enemy ships. “Tell her to increase their elevation. Now.”
That might not work but it was their only chance.
“Incoming missiles.” One of the warriors on the fighter made that announcement.
“Shit. Shit. Shit.” Another warrior peppered the transmission with profanities. The image on the fighter’s main viewscreen veered to the right as they desperately tried to avoid impact.
That action was too little, too late. The vessel jerked. Metal screeched.
“We’ve been hit.” The pilot’s voice held the calmness of a being who had seen many battles, who had faced death too many times. The images on the fighter’s main viewscreen spun faster and faster. “We’re going—”
The boom temporarily deafened Khan. The image went black.
Silence filled the chamber. The warriors around him gaped, their primitive countenances turning pale.
“We’ve lost contact with the fighter.” His Head of Communications stated the brutal reality.
The fighter had been downed.
“Shit.” Khan sat with a thump in the chair positioned behind him.
Three warriors, at the minimum, had been on that ship.
He swiped his hands over his face, the burden of that loss, that failure, weighing on his shoulders.
He was their Warlord. It was his duty to protect them.
A message appeared on the private viewscreen placed on the console before him. He gripped the device, opened the communication.
Footage played. Missiles hit a fighter ship, carving away thrusters, panels. The vessel spun closer and closer to a rock facing.
Bile burned the back of his throat. He knew what would soon happen, was as powerless now as he had been then to stop it.
The fighter hit the hard stone and exploded. Plumes of orange-and-red flames engulfed the ship.
No one could have survived that.
Text appeared under the footage. Are you ready to negotiate now?
It wasn’t signed but Khan had no doubt who had sent that message.
Tolui.
The rogue male had targeted the fighter ship, had ended the lifespan of at least three of Khan’s warriors. Rage swept over him, savage and intense.
Unable to contain it, he threw back his head and roared. Emotion poured out of him, an unbreaking stream of torment, of grief, of anger. His body shook with its ferocity.
His warriors gulped air and stared at him, their countenances ashen. He didn’t lose his temper often.
Tolui had pushed his patience.
The male would die. Painfully.
Khan gathered his control. Resolve straightened his spine. He would stop the rebel Chamele’s random strikes…permanently.
Your fight is with me. He jabbed the private viewscreen with his fingers as he sent that message to his enemy. Face me like a warrior. Let’s end this.
He sent it, knowing the male wouldn’t accept that challenge.
Tolui preferred to sneak around, favoring stealth attacks over honorable battles.
Read the next installment (Available April 22nd): http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=6820
***
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Warlord’s Bounty
Wanted: One Barbarian Warrior.
The bigger the bounty, the more dangerous the target.
Khan, a Chamele Warlord, has a huge bounty on his head. His enemy wants him captured and is offering any being in the universe an outrageous number of credits to accomplish that.
Khan wants to be captured, but only if the being apprehending him is a tiny, brown-eyed female with wickedly sharp daggers and an even sharper tongue. His passion for the feisty human can’t be inhibited by restraints. He’ll allow her to subdue him…in a variety of enticing ways.
When she finally collects her credits, he’ll collect his revenge, killing his enemy and claiming his little bounty hunter forever.
Zeta doesn’t do forever. After a lifespan of chasing dangerous beings across galaxies, apprehending and trading them for credits, she doesn’t get involved emotionally…with anyone.
Khan might be fierce and sexy and the most dominant male she has ever encountered, but the barbarian is also her target, and once she sates herself with his body, she’ll betray him.
That’s her job.
* * *
Warlord’s Bounty is based on a much shorter story sharing the same title.
(If you already have the shorter story, please contact me.)
It is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes violent universe.
Pre-order Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PN8ZKK1
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07PN8ZKK1
Apple/iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/warlords-bounty/id1456156354
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1113984150
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/warlord-s-bounty-1
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/928431
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Warlord’s Bounty – First Scene Of The First Chapter
Dark Cure – One Of The Best Books Of 2018
Woot! Dark Cure was nominated by Love Romances Cafe for both the Best Book All Around Of 2018 AND the Best Science Fiction/Futuristic Book of 2018.
See all of the nominees in all of the categories here:
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
A warrior seeking forever faces a medic living in the moment.
Gisella, the Refuge’s medic, is dedicated to her role. She doesn’t have the space in her lifespan for love, a mate, or children. Healing is her entire focus.
But she’s also a female in her prime. She has needs, wants, cravings…especially for a scarred, long-haired barbarian warrior temporarily residing in the settlement. One fierce, soul-blasting, passion-filled encounter is all she is willing to give him before she returns to her duties.
Oghul, a Chamele Warlord’s Second-In-Command, has waited his entire lifespan to find his gerel, the being fated to be his. He’s thrilled to discover she wants him as savagely as he yearns for her.
His little human medic appeals to his primitive possessive side. Greatly. He wants to stamp his ownership all over her bountiful curves, take her back to his home planet, claim his fiery female permanently.
When Carinae E’s solitary sun rises, two determined beings with very different desires find their lifespans entwined. Their battle for emotional supremacy will span systems and alter destinies.
The universe will never be the same.
Dark Cure is a STANDALONE SciFi Romance set in a gritty, dark world.
Buy Now:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HCTHN27
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07HCTHN27
Apple/iTunes : https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dark-cure/id1436359104
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-cure-cynthia-sax/1129542129
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dark-cure
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/895634
Topics: Awards | Comments Off on Dark Cure – One Of The Best Books Of 2018
Headless Romance Heroes and Warlord Sky
Cara Bristol has a fun post about why many heroes on covers are headless. One of the covers featured is Warlord Sky!
This was my comment…
“As a reader, I prefer headless heroes on covers because I like to imagine someone else in the place of the hero (Often the hero is the Dear Wonderful Hubby. I, of course, am the heroine. – grins – And we go on adventures together). I want the hero to be MY fantasy.”
***
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Warlord Sky
No one grounds a barbarian warrior.
Qulpa, a Chamele warrior, lost everyone he loved in the brutal Succession Wars. Flying is the only thing that brings him joy. Serving as his team’s pilot is the sole duty he has left. Then a horrific crash leaves him injured and unable to fly.
The one being who can help him is also his gerel, the female destined to be his. She insists she doesn’t feel their connection. Qulpa is certain his beautiful mate is lying and nothing will stop him from finding out why.
Nayan knows the injured barbarian is her warrior, her one chance at a forever bond. His dominance makes her feel safe. His gentle touch inflames her passion. His kisses scorch her very soul. The tall muscular male tempts her as no one else has.
But she has a deadly secret. If it’s exposed, her injured male will lose more than his ability to fly. Both of them will die. She can’t take that risk, not for him, not for them, not for a lifespan filled with love.
* * *
Warlord Sky is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes violent universe.
Buy Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L2FQV4R/
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07L2FQV4R/
Apple/iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/warlord-sky/id1445375487
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/warlord-sky-cynthia-sax/1129963980
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/warlord-sky
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/910481
Topics: Guest Post | Comments Off on Headless Romance Heroes and Warlord Sky
Warlord Sky Featured At Amazing Stories
Warlord Sky was featured at Amazing Stories!
***
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Warlord Sky
No one grounds a barbarian warrior.
Qulpa, a Chamele warrior, lost everyone he loved in the brutal Succession Wars. Flying is the only thing that brings him joy. Serving as his team’s pilot is the sole duty he has left. Then a horrific crash leaves him injured and unable to fly.
The one being who can help him is also his gerel, the female destined to be his. She insists she doesn’t feel their connection. Qulpa is certain his beautiful mate is lying and nothing will stop him from finding out why.
Nayan knows the injured barbarian is her warrior, her one chance at a forever bond. His dominance makes her feel safe. His gentle touch inflames her passion. His kisses scorch her very soul. The tall muscular male tempts her as no one else has.
But she has a deadly secret. If it’s exposed, her injured male will lose more than his ability to fly. Both of them will die. She can’t take that risk, not for him, not for them, not for a lifespan filled with love.
* * *
Warlord Sky is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes violent universe.
Buy Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L2FQV4R/
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07L2FQV4R/
Apple/iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/warlord-sky/id1445375487
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/warlord-sky-cynthia-sax/1129963980
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/warlord-sky
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/910481
Topics: Reviews | Comments Off on Warlord Sky Featured At Amazing Stories
Qulpa, The Hero Of Warlord Sky, Is Interviewed At Dawn’s Reading Nook
Qulpa, my hero from Warlord Sky, has been interviewed at Dawn’s Reading Nook!
Here’s a snippet…
“Q: What was one of the most embarrassing things your author did to you in Warlord Sky?
Qulpa: A certain part of my body is…ummm…curved. (faces turns red) One of my gerel’s bots held out a straightening tool, seeking to fix that curve.”
***
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Warlord Sky
No one grounds a barbarian warrior.
Qulpa, a Chamele warrior, lost everyone he loved in the brutal Succession Wars. Flying is the only thing that brings him joy. Serving as his team’s pilot is the sole duty he has left. Then a horrific crash leaves him injured and unable to fly.
The one being who can help him is also his gerel, the female destined to be his. She insists she doesn’t feel their connection. Qulpa is certain his beautiful mate is lying and nothing will stop him from finding out why.
Nayan knows the injured barbarian is her warrior, her one chance at a forever bond. His dominance makes her feel safe. His gentle touch inflames her passion. His kisses scorch her very soul. The tall muscular male tempts her as no one else has.
But she has a deadly secret. If it’s exposed, her injured male will lose more than his ability to fly. Both of them will die. She can’t take that risk, not for him, not for them, not for a lifespan filled with love.
* * *
Warlord Sky is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes violent universe.
Buy Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L2FQV4R/
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07L2FQV4R/
Apple/iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/warlord-sky/id1445375487
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/warlord-sky-cynthia-sax/1129963980
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/warlord-sky
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/910481
Topics: Guest Post | Comments Off on Qulpa, The Hero Of Warlord Sky, Is Interviewed At Dawn’s Reading Nook
Fact Vs Fiction
Coffee Time Romance asked writers
“How much of your real life bleeds over into your books? And do you worry that someone will be able to tell the fact from the fiction?”
Here’s a snippet from my reply…
“…when they ARE my emotions, the causes of those emotions are often different. I’ve never been chased by hostile aliens, for example. But I HAVE been chased by hostile humans. I’ve never lost a best friend during a military battle, as another example. But I HAVE lost a best friend to her battle with cancer. I’ve never fallen in love with a cyborg. I HAVE fallen in love with a human male (the Dear Wonderful Hubby).”
Read the full post here: https://coffeetimeromance.com/CoffeeThoughts/adjan2019-cynthia-sax
***
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Warlord Sky
No one grounds a barbarian warrior.
Qulpa, a Chamele warrior, lost everyone he loved in the brutal Succession Wars. Flying is the only thing that brings him joy. Serving as his team’s pilot is the sole duty he has left. Then a horrific crash leaves him injured and unable to fly.
The one being who can help him is also his gerel, the female destined to be his. She insists she doesn’t feel their connection. Qulpa is certain his beautiful mate is lying and nothing will stop him from finding out why.
Nayan knows the injured barbarian is her warrior, her one chance at a forever bond. His dominance makes her feel safe. His gentle touch inflames her passion. His kisses scorch her very soul. The tall muscular male tempts her as no one else has.
But she has a deadly secret. If it’s exposed, her injured male will lose more than his ability to fly. Both of them will die. She can’t take that risk, not for him, not for them, not for a lifespan filled with love.
* * *
Warlord Sky is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes violent universe.
Buy Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L2FQV4R/
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07L2FQV4R/
Apple/iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/warlord-sky/id1445375487
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/warlord-sky-cynthia-sax/1129963980
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/warlord-sky
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/910481
Topics: Writing Tips | 2 Comments »
Warlord Sky Featured On Veronica Scott’s New Release Post
Woot!
Warlord Sky was mentioned in Veronica Scott’s weekly new release round up!
(If you love SciFi Romance like I do, this is THE blog to follow.)
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Warlord Sky
No one grounds a barbarian warrior.
Qulpa, a Chamele warrior, lost everyone he loved in the brutal Succession Wars. Flying is the only thing that brings him joy. Serving as his team’s pilot is the sole duty he has left. Then a horrific crash leaves him injured and unable to fly.
The one being who can help him is also his gerel, the female destined to be his. She insists she doesn’t feel their connection. Qulpa is certain his beautiful mate is lying and nothing will stop him from finding out why.
Nayan knows the injured barbarian is her warrior, her one chance at a forever bond. His dominance makes her feel safe. His gentle touch inflames her passion. His kisses scorch her very soul. The tall muscular male tempts her as no one else has.
But she has a deadly secret. If it’s exposed, her injured male will lose more than his ability to fly. Both of them will die. She can’t take that risk, not for him, not for them, not for a lifespan filled with love.
* * *
Warlord Sky is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes violent universe.
Buy Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L2FQV4R/
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07L2FQV4R/
Apple/iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/warlord-sky/id1445375487
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/warlord-sky-cynthia-sax/1129963980
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/warlord-sky
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/910481
Topics: Guest Post | Comments Off on Warlord Sky Featured On Veronica Scott’s New Release Post
