Jonathan Moeller Novel Excerpt Tuesday: CLOAK GAMES: REBEL FIST
It’s Jonathan Moeller Novel Excerpt Tuesday! This week we have an excerpt from CLOAK GAMES: REBEL FIST.
Since we announced the CLOAK GAMES audiobooks yesterday, this seems like a good time to have an excerpt from REBEL FIST.
REBEL FIST really ties the first three CLOAK GAMES books together into a neat little trilogy. It’s also the first one where Russell is an active participant in the plot. Saving Russell’s life from his illness is basically Nadia’s MacGuffin for the entire series, but Russell wasn’t going to passively await his fate. As Nadia would find out in greater detail a very long time in the future. 🙂
CLOAK GAMES: REBEL FIST is available at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Australia, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo,Google Play, and Smashwords.
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“Useless,” said the Archon. “Though fiercer than I expected.” He glanced towards the entrance to the mall, nodded to himself, and started to cast a spell, fire snarling to life in his fingers. “Perhaps I understand why Tarlia enslaved your race. For short-lived vermin, you are remarkably deadly fighters…”
“You talk too damned much,” I said.
The Archon frowned, his gaze snapping toward me, which was exactly what I needed him to do.
I surged to my feet, thrusting my hand at his face, and the globe of lightning I had summoned burst from my palm. The Shadow Hunter Corvus had taught me the spell in exchange for saving his life several months ago, and I wasn’t as skilled with it as I would like. Yet I had practiced diligently, and at this range, I couldn’t miss.
The globe slammed into the Archon’s face, and his head snapped backwards, his hair catching on fire, the skin of his face and neck charring and blackening. The Elf let out a horrid, agonized shriek, and I cast the spell again, throwing another blast into his chest. There was a thunderclap as the globe sank into his torso, the golden three-headed dragon upon his uniform coat burning away, and the Archon’s body heaved as if he had touched a stripped wire. He slumped against the book-strewn floor, the stench of charred meat rising from the burned ruins of his face.
I didn’t know if the first globe had killed him or the second, but I did know that he wasn’t getting up again.
“Moron,” I muttered, looking at the corpse. I shook my head to clear it, my mind buzzing with the exertion of casting three spells in quick sequence. I had gotten lucky, but I really didn’t want to push my luck further. Best to find Russell and get the hell out of here before…
I turned my head, and my luck ran out.
Another orcish soldier stood in the entrance to the mall, his hard eyes fixed upon me. An AK-47 rested in his hands, and he was already swinging the barrel towards me. I started to dodge, hoping to throw myself behind one of the shelves, but it was too late. The orcish soldier had me dead to rights, and the only way he could miss was if he was totally incompetent…
A gunshot rang out, and the orc’s forehead exploded in a spray of blue gore.
Or if I was really, really lucky.
I whirled, stunned, and saw Russell crouched behind one of the fallen bookshelves, the dropped AK-47 of an orcish soldier propped on the edge for greater stability. While I had confronted the Archon, he had crept up behind us, found the gun, and shot the orc before the soldier killed me.
My first reaction was intense annoyance. I had told him to hide under the table. Why the hell hadn’t he listened to me? He could have been shot!
Then I realized the absurdity of that. If he hadn’t disobeyed me, the orc would have shot me. All the dangers I had faced, all the perils I had escaped, and if not for Russell some damned orc would have shot me dead in the Ducal Mall.
I met his gaze, and I noticed how calm he looked, how steady his hands were.
A surge of fierce pride went through me.
Well, why shouldn’t he have some steel in his spine? He was my brother.
-JM