Tomorrow is the Day!
Tomorrow’s the day! Dragons and Demons will be live in less than 24 hours!
I’m so excited for you to read this latest book. Hazel and Mei meet for the first time, there’s a demon horde to fight, someone gets put in prison, someone else gets kidnapped! It’s all go!
Click the link to find out more: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08WRZ6V3L
Read on for an excerpt:
The door to my office opens and I look up.
The Director is leading two people into the lab and looking smugly over at me. It feels like he’s showing me off, proving some kind of point. What? That I’m his minion? That he’s in control of a chalice?
Hardly.
But I manage a smile in their direction, determined not to show my true feelings.
Damien looks the same: an ordinary brown-haired man you’d probably forget the moment he passed you by. Next to him is a striking woman, tall, long dark hair, with eyes that seem to cut into me. She’s staring at me like I’m some kind of insect she has to figure out before the end of biology class. This has to be Damien’s daughter, Mei.
A real life dragon in front of me.
I blink, trying to act normal under her scrutiny. Will she breathe fire on me if I annoy her? Does she have supersized dragon teeth underneath her polite smile?
I wish I knew more about dragons. Or had even thought to ask Blade before I left. I peer more closely at Damien and Mei, trying to gather more information about them without having to ask.
That’s when I realize you could cut the tension in the air between the three of them with a knife. They’re barely managing to keep things civil, and they’ve been here, what? Half an hour?
“Hazel, this is Mei. And you already know Mei’s father, Damien Walker,” says the Director smoothly, gesturing between me and the other woman.
Mei looks completely different from her father. She’d definitely stand out in a crowd. She probably gets noticed wherever she goes. I’m half expecting to see a tail, or dragon horns somewhere. But she just looks like a normal—if ridiculously attractive—woman.
I glance at Damien, and I’m surprised by how good it is to see his familiar face. He looks almost the same, maybe a little more worn down around the edges.
I smile at him. “It’s good to see you, Damien. I thought I’d never see you again, after….”
He moves closer to me, his sharp eyes roving my face. I don’t know what he sees, but it seems to reassure him. He holds out one hand. “It’s good to see you safe and sound, Hazel. I was worried.”
“We managed to survive,” I say with a quick glance at the Director. I really want to give Damien a hug, to confirm that he’s okay, that he’s really here. Will the Director be upset if I’m too familiar with Damien? “What the hell,” I mutter to myself, and lean forward to wrap my arms around Damien. He seems surprised at first, and then his arms go around me as well.
He’s warm and stable and… he’s slipping a note into my pocket. I start nervously, but Damien holds me still, keeping his body between me and the Director. He gives me a stern look as he comes out of the hug, which I interpret as “don’t fuck this up.”
I nod to myself and try not to put my hand in my pocket to feel the note. Pretend it’s not there. Pretend it’s not there. Pretend it’s not there.
I’m so focused on the note, I don’t notice Mei coming up to me, until she’s right there.
“Hi,” she says, holding out her hand and taking mine in a firm grip. “Nice to meet you.”
I blink up at her, staring into her almond-shaped brown eyes. Her lashes are thick, like freaking tree trunks around her eyes, making them stand out even more. “Likewise,” I manage.
“I hear my father recruited you?” says Mei curiously. She’s peering at me again like I’m something she needs to know more about.
I glance quickly at Damien. “He did.” In his rude, abrupt, totally illegal way.
“And you’re working with demons?” Her question gives away more than she realizes. She’s worried about the demons, just as much as I am.
“She controls them,” says Damien, his voice warm with pride. “Hazel’s a chalice.”
Mei looks from her father back to me, and I can almost see her thinking as she puts everything together. “That’s rare, right?” she asks.
Maybe? “I don’t really know,” I glance at Damien for confirmation, and he nods. “They tell me I’m unique.”
“What exactly is it that you do with demons?”
Run from them? Wish I didn’t have the power to control them? I shrug. “Demons are attracted to me. Like Damien said, I can control them… and destroy them when everything else is going okay around me.”
“She’s also a talented inventor,” adds the Director. “She’s developed several devices that help with demons.” He really does look pleased about that, almost doting. I wonder what he really thinks of me. Does he realize that I don’t trust him? That I’m planning to do everything I can to stop whatever evil plan he’s brewing with Lakas?
“Wow, that’s amazing,” says Mei, looking impressed. She barely glances at the Director, and I can tell she hates him just as much as he hates her. But she’s pleased for me. She’s open to being friendly with me.
And I have a feeling she’s had personal experience with demons.
“We’re working on ways to amp up my abilities, to allow me to control more demons at one time,” I say, trying to tell her I’m working on the problem without letting the Director know which problem I’m working on. “Maybe even use their energy for different purposes, if we can get it stable enough.”
“Because of the demon plague?” says Mei, her eyes alight with curiosity.
“Yes. Precisely,” I say with a smile, pleased that Mei already understands the gravity of the situation.
Click this link to check out Dragons & Demons on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08WRZ6V3L