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This week I’m revisiting the first story in the Confessions series that set in the Pandemonium universe. In this scene, Skye, a rogue werewolf, is attacked by a swarm of demons and a mysterious stranger jumps in to help him.
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Excerpt:
Giant bat-like demons drop from the deli’s rooftop. They swarm around me, slashing me with needle-like claws. Growling, I shift to full wolf form, hoping the thicker fur will protect me. I lash out at them, claws swiping leathery flesh and my teeth gnashing at the wind. I try to make it to my bike, but I can barely see through the mass of dark bodies.
The demons shriek and turn away from me. At first I don’t understand what’s happened, and then I see him. Dressed in black, his face covered in a fitted hood that leaves only his eyes exposed, he kicks and strikes at the demons, his lithe body twisting into unnatural positions. He attacks and defends with the speed and precision of a raptor or a snake — maybe some weird combination of both. He isn’t like any creature I’ve seen before, demon or otherwise.
I don’t have much time to think about it. Shoving aside the few demons still clinging to me, I bound toward my bike.
What the hell am I doing?
I turn toward the shrinking swarm. The remaining demons continue attacking my rescuer. I might be a lone wolf, but abandoning someone who’s lent me a hand isn’t in my nature.
Growling, I gallop back toward the scene, shift to my half man, half wolf form again, and reach for the masked dude. He glances at me with eyes the color of my favorite lake back home — a combination of dark blue water tinted by the reflection of the surrounding evergreens. His eyelashes are so damn thick and long — prettier than the fake ones worn by the strippers at the club down the street from my apartment. A pang shoots through my chest.
“Come on.” I grasp his arm — it’s thin enough for my fingers to touch, but hard, like flexible steel. His shredded clothes are sticky with blood, exposing bits of torn skin beneath. I’m ripped up pretty bad, too, but my accelerated healing has already kicked in. These superficial wounds will be all but gone by morning. I don’t know how quickly my wiry friend here heals. He doesn’t smell completely human, but that means nothing. Even some demons have a short lifespan, meager strength, and limited powers.
I drag him toward my bike and he quickly falls into step with me. I jump on and he dives on behind me and grabs my belt loops. His lithe body presses to mine as we fly down the street. A demon or two swoop down at us, but once we hit the main road, they either don’t bother following or aren’t able to match the bike’s speed.
“Let me off!” my passenger shouts above the engine and the roaring wind. I don’t answer.
Snake Charmer
by Kate Hill
Series: Confessions (Part of the Pandemonium universe)
Format(s): Ebook
Heat Level: Erotic Romance
Pairing(s): M/M
Genre/Themes: Paranormal, Werewolves, Magic
Length: Novella
Cover Art: Bryan Keller
Order Links: Amazon / Apple Books / Barnes & Noble / Changeling Press / Everand / kobo
Skye: I’m a lone wolf, but I’ve left the forest to fight against demons who’ve taken over the world. Right now I’m with a pack in Baltimore, but their alpha respects my ways. I take assignments from him, but I live alone and fight alone — until the night I’m attacked by a swarm of bat demons and a hot little snake dancer jumps in to back me up. For me, it’s lust at first sight, but it’s more than that. I think this adorable little tough guy is my mate, even though he’s not a wolf.
Erik: I’m called Snake Charmer. Dancer. Contortionist. Spirit twin to an alien serpent who has always been my protector. My life has been a series of horrors with some beautiful experiences tossed in. I’ve learned to be independent, especially after my best friend and I were brutalized in an attack that left her dead. Now I’m out for revenge, and it’s brought me to Maryland, directly into the path of a gorgeous werewolf who makes me feel things I never dreamed of. It can’t last, though, and nothing, not even desire this deep, will come between me and my vendetta.
Warning: While set in a futuristic paranormal reality, Snake Charmer includes references to previous child abuse, rape, and murder that may be triggers to some readers.
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Hi,
The fight scene is emotionally challenging. I could feel his struggle as he returned to help the person who had helped him. I thought he was going to leave him behind.
Nicely done. Their actions show so much about their characters.
Love that sense of “oh crap but it’s my honor more than my life”
I haven’t read any of this before, Kate. Sounds really original. (And I see you’re also celebrating the Year of the Snake!)