I will stop at nothing to get to the truth, no matter whom it hurts or whom I have to kill.
by LaVerne Thompson
Genre: Dark Romance, SciFi Fantasy
My name is Piper Adams. I’m young for a special agent to the king, but I’m very, very good at what I do—which is finding the truth. I can temporarily take over and inhabit the mind of another. The Day Walker king knows this and values my gifts. He uses me when others fail. Like in a rare once-in-a-lifetime murder case.
There is unrest in the Kingdom of Day. One of the King’s Men, was brutally murdered just a block away from the palace. The victim is a high-ranking officer of the King’s Men. Local corruption control say he’s a spy and traitor to the Day Walkers and our king. The King’s Men call bullshit.
The king has tasked me with figuring out what really happened. Both sides will try to stop me from getting at the truth. No matter what, I’ll find their dirty secrets. I will stop at nothing to get to the truth, no matter whom it hurts or whom I have to kill. By writ of my king.
EXCERPT:
Chapter 1
Day of Death
by LaVerne Thompson
Tomas
I didn’t drink so much I couldn’t hear the soft threads of boots over the cobbled stones. One person. The individual following me made a good attempt at being quiet. With anyone else it might have worked, but I was a King’s Men, a well-trained operative. I hunt others, but it had been a while since I was the hunted. As an illusion generator I could trick others into seeing whatever I wanted them to see. I used this power now.
Just around the corner was an unlighted alleyway. I knew this area quite well and hopefully it would be empty. I lured him into it, but paused as I rounded the corner and got out of his line of sight. A perfect place to create the illusion of a doorway on the side of the building near the end of the fence. Making it appear as though I’d gone through the door, while I’d really hidden myself along the side of the fence. I didn’t have long to wait.
A male, over six feet, with a long, dark hooded cloak draped over a soldier’s frame, came into view. I pressed back into the shadows against the fence, blending into my surroundings, waiting for my stalker to walk right into the wall. To my shock, the man stopped near my hiding place. At the last second, before I could use my sword on him, the man raised his blade. A short sword. He’d seen through my illusion. In one swipe, he sliced straight through my larynx. A strangled gurgle escaped my parted lips. In disbelief, I tried lifting my hand to my throat, but my arm was too heavy. I couldn’t quite raise it. My fingers could no longer grip my sword as it fell from my numb fingers, clattering to the ground. The illusion of the doorway vanished, revealing the stone wall. When the man cut my guts open, pulling them outside my body, the pain in my throat dissipated. As my life’s blood saturated the stones, I no longer felt anything at all.
Piper
***
Blood streamed down my cheek as I ran through the square. No one was around at this hour. I could see adults in the distance, but none were near enough to give me aid. Nor would I ask for it. I wasn’t supposed to be here. Bile and acid burnt my lungs, but I dared not stop. Fear fueled my limbs, giving me the speed I needed to put more distance between me and the sound of the older boys’ footfalls who chased me, calling me names. I shouldn’t have gone beyond the gates of the town. Shouldn’t have born witness to Janae’s banishment. Janae, older than me by a month, had been my best friend, but I had to know. See for myself.
My people, the Day Walkers, from the Kingdom of Day, are no different from the other natio states of our world. Except for the Sepawns, the only powerless state. The Keeper Nation, Intel Dynasty, Giant Empire, and Night Kingdom, all their citizens had powers of some kind. If a child didn’t show some kind of enhanced ability, power, that would benefit the state by their eighth year, the parents got rid of them. Banished from the town, city, or wherever they lived. Taken into the wilds to survive or not. That rule was absolute. No exceptions existed in those states, mine included. The lucky ones died. The fear was for the ones who did not manifest a power and survived. They faced a worse fate if captured by the Dreads. They were the ones who made up the outcasts from every nation.
At least Janae’s fate, banishment out of the Kingdom of Day, and into the wild at the age of eight, would never be mine. My power manifested a few months ago. I hoped despite everything that my former friend found someone to help her. She was smart and tricky, but none of that mattered. Not to our people and the boys who threw stones at her, then at me when I tried to stop them. Instead, they chased me, but they’ll never catch me. They never have, and this time was no different. They were assholes. That’s when I swore to myself I’d grow strong enough, become one of the finest fighters of the land and hone my skill, so I’d be one of the best. No one would ever throw rocks at me again, or dare to call me a hybrid. At least not without respect.
Chapter 1
Day of Death
by LaVerne Thompson
Tomas
I didn’t drink so much I couldn’t hear the soft threads of boots over the cobbled stones. One person. The individual following me made a good attempt at being quiet. With anyone else it might have worked, but I was a King’s Men, a well-trained operative. I hunt others, but it had been a while since I was the hunted. As an illusion generator I could trick others into seeing whatever I wanted them to see. I used this power now.
Just around the corner was an unlighted alleyway. I knew this area quite well and hopefully it would be empty. I lured him into it, but paused as I rounded the corner and got out of his line of sight. A perfect place to create the illusion of a doorway on the side of the building near the end of the fence. Making it appear as though I’d gone through the door, while I’d really hidden myself along the side of the fence. I didn’t have long to wait.
A male, over six feet, with a long, dark hooded cloak draped over a soldier’s frame, came into view. I pressed back into the shadows against the fence, blending into my surroundings, waiting for my stalker to walk right into the wall. To my shock, the man stopped near my hiding place. At the last second, before I could use my sword on him, the man raised his blade. A short sword. He’d seen through my illusion. In one swipe, he sliced straight through my larynx. A strangled gurgle escaped my parted lips. In disbelief, I tried lifting my hand to my throat, but my arm was too heavy. I couldn’t quite raise it. My fingers could no longer grip my sword as it fell from my numb fingers, clattering to the ground. The illusion of the doorway vanished, revealing the stone wall. When the man cut my guts open, pulling them outside my body, the pain in my throat dissipated. As my life’s blood saturated the stones, I no longer felt anything at all.
Piper
***
Blood streamed down my cheek as I ran through the square. No one was around at this hour. I could see adults in the distance, but none were near enough to give me aid. Nor would I ask for it. I wasn’t supposed to be here. Bile and acid burnt my lungs, but I dared not stop. Fear fueled my limbs, giving me the speed I needed to put more distance between me and the sound of the older boys’ footfalls who chased me, calling me names. I shouldn’t have gone beyond the gates of the town. Shouldn’t have born witness to Janae’s banishment. Janae, older than me by a month, had been my best friend, but I had to know. See for myself.
My people, the Day Walkers, from the Kingdom of Day, are no different from the other natio states of our world. Except for the Sepawns, the only powerless state. The Keeper Nation, Intel Dynasty, Giant Empire, and Night Kingdom, all their citizens had powers of some kind. If a child didn’t show some kind of enhanced ability, power, that would benefit the state by their eighth year, the parents got rid of them. Banished from the town, city, or wherever they lived. Taken into the wilds to survive or not. That rule was absolute. No exceptions existed in those states, mine included. The lucky ones died. The fear was for the ones who did not manifest a power and survived. They faced a worse fate if captured by the Dreads. They were the ones who made up the outcasts from every nation.
At least Janae’s fate, banishment out of the Kingdom of Day, and into the wild at the age of eight, would never be mine. My power manifested a few months ago. I hoped despite everything that my former friend found someone to help her. She was smart and tricky, but none of that mattered. Not to our people and the boys who threw stones at her, then at me when I tried to stop them. Instead, they chased me, but they’ll never catch me. They never have, and this time was no different. They were assholes. That’s when I swore to myself I’d grow strong enough, become one of the finest fighters of the land and hone my skill, so I’d be one of the best. No one would ever throw rocks at me again, or dare to call me a hybrid. At least not without respect.
About the Author
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LaVerne Thompson is a USA Today Bestselling, award winning, multi-published author, an avid reader and a writer of contemporary, fantasy, and sci/fi romances. She also writes romantic suspense and new adult under the pen name Ursula Sinclair, her alter ego, who likes her relationships a little more complicated. http://www.amazon.com/Ursula-Sinclair/e/B00415YAVK/
Her stories are highly sensual with erotic elements but she has a few that are considered erotic. Most of her books also have a touch of violence and a few more than that. She enjoys good action scenes in movies and has incorporated some of those elements in quite a few of her books. She is also a certified chocoholic.
LaVerne Thompson is a USA Today Bestselling, award winning, multi-published author, an avid reader and a writer of contemporary, fantasy, and sci/fi romances. She also writes romantic suspense and new adult under the pen name Ursula Sinclair, her alter ego, who likes her relationships a little more complicated. http://www.amazon.com/Ursula-Sinclair/e/B00415YAVK/
Her stories are highly sensual with erotic elements but she has a few that are considered erotic. Most of her books also have a touch of violence and a few more than that. She enjoys good action scenes in movies and has incorporated some of those elements in quite a few of her books. She is also a certified chocoholic.
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