Light's Dawn:
A Novella
(Light in the
Darkness)
By Yvette Bostic
Mikel, a young merchant with the
East India Trading Company, always considered fortune to be his
mistress...until the Amboyan Massacre. The Dutch spare his life, but he’s
forced into the deep jungles of South America to act as bait for a hidden
menace picking off their scouts one by one. It works all too well: a demonic
horde, drawn into the open, annihilates the entire Dutch battalion, leaving
Mikel running for his life.
As he flees from the grisly battlefield, he falls in with the only other survivor of the demon attack, a Portuguese army scout named Raphael. Together, they scramble to escape the dangers of an impenetrable jungle, the pursuing demons, and their masters, a shadowy group of cultists intent on destroying the world.
Exhausted and disoriented, Mikel and Raphael are drawn to a mysterious stranger. But his gifts come with a choice: accept their destiny to fight against the darkness or allow it to consume humanity.
Light's Dawn is a stand-alone prequel to the Light in the Darkness historical fantasy series.
Excerpt
The next day, Raphael found himself
marching south again, with another platoon of soldiers. Only this time he was
in the lead. His commander instructed him to find the platoon he abandoned. The
lieutenant at his side eyed him skeptically, also not believing his story about
the horned creatures.
They made camp the first night, with
only the threat of a lone, injured puma. It wandered into their camp, favoring
one of its hind legs. One of the soldiers put it out of its misery and carried
the corpse a safe distance away, so as not to attract any other predators.
The next morning the lieutenant
approached Raphael.
“How much longer before we reach the
clearing?” he asked.
“We should be there by mid-day,
sir.”
“Good, I’d…” the lieutenant’s
comment was cut short by shouts at the end of the column.
“Lieutenant!” a man with dark hair
and darker eyes, raced up to the officer. Blood dripped from the arm he cradled
against his chest. “The back of the column is being slaughtered!”
“Pull everyone to me and form
ranks!” the officer called racing toward the end of the line.
Raphael followed with trepidation. A
sense of foreboding crowding his thoughts.
The soldiers did as instructed and
rallied around their lieutenant, forming a defensive rank along a curve in the
road. Several more soldiers ran toward the line, each grievously injured and
some carrying their fellows.
“Allow them through quickly, then
reform the line!”
When the first black-scaled monster
turned the corner, fear swept across the ranks.
“Hold steady! It is only one-” the
lieutenant paused as two dozen more followed in the wake of their leader.
They each carried a massive axe,
almost as tall as the average man. The demons themselves were heads taller than
even their largest soldier. Their bare chests rippled with muscle as they
tested their weapons in anticipation of the coming fight. Without warning the
demons charged and the soldiers’ line collapsed.
Raphael had seen the results of the
demon’s onslaught once before and knew they would not survive. He pulled two
daggers from his vest as a demon approached his lieutenant. The officer lunged
with his sword, but the monster batted it away with his arm. It swung its large
axe in an arching loop, slicing through the man’s sword arm and cleaving a deep
gouge at his waist. The lieutenant stood there in shock, holding his insides
from falling out. His face paled and he looked at Raphael.
“Run!
Raphael froze in fear for a split
second, until the demon turned towards him. The monster’s deep, burning red
eyes bore into Raphael. His knees felt weak under the demon’s hateful gaze, but
he managed to find enough strength to turn and run. A deep howl followed him as
he crashed through the nearest briars. He could feel the demon close behind
him, spurring his flight onward. He weaved between the trunks of the massive
trees and cried out when he nearly ran over another man. He twisted to avoid
him and stumbled to ground, smashing his knee against the root of a nearby
tree. He flipped over to find the blond-haired scout from the Dutch army.
“Run! I’m pursued by a demon that
will kill us both!” Raphael called out, struggling to his feet.
He could hear his pursuer crashing
through the jungle. It would be upon them at any moment. Raphael grabbed the
man’s arm, trying to encourage him to run, but as soon as he did the jungle
around him burst into a blinding light. He covered his face and cried out. When
he turned back towards the scout, the demon’s head rolled to a stop at his feet
with a look of shock on its dark face.
Raphael pulled his gaze from the
gruesome sight and looked at the man before him. In his left hand was a sword,
glowing so bright it appeared to be made from light itself. The scout stared
back at Raphael with confusion and wonder. He raised the blade of light in his
hand, gazing at it with reverence. Then it disappeared. Raphael gasped. He had
no words for what he just witnessed.
Yvette Bostic
Yvette lives in the beautiful mountains
of West Virginia. During the day she has a full-time career, but when she gets
home and kicks off her shoes she becomes absorbed in her next novel. She enjoys
the company of her ever-patient husband who believes she's lost in her
computer, and three dogs who are the only ones who can drag her away from
writing-mostly because she has no desire to clean up their mess.
Tense excerpt! I like the mixture of the known and unknown. Makes for an epic read.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds amazing! Off I skip to Amazon! LOL
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