Chapter One Excerpt of BONE MAGIC
Posted on June 28, 2010 by Flames
Another equinox is here, and life’s getting more tumultuous for the D’Artigo sisters. Smoky, the dragon of Camille’s dreams, must choose between his family and her. Plus, the sisters can’t locate the new demon general in town. And Camille’s summoned to Otherworld, thinking she’ll reunite with her long-lost soul mate Trillian. But once there, she must undergo a drastic ritual that will forever change her and those she loves.
FlamesRising.com is pleased to present you with an excerpt from the first chapter of BONE MAGIC, which was written by Yasmine Galenorn.
Chapter One Excerpt
"Run! Get the hell out of here!" Morio pushed me toward the iron gates.
I didn't ask why. I just took off for the opening, avoiding the metal as I darted past the wrought iron spikes. Nearing the steps leading out of the mausoleum, another shout from Morio stopped me and I whirled around. He'd dropped his bag containing his skull familiar and had pulled out a pair of curved daggers, one in each hand. A wedding present from me, but he wasn't taking any time to admire the carved
antler handles.
No, it was show and tell time.
Two people with long, shuffling strides were headed his way. Or rather, two bodies.
"Can you cut off their heads?"
Morio snorted. "Oh sure. I can just zip on in and lop off their heads with these babies. Get real, woman. We've got our work cut out for us."
"Hey, life would be easier that way," I called out, but he had a point. It wasn't that he couldn't fight. In fact, Morio was an incredible fighter. But we were facing one teensy-weensy problem. Our opponents weren't exactly alive. They were already dead. And dangerous.
One of them was just what he looked like-so much dead meat on the hoof. Normally, returning the zombie to the grave wouldn't be much of a problem-they were shambling brainless monsters. No brains meant for less of a challenge. But we'd made a potentially deadly mistake. His companion was all too aware of our intentions and was whispering something under his breath.
That we'd accidentally chosen a demon's corpse to experiment on didn't help matters. Neither did the fact that we'd summoned a spirit into the body, and that spirit knew how to use magic. Oh yeah, we'd fucked up royally.
As I raced back to his side, Morio leapt into the air, spinning with a kick that landed square on the chest of the first corpse, sending the creature reeling back. The zombie thudded against the wall and slid to the floor. It was still moving, though, and if we'd done our job right, would be back in action in a moment. And it looked like we deserved an A+ for attention to detail. The zombie was struggling to push itself up off the ground.
"Cripes. Now our magic works," I said, torn between being proud of our work and wishing we weren't so damned good. I ran through my repertoire of spells, trying to think of something to help. We had to reverse the summoning spell but in the meantime, what could freeze an angry spirit waltzing around in a demon's body?
Morio sliced through the air, catching one of the creature's arms. He managed to carve off a long strip of the flesh and I grimaced as the chunk o' demon fell to the floor. The zombie reeled as Morio punched him in the jaw. He knocked him back a few steps, but barely put a dent in the monster's speed.
Oh, this was so not how our experiment was supposed to go.
Quick, quick, what could I use? Fire? No, the damn thing was demon and there was a good chance the body was still immune to flame. But what about lightning? I grinned. Electricity just might just work.
I thrust my arms into the air and closed my eyes, summoning the Moon Mother, calling down the lightning. A storm was on the way, so the bolts didn’t have far to travel.
The lightning instantly responded. I could hear it crackling from about five miles away as the clouds raced in, carrying it to me. As the energy began to swirl around my hands, I felt it thicken, shrouding me like a fog. The power soaked into my pores and entered my lungs with the rising mists.
The energy coiled like a snake at the base of my tailbone and began to ascend through my spine, prickling me like a thousand needles, the pain sharp and exquisitely sensual. A rush of desire rode on the back of the bolt-sex and magic were integrally combined for me. I sucked in a deep breath as the spell took over, then arched my back, arms open wide, and pointed my palms toward the demon’s body.
This preview for was provided and published with express permission from Yasmine Galenorn and her publisher. To read the rest of the preview, visit the Chapter One Preview of BONE MAGIC at www.yasminegalenorn.com.