Excerpt Monday: Sorcerer’s Daughter #1

Is it that time again? Time flies when you’re on deadline! Well, um, self-imposed deadline that is.

Excerpt Monday was started by two lovely writers: Bria Quinlan and Alexia Reed. It revolves around a group of unpublished and published authors who post their excerpts once a month on a Monday. More are always welcome!Visit the other links for some interesting reads and if you’d like to join up for next month, take a look at the main site: The Excerpt Monday blog.

November brings us the opening to a series that I’m hoping to be able to flesh out once Across the Silk Road is done. You can see by the less than sparkly title, that this is still in pre-production. It’s my first attempt to plot a historical paranormal series revolving around five swordsmen in secret service to the Emperor.
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The Middle Kingdom, 9^th century

Over the last rise there was silence. Tai Shen expected the sounds of the night to surround them out in this wooded area; the whirring of summer crickets or the coo of an owl. His hand trailed to his weapon, and his sword brother Jin mirrored the gesture.

“Do you sense anything?”

Jin grew still, breathing slowly in and out, before shaking his head. He remained tense however, poised for danger. Tai Shen didn’t comprehend the ethereal forces that Jin sought. Their shifu referred to it as a subtle light.

The outline of a cabin stood ahead. The scent of camphor and sandalwood grew stronger as they approached until it hung in the air like a veil. A strip of paper hung on either side of the doorway, displaying the spider-like brushstrokes of an incantation.

The Taoist master Yang had retreated to this remote stretch of forest nearly a decade ago, losing himself in isolation like so many seekers of the Way. But Tai Shen needed the help of a master now, a true sorcerer who could call the spirits and bend heaven and earth.

A sliver of light seeped out from around the door. Tai Shen peered through the opening. An elderly man lay still upon a mat at the center of the room. Too still.

Tai Shen felt his throat close tight. His insides ground to dust. Master Yang was dead.

A woman in mourning robe of bleached sackcloth knelt beside him. She balanced a writing tablet in her lap and held the calligraphy brush between her first and second fingers. Her brush danced down the strip of paper in one fluid stroke.

“It’s Song Yi,” Jin whispered.

The sorcerer’s daughter.

Song Yi finished the final stroke before glancing up. A white veil framed her fine-boned face.  Her eyes were swollen and rimmed with red, but any tears had long gone dry. “So the demon hunters are finally here.”

They were intruding and adding insult to the trespass by spying. Tai Shen pushed the door open to pay his respects properly. His blood went to ice.

Hundreds of talismans covered the walls, ground to the ceiling. Cinnabar ink stained the yellow paper like blood.

“They come for him every night.” Desperation crept into her voice. “They want him, I know it. I can barely hold them back.”

Had she been taken by madness? “Who comes for him?”

The night breeze began to howl behind him. Jin gripped his arm.

“Guǐguài,” she whispered.

Demonkind. The paper talismans on the walls burst into flame.

Sorcerer’s Daughter Excerpt #2

Sorcerer’s Daughter Excerpt #3

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Exceprt Monday Participants:
Note: I have not personally screened these excerpts and they may contain material that is not typical of my blog. Please heed the ratings when browsing the excerpts.

So, to kick it off, your hosts:

Alexia Reed, Urban Fantasy (R)

and

Bria Quinlan, Rom Com (PG13)

Joining us this week:

Jane Bled, Yaoi/M-M Erotica/Vampire/Paranormal/Horror (PG 13)
Danie Ford, YA Urban Fantasy (PG 13)
Heather S Ingemar, Dark Fantasy (PG13)
Babette James, Fantasy Romance (PG13)
Cynthia Justlin, Contemporary Romance (PG 13)
Kaige, Historical Romance (PG 13)
Julia Knight, Fantasy Romance (PG 13)
Jeannie Lin, Historical paranormal romance (PG 13)
R.F Long, Fantasy (PG13)
Shawntelle Madison, Paranormal Romance (PG 13)
Debbie Mumford, Fantasy (PG 13)
Bria Quinlan, Rom Com (PG13)
Megan S, Paranormal (PG 13)
Rosalind Stone, Women’s Fiction (PG 13)
Jo Lynne Valerie, Paranormal Romance (PG 13)

Kendal Ashby, YA (R)
Jax Cassidy, Contemporary (R)
Cate Hart, YA Paranormal (R)
Inez Kelley, Romantic Comedy (R)
Aislinn Kerry, Fantasy (R)
Jeanne St. James, Contemporary Erotic Romance (R)
Cherrie Lynn, Paranormal Romance (R)
Jeanette Murray, Romantic Comedy (R)
Christa Paige, Paranormal (R)
Michelle Picard, Fantasy Romance (R)
Mary Quast, Contemporary Romance (R)
Alexia Reed, Urban Fantasy (R)
Zora Stout, Contemporary Erotic Romance (R)

Sara Brookes, Erotic Sci Fi (NC 17)
Emily Ryan-Davis, Romance (NC 17)
Ella Drake, Historical Paranormal Romance (NC 17)
Angeleque Ford, Erotic Dark Urban Fantasy (NC17)
J.W. Hankins, Dark Fiction (NC 17)
Annie Nicholas, Paranormal Romance (NC 17)
Kim Knox, Erotic SF Romance (NC17)
Michelle Polaris, Erotic Futuristic Romance (NC 17)
Bryl R. Tyne, Contemporary M/M (NC 17)