Red Smoke Rising , livre ebook

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117 pages

English

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Description

Over a hundred years have passed since the invaders came to steal the drug, since Mia's homeland was occupied. Once they understood the drug's secrets, the Nor army was unstoppable, superhuman. Mia's people were overwhelmed and defeated - slaves in their own lands.

In the time that has passed, Mia and the Underground have stolen the drug, along with the knowledge of how to use it to create an army of their own. Now, the time has come for the resistance army of shapeshifters, Masters and Trademasters to stand against the Nor Empire and take back their homeland... before their chance is gone forever.

Sujets

Fantastique

Epic Fantasy

Epic

Fiction

Fantasy

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Publié par	eBookIt.com
Date de parution	21 février 2013
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780986666117
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0250€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Red Smoke Rising

by
Rick Anthony

Copyright 2011 Rick Anthony,
All rights reserved.

Published in eBook format by Basket Case Publishing
Converted by http://www.eBookIt.com

ISBN-13: 978-0-9866-6611-7

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

Red Smoke Rising is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

www.redsmokerising.com

A cknowledgement s

First and foremost I’d like to thank my friends at Basket Case Publishing. Without their help, guidance and patience, this would not have been possible. Special thanks to my editor, Ali Lauren, for her tireless efforts.
Thanks to Sara Lindsay (Makeup), Kimberley Carr (Hair), and Sherry Fafard (Photography) for their help in the beautiful cover design.
I’d also like to thank all the friends and family who helped and encouraged me through the process – especially those who suffered through reading all my revisions!
Finally, I’d like to thank my wife, Lisa, and daughter, Zoe, for their understanding, encouragement and especially patience while I worked on this project.

MIA

The two men lurking in the shadows of the alley stopped their transaction and craned in Mia’s direction. Their junkie eyes tracked her as she walked. She lowered her head to avoid their stares, continuing past them without making a sound. Her pace quickened; her heart thumped. Mia fixed her eyes on the ground until she was content the men were far behind her and sure no footsteps followed. It wasn’t until she left the alley for the main road that she allowed herself to look up and exhale a long, slow breath of air.
You’re too paranoid, she thought with a nervous chuckle.
The crisp, morning air worked its way into her bones as she continued along the cobblestone street and left the alley behind her.
She quickened her pace to work out the chill but slowed abruptly when she saw a man approaching from the end of the narrow road.
The Empire Myrmidon looked tired as he walked. The soldier stood almost eight feet tall. His beige uniform was so soiled from whatever tasks he had been performing that the red Empire emblem adorning his chest was barely distinguishable. The stain looked like blood. It probably was.
The augment’s oversized, muscular arms swung lazily in time with his sword as he plodded in Mia’s direction. His square jaw matched his massive, square physique. Even from a distance, Mia could see the deep creases that lined the man’s face. His profession was taking a toll on him.
She walked across the street to avoid crossing paths with the hulking soldier. The trouble his kind could bring was worse than she might have found in the alley. Fortunately, his cold eyes remained fixed on the ground; he paid no attention as she passed.
Mia let out another sigh. Paranoid. She tried to relax as she drew nearer to the campus.
The ground was damp and clouds loomed overhead. The late fall cold had begun to set in. Mia pulled her long, black coat around her slender frame and up under her chin, trying to keep out the chill. She shivered as she walked past another row of narrow houses springing up from the cobblestone. The tall, brick structures cast cold shadows all around her. She hated the cold, the province, too, but the city of Ipswal most of all. She couldn’t wait until her studies were complete; only then could she leave the dirty, dangerous place behind.
She carefully skirted a man sleeping on the road and hurried on. She glanced backward to make sure he hadn’t followed — just to be sure.
Ipswal wasn’t any worse than other Empire cities. Most were ugly places diseased by crime and corruption despite the heavy-handed Myrmidons policing them. If she had a choice, Mia preferred places on the outskirts of the Empire’s control. Unfortunately, universities like Ipsamesh didn’t exist outside of that control and for the time it was where she needed to be.
A hard life had driven the young woman down an unlikely path to the university. She had spent six years there and could boast of amazing accomplishments, though she went to great lengths to keep them secret. It was safer that way.
Mia entered the school grounds and left the city behind, running her fingers over the smooth surface of the arch at the entrance. She looked up. The pinnacle of the arch stood more than eighty feet high. It appeared to be made of pure glass, transparent to light despite its solid steel construction. It was an architectural masterpiece made possible by techniques taught at the university.
Not far from the archway stood the equally impressive Master Studies building. Mia walked between the huge stone gargoyles on either side of the entrance and reached for the front door. As her fingers made contact, a strange noise escaped from behind it.
She paused. Her attention snapped back to her surroundings. Her brow furrowed; she squinted her grey-blue eyes as she cocked her head to listen. The sound emerged a second time, louder than the first.
A scream? Her stomach sank.
She wrenched open the massive door and slipped inside in search of the sound, listening for another. Her delicate fingers stroked the fur band around her left forearm as she crept down the ornate marble corridors.
What she heard next was not a scream, but the sound of an argument somewhere down a distant hall. She broke into a jog, tracking the sound to one of the classrooms further down a side hallway. Onlookers had gathered around the room’s open doorway. Their murmuring grew louder as she neared.
“Let us go!” The words rang down the hall. It was Vi. Mia’s heart skipped when she heard the shrill panic in her friend’s voice. They were as close as sisters and Mia knew something was terribly wrong.
“Back off! Let her go!” Vi’s brother, Kale, growled.
“Sit down,” a third voice boomed. The crowd hushed. “We’re under orders. Your sister needs to answer some questions. She isn’t cooperating, so she’s coming with us—simple as that.”
“Let her go!” Kale snapped back. “We’ve done nothing wrong!”
“Bring him too,” the voice ordered.
Mia ran as fast as she could. She tried to process what she heard as she pushed her way through the onlookers. By the time she shoved her way through to the classroom door, the situation had disintegrated. Four Myrmidons held her two friends captive.
The Empire men were unmistakable. All four wore matching beige uniforms with Empire crests on their chests and swords at their hips. All were much larger than normal men, each of them over eight feet tall and bulging with muscle. One of them was larger and more muscular than any Mia had ever seen before. He stood a full head above the other three.
Two of the behemoths held Kale against the wall where he struggled in vain to break free. Another held Vi by the wrist, while the biggest one simply watched. When he heard enough, he drew his sword from its brown, leather sheath and pointed it toward Vi’s abdomen.
“Stop!” he bellowed at Kale. “Or I’ll skewer your sister. I’m not kidding.”
The threat was real; Myrmidons were known for their cruelty. They maintained order and enforced Empire law without question, protest or pity. Vi wouldn’t have been the first to die at the whim of a Myrmidon keeping peace.
Kale stilled immediately and allowed himself to be pinned against the wall. One of the giants buried his elbow deep into his captive’s neck. Kale’s face turned red. His eyes bulged.
Mia couldn’t believe it. The largest Myrmidon moved in to tower over Vi, though his eyes were locked on Kale’s. “Interfering with the Empire is a crime and I’m not feeling particularly patient today. If you insist on getting physical with us, I’m going to kill your sister. Then you’re next. Got it?”
Kale writhed in the much larger men’s grip. His haughty behaviour had landed him in trouble in the past, but Mia still couldn’t imagine how he had managed to get himself into such a mess.
Kale was a big man, strong as an ox, but he was helpless against the augmented Myrmidons. The giant held him by the throat and his eyes began to glaze over. The Myrmidon pressed harder until Kale’s feet lifted from the ground, his fingers desperately tugging at the man’s hands. His face took an even darker hue. Mia flinched as the second Myrmidon struck him. The sound of cracking ribs echoed through the room.
Vi shrieked. The fair-haired woman instinctively fought back, scared to death that the men would kill her brother, kicking at the man before leaping at him to dig at his eyes with her fingernails. The Myrmidon raised an arm to cover his face. When he did, Vi wriggled free of his grasp and scrambled toward her brother. As she dashed across the room she spotted Mia.
Vi stopped dead in her tracks, stood straight up and looked directly at Mia. Her panicked voice pierced the shocked silence as she screamed to her friend. “Run!” She shrieked. “They’re here for you!” Her words were cut short by the blade of the largest Myrmidon’s sword.
Mia felt her gorge begin to rise. The Myrmidon had stabbed her friend without a moment’s hesitation, his thick blade ripping through her torso to protrude from her chest. A steady stream of Vi’s blood ran from the tip, staining the floor at Mia’s feet. Behind her, the crowd screamed and ran.
Vi looked down for a moment in shock. She didn’t blink as she stared at the length of the sword sticking out of her. She looked back at Mia. Her pale lips moved as though to speak but no sound came out. Run! her mute mouth urged again before she collapsed on the floor.
Kale flailed and shoved, trying desperat