Still time to get a free book!
Sep. 22nd, 2014 10:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
valarltdNikolai Revenant, the rewritten Nikolai, is currently free for a few more days.
Come October first, it's gone!
For the .pdf,
http://brooksandsparrow.com/NikolaiRevenant.pdf
PM me for .mobi or .epub
Excerpt:
The two men's embrace was disturbed by an exclamation from the kitchen. “Antonio!” Val stood there, towel slung over one shoulder, and smiling.
Anthony smiled and turned, his hand falling to the small of James' back in a possessive rest as he nattered with Val in Italian too rapid for Nick to make out clearly. Nick tried not to let his confusion show. James Ligatos was the most commanding man he had ever met, but this boy walked in and took charge of the room, treating Ligatos like his girlfriend. He found himself ignored for a few minutes as the room echoed with breakneck Italian, so he returned to his work until there was a pause in the conversation and he felt eyes on the back of his neck.
“And this is the ungrateful bastard that did it, huh?”
Nick tucked away the handheld and went into a basic display posture he'd acquired from reading. He didn't look up or say anything. David had given him a rapid and private lesson in proper behavior from an indentured servant. His mouth was to be shut and his eyes were to be down around free people at all times. There were ways to be subtle about it, but this was a moment for showing Ligatos' power and control over him.
Anthony laughed, and it was unpleasant at best. “Oh, no, no, no. You have the balls to shiv the greatest man I've ever known, you face me like a man, boy. What in the green hells possessed you? Are you fu...freaking insane?” Anthony had stepped away from James and stood right in front of him, feet apart, the posture of a person used to being given credence to.
Nick lifted his face. “I have paid and continue to pay for my error, sir.”
“I don't give a shit whether you've paid for it. I want to know why. Why you would throw away paradise, when you come from here. Explain this to me. Slowly, since I'm not certain there's more than two rocks to rub together in your skull,” the man sneered.
Nick took a deep breath, torn between the urge to tell the interloper exactly what he thought and the weight of the collar on his neck. The diplomatic answer did not seem to be what Anthony wanted, but he didn't want to risk punishment from Ligatos for speaking intemperately. He stole a glance at Ligatos, who had been quiet and observant throughout Anthony's outburst. He nodded at him to obey and answer the question.
“Yes, boy. I have had some curiosity about that myself. But it was not important.”
So, as he had been taught when giving a bad report to a leader of the Revenants, he made it short, blunt and utterly factual. “I had planned to kill him and take what I could and then lose myself in one of the disputed territories. I have enemies here in the CS and wanted out before they found me.”
Anthony's cheeks turned pink. “The most powerful man in the Western Hemisphere, who had the power to do all he has done for you, and your thanks, your grand plan, was to kill him and rob him? Did you not think you would be run to ground like a dog? I should rip you apart!”
It was just another test, Nick told himself. Ligatos wanted to see how far Nick would go for him. He stayed still and waited for Anthony to lay a hand on him. He wouldn't fight back, no matter how much he wanted to, not unless Ligatos said for him to. He felt himself hauled upright by the collar, knuckles digging in his throat tightening the leather until he choked. He was unable to look away from the man's eyes, bright blue and full of hot, crystalline rage.
Nick kept himself under control. His first instinct was to strike first and hard, temple, ear, solar plexus, sending Anthony to his knees, gasping for breath. He let his hands hang open at his side instead.
Another large hand grasped the back of Nick's shirt and its mate untangled the fingers on his collar. Val stepped in between him and Anthony.
“If you wish to harm Niccolo for his attempt on my lord's life, you must go through me first.” Val's bass was as cold as Nick had ever heard it.
Anthony cocked an eyebrow, seemingly unfazed. “Why would you defend someone like that, Val? Surely you're as ready to kill the ungrateful brat as I am.”
Val's nod did not reassure Nick much. “But I cannot, for I did the same, many years ago. I left my lord in a worse state. Which is both why I wish to kill him and why I may not.”
Anthony looked over at Ligatos, who nodded just a little, almost imperceptibly. The man looked from Nick to his Sir to Val and shook his head disbelievingly. “I work for the insane. I am signed, sealed, and freaking delivered by Christ above into the hands of crazy men.” And with a loud growl of frustration, he turned on his heel and headed for the kitchen.
Nick heard the refrigerator open and close. When Val let go of him, he went right back down on his knees. He watched Anthony stalk out the door carrying a few bottles of beer and grabbing his satchel. He wasn't staining Ligatos' carpet in tiny pieces, so he counted the incident as a learning experience.
James shook his head and sat back down, looking up at Val. “Do check up on the boy, make sure he doesn't do anything that would require attention,” he instructed quietly before returning to his handheld. Val just nodded and headed back to the kitchen, sparing a thoughtful look for Nick on his way.
Come October first, it's gone!
For the .pdf,
http://brooksandsparrow.com/NikolaiRevenant.pdf
PM me for .mobi or .epub
Excerpt:
The two men's embrace was disturbed by an exclamation from the kitchen. “Antonio!” Val stood there, towel slung over one shoulder, and smiling.
Anthony smiled and turned, his hand falling to the small of James' back in a possessive rest as he nattered with Val in Italian too rapid for Nick to make out clearly. Nick tried not to let his confusion show. James Ligatos was the most commanding man he had ever met, but this boy walked in and took charge of the room, treating Ligatos like his girlfriend. He found himself ignored for a few minutes as the room echoed with breakneck Italian, so he returned to his work until there was a pause in the conversation and he felt eyes on the back of his neck.
“And this is the ungrateful bastard that did it, huh?”
Nick tucked away the handheld and went into a basic display posture he'd acquired from reading. He didn't look up or say anything. David had given him a rapid and private lesson in proper behavior from an indentured servant. His mouth was to be shut and his eyes were to be down around free people at all times. There were ways to be subtle about it, but this was a moment for showing Ligatos' power and control over him.
Anthony laughed, and it was unpleasant at best. “Oh, no, no, no. You have the balls to shiv the greatest man I've ever known, you face me like a man, boy. What in the green hells possessed you? Are you fu...freaking insane?” Anthony had stepped away from James and stood right in front of him, feet apart, the posture of a person used to being given credence to.
Nick lifted his face. “I have paid and continue to pay for my error, sir.”
“I don't give a shit whether you've paid for it. I want to know why. Why you would throw away paradise, when you come from here. Explain this to me. Slowly, since I'm not certain there's more than two rocks to rub together in your skull,” the man sneered.
Nick took a deep breath, torn between the urge to tell the interloper exactly what he thought and the weight of the collar on his neck. The diplomatic answer did not seem to be what Anthony wanted, but he didn't want to risk punishment from Ligatos for speaking intemperately. He stole a glance at Ligatos, who had been quiet and observant throughout Anthony's outburst. He nodded at him to obey and answer the question.
“Yes, boy. I have had some curiosity about that myself. But it was not important.”
So, as he had been taught when giving a bad report to a leader of the Revenants, he made it short, blunt and utterly factual. “I had planned to kill him and take what I could and then lose myself in one of the disputed territories. I have enemies here in the CS and wanted out before they found me.”
Anthony's cheeks turned pink. “The most powerful man in the Western Hemisphere, who had the power to do all he has done for you, and your thanks, your grand plan, was to kill him and rob him? Did you not think you would be run to ground like a dog? I should rip you apart!”
It was just another test, Nick told himself. Ligatos wanted to see how far Nick would go for him. He stayed still and waited for Anthony to lay a hand on him. He wouldn't fight back, no matter how much he wanted to, not unless Ligatos said for him to. He felt himself hauled upright by the collar, knuckles digging in his throat tightening the leather until he choked. He was unable to look away from the man's eyes, bright blue and full of hot, crystalline rage.
Nick kept himself under control. His first instinct was to strike first and hard, temple, ear, solar plexus, sending Anthony to his knees, gasping for breath. He let his hands hang open at his side instead.
Another large hand grasped the back of Nick's shirt and its mate untangled the fingers on his collar. Val stepped in between him and Anthony.
“If you wish to harm Niccolo for his attempt on my lord's life, you must go through me first.” Val's bass was as cold as Nick had ever heard it.
Anthony cocked an eyebrow, seemingly unfazed. “Why would you defend someone like that, Val? Surely you're as ready to kill the ungrateful brat as I am.”
Val's nod did not reassure Nick much. “But I cannot, for I did the same, many years ago. I left my lord in a worse state. Which is both why I wish to kill him and why I may not.”
Anthony looked over at Ligatos, who nodded just a little, almost imperceptibly. The man looked from Nick to his Sir to Val and shook his head disbelievingly. “I work for the insane. I am signed, sealed, and freaking delivered by Christ above into the hands of crazy men.” And with a loud growl of frustration, he turned on his heel and headed for the kitchen.
Nick heard the refrigerator open and close. When Val let go of him, he went right back down on his knees. He watched Anthony stalk out the door carrying a few bottles of beer and grabbing his satchel. He wasn't staining Ligatos' carpet in tiny pieces, so he counted the incident as a learning experience.
James shook his head and sat back down, looking up at Val. “Do check up on the boy, make sure he doesn't do anything that would require attention,” he instructed quietly before returning to his handheld. Val just nodded and headed back to the kitchen, sparing a thoughtful look for Nick on his way.
