Gordon and the kids are doing yard sale. I think our stuff is too silly to sell. We’ll see.
Here is Kaldar and Audrey for you. This was written last night and not edited, so there are grammatical issues with it.
image found at http://www.trekearth.com/
Kaldar lay on a low ridge, wearing the Mirror’s night suit. The fabric, painted with swirls in a dozen shades of grey, hugged his body, tight but too elastic to hinder his movements. With the hood hiding his hair and his face painted grey and black, he supposed he resembled a ninja.
It was good that nobody could see him, because he looked completely ridiculous.
Although, come to think of it, the suits did have their advantages. For example, if one had decent night vision, he could admire the way the stretchy fabric clung to Audrey’s incredibly shapely ass…
“Kaldar,” Audrey hissed. “Stop looking at my butt.”
Behind them Gaston made some hissing noises which might have been a cough or more likely, laughter.
She had a sixth sense. That had to be it. He would never again take women’s intuition lightly.
She leaned closer, her whisper so quite, he had to strain to hear it. “Do you ever take anything seriously?”
“No.”
She shook her head and raised her binoculars up to her eyes, looking down on the house two miles below. He picked up his binoculars and looked too. The full moon ducked in and out of torn clouds, dappling the building with patches of silvery light and deep shadow. The house sat in the middle of the shallow valley, surrounded by palms and greenery. The building rose two stories high, with white arches sheltering a long front porch under a bright orange roof. Five thousand square feet, at least. A tennis court stretched in front of the house. To the right, a fenced in field offered a horse course with white gates. Further back, a barn loomed, and next to it a caretaker’s house. To the left a picturesque pool gleamed in the weak moonlight. Except for a gun tower near the barn and the ring of metal spikes circling the house, which served as anchors for the defensive spells, the place looked like a tropical resort built by a Spanish family with unlimited funds.
The humble abode of Arturo Pena. Kaldar grit his teeth. If that house could tell stories, it would bleed.
According to Gaston, Arturo Pena prayed on coyotes, the human traffickers who ferried illegals from Mexico into the embrace of California State. Arturo and his band of hired low-lives ambushed the coyote vehicles, extracted the human cargo, and sold them on the Republic of California’s slave markets. Half of the people died in the crossing into the Weird. The other half shortly followed. There was a reason why the Robber Barons always needed fresh bodies to tilt the fields, build their castles, and fight in their armies.
Nobody ever missed Pena’s victims. The Broken California didn’t know they existed; the Broken Mexico lost jurisdiction once they left its borders; and the victims themselves had no idea where they were taken. Those who ran away never found their way back across the boundary.
Pena was a sonovabitch of the first order. His name was spoken in whispers. The local Edgers feared him, but for the most part, he left them alone and they did the same, which said something. Arturo Pena didn’t believe in banks. It made sense, Kaldar decided. Putting money in the bank resulted n questions. Money earned interest, which was reported. That’s why Arturo Pena kept all of his money in his house, in a supposedly unbreakable safe. A tempting ripe plum for any Edger.
Kaldar focused the binoculars at the circle of Iron spikes. The ward extended in a rough oval shape around the house, not including the barn or the caretaker house. It couldn’t be very old – the house looked too new. Still the defensive spell presented a problem. It kept magical creatures out, including people with magic and sometimes even those without. Screwing with it would be like ringing a warning bell, anyone with any magic sensitivity would come running.
This was impossible. They should’ve gone with his plan: stroll up to the front door and con their way in. He tried suggesting that but both Audrey and Gaston refused. It seemed Arturo Peva had a habit of shooting visitors in the face first and checking identification second.
Audrey turned to him and whispered, “Don’t move. I’ll be back in a minute.”
She slithered backward and padded to the right along the ridge. He watched her go, and then Gaston landed in her place, his dark hair obscuring his field of vision.
“If you keep taking her side instead of mine, I’ll have to disown you,” Kaldar murmured.
“I’m crushed.” Gaston pantomimed being struck in the heart. “If it helps, she checked your ass out as well, before she had taken off.”
“She did?”
Audrey slipped next to Gaston. “I did what?”
“Nothing!” Kaldar and Gaston chorused.
“Shh.” Audrey glared at them. “Will you two nincompoops stop screwing around?”
“Yes, m’lady.” Kaldar ducked his head in a half-bow.
Audrey tapped Gaston’ shoulder with her finger. “Think you can get into that barn?”
Gaston shrugged his muscular shoulders. “Sure.”
“I need you to get down there, open the stalls inside, and panic the horses.”
“Panic?” Gaston asked.
“Smile at them or something.”
He grinned, displaying serrated teeth. “I can do that.”
“What about me?” Kaldar whispered.
“You lay here and look pretty. I’ll be back.”
Gaston and Audrey melted into the darkness. Audrey and his nephew seemed to be made of the same stuff: she flittered over the ground, completely silent, almost weightless and Gaston snuck around like a big cat, despite his bulk. Kaldar turned to the house. Well, he did want to see her work. All he could do now was hope hat she didn’t get the lot of them murdered.
Breaking into the house in the middle of the night just wasn’t his style. He did his best work in plain view and usually his tongue was doing the most of it. The ramifications of the thought sank in. Heh. He made a mental note to drop that one on Audrey. Maybe he’d get another “Oh my God!” out of her.
She hugged the ground next to him.
“Where is my nephew?”
“Watch,” she told him and pulled her mask on.
A long minute passed, then another. They lay in silence atop the hill. Kaldar leaned closer to her until their faces almost touched. “Take your mask off.”
“Why?” she whispered.
“I miss your face.”
Her eyes widened. Ahhh, he finally scored one.
“We’ve got a few minutes,” she whispered. “Do you want to make out?”
It was a trap. A one hundred percent, genuine Audrey trap. If he fell for it, he’d be sorry. But then there was that slight, one in a thousand chance that she was serious. He’d be an idiot not to take it.
Kaldar reached over and gently tugged her mask from the lower half of her face.
She flicked her fingers, hitting him lightly on the nose. “You’re so easy.”
“No, just smitten.” He leaned closer. His lips almost brushed hers.
She didn’t pull away. “Now, remember what happened last time you tried that.”
“Worth it,” he whispered.
The door of the barn below flew open with a thud. Horses burst into the night. Audrey spun toward the herd, and he grabbed her and kissed her. She tasted just like he thought she would: like a sunny day in the middle of the night.
She hit his shoulder with a closed fist. Kaldar let go.
“What the hell? We’re working!”
“For luck,” he told her.
She yanked her mask over her face. “Follow me and try to be quiet.”
Thank you soooo much for the snippet-y goodness! So don’t care about any errors — loved it!
I don’t envy the moving process — it’s on my “list of things to avoid if at all possible”. All the best for a smooth transition!
Thank you for a fun Saturday treat! Better than Cocoa Krispies!
Thank you for the Saturday snippet treat…. Sooo love the Edge books!
Good luck with the move. I cringe just thinking about it, but it does force you to lighten up your house and simplify. I hate the process, but find that I am usually feeling much more organized by the time I get all of my house unpacked in the new spot…. When I get bored, I usually rearrange furniture and repaint.
But a new house…it’s like crack. All those possibilities. I can do anything with it. It is just like a clean new canvass for my brain….
Happy travels!
Kaldar must read your books.
¡Muchas gracias!
I’m loving the Kaldar. Thanks for the snippet, it made my day better.
You may think it’s silly, but don’t underestimate what people will want, especially if the price is right. Just price your stuff to move and it’ll fly! Good luck.
Thanks for the snippet.
Ohhhhh thank you!!! That was delicious! Love their rapport! AND I KNEW she checked his butt out too
Has recently posted..Review – Hounded by Kevin Hearne
You deserve all the credit – after you said that, I thought, yeah she *would* check his butt out.
LOL And I like that she did it more sneakily!!!
Has recently posted..Review – Hounded by Kevin Hearne
Thank You!!! I can’t wait for this book!!!
Thank you, i feel pampered *big grin*
Totally cool
Thanks
Looks awesome!
Today is my brithday so I’ll think of that as my gift from u. Thanks I loved it
I hope Magic will pay for packers and movers like it paid for the new floor.
Very nice snippet!
He’s ripping off Curran, oh noes! Curran will have to rip his face off to teach him a lesson. Thanks for the lovely snippet, as always
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Sweet!! Thanks for sharing it. Already got the book pre-ordered on Amazon. Yeah, I’m an addict for your books.
YAYYYY a snippet!
Thanks for the snippet!
Loved the snippet ~ Thank you! I wondered why you researched a 7,000 lb safe
I really hoped Kate wasn’t mad at Curran. LOL
Hmmm… With the rampaging snark that Kaldar dishes out… Somehow I see part of Gordon’s character in play… It’s like Gordon gone wild. But that’s just based upon what I read on this blog. For all I know he could be mild mannered and dour..
Thanks for the snippet! I hope your garage sale went well.
:O I CANNOT wait for this to come out!!! Thanks for the snippets! As mentioned before, it was a very yummy Saturday treat. (I also “stealthily” check my husband’s butt out… but honestly, I don’t think he’s ever figured it out…
)
Lizz D recently posted..Newlywed returns
Snippet,snippet, snippet! Yay! You are awesome! Good luck with the sale.
Thank you, thank you! I get more excited for this book with each snippet.
You deserve a break though, geeze you just released a book, you should have some down time!
Fan-tab-u-lous! The three of them together is so much fun! Good job and well done
<3 <3 Thanks for the fabulous snippet!!
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I’m 3/4 through Magic Slays. OMG this is heartwrenching! I think this must be the best one yet. Wow.
magic slays was awesome, i am so happy to know i will be getting this book too when it becomes available. i love the snippet thank you. and just so you know Kaldar would eye all her girl bits not just her butty!!!
Lol Brilliant!
Loved it! Thank you
Thank you, wonderful snippet……Finished Magic Slays…..THANK YOU!!!!!!! Hope the yard sale went well, always good to have a back up plan, like a trip to goodwill, penciled in for the next day!
ahhh, I foresee lots and lots of funny and interesting exchanges between the two of them. i love the banter.
Oooh that was hot – I love the chemistry! Thank you – can’t wait for this to come out now
Good luck with the sale – every time we move my hubby uses it as an opportunity to get rid of lots of my shoes!
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I love how you put the “for luck” in there. Just like Curran!
Bayou Moon was amazing and extremely enjoyable (Just finished this a couple of days ago.). Looking forward to Fate’s Edge – Kaldar is a charming rogue and I’m sure he knows it. ;D
P.S. I hope the move went smoothly and everyone is settling in nicely.