Blue
Words
M.C. Edwards
Genre:
Contemporary/Urban Fantasy
Publisher:
Warpath Print
Date of
Publication: 30/11/14
Number of pages:
334
Word Count:
110,000
Cover Artist:
Geoff Craig
Book
Description:
Common threads
have always woven through the world's mythology and folklore, strings which
seem to link cultures divided by the vastness of oceans and time.
Have you ever
wondered why? What if I told you that they all stem from a single
origin.....the Varth-lokkr. Within this ancient creature's blood, stirs the
power to save or enslave the world as we know it, a power ignited by a simple
word. But which does it truly desire?
This dark urban
fantasy follows one of these creatures through its emergence into 21st century
Australia. It chronicles the rise of those who oppose it, those who ally
themselves with it and those who are unwillingly drawn into its wake.
Shed the blood.
Speak the words. Change the world.
Excerpt
"Don't
move or we'll fire," ordered one of the guards, his voice shook and his
trigger finger twitched. Gudrik glared at him and swiftly shot towards George,
who was now leaning over the stainless steel top rail, still scouring for an
escape which didn't exist. The guards began to fire wildly at him. They may not
have seemed overly competent, but they could shoot. Several projectiles tore
through Gudrik's flesh as he moved, spattering blue onto the grass. Startled by
the gunshots, George spun just in time to see the scruffy relic hurtling
towards her. A bullet buried into Gudrik's knee. He stumbled. Before she had a
chance to react, Gudrik crashed into George. His momentum forced her backwards,
toppling them both indigently over the safety railing in a tangled mess of arms
and legs.
The
pair rocketed towards the ground. George screamed profanities so coarse that
they blistered the very air around her. She scrambled and flailed as if trying
to climb back up Gudrik's body. He wrapped himself tightly around her.
"Earvictius groot," he bellowed.
His
bullet wounds glowed, and the tender flesh surrounding them began to transform
into cold, speckled granite. The stone rapidly spread along his limbs and
across his abdomen, searing with pain as it went. He cringed and grated his
teeth. As it spread across his chest and onto George she began to scream as
though he were slashing chunks of flesh from her. Thankfully, the agony did not
linger and in the blink of an eye, stone had completely swallowed both of them.
No matter how hard she tried George could not move. It was both claustrophobic
and frightening.
The
living statues whistled closer and closer to the ground. Until......SMASH! They crashed unhindered onto the roof of a
parked car. Glass and shrapnel exploded from the vehicle as they tore through
the chassis and into the road beneath.
Just
as painfully as it had spread, the rock retreated returning the flesh to its
vulnerable state, leaving it sensitive and speckled with sweat. Both lay for a
moment of recovery. Their chests heaved deeply as they came to terms with what
had just happened. Gudrik crawled out of the mangled wreck and climbed to his
feet. "Are you harmed?" he grunted, lifting George to her feet.
She
was pale and disheveled with blank shock clouding her eyes. Time was of the
essence. Gudrik slapped her across the cheek. Fire filled her blank eyes. She
swung a punch, which he avoided. He grabbed her shoulders and repeated his
question, "Are you harmed?"
"I-I'm
confused as hell," she responded, panicked, but glad to be alive.
"But fine. I think. Yes fine. Definitely ok," she stammered
nervously, quickly checking her body over for injuries and pulling her dress
down to cover the lacy black panties on show to the world. Her hand quickly
went to her locket, checking it was still there. "Was I made of stone
then?” Gudrik ignored her question. His attention was otherwise occupied. By
that stage, a huge crowd of onlookers and good Samaritans had gathered around
their impact point.
"We
must keep moving."
He
dragged his hand along a twisted shard of the car's metal shell and spoke,
"Unjallius.”
Gudrik
groaned as huge, white wings tore from the flesh of his back in a puff of loose
feathers and a splatter of blue. They stretched to a massive, elegant span and
quivered in the sun. The suit jacket and shirt were left torn and tattered,
spattered, stained and hanging in shreds from Gudrik's muscled shoulders. The
stunned onlookers stepped back in awe. He grasped the confused woman tightly
and with a few powerful beats of his mighty wings launched the two of them into
the sky.
George
clung tightly as they whipped and glided through the city. They weaved between
the highrise buildings, slowly gaining altitude and suddenly plunging toward
the ground as Gudrik negotiated the unpredictable up-drafts above the busy city
streets. George was not as terrified as her brain insisted she should be. She
loved the speed, she loved the wind and she loved the gaping faces of the
populous below. It all exhilarated her. Gudrik's grasp was gentle and caring,
but still so firm and reliable that there was no fear of falling.
Finally,
Gudrik surged up and breached the top of the sky scrapers. The onlookers below
were now nothing more than ants. George released her grip on Gudrik and
shielded her eyes. The sun was much fiercer up there without the buildings'
protection. She swivelled and squirmed as she gathered bearings. "Land on
those cliffs over there," George said pointing at a small lookout point
above the river.
Gudrik
dived and swooped in, gently putting the two of them down on the grass in a
rapid flutter of tiny wing beats. "Gratitude," Gudrik grunted as the
wings collapsed into a sprinkling of blood.
About
the Author
M.C. Edwards, or
Eddie as he is known to his mates, grew up in a coastal town on the picturesque
Central Queensland coast of Australia.
He has travelled to many corners of the world and has a love of all
things bizarre. He enjoys motorcycles,
beards, comics, videogames and the taste of a fine single malt scotch. In his writing he crafts immersive worlds
which mix reality and fantasy to create a strangely believable mix.
Author Links:
***GIVEAWAY***
2 Signed paperback copies, open to postage worldwide.
Blog Tour Organised by:
this sounds like a brilliant read!
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for the spotlight :)
ReplyDelete