Wednesday, April 1, 2015

April Fools for Love - the Grand Master's gift

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My Story

Crazy decisions are key events in Grand Master’s Pawn.

The empath Violet becomes a pawn in defiance of the prohibition against psychics. One of the twelve Grand Masters selected the girl with the dubious heritage. The others thought he was crazy since her father had prophesied their doom. 
Love is foreign to a Grand Master because exposure to their unshielded power is deadly to normal people. Violet sees only his griffin avatar. She challenges him to join her on a mission so she can probe his mind. He yields to the temptation, and meets her while disguised as another pawn. They search an uncharted planet for clues to an ancient civilization. Now, the Grand Master cannot use his powers against the hostile inhabitants without risking her life. He makes clumsy attempts to win her affections while believing their love is impossible.


Excerpt:


Taranis caught at her wrist as she reached toward the hole. “No! It’s dangerous. Let me check inside.” He slid his fingers into the cavity and withdrew an object. He opened his hand to show her. On his palm lay a dull red pebble. “A ward stone,” he explained.


He rubbed his thumb across the stone. Power buzzed from his hand and the siren tug ceased in Violet’s mind. Instead of a dull pebble, he held a shiny purple stone shaped like an irregular pentagon. “It is yours, Violet,” he said.

Violet gazed in astonishment as he brushed his thumb across the stone a second time. The stone changed into a shiny jewel like a violet flower. She shook her head, and said in a voice edged with sarcasm, “Very pretty, but completely impossible! Do you expect me to believe that someone from an ancient civilization just happened to hide a violet-shaped stone in this ruined wall?”

Taranis winced at her criticism. He offered the violet jewel to her and insisted, “Take the stone!”

Her brow furrowed as she mused on her suspicions. Power had flared when he inactivated the ward signal and changed the color of the stone. She felt, rather than saw, his intense gaze on her face. Why did he conceal his power as sleight of hand? Did he mean the glittering violet as a gift, despite his clumsy presentation? Violet sighed and asked, “Is it your gift, Taranis?” 

“You may think of it as such.” He held out the stone violet on the palm of his hand.
What a dubious reply, she thought, torn between annoyance and a grudging sympathy. How typical of her evasive Grand Master. Yet, she knew he was not omnipotent. He had not sensed the attack of the giant centipede, when its greedy mind was obvious to her.
Violet placed a finger on the purple gem. She felt the power trickle from his hand, and a breath of hope feathered from his shielded mind. She curled her fingers around the ornament, relishing the hum of power from his hand. The warmth of his power was a better prize than the pretty jewel. She stashed the violet stone in her pocket, still confused about his intentions and lost for words. 

He is not always so serious. As a boy he got into trouble for teleporting frogs into the kitchen sink. 
[You too can become a Grand Master if you're born with psi potential and survive the training.]

 

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19 comments:

  1. I love the Grand Master's Pawn. Can't wait for 2nd book!

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  2. Wonderful excerpt, Aurora! I love the awkwardness between them. I could really empathize with that - aren't we all fools for love?! :)

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    1. Thanks! I have fun with their interactions at different stages.

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  3. Unshielded power from a Grand Master is lethal? Talk about a love that kills. Whoa!

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    1. Living dangerously! Explains why he's cranky at times.

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  4. Great premise. Sounds like fun!

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  5. Great premise. Sounds like fun!

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  6. Wonderful! Thanks so much for participating!

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  7. Love seeing the unbreakable ones fight emotion and finally let it in.

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  8. Oh, dear, he has a lot to learn, doesn't he?

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  9. Love the concept and the worldbuilding!

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