Snippet for Science Fiction & Fantasy Saturday: Grand Master's Pawn

Welcome to Science Fiction & Fantasy Saturday, where writers post a few lines of their stories. Enjoy the snippets and leave a comment!

Here is a piece from my WIP, which is epic science fiction with paranormal, and Book 1 in a trilogy. Violet Hunter has been selected to serve as the pawn of one of the powerful Grand Masters, following her dream of exploring exotic planets. The Grand Master is unaware of her secrets; she is an empath with the task of identifying the evil Grand Masters. Here is their first meeting, where she sees only his griffin avatar:

Snippet

Two blue beams emerged from the round eyes of an ugly stone griffin, casting a weird light over the walls of the small room. A deep, resonant voice spoke, “I am the Grand Master and you will serve as my pawn.”

“Yes, Grand Master,” Violet said, refusing to show fear at the eerie, disembodied voice. “What may I call you?”

“You will call me Grand Master,” the haughty voice held an unpleasant edge.

Violet resolved to assert her independence instead of retreating into her usual passive acceptance, and said indignantly, “Grand Master, do your pawns have individual names?”

The room vibrated and psychic pressure built up against her. “You are insolent, Violet Hunter!” the Grand Master growled.

Shivering at the menace in his words, she stepped back against the wall, and instinctively shielded her mind. His psychic power was impressive since he was not physically in the room. Unexpectedly, Violet sensed a faint drift of amusement, the mental equivalent of a smile.

“Hunter is a good name for your vocation,” he remarked in a milder tone.

Violet stiffened; he must never learn the truth. She hunted him.

The full story, Grand Master's Pawn, is in its final day on kindle scout, where you can read the first two chapters. I plan to publish soon, whatever Amazon decides. 

Please leave a comment, and return to SFFSat to read the snippets from other writers.  

Striking New Cover for The Lady is Blue

I'm releasing new covers for the novels in my series Atrapako on Eden. 
The alien Atrapako have scales, a spiky crest and sharp claws. 
 

Book 1 The Lady is Blue:

Dr. Lucy Stannis emigrated from Terra expecting her fiancé to follow her to a new life on the small colony on the terraformed planet of Eden. He never left home and married someone else. After a few years, Lucy is bored and her current lover is too possessive. He insists she choose between him and the aliens. How can he be jealous of a sharp clawed alien covered in hard scales? She is a scientist and thrilled by the arrival of an alien spaceship.

          Sa Kamizan Veedak led the Atrapako exiles on the hazardous five-year voyage from their home planet. His lover chose to abandon the space voyage and stay behind. Can he find solace in the beautiful human scientist he befriends on Eden? He must struggle to hide the Atrapako secret from Lucy while encouraging her affection until the time is right.

           Conflict is inevitable. The aliens are not as peaceful and logical as they pretend. Nor are the humans as weak-willed and defenseless as they appear to the aliens. Also, Lucy is a secret agent in contact with the Terran Space Agency. Can she uncover the Atrapako secret in time to prevent slaughter? Must she choose between Sa Kamizan and the freedom of the colony on Eden?

Excerpt:

“Describe their positions,” he said, as he ran his broad hands over the surface of the wall.

“One man is standing at the left of the pilot and the other is almost directly in front of you.” Lucy turned to watch Sa Kamizan.

“You take the one on the left,” he muttered. The partition had been put together crudely in sections of rigid material, which were held together in the corners by metal pins. The Blue grinned at Lucy and turned back to the partition. He took two steps backward, and, gripping the stunner in his right hand, bent his left arm parallel with his body. He leapt towards the partition and smashed through into the cabin.

Lucy jumped through the opening and needled the man standing next to the pilot. The man in front of Sa Kamizan also fell. She spun round swiftly to cover the rest of the room and caught sight of a fourth man, who must have been hidden from her view in the window. This man was aiming at the Blue. The stunner and needler hit him simultaneously. He fell, leaving only the pilot who still held the controls.

The pilot realized he was being threatened and sneered, “You can’t fly anywhere without me!”

“Don’t bet on it,” Lucy replied grimly. She waited until the flitter had almost reached the far side of the mountain range. The pilot breathed a shallow sigh of relief, and Lucy flicked the needle dart into his neck.

A faint scraping noise caused her to look round. Sa Kamizan was sliding down the wall. As he reached a sitting position on the floor, she ran over and knelt beside him.

“Veedak, is it bad?” she asked softly.

His head turned slowly towards her. His eyes were dulled with pain. “A flesh wound,” he muttered, “I have lost some scales.”

“And a lot of blood,” Lucy added reproachfully.