Hi
This week, I have good news for a change. Gateway to Hell publishes tomorrow!
If you forgot, here’s what it’s about:
A vengeful ex-god, a heist gone wrong, and a plot to open a gateway to Hell collide in a twisty epic fantasy adventure.
When an ex-god steals a spell from a library in Hell, he kicks off a chain reaction that splits the timeline and leads demons to invade Earth. Only an unlikely hero who’s in over her head stands between the remnants of humanity and the end of the world.
But she remembers two different versions of her life—one with the demons and one without. And she won’t rest until she figures out why. If she can unravel that mystery, maybe she can restore the version of her life where no demons invaded or killed her family.
Only one thing is certain. When the gateway opens, all Hell follows after unless someone can find the gateways and the power to close them.
If you like snarky heroes, lots of magic, unlikely heroes, twisty mysteries, mortally gray ex-gods, and fallen angels with a conscience, you’ll enjoy this tale of might and monsters. So grab your copy today!
(The vengeful ex-war god is the guy on the right in case you were wondering. Don’t be fooled by his decidedly not vengeful look in the picture.)
Moving onto other book news, Rogue Gift, book 5 of the Robin of Larkspur series is with the editor. So that’s exciting!
Melinda will return to working on my next book now, and it’s about time. Who am I? Well, I’m not a war god. That’s for sure. I’m Ran, the son of the Curse Breaker. And the book that my scribe will resume work on is Chasing Dragons, book 11 of the Curse Breaker series. So that’s coming soon too!
We have a new podcast episode too! Royce Roeswood dropped by to talk about tarot cards, broken androids and his new book, Oops! I Broke the Wizard's Android! So give that a listen and laugh since you’ll know more about the book my scribe did during the interview!
And now for the moment you’ve been waiting for. Catch the Scribe returns this week since we haven’t caught her yet. Iknow. We’ve been remiss in our sworn duty, but that changes today.
Catch the Scribe
by Melinda Kucsera
Chapter 3: The Woman in the Leaf
Ran lay awake staring at the Queen’s symbol glowing on the floor of the cave. Its light dispersed the shadows, but darkness still pooled in the corners of the cave. So far, no monsters had climbed out of them, but those dark areas seemed to wax and wane with Papa’s moods. Should I tell Papa about them?
Ran considered that as he lay there. Under his head, Papa’s chest rose and fell in the rhythm of sleep, and his magic rushed around on its own mysterious errands. Maybe I didn’t need to tell Papa. His magic probably already knew since it didn’t like dark things anymore than its owner did.
“What are you doing?” Ran whispered into Papa’s chest but as usual, Papa’s magic didn't reply. It was light, and if it so chose, it could eradicate the dark. But the resulting light show would probably wake Papa and Uncle Miren too.
Ran bit his lip. Maybe those shadows were harmless, but there were more of them than yesterday. He rested his hand flat on Papa’s chest right on top of his heart where his magic was the most active. "When will you do for me whatever you’re doing for Papa?"
Papa’s magic didn't answer. Ran was four-and-a-half-years old, and that was old enough to have some magic of his own. At least it was in his mind, and his opinion was the only one that mattered since Papa was asleep right now and couldn't argue the point. But Papa still had a monopoly on magic, and it wasn’t fair. Ran turned over onto his back and stared at the finger-long stalactites studding the ceiling. They surrounded a much larger stalactite that dripped into a nearby pail.
Papa made an okay mattress. But he was rather bony and smelled like sweat and dirt and green-growing things but not his big hands. They smelled like soap, and that lavender flower Mama used to love, and the scent reminded Ran of that place of falling water. It had been a few days since he'd convinced Papa to take him for a swim, and Ran missed the feel of that warm, bubbly water buoying him up.
Oh, how those falls had glowed as they tumbled over those shiny rocks. Maybe we can go swimming tomorrow. That would be a nice adventure. Yes, a swim would be great, and more fun than skulking around a bunch of stupid storerooms spying on people who didn't have the decency to show up and do something interesting to merit all that watching.
Ran frowned at the thought of those boring days sitting around watching the people Papa suspected of having something to do with Shade's death and that whole demon possession thing. Ran didn't know what happened to Papa’s friend, Shade, just that they were gone.
Ran eyed those shadows in the corner again. Were they moving? He searched them for the monster that tried to grab him a week ago. Was that dark triangular spot a horn, and that boxy area below it, was that a mouth?
Ran reached for Bear and pulled his stuffed friend into his arms for comfort more than protection. Should I wake Papa? If there was a monster trying to break into their cave home then he must. But Papa looked so peaceful. No sadness shadowed his eyes or turned the corners of his mouth down.
Shade's death hurt Papa as deeply as Mama's disappearance had, but Ran didn't know what to make of that. Mama was Mama, but Shade was just a friend. A tear squeezed out of his closed eyes at the thought of his missing Mama. She’d been gone for a couple of months now, and her disappearance reduced his family from three people to two, Papa and Uncle Miren.
Papa’s arm tightened around Ran, but he didn’t wake up, nor had he said much about what he’d been doing all night—not spying though because the Rangers patrolled someplace called the enchanted forest. But the instant Papa woke up, he’d want to return to that storeroom to spy on a bunch of people he thought were somehow responsible for Shade’s death. All that watching and waiting was boring, especially since nothing ever happened.
Ran sighed. Did he see monsters in those shadows because he wanted to slay monsters with Papa instead of examining crates of uninteresting stuff or because there really were monsters in their cave? Ran didn’t know, so he watched the shadows until his eyes felt heavy. But the monsters didn't creep out of the corners where the light couldn’t reach.
Ran rubbed his eyes. He should be tired since Uncle Miren let him stay up late to play knights and dragons with his friend, Saveen. But he was too keyed to sleep, and my gaze kept straying to the shadowed corner where that ghost boy had first appeared. That was an exciting time.
I helped Papa solve a mystery and save a whole bunch of ghosts plus the ghost boy. (That happened in Curse Breaker Enchanted.) All in all, it was a great couple of days thanks to Papa and his magic, and Ran expected the days that followed to be just as exciting. But they weren’t. Papa got obsessed with storerooms and crates and the people who moved them around. What Papa needed was another mystery to solve, but where could Ran get such a mystery?
***
Next week, we’ll continue with the next chapter. But you can read ahead on patreon right now. Have a great week!
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