Today on Thursday Threads we feature Blood Brothers, Book tow of The Turning Stone Chronicles by the incredible writing duo known as C. D. Hersh:
TITLE: Blood Brothers, Book two The Turning Stone Chronicles
GENRE: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
HEAT LEVEL: Sensual
InDtale Magazine, in their November 17, 2014 four and half star review, said ““The Promised One” takes paranormal and turns it on its ear, taking shape-shifting to a whole other level.” The unique shape shifting found in the first book of The Turning Stone Series gets even more surprising as Promised One Rhys Temple discovers his abilities surpass those of any other Turning Stone Member. Take a peek at the excerpt from book two Blood Brothers and discover what Rhys can do.
BLURB:
When Delaney Ramsey is enlisted to help train two of the most powerful shape shifters the Turning Stone Society has seen in thousands of years, she suspects one of them is responsible for the disappearance of her daughter. To complicate matters, the man has a secret that could destroy them all. Bound by honor to protect the suspect, Delaney must prove his guilt without losing her life to his terrible powers or revealing to the police captain she’s falling for that she’s a shape shifter with more than one agenda.
The minute Captain Williams lays eyes on Delaney Ramsey, he knows she’s trouble. Uncooperative, secretive, and sexy, he can’t get her out of his mind. When he discovers she has a personal agenda for sifting through all the criminal records in his precinct, and secretly investigating his best detective, he can’t let her out of his sight. He must find out what she’s looking for before she does something illegal. If she steps over the line, he’s not certain he can look the other way for the sake of love.
EXCERPT:
Grumbling, Rhys unlocked the door to Alexi’s house and ushered in Eli. “Don’t know why I couldn’t have stayed with Alexi in the hospital.”
“I told ye, laddie, we havetae prepare for the council meeting. They’re going tae want tae know what ye can do.”
Rhys glanced at his watch. “In four hours? It took Alexi years.”
“She hasnae the innate skill ye do. Tae draw power from the rings o’ other shifter hasnae been done in thousands o’ centuries and ye did it. Twice.”
Had his hasty decision to join the Turning Stone Society been a bad idea? But it tied him to Alexi, in multiple ways. He didn’t regret that. Rhys hung his Stetson on the hall rack and then shrugged out of his coat. “Where do we start?”
“With something ye’ve already done. Ye can try tae pull oot my life force.”
Rhys backed away, hands in the air. “No way. I’m not fond of you, but I don’t want to kill you, old man.”
“Ye’ll nae harm me. I’ll control the contact. Ye need tae do whatever ’twas ye did the first time.”
“Don’t know what I did.”
Eli stroked his beard. “Then we’ll wing it.” He held his hands out to Rhys. “Take both o’ my hands. ’Twas closed contact the first time.”
“Alexi was here. Don’t we need three?”
“Mayhaps not. Since ye have yer own ring, ye’ll have more power.” Eli waggled his hand at Rhys. “Come on, laddie.”
He slowly grasped Eli’s gnarled hands, keeping a loose grip the old man could easily break. Nothing happened. “Now what?”
“Think about my hirt pumping and see if you can will it tae slow, or race.”
Concentrating, Rhys stared into Eli’s eyes. Then he remembered the visions of the future Eli had given him in the ER while Alexi was still unconscious. He’d no desire to see terrible omens again.
Quickly, he unfocused his gaze to see all of Eli’s face. The old man’s features doubled and softened.
Rhys slowed his breathing, like he had when he’d prepared to take a marksman shot on the Iraqi battlefront. The measured beat of his heart, slow and steady, thrummed in his ears. He thought about Eli, pictured his blood racing through his veins. The rhythm of Rhys’ blood pounding in his ears hiccupped, a second beat joining in. Startled, he moved his focus off Eli. The air surrounding them shimmered.
“Yer doing it, laddie,” Eli whispered in a strained voice.
The tone caused Rhys to return his gaze to Eli’s face. Gray. Like his buddies in Iraq before they died. “You okay?”
“Aye. Keep going.”
Tapping into the double heartbeats, Rhys let the rhythm drop into a muted background noise, keeping a steady focus on Eli’s face. His features doubled and then wavered. Rhys blinked, and a woman’s face appeared, partially transposed over Eli’s. Startled, Rhys tried to drop Eli’s hands but the old man gripped tighter.
“Dinna stop,” he commanded. “Concentrate.”
Rhys focused. The woman’s features shifted, and Eli disappeared completely. His grip changed, his hands becoming smaller and softer. Rhys yanked away and stumbled backward.
A woman stood where Eli had been, staring at him with a startled expression that matched Rhys’ confusion.
“By the Druid’s beard,” she said. “What did ye do?”
“Where’s Eli?”
The woman’s form wavered for a second, and Eli appeared in her place. He staggered forward and grabbed Rhys’ shoulder, steadying himself. “Isnae there anything ye canna do, laddie?”
“What just happened?”
“Ye pulled oot my alter ego.” His knees dipped, and Rhys grabbed his elbow. “And I think a bit o’ my life force.”
“Let’s get you seated.” Rhys led Eli to the kitchen and lowered him onto a chair. “Your alter ego is a woman?”
“Aye. And sae will yours be. All the men have female alter egos.”
“And the women have men?” That would explain the man he’d seen Alexi change from the night he discovered she was a shape shifter.
“How did ye do that?” Eli said.
“You mean you don’t know?”
“Nay. I’m hoping ye can describe it, for I’ll be wanting ye tae do it agin, but without the life force pulling part. While I can withstand it, I doubt the other council members could. We’ll not be wanting tae kill one o’ them tae prove yer a true Promised One.”
***
Book one of The Turning Stone Chronicles titled “The Promised One” currently available in eBook and paperback on Amazon at: http://amzn.com/B00DUMODKI
Book two of The Turning Stone Chronicles titled “Blood Brothers” currently available in eBook on Amazon at: http://amzn.com/B00OVNFC8W
Book three of The Turning Stone Chronicles titled “Son of the Moonless Night” is scheduled for release early summer 2015 from Soul Mate Publishing.
Book four of The Turning Stone Chronicles titled “The Mercenary and the Shifters” coming in 2016 from Soul Mate Publishing.
Social Media Info:
Website: http://cdhersh.wordpress.com/
Soul Mate Publishing: http://smpauthors.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cdhershauthor
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/C.-D.-Hersh/e/B00DV5L7ZI
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorCDHersh
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/CDHersh
If you’ve wondered in from P. J. Fiala’s wonderful blog or are starting your tour with me, welcome to a fun day filled with great flash fiction pieces.
A Writer's Haven 