From the ashes of the first battle of the Immortyl Revolution, vampires Mia Disantini and Kurt Eisen set out to build a new Immortyl society.rouble arrives in the person of Cedric MacKinnon, a runaway adept of the ancient arts, who brings tidings of upheaval at the chief elder’s court that threatens everything Mia and Kurt have accomplished.Mia finds it hard to resist when Cedric pledges his service and tempts her with the legendary skills he learned as an Immortyl courtesan.Facing opposition from both within and out, Mia begins to doubt Kurt is up to the task of leading their followers to his vision of an Immortyl Utopia.>Torn between her loyalty to Kurt and Cedric’s insistence that she is the earthly manifestation of the Goddess Durga and destined to lead, Mia confronts the greatest challenge of her life.
Excerpt Servant of
the Goddess
Sudden shouts battled against the sound of the wind. I
peered down the block. Teen-formed Immortyls, sewer rats, closed a circle
around a tall male, who held his hands high above his head. From the direction
of the wind, I couldn’t yet ascertain this stranger as mortal or Immortyl. Best
to investigate. I ran toward the disturbance, wrapping my fingers around the
Glock strapped to my hip.
A shrill whistle split the air. Two of the sewer rats
lunged for the stranger. He crouched and pirouetted on one leg, letting loose a
rapid succession of kicks that knocked his attackers sprawling onto the
sidewalk. A rat named Tommy growled and launched himself at the stranger. To my
amazement, the stranger leapt high into the air and hovered there for a moment
like a falcon before lashing out with both feet. Tommy’s head snapped backward,
and he flattened against the pavement. The remaining rats hung back.
The slender figure of a boy maybe eighteen or nineteen
touched down and crouched again, poised to strike. No mortal could perform such
maneuvers with this speed and agility, not to mention almost ballet-like grace.
The Immortyl’s face betrayed raw emotion, indicating he was new to the blood,
probably not much older than his form suggested. Eamon, the rat pack leader,
drew and aimed a pistol at him. The stranger raised his hands above his head
once more.
I gave a sharp whistle for Eamon to stand down. “What’s
going on here?”
Eamon lowered the gun and spit on the ground. His
forever-twelve-year-old face scrunched up. “We found this one skulking about,”
he said. Even after a century and half in New York his speech still gave away
his Dublin origins. “Says he’s come from the chief elder’s house.”
The wind kicked up harder. Long, auburn hair whipped
about the newcomer’s face. He shivered, hugging an Indian-styled shirt around
him. Traces of black kohl and sienna rouge clung to his eyes and mouth, as if
he’d scrubbed the paint off in a hurry. The make-up and impractical clothing
pointed to origins more exotic than the russet hair and milky complexion
suggested. His story sounded plausible. However, the odds that this kid had escaped
the chief elder’s compound near Calcutta and made it all the way to New York on
his own were unlikely. No slave had ever left there of his own accord.
Kurt had stood trial at the chief elder’s court for
inciting rebellion. He’d told me that the chief, Kalidasa, employed
state-of-the-art security, as well as vampire-eating tigers. The place was a
veritable fortress. Still, there was always a first time, and this newcomer had
held his own against Eamon’s band.
I had to admire the kid for standing up to Eamon and his
thugs.
The pack leader and I didn’t care much for one another,
but he’d fought for Kurt in our recent war with a rival elder. For political
reasons, I forced myself to take a civil tone with him. “Did you bother to ask
his business before you ordered an attack?” I called to the newcomer,
“You--come here.”
The boy lowered his hands and slinked forward. I’d never
seen a man move quite like this, with delicacy just brushing the feminine, yet
suggesting coiled up, sinewy strength like a jungle cat. Instinct prompted my
hand to reach for the Glock concealed on my hip. The kid had danger scrawled
all over him in big garish letters.
“Is this true?” I asked.
“I ran away from court,” the boy replied, his speech
tinged with a Scottish burr. “I’m seeking refuge here.”
The plaintive tone struck a chord in me. I sized him up
again. His winsome looks didn’t belong to the usual brand of vampire assassin,
but to a household slave chosen for his decorative value. Still, his swift feet
could kill if given the chance. Wouldn’t it be just like Giulietta to send
death in such an appealing guise?
“Kurt’s counselor, Chase Powers, can vouch for me,” he
continued. “Take me to him.”
“You know Chase?”
“We met in India during Kurt’s trial. He said I’d be
welcome here. Please Miss. You have to believe me. I’ve come such a long way
and got nowhere else to go.” Desperation filled the spooky, green eyes. They
almost glowed, more like a cat’s than a man’s. “There’s probably a bounty
offered for my return by now.”
“What did you do?”
“It’s not what I did. It’s what I am.” He held out his
hands. Henna tattoos snaked around the wrists and tops, elaborate whirls and
spirals. “The marks of my order. I’m an adept of the ancient arts.”
He was an adept? I’d always imagined these temple
devotees and de facto courtesans as Indian in origin. I gave the boy a closer
look. His clothing had seen better days, but the sinuous way he moved made them
a fashion statement. You couldn’t deny the perfection of feature and figure
required of his order. He stood out from Eamon’s mangy lot like an emerald in a
box of Cracker Jacks.
Web and Buy Links
For excerpts of the Immortyl
Revolution Series, character profiles and the Immortyl Lexicon visit www.deniseverricowriter.webs.com
For insider information on the
series visit www.ImmortylRevolution.blogspot.com
@cedricmackinnon
Servant of the Goddess Excerpt: http://deniseverricowriter.webs.com/excerptbookfour.htm
Book Trailer: http://deniseverricowriter.webs.com/apps/videos/videos/show/12715998-immortyl-revolution-trailer
Servant of the Goddess Trade PB: http://amzn.to/K8uwPb
Servant of the Goddess Kindle: http://amzn.to/J0R2Id
Servant of the Goddess Trade PB and Nook: http://bit.ly/IIz7ru
Denise Verrico
is a New Jersey native who grew up in Pennsylvania. She is the author of the Immortyl Revolution urban
fantasy series published by L&L
Dreamspell. Denise was chosen as a
presenter at Ohioana Book Fair in 2011
and 2012, and her books are part of the collection at the State Library of Ohio. Currently, she’s a member of Broad Universe and two writing
groups. She attended Point Park College
in Pittsburgh, where she majored in theatre arts, and was a member of The
Oberon Theatre Ensemble in NYC with whom she acted, directed and wrote plays.
Denise is a roller coaster fanatic and lives in Ohio with her husband, son and
flock of six spoiled parrots.
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