Wednesday, February 24, 2016

WIP Wednesday – Clans of Kalquor 10: Alien Hostage



                Tasha eyed her surroundings as she stood on the open platform near the top of a blue-leafed tree. The foliage was thick due to the late spring growth, shielding the wood-planked deck from any curious eyes that might be around. And yet she felt watched by avid eyes.
                She took in the platform itself. It boasted little, but enough for her to know it had recently been used. Cushions as long as her body made from furred animal hides lay scattered about. Depressions in their centers spoke of someone – or something – making use of them at some point.
                Tasha inhaled deeply. She smelled the wood of the tree itself, of the deck beneath her bare feet. The leaves had a dusty yet distantly sweet fragrance, much as dried flowers might carry. There was her own light fragrance, a spritz of perfume that wafted from her body. Then there was another scent, something musky and spicy, with a hint of cinnamon...
                She backed toward the trunk of the tree, where the improbable rough spiral staircase wound about its thick circumference. She had padded up its circular path less than a minute before, curiosity about what she’d find driving her forward. Now, feeling those unseen eyes upon her, she headed back that way, trying not to think of the dizzying height that she must descend to reach the ground.
                Tasha turned as she neared the trunk, reaching toward the flimsy-looking railing that wound in tandem with the steps anchored in the massive tree. Her hand froze in midair as her gaze locked with that of a man standing a couple of steps down.
                He was big, his naked torso made of granite muscle. Tasha’s breath caught to see the powerful swells beneath mocha-brown skin. Her gaze skittered down to the tan animal hide tied about his waist, revealing legs as strong as his upper body. His waist-length black hair drifted loose in the breeze, waving like lazy tendrils of fire. His purple, cat-pupiled eyes were narrowed as he looked at her, as if he could drill into her soul with his very gaze. He had sensual lips in defiance of the carved masculinity of his face, and they curled in a knowing smile.
                Tasha took a step back from that ruthless leer. Her legs felt weak all of the sudden. The alien man drained strength from her with the power of that unblinking stare.
                In response to her retreat, he advanced another step, growing taller. His eyes were now at least three inches higher than hers now. He kept climbing, looming bigger. Then he was on the deck with Tasha, towering over her.
                Movement behind him alerted her to the second man on the steps. Tasha took another step back, realizing she didn’t have much room to retreat to. She was going to run out of platform soon.
                The first man’s companion mounted the deck and came around to stand at his side. This one was slighter but no less impressive. His dark face was long. The features would have been haughty had it not been for the warmth in his eyes ... and lust curling his lips. His shaggy hair brushed his wide shoulders, tousled locks that shone blue-black in the dappled light. He also wore a skin loincloth knotted low about his hips.
                And yet a third man appeared. He held Tasha’s gaze more rapt than the first two. Her mouth went dry to see the heavy, brutal brow and the downward scar that started at one corner of his lips, making him seem to scowl fiercely even though she saw a definite smile on his face.
                It was one of many scars which covered his masculine body. He was built just slightly less bulky than the first man who’d gained the platform, and the jagged marks emphasized many of the curves of muscled flesh. Tasha’s gut squeezed tight as she eyed the brute, a savage-looking creature who seemed born to fight and take what he wanted.
                “A Matara has entered our territory,” the first man said. He spoke slowly, as if relishing every word. His low, deep voice struck a chord in Tasha’s body. She shivered.
                The scarred beast lifted his face, his wide nose flaring as he inhaled. “She is ripe for breeding,” he rumbled.
                Tasha’s weakened knees shook even harder. It took all she had to not collapse to the planking.
                The slightest member of the group’s eager smile grew wider still. “Then let us take her.”


Release date not set.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

WIP Wednesday – Portals to Risnar: Book 1


                Jeannie Gardner blinked at her brightly-lit surroundings as enveloping warmth thawed the cold that had begun to penetrate deep into her flesh.
                There were more of the striped animal-men like the pair that had taken her prisoner inside the domed building that made her think of a telescope observatory. Except the dome overhead was made of curved triangles of clear glass that showed the large blue planet that hung in the heavens.
                Podium-like structures made of the same metallic material of the dome’s shell circled the center of the room. Along the curved walls were screens that displayed strange symbols – possibly an alien language, she reasoned; along with one that showed an overhead shot of what was obviously a landscape. There were also screens that were blank.
                After three weeks outside of the alien laboratories – to the best of her calculations, it had been three weeks now – she’d grown used to that bizarre sky with its blue planet that watched over her trials and travels. But the building she was in and the manimals that occupied it ... those were different. Scary. Fascinating. Their rumbling but sibilant speech sounded bizarre but it was not unpleasant.
                Particularly the one that held her close to his body that had started out as hard as steel and now felt every bit as pliant as her flesh. He smelled like the outdoors, a nice, woodsy scent. He looked down on her now, his pupils as shiny as brand-new nickels with eight-pointed starburst pupils. His pointed ears moved, perking towards her as if he waited for her to tell him something particularly clever.
                If not for those weird eyes and ears and the gold, brown, and white-striped skin, his face would be utterly human. He looked like one of those cosplayers that went to comic book conventions, a kind of tiger-zebra-superhero perhaps. Certainly his physique ran in the hyper-masculine superhero direction.
                Holy smokes, he was naked too. Naked with no genitalia. Jeannie was relieved she wasn’t in danger of being ravished by Super Alien Dude and his friend, but a small part of her mind thought it a shame that such a stunning specimen had no equipment.

Release date not set.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

WIP Wednesday – Portals to Risnar: Book 1


                Kren and Arga drew up short, close enough to reach out and touch. However, they made no move to make contact. Instead Kren trained a light beam at it, bringing bright illumination to spotlight the thing they’d caught. They stared at something they’d never seen before.
                It had a humanoid appearance, similar to themselves. The being’s one-colored peach skin was apparently soft as it was covered in scratches. Kren supposed the small injuries had come about from the strange animal’s flight through the dense woods. Had it no armor? Except for the triangle of pelt over its genital area and the mid-back length of its hair, it showed no signs of protective covering at all.
                His gaze kept going to that fuzzy vee between her thighs when it wasn’t arrested by her rounded breasts with the fascinating pink points. He’d never seen the creature’s like, but the signs declared she wasn’t the only one.
                Arga voiced the same thoughts. “It is ready to nurse. Where is its offspring?”
                Risnarish women only displayed breasts when they were in the nursing stage of motherhood. This female was similar enough to Kren’s people that he had to assume she had given birth fairly recently. The full breasts, a newborn’s font of nutrition, had no other reason to be present.
                He muttered, “Good question. It looks like it’s in season as well.”
                Kren swallowed hard. Through the kinky curls of the Tysu’s light-colored pelt, he could plainly see the cleft of a female sex. It was just like that of the women he had bred with. Did this thing have a mate nearby along with a baby?
                So many questions for this strange, cringing being. A sense of pity washed over him for the obvious fear in her strange blue eyes ... eyes with round pupils. How was it possible that something obviously not Risnarish could possess so many similarities to his species?
                Underlying Kren’s confusion was the idea that the funny-looking female was pretty in a dainty, exotic fashion. Fine-boned, too delicate, too defenseless when compared to the hardy creatures of his planet ... but compelling with her heart-shaped face, wide sky-blue eyes, and blatantly female exhibition.
                Kren didn’t like that he found her interesting beyond curiosity’s natural call. He didn’t like that he felt compelled to touch her unstriped skin or that full flowing mane that looked soft as the linens covering his bed at home. By the Universal Soul, what was wrong with him?

Release date not set.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

WIP Wednesday – Unnamed New Sci-Fi Series


                Arga halted next to him. Without looking at him, Kren knew the edges of his friend’s pointed ears grew more cuplike as his had, seeking to capture any sound. In a whisper so low it might have been an errant breeze, Arga asked, “Something?”
                His voice just as low, Kren said, “Listen. The nightflyers are silent. Something has spooked them. Whatever is out there, it’s nearby.”
                His skin automatically armored, answering the instinct for protection. Malleable flesh was now as rock hard as a hiser’s hide, protecting all vulnerable organs from harm. Laser shot or projectile bursts could penetrate armored Risnarish skin, but blunt trauma and even puncture wounds were deflected. If Kren was about to encounter a wild animal, he was well protected.
                Arga’s striped skin rippled as he too armored. He took a deep breath and his eyes widened. “I smell something. Not overwhelmingly awful, but not pleasant either.”
                Kren caught a whiff of it as well. The smell was sour, a little like tog milk that had been left out in the sun. He exchanged at look with his partner. The recent rash of Tysu sightings often included reports of smelling something strange. This certainly qualified.
                He nodded to Arga. They went off the path, following the scent through less densely packed foliage. Certainly something could have moved through the area with little problem. He could still make out patches of underbrush here and there in the remaining light from the huge planet hanging in the night sky. As Kren noted broken twigs and disturbed needles from the surrounding trees, he felt sure something had passed through.
                Yes, the sour odor was strengthening, growing bright in Kren’s nostrils. His mane stoodup straight on his neck and spine. His hand sprouted a couple of extra fingers as he grabbed the stunner wand on his belt. Had it been the telltale oily scent of a drone or the dry husk smell of a Monsudan, he would have armed himself with his spray shooter. This was no known enemy however. Probably some animal, sick or infected.
                Arga had his wand out too, firmly gripping the telescoping rod with six fingers and a thumb. “That stink—” he started to whisper.
                He was interrupted by a high-pitched cry, something that sounded similar to a small child’s wail. A shrub a few steps away shivered – and a bipedal creature burst out from behind it.
                Kren had the impression of pale flesh and long, whipping hair. Absurdly slender arms and legs flailed as the creature ran deeper into the woods, crashing through the underbrush as it went. The abrupt appearance of so bizarre an animal stopped him and Arga in their tracks.
                Arga yelled in his shock. “Shit! Did you see that?”
                Kren didn’t answer. His momentary shock flew from him and he plunged into the woods after the Tysu. He heard Arga’s thunderous tread behind him and the creature’s wild flight in front. The two men raced after the off-putting smell and noise of the being crashing through the underbrush.

Release date not set.