WIP Wednesday - Clan Companions: Matthew

 

A star in the making?

Matt was pleasantly surprised to hear how strong his baritone voice sounded. He hadn’t sung in years, but like playing, the training came rushing back as second nature. It was imperfect, and he’d have to resume vocal exercises to get up to speed. Considering how long it had been since he’d vocalized, he couldn’t complain.

“Say I can stay/I, an unworthy soul/Say I may/With you, I’m whole.”

Movement at the corner of his eye brought him out of the fog he’d happily lost himself in. He blinked at Kom, Avir, and Masok, who stared open-mouthed from the doorway.

“Ancestors,” Masok breathed. “That was amazing. What’s the name of the song you were singing?”

Matt flushed, his shoulders hunching. “It isn’t an actual song. I was just messing around.”

Their jaws dropped lower. “You made it up? Off the top of your head?” Avir shook his head, as if to clear it. “Incredible.”

Masok pulled his handheld out of a belt patch. “You play and sing better than most I’ve heard, and you compose your own material? Come here and let’s look at professional grade recording systems. And don’t forget what you were playing, because I want a copy to listen to.”

Kom waved his handheld at Masok. “He won’t forget. I recorded while he was playing.”

“It was just twaddling.” Matt couldn’t understand why they were so excited. He’d possessed talent when he was in his teens, but that had been ten years ago. “It was the guitar that sounded so good.”

 

Releasing early 2023

His past demons have returned, and only a Kalquorian clan can save him.

Matthew Larsen should be happy. Reunited with the Nobek he fell in love with years ago, welcomed into a clan determined to give him a better life, he has everything he never imagined possible. However, he’s haunted by the hellish past and certainty it will reclaim him.

Nobek Kom spent years searching for Matt. Their reunion and his clanmates’ acceptance of the troubled Earther seemed to be all that stood in the way of the perfect future. His Earther love isn’t so easily rescued, however. Even a warrior can’t protect someone against his nightmares.

Dramok Avir and Imdiko Masok are devoted to the beautiful Earther Kom brought home. Loving such a gentle soul isn’t a problem. Saving him from monsters, real and imagined, is another matter when Matt’s worst fears come true and the terrors of the past rise once again to drag him into the abyss.