For another night, they all stayed in
the prop truck. Marley, at least, had been put into the false back this time.
Another joined their numbers, a man in a dark cloak. A silver clasp in the
shape of the crescent moon sat in the middle of his chest, holding the fabric
closed. He sat straight in front of Tobias. Under his cowl, the bright red
light shining from his eyes cast deep shadows across his face, exaggerating his
features. "What you staring at, boy?" A southern drawl dripping with
rage.
"Nothing."
"Don't fucking lie to me." He
lowered his hood. Sharp features and dark skin, so dark it was almost purple.
Every part of his face was large: a wide nose, thick lips, huge eyes with a
broad space between them, and a forehead that was half again the size of
Toby's. Thick dreadlocks, tied at the back, flowed down from his head.
"You were staring at me. Go on and admit it."
-Zirkua Fantastic
I don't like werewolves all that much. I
think they're overrated. Now if we were talking about were-orcas, okay. I can get
behind that. But everyone does werewolves and wolf shifters and… dull.
But I played around when it came to my
books. I stuck a werewolf in. But I wanted to play it a little differently. I
knew he would be an immortal. The answer came to me when I was reading an
article. It was some news article about Marie Laveau. I don't remember the
contents all that well because that's where it started. Marie Laveau.
Louisiana. Werewolves. Loup-Garou. Since he was the spirit of fear, I knew he
had to be pretty old. That put the actual Creole (Rougarou) out the window. So
I used the French Loup-Garou, which inevitably ended up shortened down to Lou.
It's not his first name, of course. Few immortals go by their original names.
But when the legends of the werewolf started, he took the mantle of the great,
terrifying beast.
How terrifying? Find out in The Jester
Prince, Book Two of the King Jester Trilogy.
With
the destruction of Zirkua Fantastic, King Jester, the spirit of discord, has
been unleashed once more upon the Earth. Only Toby, a fresh, untrained
immortal, and the other former members of Zirkua Fantastic dare to stand
against his chaos. But their hold is tenuous, and they are only truly safe from
his power within the bounds of their camp. King Jester grows more powerful and
more dangerous with each passing day. But he's made one mistake. That mistake
could be his undoing. He's stolen Toby's soul mate, Marley. When he discovers
Marley's location, Toby knows what he has to do. He will rescue Marley, even if
it means he has to face King Jester alone.
But
the others don't let him go at it alone. Marley has information about the
resistance. They can't afford to let him stay in King Jester's control. In
desperation, the immortals raise an army to storm the compound. But will it be
enough to challenge the embodiment of chaos himself? All they can do is hope.
Hope and put their faith in love.
Available
through Prizm Books. Buy Link: http://www.torquerebooks.com/ index.php?main_page=product_ info&cPath=83&products_id=4250
EXCERPT:
He snuffed out the fire with a quick fist
and headed back out, ready to join Harlan and Zerga. But a dark figure slid
into his path. Red eyes glowed down at him, sharp and narrow. He gasped and
crouched, ready to push past, if he got the chance.
Two dark hands lifted and lowered a black
hood. "Calm down, boy." Lou glided into the tent and started the fire
again. "You'd better sit. I feel like gabbing a little bit."
Toby took his seat again. "You
heard."
"That you're planning to rescue that
blond boy? Yeah, I heard." He leaned over, the fire millimeters from his
dark face. "But you should tell your parents. This ain't the kind of thing
you can handle on your lonesome."
"They know." What the hell am
I doing? "You can't go telling them I told you any of this, all
right?"
"Fine."
The dishonesty poured from his mouth, sat
bitter against his tongue. But it poured, uncontrollable, unstoppable.
"Coyote was here."
Lou sat up straighter, shoulders tight and
high. "Coyote?"
"Yes. And no one's supposed to mention
this. I shouldn't tell you." Something true, at least -- I shouldn't
tell anyone this story. "I'm going to rescue Marley. They think
he'll be valuable. For information. But the fewer people that know, the
better." Toby closed his eyes, taking in a few breaths of chill air.
"No one can say anything after tonight. Not until it's time to go."
Lou nodded, but didn't reply. He trailed
his hand up to his chest, undid the silver clasp. He shrugged the black cloak
off into a pool around his waist. A black leather shirt hugged his dark chest.
Not muscular, but it looked like he had muscles once, before they deteriorated.
A bracelet of spiraling beads clung to his left forearm. A few beads on the
bottom were gone, exposing bare string that had been knotted together.
Lou rubbed his eyes. "You know, we
pair off. The immortals. It's in our nature, something we can't help. I don't
know why. Doesn't really matter, when we get down to it." He raised his
arm, pulled on the bracelet a little. "Did anyone tell you about the
Others?"
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