It’s that time of the year again which means besides trick-or-treaters and ghosts and goblins, it is time for another Halloween Blog Hop from the folks at Just Romance Me. This is just one stop along the tour, so if you started here, you might want to go back and start HERE, so you can visit all the blogs needed to make you eligible to register for the Grand Prize and all the other prize bundles.
Everyone has a different approach to what they post on their blogs for these hops. In the past, I liked posting pictures of hunks, until I found out that linking to the site that posted all those pics of hunks was not considered fair use as defined by the Copyright Law. So, sorry, no more hunks.
Thus, since I have a new book coming out right before Halloween in my Prime Chronicles series, I have decided to promo it here and GIVE AWAY THE FIRST BOOK IN THE TRILOGY TO ONE LUCKY PERSON WHO POSTS ON MY BLOG.
Blurb:
Commander Nadia Petrovich, Science Officer of the Alliance Starship Galanti, has a problem—which has nothing to do with science. Her problem is Commander Huw Caradoc, the Galanti’s Chief Engineer. She and the stubborn Prime male have a growing connection he refuses to acknowledge—a bond that could drive him mad.
They are connected psychically and the bond grows stronger every day. If Nadia didn’t know it was impossible, she would suspect they were mating in the Prime tradition—a biological imperative that locates and marks a Prime’s optimum mate. But she isn’t Prime, as Huw tells her and anybody who’ll listen.
Nadia’s emotional anguish couldn’t have come at a worse time. The Prime and Galactic Alliance merger is finally under way, and the all-male Prime crews are learning how to work with female Alliance crew members. The Antareans threaten the outer arms of the Milky Way, and Prime rebels wreak havoc on the Prime home planet and elsewhere.
Despite the conflict surrounding them, Nadia and Huw will not be able to avoid their fate or their growing love. Prime selection will make the decision for them whether the timing is right or not.
Short excerpt:
“There’s an opening beyond. This block of granite either fell or was placed here.” Nadia looked at the smoothness of it. “I’m thinking placed. To block out the creatures?” She looked at Bre whose lips were fixed in a thin, grim line.
He nodded. “That would seem logical. The Prime who came here many millennia ago might’ve tried to box the creatures out of the tunnels they’d taken over.”
“The creatures would just eat through them.” Nadia stated the obvious.
“Maybe the Prime didn’t stay around long enough to know that. Ursa 345 was probably a way station infrequently used and they only needed security for short periods of time. These walls would slow the creatures down.” Bre shook his head. “Or at least I would hope so.”
“Then why hasn’t one of the creatures eaten through this one?” Nadia asked.
“Maybe they didn’t need to.” Bre looked around. “If their major diet is mineral-based, they have a whole planet to eat.”
“Too true.” Nadia with Bre by her side retraced her steps. A grinding noise above them had them looking at one another and then up. Cracks appeared in the rock ceiling and widened at a rapid pace, sending a shower of dust and rocks on them. A hot smell of acid eating at rock permeated the air.
Holy hell! Nadia froze for a split second, but it seemed like an eternity. Her primitive brain forced her to move. She shoved Bre in the opposite direction and followed him. She yelled between labored breaths into her com unit. “Get everyone … out of the tunnels … and caves … now! There are still live creatures down here.” They raced through the main tunnel and headed for the exit to the surface.
“Nadia! You’re in danger?”
Nadia had sensed Huw’s mental touch riding on the surface of the walls she’d constructed to keep him out. The shock of the creature eating through the tunnel ceiling, and her resulting gut-wrenching fear, had demolished her iron control. Her shields were down and Huw was inside instantly. “Can’t deal with you now, Huw.”
Huw remained silent inside her head, but his male energy rushed to supplement her own cortisol and adrenaline cocktail.
Behind her and Bre, more rocks fell as the jagged opening in the ceiling widened. Bre hung back, his weapon at ready, covering her ass.
Still running, Nadia looked over her shoulder. “Stop being a macho Prime. Get a move on! That’s an order, mister!” She had her laser pistol in hand with the power set as high as it would go. “We leave together or not at all. If it comes after us, aim for the head.”
“Yes, sir.” Bre sprinted to close the distance between them.
Both of them looked over their shoulders frequently. It was hard to see if anything pursued them due to the cloud of dust emanating from the hole in the tunnel ceiling.
“Not too far to the entrance cave now, I see light.” Nadia took a precious moment to pull her facemask down. The surface couldn’t sustain oxygen-breathers for long. Bre did the same. When they hit the surface, they’d have to hoof it until they reached their team. Safety in numbers and higher firepower.
“Aeron!” she yelled into her com unit.
“Yes, Nadia.” Aeron’s voice was calm, but she heard the tension underlying it. “How can we help? Z’es and his teams are ready to enter and…”
“No! Keep everyone out. Take a head count. I don’t want anyone underground. Be ready with the chemical grenades. I want to fire this thing up if he follows us out.”
The chemical grenades would react with the acid in the worm and burst into flames; at this point, she wasn’t a scientist interested in examining a potential new species. She was a very scared human not wanting to take a chance at the creature snacking on her teams.
“Commander, it’s following us. I see flashes of glowing skin among the detritus.” Bre’s words were breathy from exertion, but his aura was calm. Her geological engineer was one cool customer. “It seems to be smaller than the dried hulks we found.”
“I don’t care.” Nadia huffed as she climbed the last few steps to get out of the tunnel and into the large entry cavern to the complex. “It’s a dead baby. I hate snaky, wormy creatures. And it’s not safe to keep one alive.”
“Agreed, Commander.” Bre picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. “I can run faster and the baby is slithering along too rapidly.”
“God!” Nadia’s breath came out in gasps as she bumped up and down on Bre’s shoulder.
“Nadia. Bre is touching you. Why?”
“Not now, Huw!” What a time for Huw to pick to be jealous. As if he had any right to be after the way he’d treated her.
Fear froze her next breath as she spied the creature chasing them and closing the distance. Man, that worm was fast. Huw’s mental energy forced her to breathe since she seemed to have forgotten how.
Even if the pseudo-worm was a young one, the creature was still huge—and it was intelligent. She sensed its emotions. It read as hungry. Its black eyes glistened and its body glowed a black green under the artificial lighting of the cavern. The worm left a trail of slime, which vaporized the rock floor. Its teeth dripped the same goo.
Ooh, ick! A phantom hand stroked her hair, imparting comfort as Huw’s male energy calmed her stomach.
Placing her free hand on Bre’s ass, she braced herself and raised her laser weapon. She placed three strong blasts into the spot between the worm’s nasal slits. Most living creature’s brains were centrally located in the heads. Most head shots usually did the job.
But not this time.
*****
Hope you enjoyed Nadia’s flight from a man-eating worm. You’ll have to read the book to see just how close her escape was.
Prime Selection, Book 2 in the Prime Chronicles trilogy, is due out Monday, October, 29th, from Liquid Silver Books.
Have a Happy Halloween and enjoy the rest of the tour!– Monette
