Continuing the opening chapter from The Ashes of Home, Shayla escaped two assailants in her room, disguised as servants, by leaping out of her window into the grip of an artificial gravity field. The three of them are now standing, held by the field, upside down on the overhanging eaves 70’ above the ground. One attacked Shayla, who parried, causing the assassin to stagger backwards ...
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One foot found the edge of the eaves, and he stepped, without thinking, to keep his balance. But he was now half out of the edge of the grav field, and conflicting forces led his reflexes astray. He lost his balance. The planet’s natural gravity reclaimed him and he fell, shrieking, into the night.
The remaining assassin reached into her robes. Her hood had slipped, revealing a perfect likeness of Gingallia, one of Shayla’s senior personal servants. It also revealed eyes filled with fear and shock at her companion’s sudden demise. All the same, Shayla knew better than to underestimate her. She wouldn’t be here unless she was at the peak of her profession.
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17 comments:
Oh cool. I like the grav field thing, and how his misstep sends him plunging to his death. Also like that she recognizes one of the assailants. Good snippet. But yours are always good.
Oh no! Are her own people turning against her? Very intriguing!
One assassin would be bad enough, but two....
You're building the suspense beautifully, Ian. Apparently the second assassin isn't just a good killer, she's a good enough actress to have hoodwinked Shayla.
Hi Ian - I hadn't realised this was still the first chapter ... but I'm enjoying the extracts ... and the unexpected anticipation each time you post ... cheers Hilary
Ooooooo! A dangerous balance! Great tension, Ian!
Cara, gravity is not to be taken lightly :)
Jessica, that's what she wants to know, but there are other explanations...
Stephen, even two is hardly enough to take on Shayla.
Ed, exactly!
Hilary, yes, these small snippets take a while to get anywhere. This whole scene is only a few pages long.
Nancy, thanks.
I love the grav field too, and how precarious it seems to be. Wonderful details and descriptions as always. I'm hooked on this story!
And the incredible action continues without pause! Really enjoying this sequence...terrific snippet.
I love how Shayla deals with the gravity of the situation (pun intended).
Julie, thanks, hoping to have it published later this year ;)
Veronica, there are slower sections in the book but most of it is all about action!
Arhuel, survival is a weighty matter indeed :)
That first para is such a good example of how well you write the intricacies of action scenes. :-)
Ouch! One down, one to go...
Such a dangerous pair of women.
Kimberly is right--2 dangerous women. Wow.
Teresa, thank you!
Caitlin, trouble is, it only takes one ...
Kimberly, Diane, yep, not a pair I'd want to get between :)
The tension is tightened! Nice snippet.
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