Christina Bauer's Blog, page 78
April 21, 2015
Why The Phantom of the Opera is a Hottie
As a theater geek, I saw it as my duty to watch this particular spectacle. Once the show got started, I assumed that, like any intelligent female, the heroine Christine would end up with the very cool phantom instead of whatever milksop she ended up nailing.
I was wrong.
In fact, I left the theater enraged at the short shrift the Phantom was given, a chip that has yet to leave my shoulder. The dude is a total hottie and this is why…
1. He has secret passageways… with boats!
Come on! Secret passageways! Boats! Fuck, that’s cool.
He even paddles for her. Now, that’s a gentleman.
2. He’s talented and generous
The phantom teaches Christine how to sing without even charging an agent’s fee or anything. When does that happen? I ask you?
He could totally go for a boob grab here and doesn’t. More gentlemanly behavior!
3. Sure, he’s obsessed with Christine, but since when is that a turn-off in romance?
She’s totes into him, too, if she’d admit it to herself. Fool, I tell you, fool!
4. Cool mask action works for superheroes, why not him?
Too much mousse, but other than that? Hottie!
5. She dumps him because WHAT?
As I said, I really thought they’d end up together. And the big reason Christine runs a-screaming from Mr Awesome? The Phantom keeps an inflatable love doll of her handy at all times. What? Who cares? Today, that would probably get him his own miniseries and/or six-part movie deal. And yeah, he lost his mind a little when Christine got the hots for another guy, but I think it was totally justified. He was only trying to protect her because:
The guy’s name is Raoul
Raoul doesn’t have a secret lair with boat access
Raoul doesn’t have a discernible personality
Did I mention that he’s also named Raoul?
Raoul (behind bars) is the definition of ‘meh.’
This is totally reasonable stuff for the Phantom to be concerned about, IMHO. To further illustrate this point, I invite you to participate in a little group think. First, let’s picture how SOME independently wealthy deviants do all sorts of much stranger stuff (:::Cough cough:::Fifty Shades of Grey:::cough cough:::) and get idealized for it. Now, let’s think of the Phantom and his cool boat, suave mask and kinky sex toys. There should only be one word on your mind at this point:
Hottie.
I rest my case.
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April 13, 2015
Cover Reveal for Angelbound 5…Portia!
DESCRIPTION
Portia is the High Princess of the demon-fighting thrax, but her odd birthmarks and unfortunate birthday—the same as the infamous Lady Adair—have her people certain that she’s possessed. For years, Portia tried to explain that the ghost of Lady Adair isn’t guiding her life, but her people won’t listen. Eventually, Portia stopped talking. Instead, the Princess spends her days quietly reading in her library while daydreaming about the handsome dragon Emperor, Tempest.
Everything changes when Portia gets the chance to meet Tempest in person. After screwing up her courage to leave home, Portia confronts her dream man, only to have the encounter turn into a first-class nightmare. But for the first time in years, Portia fights back, launching her and Tempest on a roller coaster ride of feelings and revelations. At the journey’s end, Portia must face what her birthmarks really mean, both for Tempest and herself.
Contains scenes of adult sexuality. May be read as a stand-alone.
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April 7, 2015
A Poem By Ruby The Dog: I’m A Badass in Love
by Ruby the Dog
There’s this mutt at doggie day care
Name’s Hugo
He’s a bad dog, you know what I mean
Breaks out of the play area
Goes for the treat display by the front door
Gets off-leash in the dog park, too
He’s a bad boy
He’s my man
We play together
Rough-house, you know how it is
I may not have ovaries, but dammit, I have instinct
And that instinct says one thing: MINE
But then…
Hugo turns into a little two-timing bastard!
A new dog joins doggie daycare
She’s a girlie poodle bitch named Isis
Yeah, like the terrorists
Hugo tries to play with her
Wrong, choice, my friend!
I grab his collar with my teeth and drag him off
Girl’s gotta take care of what’s hers, you know?
She still doesn’t get the message
So Hugo naps on a window ledge at daycare
I guard that spot like it’s my job
Isis sneaks in
Back off, you fluffy little fool!
Isis gets too close, I flatten her curly poodle ass
I’m a Golden Retriever, dammit!
I didn’t leave any marks on Isis
None you can see anyway
Because when you feel like this?
There’s no stay, sit or heel
I’m a badass in love
Ruby the Dog, wagging her tail as she takes Hugo down
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March 29, 2015
CB’s Blog: Inventions I want now
1. Automatic Make-Up
This concept was first introduced to me in the Fifth Element. Look how awesome this is! You set the little view master-thingie against your eyes, push a button and—VOILA—you look fab.
It even did her brows. Now, that’s high tech.
2. Automatic hairdos.
Getting a theme here? Along with auto make-up, auto hair-dos are another necessity. This is basically a stand-up hair dryer where you stick your head in, fluff out your hair for like two seconds and—BAMMO—you have awesome locks. Unfortunately, in Blade Runner, you also get shot dead by Harrison Ford. MITIGATING FACTOR: you’re shot by the young Harrison Ford.
Zhora was so ahead of the curve on body glitter.
And here she is after two seconds of hair dryer time and some killer boots.
See what I’m talking about? How come no one’s getting on this?
3. Automatic food generator
This classic was brought to us by the clever folks at the original Star Trek. We should at least have automatic ice cream by now…This show’s been around forever!
This bitch has an automatic hair-do thingie, I’m sure.
4. Automatic Transportation
And finally, the ultimate in lazy wish fulfillment for yours truly: transporter technology! More old school Star Trek here, although it also made a guest appearance (sort of) in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Oooooh, special effects.
So there you have it. I almost put jet packs on the list, but in all honesty, even if they developed them for home use, I’d be too much of a wuss to try them. The End.
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March 23, 2015
MAXON Chapter Two Preview — Lianna’s voice!
AUTHOR NOTE: Did you miss Chapter 1 of Maxon? It’s here and is written in Maxon’s voice. A partial sneak peek at Chapter 2 is below and written in Lianna’s voice. Enjoy!
# # #
Lianna
As I rush through the darkened forest, one thought floods my mind.
Crap, I’m running late.
That worry, as much as anything, is why I head-butt the flying frog.
“Sorry, Franklin,” I say quickly. “Didn’t see you there.”
Franklin’s sapphire skin and gossamer wings shimmer with blue light. That’s typical stuff for a water elemental—brighter skin means emotions are running high. In this case, Frankie-boy’s pissed that he’s stuck playing messenger to me, the lowliest of Namare’s apprentices.
He can kiss my thrax ass.
“What’s up, Franklin?”
The frog hovers by my shoulder. “It took me a fortnight to find you.”
“That’s why they call it hiding out. If the other apprentices don’t care about getting killed, that’s their business.” I sidestep another sinkhole. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m late for battle training.”
“With Fisk?” Franklin’s basso voice croaks extra-low. The tone says ‘I know Fisk is your lover.’ Irritation tightens up my neck. Everyone thinks that I became one of Namare’s apprentices by banging Fisk. I’d explain how I dumped his ass, but no one listens. Just like they don’t retain the fact that Fisk and I hooked up after I got the apprenticeship.
Franklin titters by my ear, and that’s when I’ve had enough.
“Did you come here for a reason, Franklin?”
“I have dark tidings. Namare is still ill.”
Namare’s the official leader of water elementals, what’s called a monarkki. There are four in total, one for each element: water, air, fire and earth. An image pops into my mind: my twentieth birthday party. It was me, Namare and a chocolate cake. That pretty much sums up my family life, right there. My heart clenches with worry. And Namare’s still sick.
I force my shoulders to strighten. Stay calm, Lianna. Namare’s been alive for twenty-thousand years and ill for as long as you’ve known her. She’ll pull through.
“Got it.” I work hard to keep my voice level. “What else is going on?”
“I’ve new memories for you as well.”
“Define new,” I say.
“Three weeks.”
“Didn’t bust your little blue ass to find me, now did you? I’m not that hard to locate, after all.”
Franklin flitters around in a huff, his chin high in the air. “Do you want I’ve gathered or not?”
Collecting memories is the water frog claim to fame. They store them on their tongues. Gross, but you get used to it.
“Okay, do your thing.”
Franklin hovers by my shoulder. “Wrist or neck?”
“Wrist is fine.”
Franklin lands on my forearm. His eyes glow bright blue as his long sticky tongue flicks against my wrist.
After that, everything around me disappears.
***End of sample chapter. This is a partial, so sorry it’s a little short!***
You can read all of Maxon when it’s released on May 12, 2015 by pre-ordering your copy on:
Amazon
iBooks
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
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March 16, 2015
March 9, 2015
Why Ashley Wilkes is a Total Douchenozzle
Lies, I say! Lies! Ashley Wilkes is a douchenozzle. Here’s why…
1. Ashley is a manipulative little narcissistic creeper.
Here’s a pic from one of the scenes where Scarlett proclaims her love for Ashley. In return, he says: “Don’t say these words, one day you’ll hate me for hearing them.” What he should have said is the truth: “You’re hot and I would like to nail you, but I can’t. I really don’t see you as anything but a nice lay, so move on sweetie.”
Only, you know, in a nice and gentlemanly way.
Instead, he teases her by saying she has her “teeth on his heart” and stringing her along. We’ve all been there, haven’t we ladies? Some guy who likes getting his ego fluffed, but when push comes to shove, ‘he just isn’t that into you.’
Shame on you, Ashley Wilkes.
2. Scarlet hired convicts, but Ashley did the day-to-day management of them. That’s pretty shitty.
Ashley said that he couldn’t fight both Miss Mellie and Scarlett, so that’s why he had to take a job running a lumber mill with no actual skills. Boo hoo, Mister First World Problem Boy. Where it crosses the line for me is that, yeah, Scarlett came up with a bad idea to run the mill with mistreated convicts. But Ashley did the actual running. And he says all of one thing about it and then drops the subject like a hot potato.
If he told Miss Mellie about this, do you think she’d change her stance and tell him to get a job somewhere else? Hells, yeah! But he doesn’t. He goes right on collecting his paycheck. Scumbag.
Not okay.
3. He wasn’t too sensitive about Scarlett’s crush.
Remember this scene? It’s like, ‘hey, I know you totally have a crush on me, but now I’m going to nail someone else above your head. Buh-bye!’ Not a fan of this move.
Get a hotel room, dick. You have the money.
4. Anyone notice how he killed Miss Mellie? That sucked.
Remember how impressed Scarlett was that Ashley wouldn’t have sex with Miss Mellie because she could, you know, die if she got pregnant again? Anyone notice how she got knocked up anyway and totally died? That was really a crap thing to do, especially since Ashley used the occasion of her death to finally come clean with Scarlett that she was just a nice piece of ass for him, like Belle was to Rhett.
How did this happen? Oh, yeah. It was totally me.
On a final note, the actor who played Ashley was a really cool dude. Leslie Howard was a war hero who died while fighting with the RAF. If you’re a WWII buff like me, then you know that signing up to fly planes for England took some serious guts. So, the real guy is not his fake character.
But Ashley Wilkes? Still a total douchenozzle.
Leslie Howard, a cool guy.
Like how I pontificate about art, culture and other random stuff? Check out these posts:
Scarlett O’Hara, Queen of Kick-Ass
Which Lord of the Rings is Best?
3 Reasons Why Tolkien Is The Bomb
Thoughts on Lawrence of Arabia
An open letter to the French guy I met in Geneva, Switzerland
I have a thing for William Powell
An Open Letter to My Brain
Alan Lee, Kick Ass Illustrator
On the First Chakra
The post Why Ashley Wilkes is a Total Douchenozzle appeared first on Ink Monster.
March 3, 2015
Preview Chapter One of MAXON Here!
Maxon
Chapter One
Take our picture, and we look like three guys hanging and banging on a beach. We’ve got lawn chairs, sunglasses, beer bongs, you name it. And the picture’d be right, too, except for one thing.
We’re all in black body armor.
Truth is, we’re thrax. Demon killers. And we’re not partying on a beach, we’re staking out an empty stetch of Arizona desert, a magical place called Charybdis.
“How much longer?” I ask the guys. No need to add ‘until the next demon shows up.’
“Two minutes,” answers Nizam. Zee’s two hundred and fifty pounds of pure warrior with a bald head and mad skills for predicting demon strikes. “You never know with Charybdis, though.”
“True enough,” I say.
Zee’s spot-on with this one. Charybdis is the exit point for Scylla, an enchanted underground vortex that sucks in supernatural evil. Scylla pulls in demons from anywhere in the after-realms, holds them underground for awhile, and then chucks them back out again at Charybdis. Love it.
Zee’s eyes light up with mischief. “You ready for the next fight, Maxon?”
I shake my head. No question where Zee’s going on this one. This particular question always gets Tyberius cranked up.
“Don’t be a douchebag, Zee,” I warn.
“False acc.” Zee raises his hands in mock-surrender. “I’m just doing the traditional thrax safety check.” He speaks the next words super-slowly. “So, are you ready, Maxon?”
I look to Ty. “You really want to do this?”
Ty shrugs. “It’s just a safety check.”
Clueless, that’s my man Ty.
“Fine. I’ll play along.” I gesture across my torso, showing how I look the same as I always do: Short dark hair, broad shoulders, and a body built for killing demons in hand-to-hand combat. “This is as ready as I get.”
“Now, how about you, Ty?” asks Zee. “Wouldn’t want to be missing anything really important, now would you?”
Sure enough, Tyberius starts speed-fidgeting in his chair. He pats down the pockets of his body armor. Here we go again. Before every damned fight, Ty always thinks he loses the same thing, thanks to Zee and his crafty safety checks.
“Where are my fireball charms?” asks Ty, his voice rising with alarm. “Where’d they go?”
“Chill,” I say. “You’ll find them. You always do.”
“I don’t knoooo-ow,” says Zee in a sing-song voice. He has a shit-eating grin on his ebony face. “There’s only one more minute left.”
What a player.
“Damn, damn, damn,” chants Ty. He starts tearing through his pockets, the lawn chair, the cooler, and even the sand. I watch him freak out and realize a key fact. Ty should be the poster child for wizards from the House of Striga. He’s got olive skin, a pointy face, blondish dreads down to his waist, and a major hard-on for frying enemies with fireballs.
“Wait a second,” Ty pats one of his pockets and exhales. “Got ‘em.” He bounces on the balls of his feet, totally pumped for the upcoming battle.
I take another long pull from my beer and watch him fidget some more.
Ty’s clearly cranked up, but me? Not so much.
Sadly, my ass feels glued to this lawn chair. At least, my tail’s in the game. It’s arced into battle stance behind my shoulder. All thrax are part human and angel, but I’ve got some Furor demon blood in me, too. That means I’ve powers across two deadly sins—lust and wrath, the best ones in the bunch—as well as a long black tail with an arrowhead-shaped end. It’s great in a fight.
“Thirty seconds,” says Zee.
Ty starts the traditional thrax roll call. “Tyberius of Striga, ready to fight!”
Zee rises to stand beside him. “Nizam of Horus, ready to fight!”
It takes a huge effort, but somehow I manage to peel my ass off the chair. The guys look at me like I should say something. Which, let’s face it, I should. I am their High Prince after all, and there’s a traditional speech that I’m supposed to give before a battle. I cut to the chase instead.
“Let’s do this.”
“That’s it?” asks Ty. “No formal speech?”
“Nope.”
Zee squares his shoulders. “In that case, I’ll do the honors.”
Damn. It’s worse when one of the guys gives the speech. If Zee does this, he’ll launch into how I’m the High Prince Maxon. Fighter of demons. Slayer of hearts. The warrior who killed none other than Armageddon, the King of Hell, when I was just three years old. And now, I’m a grown Prince who’s about to lead them all into another epic adventure.
But I’m not that Prince anymore. Maybe I never was.
I stop Zee before he gets started. “No speeches this time around, man.”
“Sure,” says Zee, his mismatched eyes wide with shock. “If you say so.”
“I do.”
Zee still looks confused, and that’s fine with me. The guys can’t know this, but about a year ago, it’s like my life went from color to black and white. Fighting demons isn’t a kick anymore. My nightmares are getting worse. And half the time I see a hot piece of ass, my inner lust demon doesn’t even wake up, let alone get my body in gear. I’m seriously screwed, and not in a good way.
Damn, I need to think about something else.
“How much longer until the next demon?” I ask.
“Ten seconds,” answers Zee. He tries to act all calm and cool, but his voice breaks with excitement. “And that’s five, four, three, two, one.”
A circle of sand blackens before us. The air fills with a sickly-sweet smell. Bit by bit, the darkened ground moves in a clockwise motion. Charybdis is coming to life. A twitch of excitement crawls through my nervous system. Finally, some battle excitement is kicking in.
With a low roll of thunder, more dark clouds appear in the sky. Meanwhile, the black sand spins faster and faster. My heart rate picks up a little more speed, too.
All of a sudden, the ground stops moving. A small form appears in the center of the darkened sand. Tiny demons always haul ass, so my tail whips out before me, ready to block any quick strikes. Trouble is, the sky’s now so dark, it’s hard to see what’s going on. The creature’s nothing but a small white blob. I issue a new order.
“Sun spell, Ty.”
Tyberius snaps his fingers and a small bright orb appears in mid-air. At first, this mini-sun blinds me. Seconds pass before I can see things clearly. Once I see what’s going on, none of it makes any sense.
“Is that what I think it is?” I ask.
“Can’t be,” replies Zee.
“Oh yes, it can,” says Ty.
Sure enough, a small white creature sits at the center of the black sands. It might be an albino demon adder, a white maggot monster, or any other breed of small and deadly enemy.
Only, it’s not.
I crack a smile. “That’s a fucking bunny rabbit, man.”
“Hey, who gets the big bad demon?” asks Ty, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The rabbit hops around, its tiny pink nose twitching up a storm. “I don’t want to screw up our rotation schedule with such an important kill on the line. Do you want the rabbit, Zee? I mean, you predicted it and everything.”
“Shut your cake hole,” snaps Zee. “It could be like, a vicious killer bunny.”
“It’s a regular rabbit.” I give Zee a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Look, every so often, Scylla pulls in extra baggage along with a huge haul. Mark my words, the real demon will show itself in a few minutes.” I gesture to Ty. “While we’re waiting, how about you send the little guy somewhere safe?”
“Sure thing, boss.” Ty waves his arm and the rabbit disappears in a puff of purple smoke. Once it’s gone, the desert and sky return to their regular state. I focus on Zee.
“Now, when’s the next demon due?”
Zee glances at the sand and sky for a few seconds. After that, he closes his eyes, his mouth making silent calculations. He reopens his eyes and makes his call. “It’ll be here in two minutes, just like you said.”
Ty’s mouth thins to a worried line. “In that case, it’ll be a doozy. Everyone got their best gear on?”
“I’m all set.” Zee pats his massive breastplate. “What about you, M?”
“Don’t worry your pretty bald head about me. I’m covered.”
Raising my hand, I summon a small lightning bolt on my palm. The shape twists across my skin, the form all crackling and bright. My chest warms with confidence. I’ve conjured lightning since I was a little kid. In fact, it’s how I downed Armageddon at the ripe old age of three, and my skills have only gotten better over the years.
Ty frowns. “Maybe you should bring something else, too. How about a baculum?”
I shoot him a dry look. No question what he’s hinting at. Lightning isn’t the ultimate weapon in my power class. By now, I should also have control over igni, which are sentient lightning bolts. They have more brains and brawn, that kind of thing. However, for that to take place, I need to fall in love—what they call getting Angelbound—and that garbage isn’t happening any time soon.
“Lightning works fine for me,” I say, my voice low and firm. “Change the subject, guys.”
“Happy to,” says Ty. He and Zee exchange a long, knowing look. Ty bobs his eyebrows up and down. “How about we kill time with a quick recap of last night?”
I shake my head. Damn, I walked straight into that one.
“What a good idea,” says Zee. He smiles, his teeth looking all white and predatory in his ebony face. “Maxon left the club early, as I recall. And what did you have with you again?” He taps his chin, acting all dramatic-like. “Was it two leggy blondes, perhaps?”
“You know it was,” I say dryly.
“So, how were they?” asks Ty. He doesn’t need to add ‘in bed.’
Both guys stare at me, fixated. When it comes to my lovelife, they’re worse than the papparazzi. I’d like to say that I screwed the girls senseless, but I didn’t. They were human nurses who work with vets from Iraq. We started taking about PTSD—why, I don’t know—and it was a total mood killer. I took them out for ice cream and drove them home. They said I was a really nice guy. So, I got friend zoned, which was bad enough. Even worse? It didn’t bother me.
The High Prince Maxon, a really nice guy.
Shoot me now.
There’s no way I’m talking about that disaster, so I dodge the question. “Don’t you pack of dicks have anything better to do than talk about who I nail?”
“No,” they say in unison.
Thankfully, I don’t have to continue with this depressing conversation because the desert sands start to darken once again. Black clouds reappear in the skyline. A low chittering noise fills the air. The ground gently shivers beneath our feet. No question about it; this next demon’ll be killer. Definitely the kind of fight where we stick to our rotation.
“Who’s turn is it again?” I ask.
“That would be Raj,” Zee replies. Raj is a Prince of Kamal, a group of thrax who specialize in hunting demons with hawks and tigers. They’re also one of the big five houses, along with Striga, Horus, Acca, and Rixa (where I’m from.) We do everything together, which makes me wonder.
“Where the hell is Raj, anyway?”
Nizam shrugs. “It’s his turn to babysit Uther.”
I nod. There’s nothing you can say to that. Uth’s been working on his new ‘phase bomb’ for months now. You practically have to kidnap the guy to get him out of his lab. The man’s a nut job, but a brilliant one.
Beneath my feet, the ground rumbles and heaves. I suck in an excited breath. Any second now, something demonic’s gonna appear.
Only, it doesn’t.
For a long time, nothing happens. The desert stays unnaturally quiet. Some small part of me warns that I should be more pumped and battle ready, unless I want to get myself killed.
With an ear-piercing shriek, hundreds of little creatures pour out of the sand. My body goes on alert. They’re Rodentia, a cross between rat and lizard demons. These monsters have rodent features, glowing yellow eyes and blood-red scales. By themselves, Rodentia aren’t too tough. It’s when they move together that things get tricky.
“That’s the Scarlet Horde,” whispers Nizam. “Class B demon.” We thrax rank demons by letter. The higher the letter, the tougher the kill. But Zee’s wrong on this one.
“Class A, actually,” I say.
“Even better.” Zee rubs his hands together in a happy rhythm. “Since Raj is a no-show, this one’s all mine.”
A new voice calls out from behind us. “Who says I’m a no-show?” We turn around to see Raj and Uther high-tailing it towards us.
Zee grins. “So you finally got Uth out of his hidey hole.”
“Tell me about it,” says Raj. “Fucking miracle.” Like everyone from the House of Kamal, Raj has cocoa skin, brown hair and a hunting animal. In Raj’s case, it’s a black hawk named Jetal.
Uther rakes his hand through his short blonde hair. He has a wrestler’s build and no interest in anything other than blowing shit up. “It’s not a hidey hole. It’s my lab.”
I chuck him on the upper arm. “We know that, Uth.”
“What do you say, Raj?” asks Nizam eagerly. “Want company?”
“Always, my friend.”
Zee and Raj are battle brothers. Acting in sync, they unsheath their swords and race out to face the horde. Meanwhile, Jetal circles the skies, picking off some demons and herding others into a loose circle. The battle brothers move in unison, skewering the mini-monsters with lightning speed. It sure looks pretty to see them fight, but beyond that, I don’t get the appeal of having a battle brother. I’ve tried it, and other warriors are never fast enough. I spend more time trying not to kill my battle buddy than downing demons.
In short order, the horde is wiped out. Little rat-demon carasses lie scattered on the desert floor. Raj and Zee let out whoops of joy while Jetal hops around the carnage. I’m about to give the ‘all clear’ when the ground starts rumbling again. Fresh chittering sounds fill the air, but this time, the noise is deafening.
More are coming.
Suddenly, a huge and writhing mass of Rodentia pour out of the desert floor. This time, they’re packed in so tight, the tiny bodies make a kind of fountain as they stream onto the sands.
“They’re everywhere!” cries Zee.
“We need back up!” calls Raj.
I slowly rise to my feet. Time was, a battle like this would really get my blood pumping. Now, I can’t seem to focus on it. For some reason, I only want another beer. What the hell is wrong with me?
After following Uther and Ty out into the battle, I start slicing down Rodentia with my sword. Ty casts balls of fire to burn more into little crisps. Uther sits down in the middle of everything and starts fiddling with something in his lap. I fight over to his side.
“Uth, you do realize the rest of us are fighting?”
“Yeah, yeah. My new bomb’s almost ready.” He holds up a block of gears and wires. “Phase bomb. Will open up a hole into another dimension. Then, we can go straight into the desert floor, and get right into the heart of Scylla. No more waiting for demons to come to us, get it?”
Uther’s not what you call a traditional thrax warrior. Never has been, either. His bombs sure work wonders, though…When he can get them to work.
I slice off four heads at once. “We’ve got plenty to fight up here, Uth.”
“But don’t you want to know what’s inside Scylla? Like, all if it?”
Used to be, maybe I did. Now? Not so much.
I mow down more Rodentia. “Just keep the little buggers off you.”
Without looking up, Uther screws something into the bomb with his right hand while skewering a rat demon with his left. “You got it, boss.”
A figure stalks out of the darkened tunnel. He’s humanoid and stocky with a rodent face, red scaled body and long, rat-like tail. I’d know this guy anywhere. He’s a Class A job called the Scourge. This demon is what turns a small pack of Rodentia into a massive horde of trouble.
Oh, yeah. My day just got a whole lot better. More of the old kick of excitement moves through my veins. Not a ton, but I’ll take it.
I stride over to stand before him. “I’m Maxon Vidar Xavion Aquilus, High Prince of the Thrax. Surrender and live.”
The Scourge makes a chittering sound, which is then echoed throughout the horde. He speaks past a mouth of long pointed teeth. “Never.”
I grin. “Glad you feel that way.”
To begin with, I slice through the Scourge’s tail with my own. Mine’s covered in dragon scales. His is a major liability. Plus, losing your backend is a real game changer. You get attached to your tail, and not in the obvious ways. Chopping it off it always makes my opponents do something dumb.
The Scourge glares at his bloody tail-stump, howls his lungs out, and then rushes at me with his shortsword. Not a great plan.
Like I said, dumb.
Blow after blow comes at me from the Sourge. I block them all with my right arm, which is also covered in dragonscales. This is my own built-in shield and I love it. We trade punches and lunges for awhile. It’s only a matter of time before this demon slips up again.
Sure enough, the Scourge makes a bad play for my jugular. I grab his shortsword with my bare right hand and fold it in half. Gotta love dragonscales.
The Scourge’s big yellow eyes flare red. Now, he’s really pissed. Things are about to get fun. I move into fighting stance and start whaling on his head. Then, I follow up with kidney punches to the gut and deep knee-kicks to his belly. I’ve been trained in every kind of martial arts out there, plus a bunch of stuff you only learn on the streets. This is one of the few times I get to use it.
Finally, I’m really getting into the zone. Adrenaline pumps through me. You’d think I was a junkie scoring a hit, I’m so fucking happy. Sure, my knuckles are sore and the Scourge is down, but I don’t give a crap. I’m not stopping for anyone.
That’s when the Scourge’s rat face turns into someone else’s. It becomes long and black with a nose like a knife. Small red eyes lock with mine. I can never forget that face.
It’s Armageddon, the King of Hell.
This freak abducted me when I was three years old. I still have nightmares about it.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I roar.
Wrapping the demon into a sleeper hold, I start speed-whaling onto his temple with my fist. The skull cracks, and there’s no question about it. This bad boy’s dead. I drop the carcass onto the ground.
Catching my breath, I scan the battlefield. All the Rodentia are toast. Their bodies cover the desert floor in a solid bloody mass. The guys stand around me, their mouths hanging open. Not good. The fight’s long over. I must’ve been beating up on a dead demon for a while. There’s a long pause before anybody speaks.
“What did you mean before?” asks Zee slowly.
“About what?”
“You were talking to the Scourge. You wanted to know what he was doing here?”
A wall goes up inside my mind. On one side, there’s the guys. On the other, there’s the truth. I’m guarding that wall with everything I’ve got. No way I’m admitting to seeing Armageddon.
“I don’t know, Zee. I was in the zone. Whatever.”
“You lost it for a while,” says Uther.
My defenses go on high alert. Uther’s getting way too close to the truth. What I say next isn’t a thought-out thing. More of a knee-jerk response.
“Lost it?” I repeat. “You don’t get to say that to me. You spent the battle playing with bomb toys instead of fighting like a thrax.” The second the words are out of my mouth, I feel like a total ass for saying them. Uth’s face gets all red.
And the worst thing is, I was only getting on his case for telling the truth.
Uther was right. I totally lost it. Isn’t it bad enough that I don’t like fighting or fucking anymore? Now, I have to have flashbacks on the battlefield, too. Damn, this crap mood of mine better let up soon. I start giving orders, and that makes everything feel a little more normal.
“Ty, cast an incineration spell. We need these carcasses out of here. Then, lock down Chaybdis. We’re calling it a day.”
“Sure thing, M.”
While the rest of the guys clean up, I pull Uther aside. “Look, man. I’m sorry about what happened back there. I had no business saying any of that. You’re different, and I know you get flak about it. But I want you to hear me right now. I respect the hell out of what you do. You’re an important part of the team.”
Uther stares at the ground. “Okay, Maxon.”
“Promise me something.”
“What?”
“Keep calling me on my shit. You’re the only one with the balls to do it.”
Uther cracks a smile. “Does that mean my balls are bigger than yours?”
“In your dreams, pal.”
Ty jogs over to join us. He does not look happy.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“I can’t get the sealing spell to work.”
“What?” I’ve never heard of Ty being unable to cast a spell, ever. “You sure?”
“I’m telling you, M. Something’s immune to my magic.”
I jog over to Charybdis. Sure enough, bizarre lights dance under the grains of sand. Everything’s in different shades of blue, and none of it’s human-made. Doesn’t look demonic, either. What can do something like this while blocking Ty’s magic?
For the first time in I don’t know how long, my heartrate skyrockets. Every cell in my body vibrates with life and energy. This is the kind of electric excitement I’ve been missing for months…the charge that only happens before a really badass battle.
A new opponent is coming.
I can’t wait.
***Read Chapter Two Here***
You can read all of Maxon when it’s released on May 12, 2015 by pre-ordering your copy on:
Amazon
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The post Preview Chapter One of MAXON Here! appeared first on Ink Monster.
Preview Chapter One of Maxon Here!
Maxon
Chapter One
Take our picture, and we look like three guys hanging and banging on a beach. We’ve got lawn chairs, sunglasses, beer bongs, you name it. And the picture’d be right, too, except for one thing.
We’re all in black body armor.
Truth is, we’re thrax. Demon killers. And we’re not partying on a beach, we’re staking out an empty stetch of Arizona desert, a magical place called Charybdis.
“How much longer?” I ask the guys. No need to add ‘until the next demon shows up.’
“Two minutes,” answers Nizam. Zee’s two hundred and fifty pounds of pure warrior with a bald head and mad skills for predicting demon strikes. “You never know with Charybdis, though.”
“True enough,” I say.
Zee’s spot-on with this one. Charybdis is the exit point for Scylla, an enchanted underground vortex that sucks in supernatural evil. Scylla pulls in demons from anywhere in the after-realms, holds them underground for awhile, and then chucks them back out again at Charybdis. Love it.
Zee’s eyes light up with mischief. “You ready for the next fight, Maxon?”
I shake my head. No question where Zee’s going on this one. This particular question always gets Tyberius cranked up.
“Don’t be a douchebag, Zee,” I warn.
“False acc.” Zee raises his hands in mock-surrender. “I’m just doing the traditional thrax safety check.” He speaks the next words super-slowly. “So, are you ready, Maxon?”
I look to Ty. “You really want to do this?”
Ty shrugs. “It’s just a safety check.”
Clueless, that’s my man Ty.
“Fine. I’ll play along.” I gesture across my torso, showing how I look the same as I always do: Short dark hair, broad shoulders, and a body built for killing demons in hand-to-hand combat. “This is as ready as I get.”
“Now, how about you, Ty?” asks Zee. “Wouldn’t want to be missing anything really important, now would you?”
Sure enough, Tyberius starts speed-fidgeting in his chair. He pats down the pockets of his body armor. Here we go again. Before every damned fight, Ty always thinks he loses the same thing, thanks to Zee and his crafty safety checks.
“Where are my fireball charms?” asks Ty, his voice rising with alarm. “Where’d they go?”
“Chill,” I say. “You’ll find them. You always do.”
“I don’t knoooo-ow,” says Zee in a sing-song voice. He has a shit-eating grin on his ebony face. “There’s only one more minute left.”
What a player.
“Damn, damn, damn,” chants Ty. He starts tearing through his pockets, the lawn chair, the cooler, and even the sand. I watch him freak out and realize a key fact. Ty should be the poster child for wizards from the House of Striga. He’s got olive skin, a pointy face, blondish dreads down to his waist, and a major hard-on for frying enemies with fireballs.
“Wait a second,” Ty pats one of his pockets and exhales. “Got ‘em.” He bounces on the balls of his feet, totally pumped for the upcoming battle.
I take another long pull from my beer and watch him fidget some more.
Ty’s clearly cranked up, but me? Not so much.
Sadly, my ass feels glued to this lawn chair. At least, my tail’s in the game. It’s arced into battle stance behind my shoulder. All thrax are part human and angel, but I’ve got some Furor demon blood in me, too. That means I’ve powers across two deadly sins—lust and wrath, the best ones in the bunch—as well as a long black tail with an arrowhead-shaped end. It’s great in a fight.
“Thirty seconds,” says Zee.
Ty starts the traditional thrax roll call. “Tyberius of Striga, ready to fight!”
Zee rises to stand beside him. “Nizam of Horus, ready to fight!”
It takes a huge effort, but somehow I manage to peel my ass off the chair. The guys look at me like I should say something. Which, let’s face it, I should. I am their High Prince after all, and there’s a traditional speech that I’m supposed to give before a battle. I cut to the chase instead.
“Let’s do this.”
“That’s it?” asks Ty. “No formal speech?”
“Nope.”
Zee squares his shoulders. “In that case, I’ll do the honors.”
Damn. It’s worse when one of the guys gives the speech. If Zee does this, he’ll launch into how I’m the High Prince Maxon. Fighter of demons. Slayer of hearts. The warrior who killed none other than Armageddon, the King of Hell, when I was just three years old. And now, I’m a grown Prince who’s about to lead them all into another epic adventure.
But I’m not that Prince anymore. Maybe I never was.
I stop Zee before he gets started. “No speeches this time around, man.”
“Sure,” says Zee, his mismatched eyes wide with shock. “If you say so.”
“I do.”
Zee still looks confused, and that’s fine with me. The guys can’t know this, but about a year ago, it’s like my life went from color to black and white. Fighting demons isn’t a kick anymore. My nightmares are getting worse. And half the time I see a hot piece of ass, my inner lust demon doesn’t even wake up, let alone get my body in gear. I’m seriously screwed, and not in a good way.
Damn, I need to think about something else.
“How much longer until the next demon?” I ask.
“Ten seconds,” answers Zee. He tries to act all calm and cool, but his voice breaks with excitement. “And that’s five, four, three, two, one.”
A circle of sand blackens before us. The air fills with a sickly-sweet smell. Bit by bit, the darkened ground moves in a clockwise motion. Charybdis is coming to life. A twitch of excitement crawls through my nervous system. Finally, some battle excitement is kicking in.
With a low roll of thunder, more dark clouds appear in the sky. Meanwhile, the black sand spins faster and faster. My heart rate picks up a little more speed, too.
All of a sudden, the ground stops moving. A small form appears in the center of the darkened sand. Tiny demons always haul ass, so my tail whips out before me, ready to block any quick strikes. Trouble is, the sky’s now so dark, it’s hard to see what’s going on. The creature’s nothing but a small white blob. I issue a new order.
“Sun spell, Ty.”
Tyberius snaps his fingers and a small bright orb appears in mid-air. At first, this mini-sun blinds me. Seconds pass before I can see things clearly. Once I see what’s going on, none of it makes any sense.
“Is that what I think it is?” I ask.
“Can’t be,” replies Zee.
“Oh yes, it can,” says Ty.
Sure enough, a small white creature sits at the center of the black sands. It might be an albino demon adder, a white maggot monster, or any other breed of small and deadly enemy.
Only, it’s not.
I crack a smile. “That’s a fucking bunny rabbit, man.”
“Hey, who gets the big bad demon?” asks Ty, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The rabbit hops around, its tiny pink nose twitching up a storm. “I don’t want to screw up our rotation schedule with such an important kill on the line. Do you want the rabbit, Zee? I mean, you predicted it and everything.”
“Shut your cake hole,” snaps Zee. “It could be like, a vicious killer bunny.”
“It’s a regular rabbit.” I give Zee a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Look, every so often, Scylla pulls in extra baggage along with a huge haul. Mark my words, the real demon will show itself in a few minutes.” I gesture to Ty. “While we’re waiting, how about you send the little guy somewhere safe?”
“Sure thing, boss.” Ty waves his arm and the rabbit disappears in a puff of purple smoke. Once it’s gone, the desert and sky return to their regular state. I focus on Zee.
“Now, when’s the next demon due?”
Zee glances at the sand and sky for a few seconds. After that, he closes his eyes, his mouth making silent calculations. He reopens his eyes and makes his call. “It’ll be here in two minutes, just like you said.”
Ty’s mouth thins to a worried line. “In that case, it’ll be a doozy. Everyone got their best gear on?”
“I’m all set.” Zee pats his massive breastplate. “What about you, M?”
“Don’t worry your pretty bald head about me. I’m covered.”
Raising my hand, I summon a small lightning bolt on my palm. The shape twists across my skin, the form all crackling and bright. My chest warms with confidence. I’ve conjured lightning since I was a little kid. In fact, it’s how I downed Armageddon at the ripe old age of three, and my skills have only gotten better over the years.
Ty frowns. “Maybe you should bring something else, too. How about a baculum?”
I shoot him a dry look. No question what he’s hinting at. Lightning isn’t the ultimate weapon in my power class. By now, I should also have control over igni, which are sentient lightning bolts. They have more brains and brawn, that kind of thing. However, for that to take place, I need to fall in love—what they call getting Angelbound—and that garbage isn’t happening any time soon.
“Lightning works fine for me,” I say, my voice low and firm. “Change the subject, guys.”
“Happy to,” says Ty. He and Zee exchange a long, knowing look. Ty bobs his eyebrows up and down. “How about we kill time with a quick recap of last night?”
I shake my head. Damn, I walked straight into that one.
“What a good idea,” says Zee. He smiles, his teeth looking all white and predatory in his ebony face. “Maxon left the club early, as I recall. And what did you have with you again?” He taps his chin, acting all dramatic-like. “Was it two leggy blondes, perhaps?”
“You know it was,” I say dryly.
“So, how were they?” asks Ty. He doesn’t need to add ‘in bed.’
Both guys stare at me, fixated. When it comes to my lovelife, they’re worse than the papparazzi. I’d like to say that I screwed the girls senseless, but I didn’t. They were human nurses who work with vets from Iraq. We started taking about PTSD—why, I don’t know—and it was a total mood killer. I took them out for ice cream and drove them home. They said I was a really nice guy. So, I got friend zoned, which was bad enough. Even worse? It didn’t bother me.
The High Prince Maxon, a really nice guy.
Shoot me now.
There’s no way I’m talking about that disaster, so I dodge the question. “Don’t you pack of dicks have anything better to do than talk about who I nail?”
“No,” they say in unison.
Thankfully, I don’t have to continue with this depressing conversation because the desert sands start to darken once again. Black clouds reappear in the skyline. A low chittering noise fills the air. The ground gently shivers beneath our feet. No question about it; this next demon’ll be killer. Definitely the kind of fight where we stick to our rotation.
“Who’s turn is it again?” I ask.
“That would be Raj,” Zee replies. Raj is a Prince of Kamal, a group of thrax who specialize in hunting demons with hawks and tigers. They’re also one of the big five houses, along with Striga, Horus, Acca, and Rixa (where I’m from.) We do everything together, which makes me wonder.
“Where the hell is Raj, anyway?”
Nizam shrugs. “It’s his turn to babysit Uther.”
I nod. There’s nothing you can say to that. Uth’s been working on his new ‘phase bomb’ for months now. You practically have to kidnap the guy to get him out of his lab. The man’s a nut job, but a brilliant one.
Beneath my feet, the ground rumbles and heaves. I suck in an excited breath. Any second now, something demonic’s gonna appear.
Only, it doesn’t.
For a long time, nothing happens. The desert stays unnaturally quiet. Some small part of me warns that I should be more pumped and battle ready, unless I want to get myself killed.
With an ear-piercing shriek, hundreds of little creatures pour out of the sand. My body goes on alert. They’re Rodentia, a cross between rat and lizard demons. These monsters have rodent features, glowing yellow eyes and blood-red scales. By themselves, Rodentia aren’t too tough. It’s when they move together that things get tricky.
“That’s the Scarlet Horde,” whispers Nizam. “Class B demon.” We thrax rank demons by letter. The higher the letter, the tougher the kill. But Zee’s wrong on this one.
“Class A, actually,” I say.
“Even better.” Zee rubs his hands together in a happy rhythm. “Since Raj is a no-show, this one’s all mine.”
A new voice calls out from behind us. “Who says I’m a no-show?” We turn around to see Raj and Uther high-tailing it towards us.
Zee grins. “So you finally got Uth out of his hidey hole.”
“Tell me about it,” says Raj. “Fucking miracle.” Like everyone from the House of Kamal, Raj has cocoa skin, brown hair and a hunting animal. In Raj’s case, it’s a black hawk named Jetal.
Uther rakes his hand through his short blonde hair. He has a wrestler’s build and no interest in anything other than blowing shit up. “It’s not a hidey hole. It’s my lab.”
I chuck him on the upper arm. “We know that, Uth.”
“What do you say, Raj?” asks Nizam eagerly. “Want company?”
“Always, my friend.”
Zee and Raj are battle brothers. Acting in sync, they unsheath their swords and race out to face the horde. Meanwhile, Jetal circles the skies, picking off some demons and herding others into a loose circle. The battle brothers move in unison, skewering the mini-monsters with lightning speed. It sure looks pretty to see them fight, but beyond that, I don’t get the appeal of having a battle brother. I’ve tried it, and other warriors are never fast enough. I spend more time trying not to kill my battle buddy than downing demons.
In short order, the horde is wiped out. Little rat-demon carasses lie scattered on the desert floor. Raj and Zee let out whoops of joy while Jetal hops around the carnage. I’m about to give the ‘all clear’ when the ground starts rumbling again. Fresh chittering sounds fill the air, but this time, the noise is deafening.
More are coming.
Suddenly, a huge and writhing mass of Rodentia pour out of the desert floor. This time, they’re packed in so tight, the tiny bodies make a kind of fountain as they stream onto the sands.
“They’re everywhere!” cries Zee.
“We need back up!” calls Raj.
I slowly rise to my feet. Time was, a battle like this would really get my blood pumping. Now, I can’t seem to focus on it. For some reason, I only want another beer. What the hell is wrong with me?
After following Uther and Ty out into the battle, I start slicing down Rodentia with my sword. Ty casts balls of fire to burn more into little crisps. Uther sits down in the middle of everything and starts fiddling with something in his lap. I fight over to his side.
“Uth, you do realize the rest of us are fighting?”
“Yeah, yeah. My new bomb’s almost ready.” He holds up a block of gears and wires. “Phase bomb. Will open up a hole into another dimension. Then, we can go straight into the desert floor, and get right into the heart of Scylla. No more waiting for demons to come to us, get it?”
Uther’s not what you call a traditional thrax warrior. Never has been, either. His bombs sure work wonders, though…When he can get them to work.
I slice off four heads at once. “We’ve got plenty to fight up here, Uth.”
“But don’t you want to know what’s inside Scylla? Like, all if it?”
Used to be, maybe I did. Now? Not so much.
I mow down more Rodentia. “Just keep the little buggers off you.”
Without looking up, Uther screws something into the bomb with his right hand while skewering a rat demon with his left. “You got it, boss.”
A figure stalks out of the darkened tunnel. He’s humanoid and stocky with a rodent face, red scaled body and long, rat-like tail. I’d know this guy anywhere. He’s a Class A job called the Scourge. This demon is what turns a small pack of Rodentia into a massive horde of trouble.
Oh, yeah. My day just got a whole lot better. More of the old kick of excitement moves through my veins. Not a ton, but I’ll take it.
I stride over to stand before him. “I’m Maxon Vidar Xavion Aquilus, High Prince of the Thrax. Surrender and live.”
The Scourge makes a chittering sound, which is then echoed throughout the horde. He speaks past a mouth of long pointed teeth. “Never.”
I grin. “Glad you feel that way.”
To begin with, I slice through the Scourge’s tail with my own. Mine’s covered in dragon scales. His is a major liability. Plus, losing your backend is a real game changer. You get attached to your tail, and not in the obvious ways. Chopping it off it always makes my opponents do something dumb.
The Scourge glares at his bloody tail-stump, howls his lungs out, and then rushes at me with his shortsword. Not a great plan.
Like I said, dumb.
Blow after blow comes at me from the Sourge. I block them all with my right arm, which is also covered in dragonscales. This is my own built-in shield and I love it. We trade punches and lunges for awhile. It’s only a matter of time before this demon slips up again.
Sure enough, the Scourge makes a bad play for my jugular. I grab his shortsword with my bare right hand and fold it in half. Gotta love dragonscales.
The Scourge’s big yellow eyes flare red. Now, he’s really pissed. Things are about to get fun. I move into fighting stance and start whaling on his head. Then, I follow up with kidney punches to the gut and deep knee-kicks to his belly. I’ve been trained in every kind of martial arts out there, plus a bunch of stuff you only learn on the streets. This is one of the few times I get to use it.
Finally, I’m really getting into the zone. Adrenaline pumps through me. You’d think I was a junkie scoring a hit, I’m so fucking happy. Sure, my knuckles are sore and the Scourge is down, but I don’t give a crap. I’m not stopping for anyone.
That’s when the Scourge’s rat face turns into someone else’s. It becomes long and black with a nose like a knife. Small red eyes lock with mine. I can never forget that face.
It’s Armageddon, the King of Hell.
This freak abducted me when I was three years old. I still have nightmares about it.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I roar.
Wrapping the demon into a sleeper hold, I start speed-whaling onto his temple with my fist. The skull cracks, and there’s no question about it. This bad boy’s dead. I drop the carcass onto the ground.
Catching my breath, I scan the battlefield. All the Rodentia are toast. Their bodies cover the desert floor in a solid bloody mass. The guys stand around me, their mouths hanging open. Not good. The fight’s long over. I must’ve been beating up on a dead demon for a while. There’s a long pause before anybody speaks.
“What did you mean before?” asks Zee slowly.
“About what?”
“You were talking to the Scourge. You wanted to know what he was doing here?”
A wall goes up inside my mind. On one side, there’s the guys. On the other, there’s the truth. I’m guarding that wall with everything I’ve got. No way I’m admitting to seeing Armageddon.
“I don’t know, Zee. I was in the zone. Whatever.”
“You lost it for a while,” says Uther.
My defenses go on high alert. Uther’s getting way too close to the truth. What I say next isn’t a thought-out thing. More of a knee-jerk response.
“Lost it?” I repeat. “You don’t get to say that to me. You spent the battle playing with bomb toys instead of fighting like a thrax.” The second the words are out of my mouth, I feel like a total ass for saying them. Uth’s face gets all red.
And the worst thing is, I was only getting on his case for telling the truth.
Uther was right. I totally lost it. Isn’t it bad enough that I don’t like fighting or fucking anymore? Now, I have to have flashbacks on the battlefield, too. Damn, this crap mood of mine better let up soon. I start giving orders, and that makes everything feel a little more normal.
“Ty, cast an incineration spell. We need these carcasses out of here. Then, lock down Chaybdis. We’re calling it a day.”
“Sure thing, M.”
While the rest of the guys clean up, I pull Uther aside. “Look, man. I’m sorry about what happened back there. I had no business saying any of that. You’re different, and I know you get flak about it. But I want you to hear me right now. I respect the hell out of what you do. You’re an important part of the team.”
Uther stares at the ground. “Okay, Maxon.”
“Promise me something.”
“What?”
“Keep calling me on my shit. You’re the only one with the balls to do it.”
Uther cracks a smile. “Does that mean my balls are bigger than yours?”
“In your dreams, pal.”
Ty jogs over to join us. He does not look happy.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“I can’t get the sealing spell to work.”
“What?” I’ve never heard of Ty being unable to cast a spell, ever. “You sure?”
“I’m telling you, M. Something’s immune to my magic.”
I jog over to Charybdis. Sure enough, bizarre lights dance under the grains of sand. Everything’s in different shades of blue, and none of it’s human-made. Doesn’t look demonic, either. What can do something like this while blocking Ty’s magic?
For the first time in I don’t know how long, my heartrate skyrockets. Every cell in my body vibrates with life and energy. This is the kind of electric excitement I’ve been missing for months…the charge that only happens before a really badass battle.
A new opponent is coming.
I can’t wait.
***End of sample chapter***
You can read all of Maxon when it’s released on May 12, 2015 by pre-ordering your copy on:
Amazon
iBooks
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
The post Preview Chapter One of Maxon Here! appeared first on Ink Monster.
February 24, 2015
Book Review: BEASTLY by Alex Flinn
The post Book Review: BEASTLY by Alex Flinn appeared first on Ink Monster.
