Lyrian Wallace was only ten years old when the Malevolence struck on October 10, 2056. She thought the next decade had numbed her to the grief, the death, the bots, and the daily struggle for survival. She lost her parents when they became Sleepers, but like everyone else, she had pieced together a new family. Lyrian was almost content when the Alliance began taking them . . .
The world always took things away from her. She could only live for today and never dared to hope for any heaven. But when her circumstances change, Lyrian must choose how she might live for both this life and the next.
Lyrian’s pulse raced as she tried to locate the bot. It had to be out there somewhere. Seconds dragged into minutes before movement in the distance caught her attention.
“Huck!” she said aloud before clapping her hand over her mouth. She turned to Corya in a panic, and they exchanged concerned looks. Did the bot hear her? Did it see Huck approaching? Where was it?
She scanned the parking lot and adjacent buildings outside, desperate to locate the bot. Then she noticed Huck now running toward the building, waving and pointing at them. A sound behind her spun her around, but it was Gamble coming up the stairs.
“Where’d it go?” he said.
“I don’t know. I lost it.”
Gamble’s eyes widened. “Get down!” he shouted, raising his lightning bug as the glass shattered behind her. The screeching electronic sounds of the Malevolence-crazed bot sent a shiver down her neck and spine as she dove between the balcony pews. Rolling, Lyrian caught sight of Gamble firing his lightning bug. Launching from the weapon flew a dart connected to a pair of thin, thread-like wires. The projectile impacted the torso of the bot and held fast to the surface using an ultra-conductive adhesive gel. The machine shook in violent convulsions before collapsing among the shards of broken glass beside Lyrian.
“You okay, chica?”
“I’m fine,” she said, sitting up. “Thank you.”
“You know I got your back,” Gamble said as he hurried over to repack the projectile into his lightning bug.
Tour Giveaway
- A leather satchel (sized to carry a tablet, iPad, or Kindle) that’s similar to the one carried by the book’s main character
- Bluebonnet scratch-made soap, inspired by the book’s Texas setting
- Fredericksburg Juicy Peach scented wax melts, inspired by the book’s Texas setting
- A $25 Amazon gift card
sounds so good.
ReplyDeletenice excerpt
ReplyDeleteAn excellent excerpt, this sounds like a must read for me. Thank you for sharing the book and author details
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