Wraithkin (The Kin Wars Saga Book 1)
Page 32
The nannites went to work, healing the severed spinal column of the fallen Wraith. The break had been clean, which made the job of the microscopic machines easier. The nerves began to reconnect, triggering involuntary spasms throughout the dead man’s body. The heart began to beat, slowly, surely. Andrew exhaled in relief and checked his watch.
“Two minutes.”
“We’re good here,” the technician informed him. “Good heartbeat, oxygen flow to the brain has recommenced. Now we just need to wake him up.”
“Stim him.”
The technician nodded and pulled a small needle from his bag. He adjusted the dosage before plunging it into the inside of Gabriel’s thigh. He injected the chemical compound into the bloodstream and waited for a moment until the leg muscles, unable to control the randomly-firing nerve endings, began to twitch violently. The stimulation agent moved throughout the rest of the body. Gabriel groaned loudly and suddenly bolted upright, reflexively grabbing for his neck. The second technician held his arms to keep the young Wraith from hurting himself.
“Relax, soldier,” the tech said, his voice soothing. Gabriel quit struggling and blinked his eyes, one blurry from a capillary being ruptured from the trauma of the hanging.
“Wha...?” Gabriel tried but his trachea was still damaged. He reached up and gingerly touched his throat. Half blind, disoriented and still hurting, he tried to push the technicians away.
“Hold on, Wraith,” a second voice said.
A man, one Gabriel was pretty sure he had seen somewhere before, stepped into view.
Through his blurred vision he saw a man, built similarly to him, wearing a simple dark-brown suit. His blond hair was slicked back and his pale skin contrasted sharply with his clothing. Something in the back of Gabriel’s mind screamed about the familiarity of the man but he could not identify what it was. He did know, however, the man was obviously with the Dominion Intelligence Bureau.
“By order of the Emperor, and in His infinite wisdom, you have been removed from your command, the 3rd Wraith Corps and transferred,” the agent announced in a dull, flat voice. “You are now tasked to the Home Guard.”
“The Home Guard?” Gabriel asked, his voice finally coming back to him.
“They’re called something else by the rest of the universe, Wraith,” the agent said. “Something that strikes terror into anyone who would try to hurt the royal family. A shadow of a man, but a deadly shadow.”
Gabriel’s eyes opened wide. He whispered a solitary word:
“Darkling.”
# # # # #
The following is an
Excerpt from Book 1 of the Four Horsemen:
Cartwright’s Cavaliers
___________________
Mark Wandrey
Available from Seventh Seal Press
December 2016
eBook, Paperback and Audio
Excerpt from “Cartwright’s Cavaliers:”
The last two operational tanks were trapped on their chosen path. Faced with destroyed vehicles front and back, they cut sideways to the edge of the dry river bed they’d been moving along and found several large boulders to maneuver around that allowed them to present a hull-down defensive position. Their troopers rallied on that position. It was starting to look like they’d dig in when Phoenix 1 screamed over and strafed them with dual streams of railgun rounds. A split second later, Phoenix 2 followed on a parallel path. Jim was just cheering the air attack when he saw it. The sixth damned tank, and it was a heavy.
“I got that last tank,” Jim said over the command net.
“Observe and stand by,” Murdock said.
“We’ll have these in hand shortly,” Buddha agreed, his transmission interspersed with the thudding of his CASPer firing its magnet accelerator. “We can be there in a few minutes.”
Jim examined his battlespace. The tank was massive. It had to be one of the fusion-powered beasts he’d read about. Which meant shields and energy weapons. It was heading down the same gap the APC had taken, so it was heading right towards that APC and Second Squad, and fast.
“Shit,” he said.
“Jim,” Hargrave said, “we’re in position. What are you doing?”
“Leading,” Jim said as he jumped out from the rock wall.
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About the Author
A 2015 John W. Campbell Award finalist, Jason Cordova has traveled extensively throughout the U.S. and the world. He has multiple novels and short stories currently in print. He also coaches high school varsity basketball and loves the outdoors.
He currently resides in Virginia with his wonder mutt, Odin.
Catch up with Jason at https://jasoncordova.com/.
Titles by Jason Cordova
Kraken Mare
Corruptor
Murder World: Kaiju Dawn
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