by Billy Wong
Fists Against Fear - When financially struggling mixed martial arts fighter Jason accepts an illegal underground bout out of desperation, he meets his match in a mysterious iron-fisted young woman named Cheryl. They find each other to be kindred souls, and strike up a fast friendship. But after Jason learns of Cheryl's history of battling dark creatures and it comes back to haunt her, the two of them must stand together against supernatural evil. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KK41O2O/?tag=bilthestaarts-20
Raiders of the Dry Coast - Julius knows nobody wants to be friends with the bodyguard of an insane wizard. Having served Zog all his life, he wonders if there can be more for him than being the lonely companion to someone who views him as little more than a helpful pet. He finally quits after his master drags him off to hellish worlds full of slimy tentacles in search of power over life and death. Julius comes home alone, only to discover Zog's magic has dried up the sea on which the surrounding countries depend. Outlawed by the world, he cuts a deal with a king to help restore stability to the realm in exchange for amnesty. He hires brawling adventurers Claudia and Leon, and the three endure blistering dust storms and desert heat while battling monsters and displaced pirates to bring peace to the coast. After one of them pushes themselves beyond reasonable limits to save his life, Julius learns to open his heart to the carefree young wanderers who become his first real friends. But when a spectre of his past comes back to haunt him, Julius' new friendships and conscience will be tested against that which even he fears. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OW7MXB6/?tag=bilthestaarts-20
GLORIOUS - Ever since she glimpsed Virgil the Champion as a little girl, Gloria knew he was the only one for her. She spends her life dreaming of him, drawing his adventures and trying to teach others to "walk the path of champions." When she gets a chance to watch him fight in a tournament, she eagerly does so only to see him lose to the best warrior in the kingdom. Unable to accept this, Gloria vows to avenge his honor by learning his style in order to defeat his opponent. And so the delusional fangirl begins an unpredictable journey that will change her life, and the world... http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TXE253Y/?tag=bilthestaarts-20
The Blackbird's Song - Henry and Andrew are members of the Society for Conserving Artifacts, which seeks to save the relics of ancient civilization from the Last Church which deems them evil. When their efforts anger the church and they find themselves in over their heads, they are saved by Blackbird, a feral girl with superhuman fighting prowess. As the SCA's conflict with the church explodes into all-out war, her abilities become their only hope of breaking the tyrannical institution's hold over the continent. But when the truth behind the church's actions comes out, Blackbird and her new friends' resolve will face its toughest test. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XXEJKCO/?tag=bilthestaarts-20
The Brazen Blade - When her sickly brother is unable to attend military school as planned, young noblewoman Kathryn goes in his place. She impresses instructors and peers alike with her sword skills, and gains notoriety among them along with the nickname Kath the Blade. When one of her new friends is targeted by mysterious assassins and flees the school, she decides to follow in order to protect him. But even confident Kath is little prepared for the monsters, mercenaries, assassins, and scheming masterminds who stand in their way. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0172VJZT6/?tag=bilthestaarts-20
Hammer Out A Future - In a world devastated by magical war, mercenaries Lars and Allen search for a way to heal the head injury Allen suffered during the conflict that destroyed most of civilization. On a job they meet Cart-Dragger, a warrior with a giant hammer whose deeds have made her a living legend. After she saves them from one of the God Soldiers, elemental giants once used as living weapons, they join forces with her to help rebuild her city. When the remnants of the empire that started the war attempt to rise again and take back control of the monstrous legions they once commanded, it falls to Cart-Dragger and friends to stop them. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B018Q5MAAI/?tag=bilthestaarts-20
Hammer Out A Path - After stopping the remnants of the Red Empire from reclaiming the world, legendary warrior duchess Cart-Dragger and her new allies finally make significant progress in the restoration of her city. When she expands her horizons and tries to mediate a conflict between two neighboring cities, she arrives just in time for one of them to be attacked by a sea monster army of unknown origin. Amidst ominous whispers of "the race of evil," Cart-Dragger must figure out whether old enemies are at it again or if the world faces a frightening new threat. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N4EVQZP/?tag=bilthestaarts-20
First of Spears - Young prince Theo of Egrent longs for a way out of his impending arranged marriage with a boring earl's daughter. His life is changed by the arrival of Claire, a foreign diplomat and warrior known as the First of Spears who comes bearing demands from her liege. They swiftly fall for each other, but the power struggle between their kingdoms threatens to drive a wedge between them. As a third nation aided by a dark sorcerer seeks to invade Egrent and a mysterious new champion appears purporting to defend it, the pair must overcome all odds if they are to be together at last. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CKSBZOO/?tag=bilthestaarts-20
Duskfall - After famously aloof general Eliza learns that Prince Milton plans to steal the crown, she leaves the battlefront to warn her king of his brother's treachery. When things don't go as planned and she loses her strongest allies, she must find new ones alongside young archer Charles who discovered the prince's plot. Along the way, she forges new friendships and learns to open her heart again. But Prince Milton's ambitions go beyond the throne, and all Eliza has may not be enough to stop him. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FB4OF3C/?tag=bilthestaarts-20
Always Walk Forward - In a world wracked with eternal war between winged Anjeli and frightful Daimons, humans take shelter in magically shielded cities. Sam, the orphaned teenage daughter of a guard, lives and works happily with the other kids taken in by a playhouse director. Everything changes when her fellow young actor Eli is abducted without explanation by the secret police known as the Paladins. Calling upon the training from her late father, she sets out into the dangerous wilds alongside Eli's adoptive brother Vincent and Drea, a mysterious warriorlike older girl staying with them, to save their friend. But even as they make more allies and grow in resolve and strength, it remains to be seen if it will be enough against the Daimons and other perils that lie before them. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LG21OX2/?tag=bilthestaarts-20
The Unworthy and The Damned - When a revolutionary claiming to be a Nephilim descended from fallen angels plunged the land into civil war, it fell to the strongest of warriors, Princess Eleanor to stop him. Years later after the princess is thought to have grown complacent, young merchant's daughter Celia is attacked by assassins while out on routine business. With the help of sympathetic assassin Edge and healer-in-training Lina, Celia investigates while being hounded by hired killers including a powerful necromancer at every step. But when the motives behind her family being targeted go deeper into the kingdom's secrets than expected, she may find herself in way over her head. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XQGP77X/?tag=bilthestaarts-20
Also check out my short stories here! http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_pg_1?rh=n:133140011,k:billy+wong+short+story&keywords=billy+wong+short+story&ie=UTF8&qid=1424913116
Sample of next in the Iron Flower series, Iron Melting
Finn stepped onto the balcony of the tower where he lived and worked. He beheld his wife leaning against the railing, gazing into the distance. Because he loved her, he'd grown to hate seeing her like this. He knew how she tormented herself when she would stare silently at the royal castle across the city. Her wide back shuddered a little, reminding him that while she possessed far more strength than most men—and equal strength to his, though he was the strongest man in Kayland—she could hurt just as much as anyone else. She, the legendary warrior whose tall yet stocky body bore scars beyond counting and who could survive wounds that would kill any other human being, possessed a soft heart still. Right n
ow, what hurt her so was the memory of the good men, loyal knights and protectors of the realm, who she had slaughtered. He'd taken part in that bloodshed too, but felt no regret. What other choice had there been, with the fate of their children on the line?
He walked up next to her, noticing as expected her misty eyes. The scar-covered round face he yet found beautiful smiled a lot less these days than it once had. When had the infinitely optimistic and resilient love of his life been replaced by this dejected shell of a woman? He wished there were no prophets in this world. It was, after all, a stupid prophet's prophecy that had led them down this path, and continued to haunt them.
"Damn, I love you," he whispered, hunching down a little as he draped his great arm over her shoulders. Huge for a woman though she was, he still dwarfed her.
"Yeah, I know." She said it in a flat tone, so depressing compared to her usual enthusiastic reaction to his assertions of love, and just stood there not looking at him.
He slid his hand through her mane of fluffy dark hair to a disappointing lack of response. Hoping it'd do something for her bleak spirits, he reminded her, "The Spirits Festival is next week. Plenty of exotic drink for us to share passionately." He growled humorously, imitating a big cat. They'd always had fun at the alcohol-fest, especially in the competitions of manly prowess which Rose usually won over every gigantic challenger, Finn included. Hopefully, returning to the event she loved would bring some of the old Rose back through the troubles that weighed her down.
"What, play while we could be searching for the ancient demon our children are destined to wake?" she replied, her thick though feminine voice somehow pleasant to hear in spite of her upset. "But considering our continued lack of progress, I suppose it'll be nice to drown my sorrows in drink."
Dammit, that wasn't the point of the Spirits Festival! "Come on, don't be so gloomy. It's not your fault what happened with Lawrence, and we have many years before the time comes for the prophecy to be fulfilled. You don't have to give up on life."
"I haven't given up on life. I just can't bring myself to feel cheerful when the weight of the world is on my shoulders, that's all."
Finn sighed, knowing that drink probably wouldn't do her any real good in such a state. Though she said she wasn't giving up, her voice sounded so heartwrenchingly defeated it scared him. Her body had never failed despite them fearing it would due to the massive injuries she endured time and again, but he worried her mind might break after all she'd suffered emotionally over the years. One might admire her capacity to feel despite the amount of bloodshed she had gone through, but in their line of work it also made her vulnerable.
He got a new idea about how to soothe her wounded soul. "Hey, how about we go away for a while?"
"Where, to the Spirits Festival?" she asked, wearily though he was the one who hadn't slept last night. "What does location have to do with how I feel inside, anyway?"
Perhaps a fair bit, he thought. "You're staying so close to where it happened—you see the castle from here all the time, so it's always reminding you of how... you know. Maybe if we go someplace else for a while, just us and our kids, you can begin to forget."
"Where would we go?" she asked, and it heartened him to hear the growing interest in her voice.
"Wherever you want, that'll make you happy."
"Hullel," she breathed. The little mining town in central Kayland where she'd grown up, and the two of them had lived briefly after acknowledging their love. "I miss my mom."
Rose's mother was a pleasant host, and Finn would welcome a break from his busy life and the responsibility of running the Center for Magical Study. Of course, their friend and center co-founder Derrick would be sorely taxed by being left in charge alone, and he would normally have expected Rose to raise that issue. But her misery seemed to make her less inclined to be quite so considerate, which he hardly minded. She always concerned herself so much with others, but right now she needed to do something for herself.
"Hullel it is," he said. "I bet your mom's going to love seeing how Jacob and Amber have grown."
"She sure will," she said with a nod, grinning for the first time in days. "Smart idea."
Feeling even prouder of himself than he usually did, Finn puffed out his chest. "Of course I'm smart. I didn't become the first mage of the modern era because I was stupid!" Granted, that had been kind of an accident—but that hardly meant it didn't belong on his resume, did it?
#
Blocking the overhead slash of a longsword with his own great blade, Prince Victor hooked a foot behind the supposed elite soldier's leg and half shoved, half tripped him to the ground. He kicked the sword from his hand and pinned him down with a knee, putting his blade to the man's neck. Then, he released him, the tenth straight foe he'd defeated, and shouted as he brushed dirt out of his grey-brown beard, "Who's next?"
No one took up the challenge. The prince, younger brother of the regent of the Kayland, sighed. He supposed the other soldiers gathered in the dusty courtyard around him knew themselves no match for his strength. Despite his graying hair, he was only in his late thirties, and considered himself in his fighting prime. He had been dismayed to be called away from the southeastern provine of Jugeld to better serve his new duties of overseeing the entire southern half of Kayland. Why couldn't his brother Lawrence deal with the larger issues of the country himself and leave him in peace? He should have been back home crushing raiders, not struggling to keep fit among the soft men who lived in this city of Coeb far from the border. The "bodyguards" he'd been assigned were an especially sorry lot, most not able to match his height or breadth of shoulders, let alone his skill.
He stalked back to his overly ornate bedroom, pondering if he should tear down the fancy curtains and roll up the plush carpet to make it feel more like home. He plopped himself down in bed, not physically fatigued but tired as hell of the administrative duties heaped on him. It wouldn't surprise him if Lawrence took pleasure in making him bored, being insufferably boring himself and no doubt jealous of the real man among their family. Even the pampered so-called soldiers here seemed to have seen little action, and couldn't relate to his tales of true battle thrills. Worse were the pretentious attitudes of his advisors, who seemed to think they could disguise their dislike of him by speaking diplomatically. Ha! He could easily sense their uneasiness and plain fear around him, not that their opinion mattered much, those idiots.
He noticed a letter on his bedside dresser, one from Lawrence marked "open if I am dead when you receive this" that he'd gotten a while ago. He had been considering opening it despite his brother being quite alive, and feeling particularly rebellious did so now. He read through it and his eyes widened as he learned of the conflict between Lawrence and the warriors Rose and Finn, who he'd feared would kill him when he threatened their children. Their children, who a prophet foretold would rouse a powerful demon and doom civilization. Not a man who put much stock in the babbling of sages, he was nonetheless fascinated by the idea it might be the beloved heroes of Kayland whose offspring would bring about the end of the world. Such a brilliantly ironic prophecy made him wonder if it might not have merit.
Learning of this sparked Victor's curiosity in the workings of destiny, and he decided to pay the couple a visit to speak with them about such matters. He figured they would make decent hosts, being the mightiest of warriors and likely kindred spirits with him. When he made the trip to their home, however, he grew irritated to find them gone. Because he had pressing (and tiresome) business to attend to, he returned to his residence and charged one of the guard captains with bringing Rose and Finn back to see him. The icy anger that sprang up in the curly-haired soldier's eyes upon hearing their names surprised him, and he wondered what had happened between them in the past. Whatever it was, it didn't likely concern him. What he really wanted, he'd decided after further consideration, was to find the seer Evan too. He hated surprises, and it might be of quite some use to be able to see into the future.
#
The huge man could only smile as he thrust the red-hot dirk into his victim's right eye, filling the air with a sizzling sound. The youth chained against blue stone screamed with unimaginable pain, neck veins bulging while he helplessly tossed his head, before the steel pierced his brain and silenced him. Though this one sacrifice might not be a huge step towards his goal, the boy's captor felt destiny creep ever closer. It wouldn't be long before his quest of a decade and a half met its fruitful end. In recent days, somehow he'd just come to feel that the time was upon him. The power soon would be his. Looking at the blue stone spike to which his victim was bound, he grinned.
The object represented the demon lord that had ended the Old World, the golden age of magic. Many knew the story, if not in much detail, of a being that had raised the greatest of monstrous armies and warred against humanity's mages to their mutual destruction. What was less well known was that the creature had actually been a man who had stolen for himself the body of a great demon, with its innate magic. Though he'd died at the end of the war, his power remained in the world, dormant. Hidden in the unassuming piece of rock behind its latest sacrifice.
It wouldn't be dormant for much longer if he had his way. He fingered the spike which held unmatched power, and an ecstatic rush coursed through him. Soon he would inherit this power, which he'd earned through many years of dedicated work. Sacrifice, the stone craved, and sacrifice was what he gave it. There would be no better time to rouse the demon's power than now, with Kayland still weak after the wars that had plagued it. And with such power at his fingertips, Kayland would only be the start.
