Wil's
back and he's just as bad as ever (but in a totally hot and lethal
way). Join him and Matilda as they wend their way into deep space, in
a space race with the infamous John Riley.
You
can find Lone Wolf for sale at Amazon with this fantastic new cover!
Please note, if it hasn't got this cover, it isn't the Dellani Oakes
authorized edition and I don't get paid. (For full disclosure on this, click here.)
For
your reading enjoyment, a teaser from Chapter 5 of Lone Wolf!
The
room was Spartan with a single round table top sitting on crates.
Three chairs surrounded it. The small room smelled of decay and mold.
A timeworn ceiling fan moved the thick, moist air with very little
effect. The beads jangled aside, moved by a gnarled, age spotted
hand, more like a crustaceous claw than a human appendage. An old
woman stepped through. The ancient, wrinkled face gazed up at them.
Her clear, bright green eyes bored into theirs; steady, calm,
unwavering. Wisps of thin, white hair were pushed back with another
frail and trembling clawlike hand. She wore a faded black woolen
dress; long sleeved, even in the oppressive heat. Around her tiny
shoulders was a white knit shawl.
She
smiled up at Wil, then turned to Matilda. "Welcome, my dears.
Please sit."
Wil
remained standing. Matilda sat across from the old lady who hobbled
to her seat. She was the tiniest woman Matilda had ever seen. Just
over four feet tall, her body was frail and thin. Her gaze compelled
Wil to sit reluctantly at Matilda's side.
"Let
me see your hands, child," she said to Matilda.
Slowly,
she raised her hands, holding them across the table. The old woman
reached over gracefully, taking Matilda's hands in hers. Like moths
in the dark, her touch was light, fluttering. Lady Lena studied them,
muttering to herself.
"These
are good, strong hands. You've worked hard in your life, my dear."
Lady
Lena turned the palms up, tracing the lines with one delicate finger.
A hiss escaped her lips. She took the other hand, tracing those lines
too. She studied the palms a few moments longer, going over and over
the lifeline with her nail. With a decisive nod, Lady Lena drew a
dome shaped object from her lap. It could have been wood or metal, it
was impossible to tell, for it was more ancient than she. The lid was
dark and sleek, polished to a dull sheen, as if hundreds of hands had
held it, caressing it tenderly for centuries. It was devoid of all
ornamentation, with no visible seams.
Chanting,
she closed her eyes, moving her hands over the box once, twice, three
times. She pressed both hands on the sides of the domed container.
Leaning across the table, she slid the box toward them.
"Place
your right hands on the dome. If it opens, take what is offered."
"And
if it doesn't open?" Wil asked.
The
old woman's eyes flashed brilliant green, a suppressed fire dwindled
to almost nothing, throbbing in the iris. "If it doesn't open,
then I have wasted our time." Lifting her chin, she gestured
sharply to the box. "Touch it."
They
did as she told them. The dome felt warm, pulsating and sleek.
Suddenly, the box flew open without a sound, startling Matilda,
making her jump. Wil stiffened in his chair. Inside were two rings,
one shiny black, the other matte white. They were suspended in the
air above the box, spinning around in and out of one another. A
bright light illuminated them from below, though Wil couldn't detect
its source. Faster they spun until only a blur. They came to a
gradual stop, no longer black and white, but a silky gray. The rings
floated serenely in midair above the box.
"Take
them quickly! They will be offered only once!"
Lady
Lena motioned to Matilda first, who gingerly reached out toward the
nearest ring. Wil remained wary and reluctant to touch the ring.
The
vivid green eyes locked with his black one without wavering or
blinking. "Take it, boy. One can't work alone and this offer
lasts only a short time. Take it!"
Reaching
out his hand, he took the other ring. The box flicked shut, grazing
his knuckles. The old woman took the dome back into her lap, waiting
as they put on the rings.
"It's
time for you to go now, children." She rose to leave.
Wil
got up angrily. "We came for a reading, old woman! We'll have
one before we leave."
The
old lady glared at him, then the anger passed from her face. "Very
well, a reading you came for, one you shall have," she replied
sorrowfully. "But be warned, not all like what I see."
Her
eyes took on a faraway expression, her breathing slowed to a mere
flutter as she went into a trance. Even to Wil the skeptic, it looked
authentic and he had to admit that this old woman truly held great
power. He could sense it vibrating in the very air surrounding them.
"The
Lone Wolf howls alone now, the Romance gone from his life. Into the
Halls of the Hallowed Dead you shall go. Into greater darkness shall
you pass. What was lost to the Ancient One shall be returned, the
journey started. To love's end shall you come, life everlasting shall
be yours. Love eternal." She blinked, coming out of her trance
quickly, a touch of sorrow in her eyes. "Go now, children."
As
they turned to leave, she pointed at Wil, saying sternly, "Beware,
Lone Wolf, lest the Rat-Faced Man fasten his teeth onto your heels.
Proceed with caution, the claws of the Dragon Lady are sharper than
you know." She strode from the room, the bead curtain clattering
behind her with a note of finality.
They
walked quickly from that place. Wil felt the hackles rise on his
neck. Matilda had an odd urgency to leave. They went a dozen or so
paces from the house when the air shimmered and the ground shook.
Looking behind them, they saw that the house gone. Only the rings on
their fingers bore evidence to the fact that they had been there.
©
2016 Dellani Oakes
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