A New Excerpt
I have some new writing to share with you from my cyber, vampire, fairy tale villains WIP. (That was a mouthful!)
Hello, hello, story lovers!
I’ve been out of my routine again this month and haven’t been able to treat you to anything new until today. Honestly, I didn’t even know if I’d be able to make this missive happen, but I was compelled by a certain vampire to throw a little writing here in the lair. Hmm, compelled… sounds very vampire-y doesn’t it?
Yes, the Salvatore brothers were particularly good at imposing their will on the unsuspecting, but then so were the True Blood gang. Do you have a favorite between the two series? Which fictional vamps would you rather have romping around in your mind?
The vampire I’m talking about today doesn’t come from either of those groups, though. No, lovelies, Lucien is the intriguing fiend I have living in my head at the moment.
The last bit I shared from this wip (which I’m settling into the idea of calling Wicked Love for a few reasons that present themselves as the story line progresses—let me know what you think of it) came in the form of an image quote I stole from Marissa’s first scene. This scene jumps to the next chapter and goes back into Lucien’s point of view. I know I’m all over the place with this one, so if you want to read my former writing shares from this project, you can find them here and here. Also, I plan to start putting this whole story up on Ream in my Lair Siren’s group as I get more into the Villains series. If you’d like to keep tabs on my progress over there, please do! https://reamstories.com/amandavshane
FYI - I did little to no editing on this one. You’re getting it in its rawest form. For that I feel pretty sheepish, but I hope you’ll still have fun following the progress on this story.
Anyway, without further ado…
Please enjoy more Lucien in this scene from Wicked Love:
Lucien
What in the seven hells just happened?! First I’m out of Realm, then I’m back in. And she’s here. How in fuck’s name is she inside the game? Her lush curves crush against my body as I flash through levels with her before Verron has the chance to regenerate. Hulking metal-head. Of course, the program had to suck us into his territory, a creation with the verbal skills of an ox! Of course it couldn’t stick me somewhere I could get some answers as to what the hell is going on. Where were Grimshaw and Damon? Or even Agar, for that matter, not that the djinn ever hung around long enough to be useful, but still. I look around for my villainous comrades as I sift us into a safer area.
We light in level five, my feet taking the full brunt of our landing. The female coughs, her belly crunching beneath my forearm, and I realize I’m probably squeezing the life out of her as tight as I’m holding her. I loosen my arm around her waist, but don’t let her go. For all I know, this whole business is some sick, twisted trick, and she’s a part of it. My short foray into the IRL world left no doubt in my mind as to who this little trinket is. Marissa Ondine, granddaughter of my mortal enemy.
Again, her scent infiltrates my nostrils, as soon as we land—a cloud of lilies and the unnameable. I close my eyes and drink it in in one deep breath that presses my chest against her back and makes my cock stiffen. She pulls at my arm, holding her middle, and moans.
“Let me go!”
There’s a strangled note in her voice that I recognize all too well. Immediately, I release her and she stumbles forward, teetering on her shoes. I start to lunge forward to catch her, but she shuffles out of the way faster than expected, making a beeline for the opposite side of the room. Her hands fly up over her mouth until she spots a potted plant against one wall and swiftly retches into it. I frown, glancing at her bowed back as she empties her stomach. I’d forgotten how disconcerting it is to the system to flash through levels in the beginning. I experienced much the same after being thrown into Realm’s dungeon. Of course, prior to that, I’d spent nearly a century frozen inside a tomb at the Castle de Escevue’s private cemetery in Northern France. The female’s heaves morph into coughs, stopping that miserable mind trip down memory lane and replacing it with the need to do something, assist in some way. I realize how stupid that sounds, vomiting being a generally solitary venture. Still, I walk across the floor to her, stopping along the way to pick up a china water glass from a bamboo tea tray sitting on a small table under an arc of hanging vine plants. I step up behind her slumped form, pull a handkerchief from my vest–thank the stars my steampunk-esque garb was complete enough to include one–and hand it to her.
“Here,” I offer brusquely.
She glances sideways at my hand, sniffs, then grabs the cloth from me to wipe her face and mouth. I turn away. It feels unchivalrous to hulk over her in her moment of distress, but I’m wondering how disoriented she is. Sifting Realm’s levels can do a number on you if you have no experience with the procedure. She could be sick from it for a while. I’m not sure how long I have before my avatar gets picked up and… wait a minute, what about her? Can she be played? My eyes flash back to Marissa. I still can’t wrap my head around an explanation for how she’s here right now, inside of Realm. When I grabbed her in her brother’s room, my plan was to move her somewhere hidden, get some answers, then leave. Okay, the thought did cross my mind to keep her as a hostage, ransom her for my freedom, get back at her family for imprisoning me in the first place, but those were fleeting thoughts. I’m not such a monster as to hold a young woman responsible for things her ancestors did centuries ago. But they were particularly heinous sooo…
She sniffs again, wipes delicately at her nose and makes a small noise in her throat that, for some reason, pulls at my chest. Must have tweaked a pec muscle when I saved her from Verron.
Suddenly, a door across the room opens, and a maiden enters, hair piled high on her head in a bun and carrying a tray with ink and brushes. She glides over to a table, settles into a chair at one of the tables in the room and starts to paint on parchment.
“Wh-who is that?” Marissa gulps in a breath, my handkerchief clutched in her fist. She watches Cai Yan move through the room. Only it isn’t the game’s warrior-ress she’s really seeing. Not right now. Marissa’s eyes widen as they track Cai’s movements. Cai gracefully dips her brush into an inkpot, her long, wide sleeve somehow remaining undisturbed as she moves. The soft jade color of her silk jacket and skirt are a complete contrast to some of the clothing I’ve seen on some of her other skins—the ones she kicks ass in mainly.
“She can’t see us.” I drop down beside her.
Marissa looks up at me. Her green eyes are still watery from her ordeal. Little tear tracks leak from their corners, making me itch to trace them away with my thumb. I fist my hands on my knees instead, reminding myself she’s from the family of my enemy and this situation is every shade of fucked up. She leans closer, looking around me at Cai, who seems to be staring in our direction.
“Are you sure? Why not?”
“We’re in a story box. Nothing here is real. Well, that is to say, it’s all less not real than anything else in this den of idiocy.”
“I don’t understand.” She shakes her head. “Where are we? How did I get here? And what was that thing in the other room that tried to kill me?” Her string of questions grows louder with each word, ending on a high-pitched hiccup. Both her hands fly up to cover her mouth, and I can’t help but think the word ‘adorable’. I frown at my lack of consistency. Eyes wide, she glances around me at Cai to make sure the warrioress didn’t hear her after all. When her body shifts away from me, I see her tremble. Either she’s still feeling sick or she’s terrified. I pull her upright, making her look at me. Her arms are freezing under my hands. I’m worried she could go into shock if I don’t do something to keep her from spiraling.
Some little demon inside my head questions my reasoning, asking me why I care. Her family is the same bunch of assholes that locked you away in the first place! It screeches. Maybe I’m just curious to know why Realm spit me out in her mansion tonight. She shudders again. Impulse moves me closer, so I’m bracing her body, supporting her between mine and the wall. I swear I feel her heart beating. It’s the strangest thing too, because I feel it all around, a frantic pulse going through the air, even the floor and the wall seem to quake with it. I bring her chin up in my hand, pulling her focus to me. Her eyelashes flutter like butterfly wings and her mouth opens a little.
“Hey, you’re okay.” The words fall out of my mouth before I can stop them.
Copyright © 2023 Amanda V. Shane, First published in the Monsters & Mystics Newsletter. All rights reserved.
There ya have it, my beautiful Monsters. If you have thoughts on the story, or any fun tales to share in general, be sure to put them down in comments or drop me a line in response to this email. I always love hearing from!
Till next time,
Stay in the magic!
Amanda V Shane