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The biggest danger of
the Kumadai Run lies on a fractured world deep in its twisted space. When the
Phoenix is caught in a trap five hundred years old, Dace faces the most demanding
challenge of her life.
First Line:
If you ever find yourself as crew
on a small ship with newlyweds, don’t go.
Snippet:
The cave resonated with sound.
Her guard shoved Jasyn forward. She fell onto her knees in the blackness of the
cave. Clark landed on the sand beside her. She tried to reach for his hand, but
the buzzing echoes were everywhere, in her head, blinding her eyes. The dark
filled her mouth so she couldn’t scream. It wrapped her body in long strands
until she couldn’t move. The humming grew in volume. She tried to fight, tried
to push it away. It filled her, smothering her.
She caught whispers of words
along the edge of hearing. The darkness forced her mind open. The buzzing hum
rearranged her thoughts. The voices slid inside then settled, speaking an
unfamiliar language that echoed harshly. Their words filtered into her brain,
filling the spaces created by the darkness.
Splitting pressure built until
her mind fragmented, whirling through the darkness. She was a disconnected
series of thoughts that coalesced back into a person. The darkness and voices
slid away, sinking into her head.
She blinked, gasping for breath.
She was on all fours in the shallow cave. Gritty sand stung her hands, dry and
dusty. She coughed and sat back on her heels, exhaustion and sweat blinding
her. She wiped her face with one grimy hand.
Clark sprawled in the sand next
to her. His face was gray. His eyes were closed. She reached for him with one
swollen, reddened hand. Her fingers touched his cheek. He opened his eyes, then
coughed.
“Are you—” She fumbled for words
in her jumbled, disordered mind. The words she wanted wouldn’t come.
He closed his eyes, reaching for
her hand.
The golden men dragged them out
of the cave. One of them moved towards her with a strap of cloth in his hand.
She tried to back away. He grabbed her arm, then wrapped the cloth around her
neck. She grabbed at the cloth and pulled. It wouldn’t come off. She felt no
seams, no evidence that it would open. At the front was a thin strip of metal.
“You will obey,” the leader
spoke. “Or you will be punished.”
Author Bio:
Jaleta Clegg loves spinning
fantastic yarns of alien planets and space travel. Kumadai Run is book 4 in her
Fall of the Altairan Empire series. Jaleta also dabbles in writing silly horror
and fantasy. When not writing, she's usually in the kitchen. She loves playing
with spices and exotic ingredients. Her day job involves inflatable
planetariums, starship simulators, and lots of school children. Find a complete
list of her books and stories at www.jaletac.com and more about her space opera
series at www.altairanempire.com
Blog: The Far Edge of Normal (interviews
and general posts on Mondays, recipes on Thursdays)
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