Souls Around the World Blog Tour - The Realmwalker Prophecy: Heart of the Mermaid

Welcome to this stop on the "Souls Around the World" Blog Tour!  Patricia and I are very happy to have you here to introduce you to our upcoming novel "The Realmwalker Prophecy: Heart of the Mermaid".  We hope you are enjoying the tour, and that you will like this special themed excerpt from the novel, to fit the "souls" and "scares" theme of the month.  First, a blurb.

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"The Realmwalker Prophecy: Heart of the Mermaid"

Rudy MacTavish, at one time, was a pirate.  Captured and indentured into service in the Royal Navy, he had put aside tales told by his late parents of monsters and mermaids, focusing on his duty and an end to his tenure.  A mysterious stowaway affects him in a way he could not have anticipated, and he finds himself thrust into an unexpected adventure that could impact all of history.

Trish had a simple mission given to her by her father.  Sneak aboard the HMS Ursuline and steal an object that no person should be in possession of.  No human, at least.  When your father is the king of the Mer, you do what he says and don't question.  Her encounter with a human sailor unlike any human she had ever met causes her to do just that.

Their journey takes them from the blue waters of the Caribbean to the ruins of a long-lost city, with the fate of more than one world in the balance.  For if the power that Trish's father seeks falls into the wrong hands, it could mean the end of their world ... and the next.

Many Realms.  Two Souls.  One Prophecy.

"The Realmwalker Prophecy"

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The sky had darkened overhead, and the men were scurrying about. Many brandished firearms, either pistols or muskets. The wind had kicked up, and the deck pitched beneath them.

“Load the cannons and prepare to fire! Move like ye lives depend on it!” Stryder shouted over the din.

Rudy made his way to the Captain’s side. “What are you shooting at?”

To Rudy’s shock, Stryder picked up a rifle and tossed it to him. “Ye might be needing that, lad. Because the beastie is here.” He pointed out over the frothy water. Rudy looked, and the surface was broken by a huge dark shape. “Starboard cannons, fire!” The ships shook as every cannon on the starboard side of the ship fired at once.

Several of the cannonballs fell short, but a couple found their mark. A pain-filled roar came forth, and the mass submerged before Rudy could get a good look at it.

“It’s the Leviathan isn’t it?” Rudy’s question was interrupted when something struck the ship from below, throwing them all off of their feet. The crew started firing over the side straight down, as Stryder propped himself up on his elbow and grinned.

“Aye, that it be.”

Rudy got his feet back under him and rushed to the starboard railing with Trish in tow, and leaned over the side. The mammoth beast met the ship spine to spine, slithering under the hull. The monster’s back was deep green and scaly, but that was all they could make out before it disappeared again. The ship seemed to relax for a moment.

Stryder was behind them. “This ship will hold up. It was built for this singular purpose.” Rudy wasn’t sure whether Stryder was trying to convince them or himself.

D’Von and two other men pushed past them, securing what looked like a giant crossbow to the rail. Saffire was behind them barking orders as they inserted a huge harpoon into the weapon. The water burst off the starboard side again and the creature rose up to a height halfway up the mast. They all got their first good look at it.

Rudy gulped as he cocked the rifle. It was snakelike, undulating as it rose. Its head looked like pictures that Rudy had seen in storybooks as a child, of dragons, with rows of tentacles down its side instead of arms. Dragons! It’s almost as crazy a notion as mermaids. Right … He looked over at the woman who had his heart. Yes, about as crazy as that. He turned and fired a couple of ineffectual shots into the writhing body of the lizard.

“Get that gun swung around!” Saffire yelled at D’Von.

Trish turned and called out to them, holding up her arms. “No, no!” He fired, ignoring her, and the spear embedded in the neck of the creature, right under is jaw. It roared, and Rudy could see teeth the size of a man’s torso. Even with the roar, the impression was more of anger than pain.

“I think you made it mad,” Trish said matter-of-factly to Stryder, glaring at him. Rudy couldn’t help but smile ... to her credit she wasn’t acting afraid at all. But then, she could survive in the water where the rest of them couldn’t.

The beast dove again. This time it stayed down. Seconds went by, and then a minute. The crew started to murmur, and a couple of them patted each other on the back.

“Stand fast, mates! It be not done with us yet.” Stryder nodded to D’Von who started to reload the harpoon gun.

Trish grabbed Rudy’s arm. “He’s right. But fighting it this way won’t work.”

The relative quiet was broken as the beast broke the surface on the port side of the ship this time. It didn’t stay up for long. It arched, and dove again, flexing its tentacles and tail as it did. Rudy’s eyes grew wide … “Get down!” He tackled Trish to the deck covering her as several dull thuds came from the deck along with a cacophony of screams.

They both picked up their heads to see long barbs sticking out of three men’s chests, and a fourth man motionless, blood pouring from his throat. A bloody spike was embedded in the wood behind him. “Well, that’s one hell of a development.” The ship shook again as it was struck from below, and this time Rudy could hear a crack.

“They have to stop, that beast will rend the ship in two and send us all to the depths.” Trish gazed into his eyes.

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CONTEST!  Make a comment below with the name of your favorite mermaid from books, television, or movies, and be entered in a drawing for a copy of "Evernight: Romance in a World of Darkness Volume 1", the anthology that contains our first ever published work, the precursor to "The Realmwalker Prophecy".  The drawing will be October 31st.

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Rudy and Trish are the main characters in our two published short stories in the "Evernight: Romance in a World of Darkness" anthologies.  You can get to know them as well as get 23 other great stories!  Here's where you can find them:

Evernight Volume 1:   Amazon       XoXo          ARe

Evernight Volume 2:   Amazon       XoXo          ARe