Teaser Tuesday

I've been in a slump since publishing Hidden Magic on Friday. That book has been a huge part of my life for so many years, and now it has left my heart and gone out into the wide, wide world. I know I should be actively marketing it, but I need a few days to just let it be gone, to figure out what I'm going to do with that empty space in my heart and life. It's terribly exciting, and yet every once in a while I also find myself in tears for no good reason.

Here is a scene from Hidden Magic, which is on sell at amazon. For a couple more weeks, you can buy the ebook for only .99 cents and the soft cover book is just $9.99. 

I chose this teaser because Jessica wanted me to show the world that there was more to my book than romance:

He’d only learned how to shapeshift this year, and he wasn’t very confident at it yet, but adrenaline made up for lack of skill. As the strange lion sprang, Arram shifted into the shape of a dragon. He hadn’t had the time or the proficiency to think about what he would turn into, but had simply hoped for something big. A dragon though? Arram hadn’t even realized such a thing was possible. How ironic.

Arram slammed into the cat, which landed on its back. With amazing grace it twisted back onto its feet and sprang again--this time at Arram. They rolled, and one of its claws raked Arram’s arm, one of the few spots his scales did not protect. He roared in shock and pain, and tried to bite the cat’s throat. Quickly he realized his mistake. The cat was too agile, and Arram was much clumsier than any dragon he had ever met. He needed to rely on his superior size, so he locked the cat in a tight bear hug and began pummeling it with his claws, a move no real dragon would be caught dead using. Whenever the lion tried to bite his throat, Arram managed to block it. The lion was bleeding from several gashes, but thankfully, it hadn’t been able to hurt Arram again.

Arram growled, deep in his throat, and to his surprise, sparks shot from his mouth, reigniting a patch of blackened groundcover. The cat let out a primeval roar in response. Arram roared back, more carefully this time, and managed to pick up the whole animal and throw it. It yelped in pain as it hit a tree, and took a long moment before it sprang back into a crouch. But this time, Arram didn’t wait for the attack. Taking the offensive, he lunged for the cat, who met him halfway. Before he even realized what was happening, Arram’s claws had ripped a deep gash from the cat’s throat to its stomach. It lay there, thrashing on its back. Arram was torn between revulsion at the thought of killing something so helpless and a desire to end its suffering. He lumbered towards it on all fours and roared again. Dragon instincts took over, and soon the animal lay dead on its back. The whole fight had taken only a few minutes.

Arram turned to face Jenny, who was stamping out the fire, her face white with shock. “Arram?” she whispered, and took a deliberate step toward him.

She looked pale and frightened, and he longed to put his arms around her to comfort her, but given how much magic shapeshifting used up, he might be a dragon for a while. Jenny’s hand stroked the scales of his back tentatively.

To his relief, shifting back was not as complicated as he’d thought it would be. He even remembered to make sure he was fully clothed when he returned to his normal body. Jenny, looking more frightened than before, threw her arms around his neck and then pulled back, touching his arm gingerly. “You’re bleeding,” she said, showing him her own hand, which was now covered in his blood. She swayed and sank to the ground.

Feeling a little lightheaded himself, Arram sat on the ground next to her, and gathered her into his arms, murmuring, “Jenny, Jenny, you’re all right.” She pulled away, her eyes darting around frantically.

“It’s you that’s hurt,” she reminded him. “You need a bandage. Take off your shirt.”