Omg… its the last day… time is running out to enter to win the Santa Box… it is fill to the brim and just waiting for one lucky winner to claim it… the winner will be announced on Dec 18th on the GWP newsletter… But how do you enter??? Easy… just go HERE and sign up to receive the Gone Writing Publishing Newsletter and you will be automatically entered to win… see, easy…

Hey… I promised you guys a surprise today… What could it be??? Well heck… its the answer to answer 15, plus an excerpt to my next novel… I will be finishing the next Finder’s Keepers Novel up this month, and presenting it to Mary at GWP … Can’t wait to see what she thinks, and you guys as well…

And now you know my answer to question fifteen… I will be presenting Book Two of the Finder’s Keepers Series to Mary at GWP, because Mary and her GWP crew rock… I just love the Makayla scenes… her and her little pug too… she is a country twang sex pot… with attitude and secrets…

and now for the Excerpt… lets start off slow… here is chapter one… don’t for get to watch out for the hashtags #15DaysofGWPAuthors #GWPGiveaway so you can catch the other GWP authors and their answers for 15 Days with GWP Authors… and if you repost, please use the hashtags…

Finder’s Keepers Series, Book Two

Chapter One

 

The portal tossed Quaidin Lari in every direction until he felt like his head was spinning and his stomach was about to evict all of its contents in any manner possible; north or south, he was about to be sick. Colors flew by in shades of burnt green and browns so dark they might as have been considered black. He could have handled the depressing color scheme and the runaway rollercoaster ride but the shots of yellow and brightest white being flashed before his eyes was too much.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Quaidin prayed to Lac Mar that the ride would soon end. He was one of the Fianna, the mercenary troop, taking over the job of policing the Fae community for the missing Sentinels. Hurling his guts up and pray to the Fae Goddess Lac Mar wouldn’t look very reassuring to those depending on the Fianna for safety. Besides, he was in charge of persuasion for his squad. He had all the allure of his Incubus heritage, but no one looked at the deathly ill and thought, “I want to tell this man all my secrets.”

Just when he thought that Fate had decided to turn a simple portal jump into a lifetime of confusion and punishment, Quaidin stumbled across solid ground, immediately falling to his knees. He couldn’t see straight yet but knew that he wanted to go home to Out-realm. Every time he came Earth-side, the experience cemented how much he hated the place. “Please tell me I managed to land in a patch of soft, foul smelling Kentucky mud.”

No one answered. Still, Quaidin refused to open his eyes. His knees were firmly planted on solid ground, but his hands had managed to find something disgusting.

Sitting up, his ass propped up on his feet, he continued to deny the truth. Eyes tightly closed, he started flinging and flicking his hands to dislodge the substance clinging to his skin.

His squad mates all started screaming at once.

“Son of a-”

“Dammit, Quaidin.”

“You lousy-”

“Stop that you-”

Grinning like a devil, Quaidin opened his eyes. Looking around at Casfin, Vloran, Zander, and Yolland he cut them all off. “We can all wear this muck together.”

Casfin, one of the most laid back and composed Captains the Fianna mercenaries had ever seen, looked like he was on the verge of homicide. Stripping off his clothes without a word, Casfin stalked off to a nearby pond. One by one, the others decided to follow.

Vloran was last to add his clothes to the growing pile. It wasn’t that the man was slower. For a nearly eight foot mountain, he could move quick swiftly when he wanted to. When he wanted to, being the key phrase.

Quaidin pushed himself up from the ground as Vloran turned to leave. “What’s the big deal? A little dirt never hurt anyone.”

Vloran glared over his shoulder, and said, “I believe the people Earth-side call what you landed in a cow-patty.” Seeing the, no doubt, confused look on Quaidin’s face, Vloran turned away in disgust. “Cow shit, man. You landed in cow shit.”

More than ready to go home, Quaidin ripped off his clothes and threw them on the burnable heap of mission clothing. Moving for the water, he barked, “I hate this place.”

 

Quaidin eyed the large beast lazily munching on grass the grass growing alone the bank of the small pond. Floating in the middle of the water, he felt safe in glaring at the cow. He felt like he was suffocating in heat and honeysuckle. How could it be so hot? Summers on Earth-side wouldn’t begin for another week. They needed to find the new Fae Princess and slip back through a portal to Out-realm before the heat level reached the nineties, or Lac Mar forbid, the hundreds.

“Come on Quaidin. Our ride should be here any minute.” Casfin dropped Quaidin’s satchel on the bank and walked off.

The cow moved suspiciously toward his satchel, spurring Quaidin to swim with increasing strokes for the edge of the pond. Keeping one eye on the animal, he pulled his body onto the grass and started jerking his spare uniform out of his satchel. Unless he wanted to wear his uniform for the entirety of the mission, he needed to locate something a little more fashionable for the area.

Vloran moseyed over – the man was the definition of relaxed – and tossed him a canteen of water.

“Thanks man.” Quaidin took a long pull of the slightly warm water. “Is the portal shut down yet?”

The portal they had just to get to Earth-side was a rogue portal. Their squad was in charge of shutting the portal down, but instead of taking care of the matter while they were still in Out-realm they had used it to travel closer to the Princess and their goal. Casfin had decided that using the rogue portal would put them closer to the Princess and the Danshue that had created the portal in the first place.

The Danshue, or evil Fae, were growing in number and they all had it out for Princess de Platadreki. They needed to secure the Princess and eliminate all threats along the way.

“Yolland and Zander are taking care of it. The portal was hastily opened, but that just means that it will be harder to close. It looks like someone just ripped open a hole in reality. Some of the spells used to open it need to be reinforced so that the entire does not explode as they attempt to close the link.” Vloran crouched down, his arms planted on his knees. His eyes continually quartered the area, watching the trees, the field, the nearby gravel road, and even the sky.

Pants on and shoes laced up, Quaidin checked the ground for any surprises before flopping down beside Vloran. “Casfin could close it in no time.”

Plucking a piece of grass to roll between his fingers, Vloran looked back at Yolland and Zander. “Guess the Captain thinks they need the practice. Would have done it himself otherwise.”

Quaidin took another swallow of warm water, refusing to even unpack his shirt until the last minute. He pinched a few strands of his light brown hair between his fingers and pulled the wavy mass forward. Squinting his eyes, he tried to determine if the missing blonde streaks were covered in mystery pond scum or if they were just heavy with water. He was about to ask Vloran what he thought when a large SUV came into sight, slowly driving down the one lane road at the edge of the field. “Looks like our ride has arrived. Maybe you and Casfin can stick you heads out of the windows.”

It was no more than the truth. Vloran had to be nearing the eight foot mark, and their dear Captain looked to be slightly over the eight foot mark. Quaidin didn’t know a lot about Earth-side, always wishing to keep his visits short, but humans rarely made it to seven feet. They definitely didn’t make cars to accommodate small giants. It was a good thing that human and Norms – those Fae born without magic – were unable to see anything placed under a glamor. Otherwise, Vloran and Casfin would have started a riot. What with Vloran’s silver skin tone and the light blue dusting on Casfin’s otherwise pale skin, it was hard to mistake them for human.

“Come on funny guy. With the mood Casfin is in, he may just leave your ass if you make him wait.”