Memory
War
The
Memory Wars Trilogy
Book
3
Paul
Anthony Shortt
Genre:
Urban Fantasy
Publisher:
WiDo Publishing LLC
Date
of Publication: September 2nd, 2014
ISBN:
978-1937178550
ASIN:
1937178552
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Number
of pages: 330
Word
Count: 104,500
Cover
Artist: Steven Novak
Book
Description:
War
is coming to New York. Nathan Shepherd's growing band of followers is
dedicated to protecting the city, but they now face their greatest
threat.
Athamar
returns, plunging the city into chaos. Uniting the forces of darkness
against Nathan and his allies, Athamar strives to discover a secret
hidden for thousands of years. A secret lost to Nathan's memories.
Something so dangerous, even the gods themselves fear it.
Nathan
and Elena were once the greatest of heroes, champions against evil.
Now, haunted by Nathan's past-life betrayal, they must work together
and brave the pain of long-buried lifetimes. Somewhere, locked within
their former incarnations, lies the key to stopping Athamar, an enemy
who has hunted them from one incarnation to the next.
As
the city burns and innocents suffer, as heroes fall and hope dies,
Nathan and Elena face their final battle, a battle where legends will
be reborn.
Available
at Amazon
Excerpt
Chapter One
Tuxedos
were the worst. At least in the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages, even
during the Renaissance, clothing, men’s especially, was designed to
allow enough freedom of movement to fight or defend oneself. The 21st
century had long seen the end of that. Nathan Shepherd’s feet
blistered in polished shoes. He was sure they were too small, despite
what the man in the rental store had said, and found himself longing
for a practical form of battle dress which would also go with black
tie events.
He
scanned the ballroom as he descended the marble steps. The scent of
expensive perfume drifted across the air, accompanied by the gentle
sway of a string quartet on the stage. Tugging at his collar, Nathan
walked to the buffet table and plucked a glass of champagne.
“Status?”
Cynthia Keller’s voice crackled in his earpiece.
“Champagne’s
not bad,” he said, softly. “Not sure about the caviar though.”
“You’re
supposed to be watching the mayor.”
“I’m
getting into character.”
“Well
listen, 007, we’ve got four people who just went in through the
kitchen door and one of them looks a lot like Lucius.”
Lucius
was a vampire, one of the top-ranking enforcers for the Council of
Chains. He’d been seen on the street a lot since Dorian went
missing last year.
“Were
they armed?” Nathan asked, sipping the champagne.
“Couldn’t
see,” Cynthia replied. “Nothing big, at least. No heavy bags or
boxes that could conceal large amounts of weaponry.”
“How
are they going to do this?”
“Poison?”
Cynthia said. “That’s how they got the chief of police.”
“Difficult,”
Nathan said. So many people were taking hors d’oeuvres and drinks
from tables and passing servers that it would be impossible to
predict what the mayor would take. “Unless they poison something
other than the food,” Nathan said. He frowned. It was something to
watch for.
“What
else is there?” Cynthia asked. “This is too big for a bomb or a
shooter.”
“Keep
me posted on anything suspicious entering or leaving the building,”
Nathan said, sipping his drink and wandering along the dance floor.
The crowd on the dance floor parted and he saw the mayor speaking to
a group seated at a table.
“I
have him,” Nathan said. “Tommy, what’s your status?” This was
Tommy’s first time in the field, and he was doing everything he
could not to seem nervous.
“Uh,
restroom,” his voice came back through Nathan’s earpiece.
“You’re
supposed to be by the stage.”
“Sorry
boss,” Tommy said. “Must have been the crab meat crackers.”
“I’ve
got Green,” Nathan said. “I need your eyes out here.”
“I’ll
do my…” The sound of Tommy’s voice was replaced by retching and
the splash of liquid hitting liquid. Nathan’s stomach turned a
little.
“Just
give me a minute,” Tommy said, coughing.
Movement
caught Nathan’s eye. Four men moving through the crowd, shoulders
set back and arms loose. They were ready to pounce. “I don’t have
a minute.” Where was Lucius?
One
of them nodded across the ballroom. Nathan turned to follow the gaze
and spotted Lucius emerging from a staff door. Nathan set his glass
down and started across the dance floor.
Then
he saw her, flowing across the floor in a backless scarlet dress,
split along the sides to reveal her sculpted calves and thighs. Three
ebony hairpins held her long black hair in a coiled bun, leaving only
a few tantalising locks framing her face. She turned and narrowed her
eyes. He wondered how many other people would have been able to spot
the marks on her arms and back where she’d used make-up to cover
her scars. Marks earned in battle. Nathan’s gaze drifted of its own
accord, up each curve from her hips to her neck, settling for a
moment on her blood red lips and wide, practiced smile. Her sea green
eyes fixed him and she advanced, sweeping toward him and locking her
arms around his shoulders.
“Elena,”
he said. “What are you doing here?”
“Making
sure you get out alive,” she said. Her smile never faltered. She
pulled Nathan into the crowd as the musicians started up a new piece.
“I
don’t have time to dance.” He tried to pull away, but Elena held
him firm. Nathan placed his hands on her hips and pushed, but she
pressed herself against him. He shivered and inhaled her perfume.
“You
have four behind you,” she said, “and another four coming from
the staff entrance.”
“I
know,” he said, leading her across the floor in time to the music.
“Lucius is leading them. It’s a Council hit.” He glanced to the
side. “Two more on your left, dancing.” They moved apart, keeping
their steps in perfect rhythm.
Elena
flicked her eyes around. “Three by the stairs. Just you?”
Nathan
shook his head as they closed in together again. “Tommy’s inside.
Cynthia and Cadence are watching from the next building. Sue’s got
the truck waiting.”
“Sam?”
“Watching
the bar.”
“You
should have Cadence in here,” she said.
“I
can handle this,” he said.
“You
need help.”
Nathan
smirked and dipped Elena, gazing down at her.
“That’s
the wrong step,” she said.
Nathan
felt the energy in the crowd shift. A forgotten sense most mortals
possessed, but which only those regularly exposed to the supernatural
were aware of, allowed the detection of emotional energy and even the
presence of supernatural creatures and magical effects. The crowd was
nervous. Eyes moved to Nathan and Elena. People backed away. One of
the men approaching from behind Elena flashed a grin, showing a pair
of long fangs.
“It’s
time to change the tempo,” Nathan said. “Allegro, perhaps?”
Elena
nodded and reached for one of her hair pins. Nathan pulled her back
up and she threw the pin. It flew straight into the heart of one of
the Council agents. Nathan ignored the scream and delivered a
side-kick to the sternum of the vampire behind Elena.
“Tommy,”
Nathan yelled into his radio. “Where are you?”
Nathan
spotted him pushing his way through the crowd as two more vampires
moved in on him and Elena. They fought back to back. Elena kicked off
her shoes and used another hair pin as a close-range stabbing weapon.
Nathan blocked a wild punch and twisted the vampire’s arm, breaking
it at the elbow joint. The vampire yelled and Nathan spun, hurling
him against the buffet table.
A
female vampire leaped onto Nathan’s back. Her hiss closed in on his
ear as she reached for his throat. Nathan reached around to grab her,
but another vampire kicked him in the stomach.
Tommy
tried to push onto the dance floor, but the crowd was too thick and
panicked.
“Cadence,”
Nathan said, struggling to breathe as the woman on his back tried to
strangle him. “Now.”
A
window smashed inward as a rolled-up black wrap flew through the air.
It landed close to Nathan and fell open, revealing the hilt of his
sword.
“Elena!”
The
woman on Nathan’s back seized and shrieked. Her grip loosened.
Nathan spun his hips and threw her off. One of Elena’s pins stuck
out of her back. These vampires weren’t dying immediately upon wood
piercing their hearts. That meant they were older; more powerful than
the average street vampires. They’d need their heads cut off or
their bodies burned to finish them off for good.
Nathan
dove for his sword, snatching it and slashing the next vampire’s
leg. He rolled to his feet and swung down as the vampire’s
fingernails grew into long black claws. Its hands fell away and the
vampire shrieked, running from Nathan.
Elena
reached for the roll of weapons and took two small curved axes. Five
vampires surrounded them. Nathan pointed for Tommy to get to the
mayor and he nodded, running to the stage. The vampires pounced.
Nathan
and Elena reacted as one, fighting off their attackers with precision
and unity honed over a hundred lifetimes. Dark blood splattered the
dance floor as they cut down the vampires one by one. With every
heartbeat, Nathan felt Elena’s soul pulsing and his own respond in
kind. They breathed in unison, feeling what the other felt, seeing
what the other saw. It was in this, the work of performing death,
that their last true bond remained. Nathan was almost used to the
regret. It urged him on, giving him power, bringing forth memories of
past-life battles to fuel his strength and speed. He reached into
those memories now, plucking one from the chaos and taking his
past-self’s adrenaline to keep his mind focused on the task at
hand. There was no room for mistakes here.
About
the Author:
A
child at heart who turned to writing and roleplaying games when there
simply weren't enough action figures to play out the stories he
wanted, Paul Anthony Shortt has been writing all his life.
Growing
up surrounded by music, film and theatre gave him a deep love of all
forms of storytelling, each teaching him something new he could use.
When not playing with the people in his head, he enjoys cooking and
regular meet-ups with his gaming group.
He
lives in Ireland with his wife Jen and their dogs, Pepper and Jasper.
Their first child, Conor William Henry Shortt, was born on July 11th,
2011. He passed away three days later, but brought love and joy into
their lives and those of their friends.
The
following year, Jen gave birth to twins, Amy and Erica. Their fourth
child, Olivia, was born in January, 2014.
http://paulanthonyshortt.blogspot.com
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Thanks for having me!
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