Wow, I can’t believe it’s Saturday already! This has been a really crazy (but good!) week for me. The awesome Publisher’s Weekly review of MARKED, the anthology invitation from Kensington, the RITA nominations (squee!!!) for STOLEN FURY and finally the PLA Conference. Last night I had dinner with my editor at this cute little Irish pub in North Portland and it was so much fun. A great topper to the entire week. She was very excited about the RITA news and is even more excited about the RELEASE of MARKED in just a few short weeks. This awesome energy is going to propel me into finishing TEMPTED (book 3, Eternal Guardians) and I’m looking forward to getting back to work next week when the Gremlins go back to school.

In the meantime, today is Saturday Snippet Day! And the topic is Fight Scenes. This comes from MARKED, which releases SOON!! I hope you enjoy!

MARKED
Eternal Guardians Book 1
Release Date: 4/27/10

Acacia’s scream brought Theron’s head around. The daemon he’d been fighting clocked him in the jaw. Theron roared and lashed out with his blade, slicing the beast across the chest. A rush of liquid sprayed over his skin, but in the chaos he didn’t know if it was his blood or the daemon’s.

He whirled around and kicked the second creature in the chest, then plunged his parazonium, the ancient Greek dagger he’d gotten from his father, deep into the unholy’s side. The beast went down with a howl, all twelve inches of the blade disappearing inside the daemon’s flesh, but Theron knew neither one was dead, just dazed and seconds from pouncing again.

He didn’t have time to finish either of them off, though. He turned to look for Acacia, only to see she’d crambled behind the counter and was throwing books and office supplies at the third daemon, who kept advancing on her, as if that would keep him back. When that didn’t work, she jumped to her feet and yanked the fire extinguisher from the wall, pointed it at the daemon and turned it on full blast.

The daemon was temporarily blinded by the gush of white foam, but with a roar he charged again. Theron raced across the room and reached the counter just as Acacia swung the canister and nailed the daemon in the side of the head. She climbed to the top of the counter and did it again, this time using her leverage from above to nail him hard.

The beast went down. Theron drew his blade. And was kidney-punched from behind as one of the other two found its footing again. Claws flashed, Theron whipped around, his blade slicing through flesh and air, but still the daemon came, seven feet and three hundred pounds of unending muscle.

From behind him he could hear Acacia swinging the fire extinguisher at the other beast. A growl from the front of the store indicated the third was back on his feet.

Skata. They were in serious trouble. Two he could handle easily. Three if he were by himself. But not with Acacia. And even if he could manage to figure a way out of this one and get her far enough away to concentrate and open the portal, she had to willingly go with him. Because she was human, he couldn’t force her across the threshold. And in her current state of hysteria? Wasn’t gonna happen. Which meant they were well and truly screwed.

The daemon flipped him to the ground and lunged. Theron cracked his head against the daemon and threw the beast off him as if it weighed nothing. The daemon crashed into a shelving unit. Books rained down on top of him, but the monster scrambled to its feet and charged as if he hadn’t even felt the blow. Theron jumped to his feet as well, and in one mighty sweep his blade ripped through flesh and bone. With a sickening crack, the head was severed from the daemon’s body and rolled across the blood- soaked carpet.

A horrendous roar echoed through the store. The daemon Theron had left bloodied by the door plowed into him and took him down to the carpet. His blade flew out of his hand and clanged against the counter. Theron’s face was pressed into the carpet as claws ripped across the jacket on at his back.

Fuck. Now they were really screwed.

Then he heard a thud, and a swoosh. Felt a gush of something warm across his back and heard a mighty howl as the daemon fell off him.

Theron was on his feet in a fl ash, only to realize Acacia had his blade plunged deep into the daemon’s chest. She pulled the weapon out. The daemon fell back, shook himself and seemed to regather his strength. Theron quickly took the weapon from Acacia and pushed her behind him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the second daemon, covered in foam, rising slowly to his feet. “Get back!”

“Oh, shit,” she muttered.

He crouched down in his fighter’s stance, lunged toward the first and sensed the second circling around to advance on Acacia. He had microseconds to decide his next move, and then suddenly the tide shifted.

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