Thawed Fortunes (32 page)

Reviews, blogs, even just a call to that old
high school friend that always liked to read the same kind of
stories that you did--it all adds up. I don't have a big marketing
budget to get the word out, so the question of just how many of the
stories currently rattling around inside of my head make it out for
the rest of the world to enjoy depends almost entirely on you and
others like you.

Please remember to check out some of my
other work. You've likely already read Frozen Prospects, but it's
possible that you missed I'rone, which was a short story I wrote
because I just couldn't help but return to such an interesting
character. Those of you who enjoy urban/contemporary fantasy as
much as they enjoy epic fantasy, should go check out Scent of
Tears.

Just for fun, I've gone ahead and included
an excerpt from, Torn, my upcoming urban fantasy. I can't wait to
see it go live, and hope this sample leaves you positively chomping
at the bit.

About the
Author:
 
Dean
started reading seriously in the second grade due to a competition
and has spent most of the subsequent three decades lost in other
people's worlds. After reading several local libraries more or less
dry of sci-fi and fantasy, he started spending more time wandering
around worlds of his own creation to avoid the boredom of the
'real' world.

Things worsened, or improved depending on
your point of view, when he first started experimenting with
writing while finishing up his accounting degree. These days Dean
has a wonderful wife and daughter to keep him rather more grounded,
but the idea of bringing others along with him as he meets
interesting new people in universes nobody else has ever seen tends
to drag him back to his computer on a fairly regular basis.

Keep up to speed on Dean's latest projects
at
 
http://www.deansonlinefiction.com/
 
or
follow me on Twitter @Writer_Dean

The silvery light of a nearly-full moon
should have been comforting. For most people it would've been
peaceful even, but it pulled at my anger with surprising strength
as I bounded across the arid Southern-Utah terrain.

Darkly-furred, four-legged shapes ghosted
through the darkness on either side of me as we slid between the
softly-glowing pillars of trees. Jasmin, arguably the closest thing
I had to a best friend, dove through a latticework of light and
then it was my turn to feel the undergrowth grasping at my fur in
an effort to slow my progress.

The warm evening breeze carried a host of
aromas too subtle for mere human noses to identify. In our
four-footed forms each molecule was unconsciously sorted and
cataloged, leaving us free to concentrate on the elusive scent of
our prey.

The other pack, a portion at least, was less
than a mile away, far enough into our territory for it to be a
killable offense if they were caught. They'd become increasingly
arrogant over the last few months, but coming in close enough to
threaten our families was a whole new level of provocation. Even
their leader, Brandon, wasn't usually so bold.

A stray eddy of wind played across my muzzle,
and I knew they'd made their first mistake. I pressed into my
second in command for a moment, conveying an order through posture
and motion, and then nipped at Jasmin's heels, the two of us
stretching out in a full sprint.

Free from the others, Jasmin and I streaked
through the night with a speed the rest of our pack couldn't have
matched. Jasmin pressed at my flank, curious at my decision until
she caught the scent, and then an answering growl made its way past
her fangs.

The trap was clever, but the other wolves
didn't know the terrain well enough. I let my beast bubble up from
the corner of my being where I usually kept it chained. Between one
moment and the next, I went from running on four legs to two. As my
transformation ended, a six-foot tower of muscle and claws sprang
from the shadows. I ducked Vincent's first blow and retaliated with
a gash that opened one side of his chest nearly down to the
bone.

A dark-furred form leaped at Jasmin, but the
other wolf mistimed the spring. Most of the other pack didn't
appreciate just how nimble she was. Jasmin dodged to one side and
then the two of them were circling, looking for an opening.

Vincent, the other hybrid, attacked with the
strength and fury that'd earned him the position of second in his
pack, but he hadn't been expecting to face me in this form. As a
wolf I weighed in at a solid two hundred pounds, but would've still
given up more than a hundred pounds to him.

Now I had at least six inches and
seventy-five pounds on my side of the equation, and he was the one
pressed onto the defensive as the fight progressed.

I caught flashes of action from the other
fight as we circled each other. Jasmin sprang at her opponent,
catching her behind the shoulders as Vincent reeled away from me in
a shower of blood. I'd finally managed a deeper strike on his
arm.

The high-pitched scream of pain as Jasmin
began trying to crush her opponent's spine was answered by
rapidly-approaching howls. Vincent attacked with renewed strength
at the promise of reinforcements.

I was bleeding in a dozen places now, but the
rage insulated me from pain and weakness. Both sides of my nature
were united in hating Vincent. If I ever did manage to kill him, my
questionable humanity wouldn't grieve. The world would be better
for his absence.

I could hear the other pack now, panting with
exertion, our friends hot on their heels. Vincent overreached in
his effort to claim the kill, and I sunk my teeth into the muscled
flesh of his shoulder as I finally made it around behind him.

My claws sank into his arms and legs as I
repositioned to snap his neck, and then a hammer blow of weight
struck me across the shoulders. Knocked loose from Vincent, I spun
around in time to tear Simon from the air as he leaped at me again.
It was the perfect opportunity to end a life nearly as evil as
Vincent's, but one of the recent arrivals had bowled Jasmin
over.

Leveraging a frame that was more than capable
of picking up a small car, I threw Simon into the whirling ball of
flesh and fangs. He didn't hit hard enough to snap his neck, but he
knocked the other wolf off of Jasmin, and then Vincent was back on
his feet.

The rest of the rival pack, save for Brandon
their leader, came streaming past, but they didn't help their
fellows swarm Jasmin and me over. None of them even slowed. Vincent
took an angry swipe at the last, a small female, and then our pack
burst from the trees. A second later, our enemies were in full
rout.

##

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