Eclipse of the Warrior: The Interdimensional Saga (Book 1)

by J. L. Hendricks

  And if that isn’t enough to get you to write a review, starting in Book 3 I will include some of the reviews from Amazon at the back of my book. Who knows, you might see your name in my next book!

  Thank you so much to everyone who read this book! I hope you really liked it and want to keep going on this journey with me.

  I look forward to riding this crazy roller coaster will all of you!

  J.L. Hendricks

  Acknowledgements

  This book would not have happened if not for the encouragement and help from Michael Anderle. He mentored me during the process of writing this book and helped me to find my voice. The difference between my first draft and what you read here is like the difference between a paper written by a 3rd grader and someone who went to college. That’s not to say this is college level work, my book is written so that you can read it fast and enjoy a few laughs. I am embarrassed to look back at my first draft. But I learned a lot working with Michael on the re-writes. Thank you so much Michael!!!!! (Yes I know that is too many “!”) LOL

  I was also blessed with some great Beta Readers: Dorene Johnson, Diane Velasquez and Dawnya Goode. You ladies rock!!! Thank you so much for the advice and suggestions! It all really helped to move the story along.

  I have always wanted to write a book. Stories have been floating around in my head for longer than I can recall. But I never felt like I had what it takes. Michael suggested to a group of us dreamers that we should write. Only with his encouragement was I able to finish it. In the past I have started writing stories only to stop and put them aside. I finally finished a story!

  I want to encourage anyone who has ever thought about writing a book or short story to do so. You never know if you might be the next J.K. Rowling or Michael Anderle! If you have a passion for anything at all just do it. If it doesn’t work out at least you tried. I have always wondered about writing and now I am doing it. Even if it doesn’t work out for me at least I tried it. There is nothing worse than not fulfilling your destiny just because you didn’t try.

  Come join my Facebook page if you want to discuss your ideas for anything at all.

  Book cover images purchased from Dreamstime: http://dreamstime.com

  Cover design by Michael Anderle

  Cover font by Dawnya Goode

  And as promised, here is the first chapter (plus a bit of chapter 2) from Book 2, Eclipse of the Soul:

  Chapter 1

  Wow! I can’t believe how much my body has changed in just one month. Last month I was 30 years old and out of work. Today I look about 19 and my job is to save my people from interdimensional vampires, as well as the ambivalence of a few fae warriors. What a change…

  “Oomph! Lancer what was that for?” I asked after he hit me with a punch to my gut. We were sparring, or at least I was trying to spar with him while he beat me black and blue.

  “B’Lana, you weren’t paying attention, I had to get your head back to Earth somehow. No pun intended.” Lancer was working on his jokes, sometimes he was pretty good, but sometimes he just didn’t get it.

  “You won’t be going on missions any time soon if you don’t start getting serious about your training. You can run faster and longer than any human, however your fighting skills are still lacking. If a human attacked you he would be in trouble, but if it was a ripper, you would be dead.”

  “It’s only been a month since I woke up from my transformation. Give me a break!” He was starting to annoy me with his intensity. Where was Ash? I bet he wouldn’t be acting this way. I know he would be much more fun to work out with.

  “Do you want to be able to join a team of fae and help protect your precious Earth or not? There won’t be any second chances once you are in the field. Moreover, I highly doubt you will get so lucky next time you come face to face with a ripper. Just remember that most people don’t survive an attack. They either die, become hybrid rippers or worse, dinner.” Lancer said as he took two steps back from me.

  “I know, it’s just all so surreal. I mean I have this strength and stamina that I never had before. And I think I am starting to develop other abilities as well, but I can’t be sure.” I thought I might be able to read minds. Or else I was just spending too much time with Lancer and Ash. I swear I knew what they were thinking most of the time. It was getting very distracting.

  “Can I go out with you guys on the next recon mission? I know this area pretty well so I think I could be of some help.” I was going stir crazy and needed to get out. Since I woke up from the transformation I had not been allowed outside yet. It was getting quite frustrating.

  “Only if you focus on your training for the next two days. If you do well then you can go. But it is strictly a recon mission. There will be no fighting for you.”

  I wasn’t about to mess this up so I focused and worked very hard on keeping my head in the game.

  ◊◊◊

  Two days later

  Tonight was the night that I was supposed to join the recon team. To say I was excited was an understatement. I bugged Lancer and Ash all day so much that they thought I had been drinking more than just coffee. I laughed at that, as I was just excited to be going on my first mission, even if it was just a recon.

  “Aahhhh fresh air at last! I can’t believe you guys finally let me out of prison. Can we go eat at Joe’s Taco Shack? I haven’t had any good tacos since you guys kidnapped me.”

  “Oh come on B’Lana, you know I wasn’t part of the team who kidnapped you. And didn’t I make a run to a taco place for you just last week?” Ash was always trying to help me out in small ways. Lancer was convinced Ash was toying with me. Even if he was, I wasn’t falling for it. But I sure was enjoying it.

  One of the great things about being a hybrid was that their fae magnetism didn’t work on me anymore. I was so happy and relieved when I woke up and realized that I could focus on something besides how hot they were.

  “How far is Joe’s from here? We can’t leave our assigned recon area just to satisfy your cravings.” Lancer was always so serious when on a job. “And you aren’t a prisoner, so stop talking like that.”

  “Don’t worry, it’s at the edge of our area, I double checked the map before we left. I think you guys will really like this place and it’s close to several alleys so we might even come across some rippers for you Lancer.” I smirked at him when I said that last statement. He seemed to be all business within a few days of waking from my transformation.

  We made our way to the taco joint without any trouble. I encouraged the guys to all order one of each taco. It was Taco Tuesday after all, and they were only one dollar each. I ordered one of each; they had chicken, ground beef and carne asada. Man, were their tacos good! I also got myself a medium Diet Coke. It always had to be Diet Coke, not Diet Pepsi. That was just one more reason to love Joe’s.

  Each of the guys ordered double what I did along with a large order of chips and salsa. We found two nice big picnic tables outside with a great view of South Broadway and 7th street. There were a few alleys not too far away that we could check out after dinner.

  “Ok B’Lana, I’ll admit that was a great dinner. And cheap too. This is one place we will have to come back to.”

  “Lancer, are you actually complimenting something I did? I think I’m gonna die from shock!” I playfully said as I put the back of my hand to my forehead and faked a swoon right onto the picnic table. Sadly, I closed my eyes when I did so and I ended up falling into Ash’s lap.

  Lancer was not too happy. He gave me a very stern look which made me feel like a little kid who was about to be scolded for giving my little brother a swirly or something.

  Of course Ash used that opportunity to put his arms around me, to keep me from falling on the ground, or so he said. But he had the look of a cat that just ate the canary. Then he winked at me and let me go.

  “B’Lana, Ash, this is not the time to play games. You need to be on constant guard so stop messing around. B’Lana, you especially need to be on y
our best behavior or you won’t be going out anytime soon.”

  I just sighed and said, “Yes, sir.”

  After that we started walking towards a nearby alley, and I chose to walk next to Maliki so Lancer would stop giving me dirty looks.

  “You know, he’s just looking out for you. I know you think you can handle yourself out here, but you really don’t know what it’s like to fight a ripper. Once word gets out about you, they’ll come after you first, most likely several at a time. None of them have seen a fae hybrid and have no clue what you can do. So they are going to test you and if they kill you in the process, they won’t lose any sleep.” Maliki was cool to talk to. But he was also a realist. He told it to me like it was.

  At that point I looked around to check out what people were doing. I noticed several girls who seemed to be trying to walk away quickly. They were whispering and kept looking back behind them, like someone was following them. They seemed afraid of something. One girl, she was maybe five feet six inches at best, with long blonde hair was wearing a coral short sleeved top, a jean jacket and designer jeans with three inch wedge heels that matched her top. She was wiping a tear from her face. Her friend had this horrified look, almost like she had seen a ghost. I knew something was up with them. It may not have been ripper related, but something was definitely wrong.

  “Hey Lancer,” I said as I was making my way closer to him. “Look at those two girls across the street coming this way. They seem very scared, like maybe someone is following them. Do you think it could be ripper related? Look at how they keep looking behind them and are walking fast, despite the fact that one of the girls is in heels.”

  Lancer looked over at them and then started scanning the crowd behind them. He noted that the sun had been down for at least thirty minutes and a larger crowd back where the girls came from started parting and quickly moving away.

  “Alright, there might be rippers out in the street. Maliki stay here with B’Lana and keep her safe. The rest of you come with me and spread out to check the alley behind where that group seems to be quickly moving away from.”

  Maliki and I stayed where we were watching the rest of our squad make their way to the dissipating crowd.

  Part of me hoped it was rippers so I could see some action, but the other part hoped it was just some stupid fight.

  Chapter 2

  There were a lot of people starting to run away at this point. I lost track of Lancer and Ash, but those two girls started screaming. I looked their way and instantly knew what was happening.

  There was one ripper right behind them. I wasn’t sure how it got past Lancer and the rest of the squad, but there it was grabbing the arm of the other girl. She had long red hair, the kind any woman would kill for. Her turquoise blouse and ripped jeans were paired with some nice sensible ballet slippers. If she could get away from that ripper she would be able to run much faster than her friend in the heels.

  “Maliki, we need to help those two girls across the street, they have a ripper on them” I said as I was making my way across the street. They had already passed us so I assumed that was why Maliki missed what has happening.

  “B’Lana, stop! You are not authorized for action tonight. There is nothing we can do for those girls. It is more important that you follow Lancer’s orders right now.”

  “Screw Lancer’s orders! I joined your team so I could help humans, not sit around while they are attacked by rippers. You can follow me and help, or just watch. Your choice.” I said over my shoulder as I crossed the road.

  I ended up right behind the ripper who held both girls by the arm now. I pulled out my knife and stabbed him in the back. The knife was long enough to reach his heart. But that was not a kill spot and I knew it.

  It did however, work to get him to let go of the girls. “Run as fast as you can away from here and don’t look back.” I said as the ripper turned around to face me.

  “Oh, a fighter huh? You will make a great addition to our army.” The ripper then reached forward to grab for me as I kicked him in the family jewels, it was my favorite move after all.

  It only slowed him down a short time, but it was enough time for Maliki to join us.

  “B’Lana, you really are crazy. I sure hope Lancer doesn’t see this.” Maliki said as he started fighting with the ripper.

  The ripper grabbed his sword from his belt and engaged with Maliki. They both seemed to have forgotten I was still standing there.

  As Maliki was battling the enemy, I grabbed my long sword off my back and positioned myself so that if I had a chance I could take a swipe at the ripper’s head.

  It took a good minute or two, but the ripper eventually had his back to me. That was when I took my sword in both hands and swung it across his shoulders. I severed his head with a clean cut. The head rolled to the left side and hit the wall with a thud. Thankfully this time his eyes were facing the building and I only got a good look at the back of his head.

  “B’Lana two, rippers zero!” I said while doing a touchdown dance and still holding my sword. Maliki looked at me like I was crazy.

  Turned out there was a little bit of blood on his face thanks to my sword work.

  “Oops, sorry about that Maliki, here are some napkins to wipe your face.” I had put a handful of napkins in my pocket after dinner at Joe’s. I knew they would come in handy.

  Then I wiped my sword clean on the dead ripper’s clothes.