The Red Warrior: The Warrior Race, Book Two

by T. C. Edge

  Dom, heart thudding in hatred, turned reluctantly and spared a final look upon Rufus, just as the jackals closed in. He wished to stay, to take the body himself, to give him the cremation and rituals he deserved. But he knew he couldn't, and he had no choice. His only option now was to disown what Rufus had done, distance himself from the act. Many lives would now depend on that.

  So with a final glance upon his departed friend and ally, and his heart filling with loss, he led Kira quickly from the sand, and out beyond the arena where his carriage awaited.

  They climbed in quickly, the people flooding the streets, a great murmuring beginning to flow far and wide. Word would spread now of this moment, when the Empress nearly died, when her rotten flesh was cut. The blood would seep into the water, and the sharks would sniff it out. They would circle and close in, and what they'd find would be a wounded beast, cornered and more manic and dangerous than ever.

  Dom had lost his bodyguard, his advisor, and his closest friend. The man he put most of his trust in, who knew things no one else did, was gone. And Dom might now be more vulnerable than ever, alone without his great protector by his side.

  He cast the thought away, and glanced up at Kira, sitting opposite him as the carriage paced through the busy streets. He hadn't even realised she'd been looking right at him, her eyes infused with pity and pain.

  "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I know how important he was to you."

  Dom nodded through a pained smile.

  "He did it for you," he said. "And for me. He tried to kill her for all our sakes." He turned to look out of the curtain, flapping at the side of the carriage. "Tonight," he whispered. "I'll make sure you and your friends escape. I'll get you free of this place, Kira..."

  He felt a tug at his arm. His gaze shifted back to her. There was a resolution upon her face now, the doubt and worry dismissed. And when she spoke, her words came out thick and low, filled with purpose.

  She shook her head.

  "I'm not going anywhere without you," she said. "I promised Rufus I'd protect you. And that's just what I'll do."

  Now Dom's head began turning, left and right.

  "No, Kira. You don't need to be part of this anymore."

  Her grip on his arm tightened, and her eyes intensified further.

  "I do, Dom," she said. "I made Merk honour his duty to me for saving his life. Now Rufus has done the same with me. I must honour his wishes. I must stay and protect you, however I can."

  Dom saw she was not for turning. Her honour would force her hand, and whatever promise she'd made to Rufus, she'd have to keep. But looking at her, Dom made a promise of his own.

  He wasn't going to let her die in this city. One way or another, he'd see her safe and free, and all of her friends too. That was his promise, silently made deep inside his head.

  Now, he just had to work out how to keep it.

  And so the carriage rolled on, and Kira and Dom sat together, looking into each other's eyes with promises inside their heads. The Prince and the warrior, aligned in their fight.

  And together, they'd get their vengeance.

  Together, they'd save the city.

  The Warrior Race will conclude in Book Three – Angel of War

  Next Up - Angel of War

  Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you’re enjoying the journey.

  Next up we have book three - ANGEL OF WAR - where we’ll complete Kira’s adventure and see how she, Dom, Merk, and all the rest get on.

  You can purchase that here.

  If you’ve only just entered this particular universe via The Warrior Race series, you can take a look at where it all started with The Enhanced.

  You can grab The Enhanced (Book One) here.

  And, of course, if you want to know EXACTLY when any new book I release comes out, feel free to sign up to my newsletter by clicking here.

  By doing so, you’ll also get access to the first book in The Watchers Series (The Watchers of Eden) completely free of charge, as well as a short story that’s only available to those who join my list.

  Thanks for reading!

  Author Notes

  Written 25th September 2017

  First of all, and as always, thank you so much for reading. I do hope you're enjoying Kira and the gang's continued adventures, and are excited to see what happens next.

  Also, apologies for the delay in getting this one out. The original plan was to release it soon after the first, but in the end I decided to complete the main Enhanced Series first. Book three will, however, come hot on its heels, so the conclusion to the story will be quickly forthcoming.

  Now, it's safe for me to say that this book was a joy to write. That is, of course, true of all my novels, every one of which I've thoroughly enjoyed. Yet this series, so far, has been particularly gratifying for me, and this is partially down to the setting, and partially down to the narrative form.

  Having spent so much time writing from a single perspective during the Enhanced Series (and prior to that, the Watchers Series), being able to jump about between characters opens up a lot of doors. It's very liberating, really, going from Kira, to Dom, to Merk's perspective on the story, each one having their own distinct outlook and motivations, and particular side-plots within the grander tale.

  I've mentioned before how I've always been a bit of a cinephile and movie-lover, so operating on a multi-character, third person, past tense narrative form allows for me to adopt a more 'cinematic' way of writing. That's not to say it doesn't come with its own set of challenges, but in many ways those particular challenges are what makes the experience so fresh and rewarding from a writer's standpoint.

  One such issue is ensuring that the reader knows just whose perspective we're in. And, going further, ensuring that the characters only know as much as they should. It's a little more tricky keeping all that in mind, rather than merely working within the head of a single character like Brie in the Enhanced, or Cyra in the Watchers. With those single perspective stories, the entire plot is being seen through the lens of what the main character witnesses or hears about. For a panster like me, it's a little easier working within that framework.

  However, when opening the story up to three specific perspectives, and even occasionally adding snippets of others like Finn or Rufus, it can get a little more complicated. For example, when working on their escape attempt, Kira, Finn, and Gwyn are clearly aware that all three of them are in on the act, with Merk operating on his own. Merk, on the other hand, only thought Kira was along for the ride, until she revealed the truth later on.

  It's only a small example, but I needed to ensure that, when moving between those two perspectives, the characters only acted according to what they knew. Slipping up, and suddenly having Merk aware of Finn and Gwyn's involvement, before being told of it by Kira, would have been jarring. There are lots of instances like that, when dealing with these three characters all closeted together in the same place, that need to be paid close attention to in order to avoid narrative mishaps.

  It's also a little harder to include twists in the tale when telling a story in this fashion. Keeping things narrow, and from a single perspective, allows for plenty of scope to surprise the central character, and therefore the reader, with sudden reveals. That's not so easy here I don't think, though hopefully I still surprised you at a few turns.

  In any case, I was quite surprised by how quickly the book came together. It ended up being much longer than any of the books in the Enhanced Series (as with The Warrior Race) which can be largely attributed, again, to the multi-character format. Each needs room to grow, and the more perspectives you have, the longer the book needs to be in order to let the characters properly develop. As I wrote it, I knew where the ending point would be, yet wasn't quite sure how long it would take to get there. When I got to the conclusion in the arena, it was a fair bit longer than I'd anticipated. Hopefully, however, it didn't drag or feel bloated. If you feel otherwise, please let me know!

  In fact, that g
oes for anything you may wish to talk about. As always, I'm here to chat and you can email me at t.c.edge@hotmail.co.uk, or else like my Facebook page and message me there. It's been a long time coming (I've had a Facebook page for a while, but never did anything with it) but I'm finally dipping my toe into the perilous waters of social media. I'll (hopefully) be revealing covers on my page, and mentioning any promos and new releases and the like on there too. So check it out and get in touch. I'm always keen to hear from my readers and fans.

  I suppose that's all for now. The third book in the series - Angel of War - will be with you very shortly.

  Thanks again for reading!

  With love,

  Toby