The Prologue To My New Book: BATTLEMAGE: KINGDOM'S EDGE!
For those of you who don't know, I've been working on several books, one of which is Battlemage: Kingdom's Edge. It's book numero uno of a four book series. I've just started cleaning up the first draft, and I hope by the end of this year it'll be out there for all yooz guys to read.
In the meantime, allow me to whet your appetite a little. Here without further ado, is the prologue as it stands right now, to Battlemage: Kingdom's Edge!
PROLOGUE
Chapter 0
Isaac. Isaac Abramson. Not very original but it serves its purpose. And that purpose is to keep him safe and out of sight. Eli Cohen got him into America but that alias had outlived its usefulness as soon as he'd escaped execution. Now, he's got to get a fresh start. There's still a lot of work to be done. Places to go and people to kill, as he likes to say.
Isaac had gotten here three years ago via a French freighter bound for New York. That one took eight days and lots of retching. This one, the Belle-Mere, is leaving tonight and it'll be just 2 days before it docks at Port Aurum, the gem of Solium City. If he can make it in time that is. There's just a small issue of the police chasing him, though.
It was a stupid mistake on his part. He gotten himself ID'd by some fat mall cop who’d paid for it dearly. Maybe he'll live if he's lucky, maybe not. Right now every cop is out looking for Isaac and he’s in no mood for this shit. He's got a small window of opportunity to get past port security, and an even smaller window to get himself stowed on the Belle Mere.
It's raining, hard, and lightning cracks the sky. Isaac seems not to notice the deluge, the wipers working frantically but not enough to help much. He's got a good car though; he made sure he 'jacked a fast one. The sirens behind him grow louder, then fainter as the chase continues. The blur of flashing red and blue lights in the rear view mirror irritates Isaac. He blows through one, two red lights, leaving cars askew, drivers in panic as he passes. Isaac smiles as he watches a fireball erupt behind him as a cruiser slams into one of the cars. A sharp left leaves him nearly out of control on the drenched blacktop. The car is fast but doesn't handle well in the rain. Nothing that he isn’t trained for, though. Between the explosion and the quick turn his pursuers thin out. Isaac's plan takes him through several harder turns, and thankfully most of the lights are green. He's got to make it to the bridge closest to the port. Dammit, more cars have joined the chase. Faster ones by the looks of it. He's got to get to the bridge if his plan's going to work. If it does, he'll be able to make it to the port. If not… He grimaces at the thought, hoping he doesn't have to resort to the other option. It'll guarantee escape but the cost is going to be very high on many levels.
One last stretch of road. The faster he can go the better - and he's at the bridge. Not much traffic because of the storm. That's good. Timing's going to be critical now. At the crest of the bridge he jams the steering wheel, locking it into place, and looks for the blur of tresses to end. Just at the right fraction of a second, he jumps out of the car and over the side of the bridge. The car careens along the downside of the bridge, finally colliding with oncoming traffic and exploding furiously just as Isaac hits the water.
Several tense moments pass as the ripples die out. The thrashing of rain passes in sheets over the water. Suddenly the surface erupts and Isaac has gotten to the surface, gasping for breath. Treading water, he looks on as the conflagration engulfs another car and it explodes. That's going to keep the cops busy for a while, he reckons. It’s going to be a long swim to the docks but Isaac has no doubts about making the distance thanks again to his training with the Israeli Special Forces.
At the docks, it's even easier than he'd originally planned. All he does is climb up onto the nearest access ladder and make his way like a wharf rat to the Belle Mere. No muss, no fuss. He's early, in fact. Isaac finds a safe place and nods off for a nap.
Isaac wakes to silence. The rainstorm has passed. There’s plenty of time to get to the Belle Mere but he's wishing the rain had kept up - it would have made it easier and safer to carry on. It takes Isaac several minutes to find the Belle Mere. Movement of workers and machinery near the ship causes him to hunker back behind some crates. This set of freight will be the last to go onboard, and the dock workers have just minutes before their shift ends. Perfect timing. Isaac slinks to the nearest stacked mountain of shipping containers. A garbled announcement over the yard’s loudspeakers signals the change of shift. The workers head home leaving the job to the next crew to finish up. That's Isaac's cue. He scurries to the end of the container second from the top, expertly plies open the secured latches, and sneaks inside. Minutes pass and Isaac feels movement as the crane lifts the cargo container - and him - onto the deck of the Belle Mere.
Copyright (c) 2018 AJ Reis