It’s  Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday. Snippets of ten to fifteen sentences or less are yours for the reading!

Hi! I’m back…again! BARRON’S LAST STAND is coming along nicely and you’ve all been so patient with me. I thank you! Last time, I showed you a little snippet from one of Bo’s solo short stories. This time, I think Blade himself deserves equal time. So many of my readers have asked for a bit of back story on Blade Devon, so I thought I’d accommodate you.

This snippet is an opening salvo from a short story about a dark period in Blade’s life after his stint in the Inner Circle and before he started his holofeature career. In this short, Blade is around 23 years-old, and on medical leave home for the first time in seven years. He is no longer the young man who impulsively joined the Consular Guard at the age of 16. This Blade isn’t sure whether he goes by Dev Fossey or Blade Devon. He also is suffering from PTSD. So what does a man like Blade Devon do when he’s being self-destructive? He gambles, picks fights with dangerous thugs, and winds up in jail. That’s where we find  him in this snippet.

***

“Mister Fossey!”

The guard’s gruff tone gave way to annoyed impatience as he repeated himself for the fourth time.

Slowly peeling one eye open, Blade Devon peered at the guard who glowered at him from the other side of the thick metal grate.

The guard’s face flushed and a vein or two throbbed prominently on his forehead. “Look, you worthless piece of shit, your brother’s posted bond and you’re free to go! Don’t make me come get you!”

Blade slowly uncrossed his arms and stiffly climbed to his feet. It had taken some time for his back and buttocks to grow numb enough for the hard narrow bench and cold wall to be anything close to comfortable. Needles of sensation prickled through his backside and down his legs, protesting the change in position.

The other detainees shuffled quickly to clear a path for him. A greasy, little Tenpa, dressed in ragged gang leathers planted himself in front of Blade. His hands curled into fists. He slowly rolled onto the balls of his feet, lifting his chin as he strained to match Blade’s height. His scarred lips peeled back from discolored stumps of teeth in what passed as a sneer.

“When Deo wakes up, he’s go’n to hunt you do’n and kill you!”

***

If you’re interested in reading more about Blade, you can pick up your ebook copies of SOVRAN’S PAWN and HERO’S END for Nook and Kindle at Amazon or Barnes & Noble or you can follow the links to the right over there.

If you’d like to read a sneak peek at BARRON’S LAST STAND you can find the first chapter at the end of HERO’S END and here on my website.