Category: Fallen Empires

Books and stories with Pietas as the protagonist.

Book birthday: Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire #Pietas #SciFi

Kayelle Allen 12/29/2017 Fallen Empires

Congratulations, it’s finally a book birthday!

Holding Bringer of Chaos in my hand — both book 1 and book 2 — what a feeling! As a rule, I don’t use exclamations on this blog, but for this? A book birthday is a wonderful thing. You can have a book birthday on the anniversary of its release, but for this event, I’m claiming today as the day the book is born. Officially.

I started writing it years ago. I was 17 and sound asleep at home, dreaming. I was walking the length of a vast receiving chamber, headed for the woman who sat on the throne at the end. The empress was the twin sister of a dangerous man who was not present. He was older but he was not the king. I didn’t know why but I knew that made him dangerous.

I had to walk through rows of soldiers who stood at attention, facing forward. I could not see their faces. I was not afraid to approach the throne. The woman looked amused at how long it took me to go such a long distance. I kept walking and walking but never seemed to get closer. I turned around to see how far I had come. That’s when I saw the faces of the soldiers, and my breath caught.

Every one of them had the heads of gray cats.

I woke up and sat straight up in bed. Why that image should have been so frightening, I don’t know. No one was attacking me. No one glared at me. They just looked right at me, and that was enough. All these years later, that dream still haunts me.

From that dream was born most of the Tarthian Empire series. The woman on the throne became Empress Rheyn Destoiya. The cat-headed soldiers became the Praetorian Guard, peopled with the Kin, a feline-humanoid race. (My Kin do not have cat-heads but they are quite catlike and have pointed ears higher up on their heads than a human’s.) Her missing older brother became Pietas, hero of my last two books.

By releasing Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire, I’m telling the story of that missing sibling and how he came to be such a dangerous man.

I hope you’ll get to know him as I have. Discovering the Bringer of Chaos has been a lifelong attempt. Below is an excerpt from the book for you to sample, and you can download the entire first three chapters here.

Book Birthday – an excerpt

In this scene, Pietas discovers that his friend, Six, has been taken hostage by Mahikos, Pietas’s father.

“Are you looking for this?” His father’s unmistakable voice came to him before the man’s faint outline revealed itself in the dark.

Mahikos had captured Six and pressed a knife blade to the ghost’s throat. At the point where the blade dug into him, blood oozed.

The blank passivity on his friend’s face revealed what Pietas had feared. Six had been compelled into submission. He would stand there and let Mahikos kill him.

Rage propelled Pietas forward.

“That’s far enough, Son.” He dragged Six backward. “Unless you want your own hands covered in this human’s blood.”

Pietas ground his teeth. For this, his father would forfeit his life. “I will end you, old man.”

“Will you?” Mahikos dug the knife edge into Six’s neck. “You dared bring this abomination into our camp after it threatened your mother–the woman I love–and you want to end me? This thing is going to die by my hands!”

Time slowed to a crawl. Someone had told him.

Joss? Too loyal.

The twins? Too detailed.

Dessy? Had she been so quick to betray him?

Pietas drew every vestige of Compulsion he had and threaded Chaos along its invisible bands. Mahikos was immune to both, but aligned, they might soften his will.

Wait. Immune. Immune!

That word rattled around his head, a stone bouncing off the sides of a bottomless metal pit.

Pietas had practiced compulsion, sending command after command to Six.

The man was immune.

Six, blink twice if you hear me.

He gave two quick blinks.

How he treasured this man! Good job, ghost. You stalled him. If you’re hurt, blink once.

Six remained steady.

Excellent. I should never have left you. I’m sorry. On my mark, drop and get out of the way. Joss, go right. Distract him.

I serve. Her mindvoice packed the simple Ultra vow with raw emotion.

Now!

Joss screeched a war cry and bolted right.

Pietas shot to the left.

Startled, Mahikos flinched.

Six hit the ground and scrambled aside.

Reversing course mid-step, Pietas used his full bodyweight and slammed Mahikos into the ground. The knife flew from his father’s hand. The two men rolled, each grappling for supremacy.

Mahikos was a full foot shorter and similar to others in the scientist class, slight of build. He’d altered his own genetic makeup and now possessed the greater strength of the warrior class. The man got in one blow to Pietas’s jaw and a second to his head.

The world went white hot–then red.

Nothing existed beyond this enemy.

This retribution.

This hatred.

This rage.

Pietas flipped his father onto his stomach and rolled atop him. One arm beneath the man’s throat, the other bracing the first, he crushed his father’s airway.

Mahikos clawed at the arms pinning him, but without air, soon weakened. His struggle slowed, then ceased. In one swift move, Pietas shoved his father’s face into the dirt.

That would have killed a human, but the Ultra metabolism had kicked into battle mode while they fought. The man healed before Pietas could move back. Gasping, Mahikos clawed for the knife.

With his longer reach, Pietas claimed it first. He rolled his father onto his back and knelt atop the weakened man’s arms, pinning him.

He showed him the knife. “Are you looking for this?” he asked, echoing his father’s earlier words.

Mahikos stared up at it and then at him, wild-eyed, choking for air.

Pietas wrapped both hands around the hilt, drew back the blade, and plunged it down.

“No!” His mother’s voice rang out. “Pietas!”

He stopped the blade but the tip had already punctured his father’s skin. Pietas ached to ram it deep, deep, all the way past skin, muscle, and bone, straight into the man’s heart. Twist it. Break it off.

“No!” His mother pleaded. “He’s your father. Pietas. Please! For me. For me.”

He held his father’s life in limbo, suspended between cold indifference and hot fury, buffeted by his mother’s plea.

When the immortal Pietas is marooned on a barren world with no food and few survival tools, he knows it could be worse. He could be alone. But that’s the problem. He’s not.
Half a million of his people sleep in cryostasis, trapped in their pods and it’s up to Pietas to save them. But before he can, he must take back command from a ruthless enemy he’s fought for centuries. His brutal, merciless father. Immortals may heal, but a wound of the heart lasts forever…

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The blood of my enemies #SciFi #PietasFans

Kayelle Allen 12/20/2017 Fallen Empires 10 Comments

In this scene from Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas, Pietas undergoes a ritual used on the planet Kaffir is summon spirits. "The blood of my enemies trickles into the pool of time," he proclaims.

My Enemies

Early on the first morning of the peace talks, Pietas entered his round bathing room. Starlight filtered through the portal overhead. Sleek silver walls reflected the cool light.

He remained at the door, content to savor its calming glow. Its beauty did not dispel the worry niggling at his mind. Not given to trusting premonitions and omens, he grounded himself with meditation. Once he centered himself and calmed his spirit, Pietas took a deep, purifying breath, and with slow deliberation, exhaled.

"Time to begin. Lights."

The room brightened.

He shed his silk robe and let it fall at his feet. Nude, his platinum hair streaming down his back and chest, he lifted his hands, palms up as if praying. On the planet Kaffir, warriors used this ritual to summon spirits. He used it to affirm his own superior strength and prowess.

Before a copper fire pit, he plucked one blond hair, and fed it to the fire. It singed and melted.

"As fire has victory over life, so I have victory over my enemies."

He passed a hand through the flame, and hissed at the searing heat, relishing the pain. He cupped his hand over the flame's source, and held it until the fire went out. The burns on his palm cooled and as he watched, the skin healed. Of all the elements, fire alone had power to linger on an Ultra's skin. He welcomed it as a symbol of victory.

"I am powerful, as fire is powerful."

Pietas thrust both hands forward, clutched his fists, and yanked them back. "I own the wind. I prevail over the breath of my enemies."

In the bathing area, he took six steps down into a waist-deep pool.

"Water submits to my presence the way enemies submit to my will." He cupped water in his hands, lifted it, and let it pour down his arms. "The blood of my enemies trickles into the pool of time, is absorbed, and forgotten."

He pushed wet fingers through his hair, and released it. "My mind is clear. I do not waver."

He submersed and rose, head thrown back, face lifted to the sparkle of stars above. "My body submits to my will. No pain defeats me. No fear touches me."

He swept his hands down his chest to his loins and the tops of his thighs. "My will is absolute."

A scratching sound alerted him to the presence of his silver-skinned android servant. The creature entered, and Pietas fixed him with a hard glare. "Why did you interrupt me?"

"Your guest is here, my lord, in the living area." He offered Pietas a towel.

"Leave it." He waved the android away.

After exiting the pool, Pietas brushed off the water and wrung out his hair. He pulled out a tray holding half a dozen clasps. He chose a silver dragon studded with six turquoise stones, twisted his wet hair, and fastened it up, out of the way.

He dried his face, gathered a brush, and picked up a pot of black face paint. Leaning in close to a freestanding mirror, he outlined a bandit's mask from beneath his eyes to over his dark eyebrows, and filled it with black.

He'd worn the mask in battle ever since defeating the First Division, a human special-ops group formed to fight Ultras. It came about because Pietas had slain an enemy, and blood splashed across his eyes. Thinking the blood belonged to Pietas, the Ultra troops had rallied to him and slaughtered the humans. The blood dried almost black.

Stories of how their "bandit king" had conquered the First Division filled the night. The name stuck. To his troops, he was First Conqueror, War Leader of the Ultras.

Pietas turned his head side to side, surveying the effect.

His body would reject foreign matter on his skin. The Ultra metabolism protected from every perceived attack, even harmless face paint. He closed his eyes and sprayed sealant over the mask to delay its disappearance by a few hours.

Satisfied with his looks, Pietas pulled on a pair of loose white lounging pants. With a deep, cleansing breath, he opened the door. Damp, shirtless, barefoot, he padded into the adjacent room.

Immortal Council member Pietas ap Lorectic, warrior leader of the Ultra race, wants nothing to do with faithless, lying humans.

The inferior race may have created his people, but they used them as slaves, not powerful beings with rights of their own. Upon discovering humans captured and tortured his people, Pietas declares humans deserve no offering of peace. They deserve conquest and elimination.

When the Ultra High Council agrees to peace talks, Pietas grudgingly complies. Arriving at the space station Enderium Six, he discovers his psychic gifts are diminished and suspects a trap. A deadly fight between Pietas and altered-humans of the Ghost Corps ensues. Cornered, out of options and with his beloved mother's life at stake, Pietas surrenders.

Now a captive of the people he loathes, Pietas is left for dead on the barren planet, Sempervia. Six, a member of the Ghost Corps abandoned with him, offers food and water. Is this altered human worthy of friendship? Or is the offer of shelter a ploy to gain his own protection?

Either way, Pietas must do the one thing he detests. Trust a human...

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My characters may be found in multiple books in my story universe. Pietas images Nik Nitsvetov as Pietas cosplay.

Pietas sings like an angel but his voice can kill #Pietas #SciFi #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 12/06/2017 Fallen Empires 8 Comments

Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. It’s a chance each week for you the reader to discover current WIP or previously published book by possibly new-to-you authors. Pietas Sings features a scene from Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire.

The immortal Pietas plans to use his voice as a means of healing his mother, who is critically ill. His human friend, Six, is nearby. Some people are adversely affected by the tones Pietas’s voice generates, and some…die.
—

Pietas had killed countless humans, but he’d never sung in front of one.

The human would hear each note. However, his anti-emo chip might block the effect. Even if it did hurt Six, as much as he loved his friend, if singing returned his mother’s health, Pietas could not hold back. Six would understand.

Would it affect the panther, Pretosia?

When he sang, birds and insects took wing. He’d never sung around big cats. From what he’d gathered, these panthers had been bred as warriors. If they were like other working animals, they might appear unaware, while detecting the slightest sound, scent, and vibration.

The acoustics might be better if he sang into the cave instead of out, but even with Six behind him, he could not turn his back to the exit.

Not yet.

Had he retained his voice? He’d recovered his other gifts, as much as he could tell, and had vast improvements in his ability to speak mind-to-mind. Could he still sing? Time to find out.

To keep his voice from going too deep, Pietas placed tongue against teeth and made an extended zzz sound, then did a few lip trills. After a few deep breaths, he lifted his head and hummed. Nothing different in the feel of his throat or vocal chords. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Six. To keep from being distracted, he focused on a spot on the cave’s mouth while he continued his warm-up. Starting with middle C, he sang simple ooh sounds up and down the scale.

His mother remained still as death, a slight rise and fall of her chest revealing she breathed. Her white uniform showed less wear than what the others wore, but it was soiled and stained. How it must have chafed her pride to wear such a garment.

Pietas launched into song. The notes filled the air, their tone pure and clear. The joy of it filled him as he sang. Before the end of the first stanza, his mother opened her eyes. He continued, song after song, vocalizing each word of each line, every song he knew. Words full of victory, honor, duty, pride.

Six drew himself up, his back ramrod straight. Perhaps that chip did less good than Pietas thought.

The harmonics in his voice generated pleasure ranging from simple enjoyment to rapturous gratification. Some experienced anger, depression, or terror. His voice also possessed curative powers. Not as strong as those with the healing gift called Smooth, but enough to revive the critically ill or injured and keep them alive until help came.

No other Ultra had such a voice. Though he loved music and possessed absolute pitch, Pietas never performed in public.

He started an old battle hymn about steel and guts, iron and flesh, the wings and teeth and claws of a killing machine. Glorious for soldiers, yet his fragile, scientist mother moved her hand, keeping time with the music. She drew a long, sighing breath and released it as if she’d held it an eternity.

Flushed and sweating, Six panted as if he’d been running.

A battle song of warriors in flight came next. He sang of the scorched and blackened soil of the conquered and the poetic justice of fire raining from the sky.

Color suffused his mother’s cheeks. She took his hand.

Six turned his back, shoulders rounded, head down.

To end, Pietas chose a slow song of war in a minor key. The ancient tune was a favorite the night after battle and it suited both baritones and tenors. Forged in Fire fit them as exiles. Pietas hummed to set the key, then released the true power of his voice.

Tears filled his eyes by the time he reached his favorite stanza.

We can’t forget. We won’t forgive. We must return. We shall avenge.
We never quit. We do not sway. Our enemies–we will repay.
An Ultra’s heart is forged in fire. An Ultra’s heart is forged in fire. An Ultra’s heart is forged in fire.

When he finished, the silence was absolute.

From Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire

What if you were marooned on a barren world? What if you had no food and few survival tools? What if you’d been genetically engineered and no matter how agonizing the wound, you’d survive.

It could be worse. You could be here alone. But that’s the problem. You’re not.

You’re trapped with a ruthless enemy you’ve fought for centuries.

Talk about being forged in fire…

Available for preorder on Amazon Nov 11-Dec 28. Purchase on Dec 29, 2017
Free on Kindle Unlimited
http://amzn.to/2ABIcCI

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A canteen of water and a friend #Pietas #SciFi #MFRWHooks

Kayelle Allen 11/15/2017 Fallen Empires 6 Comments

This week’s MFRW BookHooks offers a sneak peek at Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire, my upcoming military science fiction novel with romantic elements. In this scene, the not-quite-human Six offers a canteen of water to the immortal king. Four other immortals are watching. The scene is from Pietas’s point of view.

Canteen

Six slid their canteen off over his head and held it out to Pietas.

Accepting anything from a human, an altered one at that, had violated every instinct at first. To take from an enemy, yes. Always. Let one give you something as if you needed it? Admit a weakness before an enemy?

Never.

But this was Six.

Pietas took it.

Ultras could go days without water, but they consumed it when they had it. He wiped one dusty hand across his mouth. The satisfaction of assuaged thirst never failed to please. What simple things in life brought pleasure! In captivity, he’d dreamed of even a drop to cool his tongue. He’d sworn he’d never take water for granted again.

Six had offered water to their companions during the climb, but the entire lot refused anything a mortal’s lips had touched. Yes, Six was a quasi-immortal, but to the others, that gave him even less status.

Pietas wavered on few things, but on this? Should he call the man human, mortal, quasi-immortal, or ghost? He’d elected to choose as the mood struck. But one in particular annoyed Six.

“Thanks, ghost.” He thrust the canteen against Six’s chest.

Staggering, he swore in Spanish. “Find another name for me.”

“Tell me your mortal name then.”

“You know I can’t.” Six scratched his cheek. “Gotta protect my family. If your kind knew who they were, they’d slaughter them. You wouldn’t, but them?”

Now they were getting somewhere. “So you do trust me?”

“Pi, there’s more honor in your left big toe than your entire race combined.” He tipped up the flask but then paused. “No offense.”

“None taken. But we’re stranded, my friend. Unless a miracle happens, by the time we get off this world, your family will be long dead.” He added, “No offense.”

Six finished his drink and plugged the container. “None taken. Sorry. Can’t do it.” He lifted the strap back over his head and settled it onto his shoulder, the canteen at his back. “Seriously, Pi, your people hear you call me you-know-what, it’ll give away I was Ghost Corps. We both know what they’ll do to me.”

[bctt tweet=”Admit a weakness before an enemy? Never. But this was Six. #SciFi #Pietas” username=”kayelleallen”]

Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire
What if you were marooned on a barren world? No food. Few survival tools. You’re genetically engineered. No matter how agonizing the wound, you survive. No matter how you die, you come back.
It could be worse. You could be here alone. But that’s the problem. You’re not.

Available for preorder on Amazon Nov 11-Dec 28. Purchase on Dec 29, 2017
Free on Kindle Unlimited http://amzn.to/2ABIcCI

Join the Forged in Fire tour and get free goodies!

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Where is the immortal king today? #Pietas #SciFi #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 11/08/2017 Fallen Empires 14 Comments

In my books, the immortal king is Pietas. He’s in nearly everything I’ve written. With good reason — as king of the immortals peopling my stories, he’s a major character even when he’s not present. His influence in my story world is galaxy wide.

I began writing the Bringer of Chaos series to understand him better. As I’ve written and explored his psyche, I’ve learned far more than I anticipated.

My upcoming novel about him (Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire) is science fiction with romantic elements. It has no profanity or explicit content, but it does have violence.

The book also has a ginormous “kitty” who adores Pietas and follows him everywhere. Tiklaus, the sentient panther who adopts him, protects Pietas without reservation. Although Tiklaus does not speak, they are able to communicate on a telepathic level, using limited, rudimentary language. For example, Tiklaus sends the word “do” to show a command is heard and understood. “Do” also implies “please” or “thank you” depending on the situation. Wait till you find out what Tiklaus names Pietas! The panther’s name means “loyal warrior.” The animal was great fun to write.

What is the immortal king doing?

This Friday, Nov 10, I start a 20 day tour with Crystal Reviews to show off the cover for this new book. Although the book isn’t releasing until Dec 29th, it will be available on preorder.

One of the giveaways during this tour will be an exclusive download of Endure, a 39 page full color illustrated book of quotes by Pietas. The cover is above. You don’t have to do anything or sign up for anything to get this book. Just visit during the tour.

Here are a few sample quotes from the book:
* Would you conquer? Then learn to endure.
* To forgive means to endure betrayal.
* Friends come and go. Enemies endure to the end.
* I might not prevail over adversity, but I will endure. Adversity will never prevail over me.

Track the immortal king

You’ll be able to find Pietas every day by going to the tour home page or by coming here. If you’d like to host the immortal king, you can sign up for that here. The tour host who gets the most comments during the tour will win a $25 Gift certificate (winner’s choice: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Starbucks).

Preorder the immortal king

You can preorder between Nov 11th and Dec 28th. http://amzn.to/2ABIcCI

Tweet the immortal king

Click the box below to share a tweet about the king.

[bctt tweet=”Where is the immortal king today? #Pietas #SciFi” username=”kayelleallen”]

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A Wound of the Heart: Forged in Fire #MFRWhooks #SciFi #Pietas

Kayelle Allen 11/01/2017 Fallen Empires 6 Comments

Welcome to MFRW Book Hooks. Members of Marketing for Romance Writers holds this weekly blog hop as a way to encourage active participation in the group and with each other. A Wound of the Heart: Forged in Fire is the name of a “behind the scenes” booklet for my upcoming book, Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire, a fast-paced Sci Fi military romance set in the far future. That booklet will be out Nov 10th in time for the Forged in Fire Cover Reveal Tour. Link coming soon.

The actual book is out Dec 29, 2017. Join the Romance Lives Forever Reader Group to be in on special events surrounding the book release.

A Wound of the Heart

From Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire

Humans created a genetically enhanced race to defend mankind. Instead, the Ultras became humanity’s greatest threat. Traitors among them helped humans imprison half a million and exile them on an alien world.

Pietas has no tech, tools, or resources, but he vows to unite and avenge the Ultra people. First, he must regain command from a ruthless adversary he’s fought for centuries–his brutal, merciless father.

Ultras are immortal, and with few exceptions, they revive after death. Some injuries heal instantly. A few take time. But battered trust and a broken heart… That pain lasts forever.

Forged in Fire is the sequel to Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas. Forged is written in a way that lets you read it alone, yet hints at details in the first book. To get the full saga, read both. Pietas is ultra worthy of many books. In fact, he has appeared in nearly all my Tarthian Empire series stories. He even has his own Facebook page. Check out images that tell his story on the Bringer of Chaos Pinterest page, especially if you like dragons.

Look for a new Book Hooks next week.

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The hottest kind of fire #SciFi #Pietas #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 10/18/2017 Fallen Empires 4 Comments

This week’s BookHooks offers a sneak peek at my upcoming book, a military science fiction novel with romantic elements. What is the hottest kind of fire?

Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire

Humans created the Ultras, a genetically enhanced race, to defend mankind. Instead, Ultras became their greatest threat. With the help of traitors, humans captured half a million of the immortal warriors.

Exiled to an alien world with no tech, no tools, and no resources, their leader, Pietas must protect his people, find food and shelter and unite them. But before he can, he must regain command from a ruthless adversary he’s fought for centuries–his brutal, merciless father.

Ultras are immortal, and no matter how they die, they come back. Reviving after death isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Some wounds heal instantly and a few take time, but battered and broken trust? Immortals may heal, but a wound of the heart lasts forever.

—

In this scene, Pietas performs a ritual at the urging of his friend, Six.

Pietas’s long hair, full of static electricity from the wind and storm, settled over his shoulders and adhered to his neck. He could not lift his arms to gather it himself but he did not want the others to see he needed help nor did he want Six fretting over it.

The man blamed himself for the injury. Yes, Six had bound Pietas. It had been Six’s duty to do so. In truth, those who had placed Pietas inside the pod and refused to release him were to blame, but no matter how often he reminded Six of that, the ghost refused to relinquish his guilt.

Six dug into his pockets. “I think I have another strip.” They had torn several from a ragged shirt. Six wore the biggest piece around his neck. He set down his pack and opened it.

“Six,” Pietas hissed. He did not turn his head, but looked toward the others. “Leave it!”

The ghost glanced up at him, then the immortals, waiting ahead. “You want the women messing with your hair? Is that it?”

He closed his eyes, counting to ten. To a hundred would not erase this embarrassment. “No.” When he beheld Six, the man had the discourtesy to smirk. “Don’t look at me in that tone of voice.”

The man chuckled. “We should have cut your hair before we set out.” He rummaged through his kit, which held all Six owned when he’d been abandoned on this world. Little more than survival gear.

“I never cut it except in ritual.”

“I know.” Six withdrew a boning knife used for it.

Before every battle, Pietas performed the solemn rite to affirm superior strength and prowess. The ghost had been the first human to see it carried out, albeit the first half from a distance while hiding.

Six stood. “Maybe you could perform it now.”

“How like you to see the easy solution. But there are a few elements missing. No fire. No water. No mask.” He gestured toward the oncoming storm. “No time.”

“Haven’t you ever heard of pretending?”

“One cannot ‘pretend’ a ritual.”

“What a boring childhood you must’ve had. Why not?”

Pietas opened his mouth to answer. Shut it again.

Six lifted one eyebrow. “Do you want to go into that dark hole and meet up with your people without performing it?”

“No, but there’s no time.”

“Rain’s coming.” Six jerked a thumb toward the forest. “Like I said, you have to go in there or you won’t reunite with your people. Are you going to stand out here making excuses, or do this?”

“Ghost, this ritual is important. It deserves respect.”

“Blah, blah, blah. That storm is bearing down on us.” A few drops of rain splattered them both. “See? Or maybe you’d rather have your sister help you with your hair every morning.”

“Fine!” With a resigned sigh, Pietas capitulated. “How do you propose we ‘pretend’ my ritual?”

Six tucked the knife into his belt and held out his cupped hands. “This is fire.”

Pietas hesitated.

“Come on, Pi.” Six wagged his cupped hands. “This stuff is hot.”

“Of course it is.” A smile slipped onto his face and refused to leave. “It’s pretend fire. That’s the hottest kind.”

“Remember, you do this naked. Unzip your robe or whatever it is you’d wear.”

Pietas mimed removing his silk robe. He plucked one hair and laid it across Six’s hands, feeding it to the fire. “As fire has victory over life, so I have victory over my enemies.” He passed a hand through the imaginary flame. As he had in the real ritual, he hissed at the scorching heat. He cupped his hands over Six’s, a symbolic end to the flames. “I am powerful, as fire is powerful.”

“Next is air, right?”

“Yes.” He lifted both hands, made fists, and yanked them back. “I own the wind. I prevail over the breath of my enemies.”

Again, Six cupped his hands. “Water.”

“Water submits to my presence the way enemies submit to my will.” He scooped his hands into the bowl, lifted his arms and pictured the liquid dripping down them. “The blood of my enemies trickles into the pool of time, is absorbed, and forgotten.” He bent and pushed both hands through his hair. “My mind is clear. I do not waver.”

Six held his hands flat, waist high. “The pond.”

Pietas ducked as if to submerse himself, then rose, throwing back his head. “My body submits to my will. No pain defeats me. No fear touches me.” He brushed his hands down the length of his body. “My will is absolute. I am bigger than any fear. I prevail in every circumstance. I face every foe. I vanquish every enemy. I overcome. I am indomitable. I am invincible.”

“Black face paint for the mask.” Six held out his hands.

The ceremonial mask represented a splash of blood across his face received during battle. Dipping two fingers of each hand into the bowl, Pietas outlined a bandit’s mask up over his dark eyebrows to the area beneath his eyes. He brushed his fingertips over his eyelids and met Six’s gaze.

Finding a mixture of awe and respect threw him out of the moment. He faltered, unable to recall what came next.

Six offered the knife hilt first.

The man had seen the ritual performed once, from a distance, yet he’d remembered each step. Six wouldn’t have known the next part was performed by Pietas’s sister if no trusted partner or friend was at hand. The time Six had seen it done, Pietas had not yet considered him either one.

How wrong he had been. The man was more than both.

[bctt tweet=”The hottest kind of fire burns within the heart. –Pietas” username=”kayelleallen”]

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What a telepath focuses upon, she controls #SciFi #MFRWhooks #MFRWauthor

Kayelle Allen 10/11/2017 Fallen Empires 8 Comments

In this scene from Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire, Pietas and the search party sent to find him have stopped their upward mountain trek for a short break. Prior to their reunion the previous day, Pietas had spent a year in confinement, hands bound behind him. He’d been starved to the point of death, but because he’s immortal, could not die. Although he has healed since, the brutality left a lasting toll on his once robust physical body. As they prepare to get underway, he unwittingly reveals the impairment. To a telepath…
—

Wincing, Pietas stretched to ease cramps in his back.

His sister stood. “Tas!” she called up to him. She’d started using her childhood name for him since they’d reconnected the day before. “Are you hurt?”

A quick telepathic scan from Joss swept over him before he realized it was there. Pietas had still been a teenager when she’d trained him to shield his mind from those with her gift. Not that he’d ever been able to block her. She was far too powerful, but today, she’d read him with no more difficulty than a hunter spying trail signs. He’d been near no Ultra telepaths for over a year.

His affinity with Six had made him careless and he’d neglected the basic lessons Joss had taught him.

It wasn’t a lack of trust. Trust had never been an issue with Joss.

He treasured her, but he ought not to have been so unguarded and open. Vulnerable.

“Pietas.” Joss stood. The waves of emotion he picked up from her held love and concern in equal measure. And a bit of disappointment. “You’re injured.”

He ducked his head like a schoolboy who’d forgotten his lessons. Admit mortals had damaged him? Never. Neither would he lie about it. He’d take better care to hide the pain.

“Don’t worry about me.” Whistling, he circled a finger in the air. “Let’s go! Long climb ahead.” He leaped down from the rocks. “Joss, you lead.” Last thing he wanted was her behind him, using him as an object of focus.

What telepaths focused upon, they controlled.

Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire
Science fiction with romantic elements
Rated PG13 for violence (no explicit content or profanity)
Humans created a genetically enhanced race to defend mankind. Instead, the Ultras became humanity’s greatest threat. Traitors among them help humans imprison half a million and exile them on an alien world.
Pietas has no tech, tools, or resources, but he vows to unite and avenge the Ultra people. First, he must regain command from a ruthless adversary he’s fought for centuries–his brutal, merciless father.
Ultras are immortal, and with few exceptions, they revive after death. Some injuries heal instantly. A few take time. But battered trust and a broken heart… That pain lasts forever.
This military science fiction novel is scheduled for a December 29th release.
Publisher Romance Lives Forever Books
Genre science fiction with romantic elements
Rating PG13 for science fiction violence (no explicit content or profanity)
Length about 74,000 words / 300 pages
To take part in an exclusive pre-release online party and get advance notice of its availability, join the Romance Lives Forever Reader Group. You’ll also get free books and other downloads and goodies.

The prequel for Forged in Fire is Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas. Next book in the series is Bringer of Chaos: Watch Your Six.

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That feeling when you think you’re explaining–but you’re not #Pietas #scifi #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 09/27/2017 Fallen Empires 16 Comments

In this scene from the military science fiction novel Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire, the hero, Pietas, has discovered a familiar item on an alien world. He points it out to Six, explaining in detail so his friend will understand.

Explaining isn’t always easy

Not far from the waterfall, they found sandy soil and the start of shrub with orange blossoms.

“Look, Six.” Pietas stooped to run a finger across the plant’s dense florets.

“It’s like a cross between daisies and sunflowers. What is it?”

“Helichrysum. There are over six hundred species of this plant on Earth. They come in every color except blue, although my mother’s been working on that. You’d know it as Strawflower or Immortelle. It’s edible as a seasoning.” He picked a leaf, sniffed it, held it for Six to smell.

“Reminds me of my grandmother’s kitchen. Like rosemary.”

“The oil is good for arthritis. Joint pain. Clear skin.” Standing, Pietas brushed off his hands. “There’s a break in the growth up ahead.” He approached and went down on one knee.

Six squatted beside him, boots crunching the dry soil. “You know, we’d have made it here a lot quicker if you didn’t have to study every plant we came across.”

“I don’t study them. I identify them. But I’m not looking at plants here.” He pointed. “This is a trail. The tracks are from ungulates. Popular with terraformers. They put them on every colonized world. These are artiodactyla, to be precise. Bovidae. Probably a derivative of aepyceros melampus.“

“You know, Pi, when you say things like that, you think you’re explaining, but you’re really not.”

“Animals with split hooves. Even-toed. Lightweight impalas. Antelopes.”

“What, you couldn’t say antelopes?”

“I just did.” Pietas got up, dusted off his ragged pants.

Six stood. “So, this is how it’s going to be?”

The other immortals had gathered a small distance away. Pietas shot them a glare and they scattered, pretending not to listen.

He returned his attention to Six. “How what’s going to be?”

“You’re back among your own people, so you talk like them. Showing off your three thousand years of education.”

“Hard to do since I’m not yet two thousand. My mother was chief scientist in the terraforming industry. She fed me taxonomy along with my milk.”

“Taxonomy?”

“Classification of organisms by structure and origin. As in, I’m Ceramin perpetualis. You’re Humanus originalis. Or you were. Your metamorphosis makes you Humanus pseudo-perpetualis, or something similar. I thought mortals taught this.”

“Well, excuse me! But my fourteen years of school didn’t quite prepare me for the level of science you take for granted.”

“You have that much education?”

Six’s dark eyes narrowed in a warning.

Despite himself, Pietas laughed. Drawing Six away from the others, he leaned in close. “I apologize. I was showing off.”

“Thank you. My point.”

“No, no. I wasn’t apologizing for speaking above your level of understanding. I teach you. Do I not?”

“Well, yeah, so what’s the apology for?”

“Showing off in front of my people.”

“Showing off how?”

“Banter. Joking with you. Most of them,” he nodded toward the four immortals, “have never had what I have.”

“Which is?”

Did the man not see it? Pietas smiled. “A human friend.”

Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire
Rated PG13 for violence (no explicit content or profanity)
Humans created a genetically enhanced race to defend mankind. Instead, the Ultras became humanity’s greatest threat. With the help of traitors, humans captured half a million of them.
Exiled to an alien world with no tech, tools, or resources, their leader, Pietas, must unite them. Before he can, he must regain command from a ruthless adversary he’s fought for centuries–his brutal, merciless father.
Ultras are immortal, and no matter how they die, they come back. Reviving after death isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Some injuries heal instantly. A few take time. The pain of battered trust and a broken heart, though… That lasts forever.

This book will be released soon and is subject to final edits. The final version may be slightly different from the one presented here. Please join the Romance Lives Forever Reader Group — you’ll get four free books right away and be the first to know when the book is available.

Read book 1: Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas, available free on Kindle Unlimited
Amazon https://amzn.to/28QOTpb

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Whom will you believe, human? #Pietas #SciFi #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 09/20/2017 Fallen Empires 10 Comments

This week’s BookHooks offers a sneak peek at my upcoming book, a military science fiction novel with romantic elements. Will you believe the truth when you see it? Think so? Read on, human. Pietas has advice for you.

About Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire

(Book 2 in the Bringer of Chaos series)

Who will you believe, human?

The foreword of this book is from Pietas, the hero.

    It’s human nature to lie. Telling the truth is mine. Why? First, because honoring my word means more to me than life. Second, though humans are craven, distasteful, reprehensible supplanters of power, I acknowledge you need the truth. Third, because others of my people have lied to you. They conceal themselves among you, claiming we are myth. They feed you false hope that you are safe. They lull you into complacent ignorance. The deceivers among my kind want to manipulate and confuse you.
     You believe them.
     You’ve heard tales of visitors from outer space. Stories of aliens who walk among you. You call them urban legends, myths, tall tales for the campfire. Their lies have fooled you.
     You believe them.
     This book relates my tale but is not from my point of view. Call it Science Fiction, but it did happen. My dimension might not be yours, but I exist. To honor a worthy human friend, I considered sparing humanity. I have since seen the folly of blanket exemption. Not all humans deserve to die, but there are requirements for being protected. I will choose few. Would I deem you worthy of being chosen?
     Perhaps. I offer no guarantee. Your fate is a bequest no one can usurp.
     Believe me.
     Read this, if you dare to know the truth.
     ~ Pietas

Read book 1: Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas

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