About the Book
Title: Hunted: A Jonathan Harker Novel
Author: Christopher Draven
Genre: Paranormal Thriller / Urban Fantasy
Slinging Spells with Broken Ribs Isn't Easy
Jonathan Harker, mage and
life-long demon hunter, wakes to find himself tied to a chair and severely
wounded. His captor, a demon in service to a summoner who wants Harker alive.
Armed with impossibly
powerful magic and a gang of demon toughs, the summoner has snared Harker in a
deadly trap. Nothing is ever easy, and being new in town has left Harker with
few allies. However, with help from a Fortune-Teller named Clover and a
self-described "Kitchen Witch" named Momma Dee, Harker fights back.
To prevail, Harker must
walk unprepared into a pit of demons and black magic - and come out alive on
the other side.
Author Bio
Christopher Draven has worked as an instructional
designer, newspaper journalist, and ghost writer.
One soggy Monday morning,
he committed to leaving behind the soul-stealing work of corporate puppetry and
escaped to a meadow where he could concentrate on his passion. Since that
fateful day, Christopher has focused on learning the craft of fiction.
Links
twitter: @writerdraven
email: info@christopherdraven.com
Book Excerpts
Excerpt 1
My brain righted itself, and I could
pull my thoughts together.
Neither demon seemed to possess
magic. Instead, the creatures relied on their strength and speed. There was no
matching those physical attributes. To survive, I would need to use a different
tactic. Direct confrontation had failed, twice. My next trick was misdirection.
“Tell me,” I said. “How did a
low-powered summoner rank high enough to afford two Demon Nobles?”
Both demons, who were whispering to
one another across the room, turned to face me.
“You know us,” Cresh said with a
tone of surprise. The demon still pressed one hand tightly against his wounded
side.
“Yes,” I said.
“You knew and you still entered to
battle?”
“To be fair,” I said. “I had no idea
who was waiting.”
Cresh huffed a small laugh; Mindal
growled.
Well, I thought. I
know which one is the smart one.
Excerpt 2
Growing up, Momma Dee was no great
beauty. She was an average looking woman with an above average talent for
“kitchen and witchen” work. And while mastery in baking was an excellent skill
in the real world, it didn’t make the boys at school go wild.
The girl who brought cookies to
class was popular while the cookies lasted. Once the final cookie was eaten,
the novelty wore off, and the beautiful girl was popular again. Such was the
fickleness of boys – and men.
Excerpt 3
A crack of thunder, followed by a
wave of warped air, exploded out from my hand – ripping my fingers wide.
The pressure of the trick slammed
into Cresh when he was only a few inches away. The counter-force of the magic
pushed me back against the wall, threatening to knock me down; but I kept my
balance. The drywall behind me fractured and buckled.
Cresh was struck, the force of the
power stopping him in mid-air. Ripples of energy warped the air around the
demon. The strength of the magic overwhelmed his momentum and held.
Growling in frustration, Cresh
waited until the magic, gravity, and his inertia cancelled each other out. The
force was quickly spent, and natural laws were reinstated. Cresh dropped to the
ground, landing with unnatural grace.
The whole exchange did nothing but
stop the demon from falling on top of me. Cresh stepped forward, completely
unfazed, and reached out to take hold of me.
The familiar sensations of dread,
nerves, and fear crept up my spine. I hated the part of me that fell so easily
into fright – the human part. I had faced creatures best left unnamed, and
every time I felt the fear. A fear I first experienced when confronted with
death and eternal damnation.
The sense of impending doom
threatened to overwhelm my will. I fought back, channeled my power into a
single strike, and unleashed a torrent of magic upon the demon.
And I missed.
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