Dark Genesis Excerpt & Giveaway

Dark Genesis by Dave Ferraro

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

Alyssa opened her eyes to darkness. And in the first flash of light provided by a gathering storm, she could make out a ring of bodies surrounding her.

With no memory of who she is, Alyssa stumbles into a dark world populated by witches. The witches are powerful, and demonstrate frightening powers, but even more terrifying are the monsters who rule over the land. Vampires, werewolves and other awful creatures of the night have taken over, forcing the witches behind stone walls, afraid to venture outdoors. But Alyssa finds that as she kills certain monsters, memories return to her, memories of a life on Earth, and the boy she left behind.

The quest to collect her memories and piece together the puzzle of what has happened to her is a daunting one, with betrayals and sacrifices every step of the way. But Alyssa is determined to fight for a world that is not her own, destroying powerful monsters along the way, so that she can return home to the boy she is coming to love through the memories she recollects.

excerpt 

Parker nodded and shot an arrow into a nearby tree, signaling the beginning of all-out battle.  The scene erupted around them, werewolves charging them all around, meeting weapons with howls of pain, but determination.

Alyssa swung her blades quickly, putting as much force behind each blow as possible, quickly overwhelming two wolves at once.  They weren’t accustomed to pain, which was making them hesitate.  She would have to push that advantage before they adapted.  Vessa stabbed one of her wolves through the chest, leaving the other for Alyssa to dispatch with the clean, forceful swipe of a blade through its neck that sent its head from its shoulders, becoming a woman’s glossy features as it rolled over the ground and came to a stop at the base of a nearby tree.

Alyssa was going to thank Vessa for her assistance, but her friend was already caught up with another wolf.  And as she was distracted, Alyssa was surprised by one of the wolves, who leapt at her from out of a nearby ditch.  She got one of her knives up just in time to block a blow from its terrible-looking talons.  It slowly forced her back as it came at her with one attack after another that caused Alyssa to continually be on the defense.  She tried to look for an opening, but the creature was too fast and wouldn’t relent.  This one, at least, didn’t seem to be too disoriented by the situation to lose its head.

With sweat on her brow, Alyssa tried to clear her mind and focus on her opponent, searching for a way to get a good hit in, and was so engrossed in her thoughts, that she was utterly taken by surprise when she felt her foot give way.  She yelped as she felt herself falling backward, the werewolf coming down with her down a steep embankment.  Even midair, the monster didn’t hold back.  It took everything for Alyssa to keep out of reach of its snapping jaws as it snatched one of her arms in a crushing grip, its nails slicing into her flesh.

And then they were on solid ground again, the grass below meeting Alyssa with enough impact to take her breath away.  She gasped for air as she tried to shake off her disorientation.  But it turned out that luck was on her side this time, as the werewolf had been impaled by one of her knives as it had landed, and struggled with the blade buried in its abdomen.

Alyssa shook her arm out from the creature’s grip and quickly dispatched it with a confident thrust of her other knife through its chest.  Its fur shriveled and disappeared, leaving a girl with long, flowing black hair, pale and lifeless.  Her eyes stared up at the sky, as if searching for the red moon in her final moments.  She looked weak and small as she was, and Alyssa had to wonder at the power of the curse that transformed their bodies into such efficient killing machines.

Cocking her head, Alyssa listened for sounds from above, but couldn’t discern much beyond an occasional howl.  She’d fallen a lot further than she’d realized, and looked up the intimidating slope with something of annoyance.  Letting out a heavy sigh, she started up the embankment, grabbing saplings and rocky outcrops to aid her progress.  By the time she reached the top, she was breathless, and paused to catch her breath behind a thick bush that hid her from view of the nearby path.  The sun was much lower in the sky, just above the horizon line, ready to sink into the ground and allow shadows to swallow the lands and seas.  When that happened, the werewolves, used to hunting in darkness, would have the advantage.  By then, Alyssa hoped to be behind the closed gates of Haven, having significantly thinned out the wolves.

Gathering herself for another battle, Alyssa slid one of her long knives out of the scabbards she’d housed them in for the climb, and stepped out from the safety of the bush.  She looked right and left, frowning at the lack of activity.  She heard more howls in the distance, but it seemed that everyone had scattered, the battle breaking down into several smaller fights.

Alyssa did spy one hulking figure near the pathway, bent over the base of a tree.  She could hear a horrible wet sound as she slowly crept up behind it, willing her feet to stay light and nothing to snap underfoot to give her away.  The creature was engrossed in whatever it was doing, Alyssa suspecting that it was something she wasn’t quite ready to see.

giveaway
everyone gets a ecopy of Dark Genesis and one lucky person will receive a $40 Amazon GC
PLEASE put my name (Tess) or My Pathway to Books in the rafflecopter!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway