Posting Gap

Apologies to any of you folks who read my blog! I have been buried under work, school, and trying to work on book number two in the Nightblade Saga. Here's a little excerpt from Closing the Breech: 

      “Well, that’s not going to happen. They’re too valuable as hostages. Obviously you care about their welfare. Just agree to sell and I’ll go. You can take your brother to a hospital. Or, I can shoot your sister in law.” He said nonchalantly and aimed his gun at the center of Sage’s forehead. The ominous noise the hammer made when he unnecessarily cocked it echoed through the silent store. Sage let go of Alan’s leg to raise her bloody hands. Alex saw a horrified look flash across his brother’s face when Alan tried to grab her, but he was forced to clamp back down on his leg. The thugs relaxed, thinking that she was only showing that she was unarmed. They were mistaken.

      Every bit of glass in the store shattered out from the force of the firestorm that erupted from Sage’s palms. Alex cowered down against one of the solid counters, shielding his eyes from the heat of the flames and the shards of glass filling the store and littering the sidewalk outside. In the ringing silence, Alex peeked out from behind his arm and swallowed hard when his lunch threatened to make a reappearance. 

      Abasi and his thugs were not much more than charred piles of meat hanging partially out of the broken window frames. Even their guns had melted into useless piles of slag and the stench of singed bone and hair filled the air. Apparently, the vaunted Afrit resistance to fire couldn’t stand up to Sage’s onslaught. He looked over at his timid sister-in-law and saw her gently checking his brother for burns and scorches. Alan was glaring up at her with a shocked, angry expression. She’d apparently surprised him, too. Hells, his brother was right. That one might be shy, but she certainly wasn’t weak.