Teaser Tuesday From Book #3

I first want to say that I'm off for a few weeks and that I've been able to do a lot of writing, and working through the WIP(s) that I have. I've got many of them, actually too many, but that's me. I've even gotten my mystery book's plot solved! WOO HOO!

My husband has begun reading my second book. My husband doesn't read anything. He's tried to read other books, but he simply can't get into them. He tells me it isn't just because I wrote it, but that it is because he feels that I'm that good of a writer. Well, he's my husband and I guess that doesn't count. Just the fact that he's reading it is a complement in itself.

Now that the second book is out there and I've been feeding you several teasers from the book, I felt that before too long I'd be giving away too much of the book. And I don't want to do that *winks*.

So, today I thought I would bring you a scene from the third book. This one is going to be my "steampunk" novel. I think what I enjoy about writing fantasy is that one can to just about anything with their characters, and take them to new worlds. And that's precisely what I've done in this next book.

So, without further ado...

Surrounded by darkness, It was as though I hadn't gone anywhere. But I knew I had gone somewhere—just like before. As I looked around myself objects slowly began to emerge from the gloom. I stood on a cobblestone lane between two buildings made of black, red and gray brick. The bricks were a little larger than those I was used to. I noticed blue-green glass lanterns hanging at the corner of the building. I guessed they were gas-fed lanterns. Odd that they were not made of clear glass, but then the shade of blue was very subtle and easy on the eyes. Vampires usually liked red lights, but this would serve the same purpose.

The light wasn't enough to see by from where I stood at perhaps twenty yards from a main street—this my Knowing fed me. Then I heard the sound of horses' hooves on pavement, wagon wheels and the jingle of chains. I was very sure at this point that I was no longer on Earth.

I took a deep breath. My lungs felt a bit starved for oxygen; the air seemed thin, and I noticed a mist lingered above me. Or what I thought was fog, as it might have been the woodsmoke I smelled. I felt somewhat dizzy as I took in a few more breaths, tasting it, and finding something denser, harsher, almost like soot. I took deeper gulps of air, trying to pull in much needed oxygen. Cold, yet somewhat dry air filled my lungs. But again, it was as though there was less oxygen here and it wasn't enough to keep me from getting the head spins like I'd had two glasses of wine—all at once.

Voices and the clip-clop of hooves on cobblestone alerted me that someone was coming toward me. I turned ready to bolt down the lane when my foot caught on something. I tumbled over something large and went down hard—my knees and hands taking the brunt of the fall on hard brick. Gasping an expletive, I twisted around to look back at the approaching carriage. I couldn't see it. It had stopped short.

Footfalls of someone coming quickly intensified my panic. Their shadows grew across the lane—they were closing in.

I moved to get up. Then my eyes fell on the dead woman I'd tripped over.

©2011 Lorelei Bell