Exclusive Excerpt and Giveaway: Ambrose by Hayden Thorne

We’re so pleased to have author Hayden Thorne with us today to introduce her latest release, Ambrose, book one in the Dolores series. We have an exclusive excerpt to share with you today, and there’s also a giveaway—the chance for two lucky readers to win an eCopy of the book, so be sure to check out the entry details below.

Welcome, Hayden!

Ambrose is the first of X number of books whose stories are set in a fictional city called Dolores somewhere in California. The series of standalone titles are, in a way, the logical sequel to my historical fantasy novels preceding it. In those books, 19th century Europe is steeped in magic, which is widely accepted and used, and same-sex relationships are both commonplace and accepted. The AU world I created is meant to be a weird combination of progressive and archaic elements, and the Dolores series is the contemporary continuation of that world. Magic is still widely practiced, but this time around, sorcerers have to contend with the rise of technology and the role of the internet in facilitating all kinds of problems involving magic and the otherworld.

~Hayden

About the Book

Fresh out of college and armed with nothing more than a degree in Art History, Leander Caron strikes out on his own in a bid to find some direction in his life. His efforts land him in Dolores, a city burdened with shadows of grief and death. Where ghosts yearn for their past. Where sorcerer-hunters heed the call of the goddess of the crossroads and battle darker forces from the otherworld.

A cheerful, artistic, and doting widow welcomes him into her old Victorian house as her lone boarder, and there Leander finds the company and affection he’s never enjoyed from his own mother. Luck changes for him as well in the guise of Efrain Thorley, a sorcerer-hunter who not only offers him desperately needed employment but also a reason to hope for a happiness Leander has never come to expect for himself.

But as it happens in a world shaped by potent forces of old magic and science, inexplicable events gradually turn into alarming confrontations with malignant forces from a shadow world. Portraits meant to comfort the grieving turn into corrupted shades of their inspiration. An unseen presence watches an isolated young man with heartbreaking yearning. And something dangerous and terrifying shadows Leander’s steps night after night. Inching closer and closer. Confounding Efrain’s efforts and all but ensuring Leander’s fate as collateral damage in a failed hunt.

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The Excerpt

From Chapter Twelve

“Shit! Shit!” Efrain spun around, seething and blinking against the never-ending drizzle and fog. He stood soaking wet, but his magic kept him warm.

Barring distant sounds of someone else’s successful hunt and a purification in progress, he saw, heard, smelled, or just plain sensed nothing after chasing an indeterminate shadow for heaven knew how many minutes now.

No, he corrected himself with another muttered curse as he raked his hands through wet, tangled hair. No, it wasn’t an indeterminate shadow. It was an entity, a dead man who’d taken on a more physical form—one that appeared to be closer to the original and not a twisted, grotesque wreckage of what he used to be. And the nearly perfect corporeal form would explain the entity’s ability to escape so quickly. If anything, the speed was beyond human, and Efrain was left wondering about the implications, none of which sounded good.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes against the night, the fog, and the rain, and he focused. The entity he’d just chased was close to being a fully formed human, yes, but it still retained a somewhat distorted form. He could still see the nearly bald head and the sparse, wispy hair that clung to it. The thin figure—practically elongated torso and appendages—and the skeletal fingers and toes. He wasn’t able to clearly see any features since the night and the weather hid them from view, even with his sorcerer’s fire throwing light on it. It had moved far too quickly for a more thorough visual impression to form.

This, Efrain gathered, was some form of advanced magic at work. Or, at the very least, dark magic being practiced at a quieter and more leisurely way, and what he’d seen was the product in its more advanced stages. Oliver had pointed out tracks that weren’t clearly formed and were also confused. It had only been recently when those tracks developed a more distinctive appearance, with Efrain himself bearing witness to them. He’d also done so after a period of time waiting since he’d been quite busy with hunts that Coeus’s Oracle had picked up and shown him.

So what was this creature trying to do when he discovered it? He wracked his brain, forcing it back to the moment when he and Leander were…

“Oh, shit! Again!”

Efrain immediately turned in the direction of Yew Street and leapt across the rooftop, sailing from one building to another till he finally reached the shadow-cloaked block. His magic helped him land gracefully and gently, though he did end up standing in a puddle, but that was the least of his worries.

“Leander? Leander!” he called.

Well—Leander was smart enough to leave and go straight home. With any luck, he made it without incident, considering how badly Efrain bungled not just their date, but his chase. Leander’s name on his lips, he ran down Yew Street, using his altered eyesight to guide him through the darker, more terrifying blocks. The saints help him if he’d left Leander vulnerable to an ambush.

Mrs. Kersey’s house soon appeared, and Efrain skidded to a halt at the end of the short walkway. He looked up to find a couple of upper windows lit from within, and with any luck, Leander was safely ensconced in one of them. But there was only one way to find out. Gathering himself, Efrain bounded toward the door and rang the doorbell.

Mrs. Kersey herself answered nearly right away, no doubt because she’d been most likely painting in a room close to the front door. She appeared startled at first before she beamed at Efrain.

“Hi there,” she said, her grin shedding years from her somewhat stooped form. She must be in her fifties, and she might look quite frail and delicate, but there was a definite energy about her that spoke of endless activity and no minute wasted.

“Hi. I’m so sorry for bothering you, ma’am, but is Leander Caron home?”

“Yes, he is. I think he’s showering right now, but he should be done soon. Want to come in and wait for him?”

Efrain hesitated, scuffing the toe of one shoe against the ground as he considered. Leander was home safe, and something that had been shadowing him was still at large. Perhaps it was best for him to withdraw and continue his search while Leander got ready for bed. Efrain would have to talk to him next time.

“Um—that’s okay, ma’am. I need to take care of something kind of important. If you don’t mind telling him that Efrain came by to check up on him, I’d really appreciate it.”

Mrs. Kersey listened and nodded. “Okay, I’ll tell him. Now make sure you run straight home and change into warmer clothes, all right? I don’t know what it is about young people today, wandering around at night in bad weather without the right clothes on.” She tsked-tsked and shook her head, the earlier grin replaced by a disapproving little frown. “You can get sick, you know.”

“I know. I’m sorry. And thank you again,” Efrain stammered, coloring. “Please tell Leander I’m sorry about tonight, but I’d like to make it up to him soon. Uh—he’ll know what I mean.”

“Of course, dear.”

Before long Efrain found himself back on a rooftop, this time the apartment building closest to Mrs. Kersey’s house. For a moment he merely observed the house, taking in as many details as he could using his altered eyesight. Then he cast a tracing spell on the house and waited. The house remained dark against the night, but at least the rain had stopped, though the fog made visibility a little more difficult.

“So how many times can I say ‘shit’ in one night?” Efrain murmured, scowling, as faint marks on the house’s outside walls slowly appeared.

To the naked eye, nothing would be seen, but to Efrain, they looked like fluorescent orange marks that seemed to go all over the place. Whether or not they started or terminated somewhere on the house’s front façade, Efrain would have to see for himself in a moment. For now, he saw what Oliver had told him about. Dozens of confused marks on the walls, moving across from one end to another, even circling two windows, one smaller than the other. How long ago did those form? Why would they be indistinct marks everywhere else but that one block?

Efrain checked the lower windows and saw them free of the marks. The entity had limited its movements to the upper floor and the rooms there. One of the windows heavily surrounded by these marks was lit from within, and Efrain wondered if that window was Leander’s. He swallowed at the thought and took a deep, calming breath.

Efrain roused his magic again and called forth a misty chimera, the grotesquery appearing in a gently fluid way. It spread its bat-like wings and hovered before him, waiting for his command.

“Go and protect,” he said. “Sancte Michaël Archangele, defende nos in proelio; contra nequitiam et insidias diabolic esto praesidium.”

The chimera shivered, hissed, and then turned to fly in the direction of the window. It faded as it neared till it vanished completely, integrating itself and the protection of a warrior archangel with the window. It was, in truth, a very basic spell, and it was never meant to be a permanent one. But Efrain took some comfort in the fact that for that night, at least, Leander would remain safe from the outside world. Hopefully he had a habit of locking his bedroom door, and Efrain hoped he’d be allowed to enter the house and explore it. Preferably without Mrs. Kersey there since it was pointless dragging the poor woman into this, especially since it was clearly Leander who’d been targeted by an otherworldly force. Efrain would do everything he could to limit this hunt’s collateral damage to zero.

Taking another deep breath, he closed his eyes and concentrated, once again drawing on his magic and Hecate’s blessings to ensure that the area was safe. He sensed nothing wrong in the air, and even his magic remained quiet in his veins. No threats anywhere, he thought. He could leave with an easy mind.
 
 

The Giveaway

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