Image by Renee Robyn of https://www.reneerobyn.com/
LIGHT SLEEPERS
I’ve always wanted to write a non-formulaic book with a new twist on sci-fi and mystical adventures. Light Sleepers is a riveting story that will keep you enthralled to the end. At 702 pages, it gives us an entertaining break from our busy schedules while captivating our imaginations. Here we will find galactic aliens, ancient mysteries, space ships, and chuckles sprinkled throughout. Get ready for a grand adventure!
In this gripping story, a young woman’s growing paranormal abilities threaten a powerful organization that has remained secret for thousands of years.
A man with an astounding knowledge of Atlantean mythology claims there is an ancient conspiracy to control humanity. He promises to explain the woman’s nocturnal abductions and says he wants to help, but can she trust him?
As reptilian aliens connected to humanity’s distant past return to Earth, other extraterrestrials with their own agendas enter the picture. The woman and her allies struggle to protect humanity from both human and alien influences as they investigate disturbing changes in human genetics.
This adventure, a mixture of metaphysics, science, and humour, pulls the reader into a fantastic world that has such a veneer of familiarity, it may leave you looking over your shoulder. It’s a great journey for a long weekend – but you might want to keep the lights on.
Excerpt from Light Sleepers
. . . . Charlie’s soft whisper drifted through the room. “They’re not done yet.”
Bronwyn could hear the soft squish of mud as the surviving Brach’ti moved around the house. She heard something heavy being dragged away and the clink of metal.
Ribbons of red light streaked through the windows to illuminate the room with an eerie glow. The acrid odour of smoke curled from logs wherever the lights touched. There was a deafening crash as four Brach’ti launched into the room, two from each side. The one nearest Joseph leaped through the window, smashing the glass with its body, scattering shards everywhere. It landed on its feet looking for a target, its weapon gleaming in the dark. In an instant, it was hard to tell friend from foe.
Joseph sprang from the darkness, a glint of metal slashing towards the alien throat but, at the last instant, a fan of cartilage shot out to deflect the knife. With lightning swiftness, he changed the target to a malevolent red eye, but the Brach’ti was a fraction faster. It gripped him by the throat and jerked him into the air.
Half a heartbeat later, the creature roared in desperation as a wild thing attacked from behind. Black hair flying, Bronwyn stabbed beneath the protective fan with all her strength, slashing at the heavy scales again and again. The alien bellowed as it arched backward, a string of saliva flying from its mouth. But Bronwyn had a death grip on its harness, legs wrapped around its middle, stabbing wildly, desperate to hit anything vital. Something hot sprayed her arm.
The distraction brought Joseph close enough to plunge a knife into an enraged eye. A scream pierced the night before the crushing grip slid away. He sucked in a shuddering breath and lunged to pull Bronwyn to safety as the reptilian body slid to the floor. His fingers brushed her arm as vicious talons emerged from the dark. Before anyone could react, Bronwyn was flung through the window into the storm. A reptilian face, teeth bared, spun towards Joseph.
Bronwyn managed to curl into a ball before landing with a grunt. Ignoring the pain that lanced through her shoulder, she sprinted for an old spruce and dove headfirst beneath its low branches. Icy water flooded along her belly. A soft groan escaped through stiff lips. Gusting rain made it difficult to see, but there was no mistaking the two dark shapes headed her way. Maybe she could draw this pair away from the house. It might buy the others precious time. Cursing herself for dropping the knife, she rolled to her feet and sprinted for the cover of the woods.
The forest became a living thing, clutching, slashing, and stabbing from the blackness. Branches and brambles tore at clothes and hair. She stumbled along, hands raised to protect her eyes and ignored the sharp pain when her foot slipped into a hole.
Needing to catch her breath, she collapsed behind a pile of logs to rest for a moment, attempting to hear her pursuers over ragged breathing and a pounding heart. The rain was letting up, the wind abating. She’d never get away if the moon lit the meadows.
Smith’s voice echoed in her mind. There are weapons everywhere. You’re never unarmed. Find the weapons that are there. Think! Weapons! She raked her brain. Sticks. Rocks. The sound of Toby’s furious barking drifted through the storm. The aliens must’ve seen him as irrelevant. Finally, someone he doesn’t like, she thought. The dog could’ve provided a distraction if he’d been closer . . . animals. They probably didn’t know much about terrestrial animals . . .
She peered over a log at the two shadows that slipped amongst the trees moving inexorably closer. Four had charged into the house, and six were dead – an even dozen. She prayed Nura was right. She staggered erect and winced as her ankle complained, but she could step on it, so it wasn’t broken. Putting the pain from her mind, she stumbled down the slope to where the trees thinned. How far was her target? A kilometer? Silvery shafts of moonlight slipped between thinning clouds to penetrate the blackness. When an alien roar pierced the night, she didn’t waste time looking back.
Although her cross-trainers were light, they had poor traction. She slipped on a patch of mud, rolled down a steep incline, and slammed into a spiky shrub. Part of her brain registered the aroma of wild roses. She staggered to her feet and plowed on, breathing labored and thighs burning. There should be a barbed wire fence ahead. She’d better not run into it.
There! The regular spacing of posts across a clearing. She threw herself onto soggy grass and rolled beneath, wincing as vicious barbs slashed into her arm. In a flash, she was running again. Something warm dripped down her arm. Except for the intermittent pattering of the lessening rain, the meadow was silent and empty. Sobbing with exhaustion and disappointment, she risked a glance behind. A shadow bounded over the fence, and a roar of triumph filled the night.
Good! Do it again! Animals were suspicious of strange sounds. The second pursuer’s harness gleamed in the intermittent moonlight. God, they could run! They roared again – this time in unison. They were having fun.
Steps flagging, she struggled to the next meadow. As a shaft of moonlight lit the area, she perceived dark humps amongst the trees. It was a slim chance but better than none at all. She staggered to a bristly spruce that she could climb, sucked in a deep breath, and screamed as long and loud as she could.
One of the shapes detached itself from the rest to approach in eerie silence. A glint of moonlight reflected from a wickedly-curved horn. The enormous animal stopped, lifted its head, and sniffed the air. Then it blasted a sharp, warning exhale. Deep rumbles and grunts followed the warning as the animal advanced.
More grunts drifted from the meadow. Suddenly, the buffalo herd leaped to its feet and, hooves pounding, stampeded into the night. The exultant hunters, intent on their prey, either ignored the black shadow that remained or didn’t notice it.
Except for a deep bass rumbling, the bull approached in eerie silence . . .