 Today's First Chapter Friday is from the first book in my Galactic Defenders series, Bryce. One of the first books i wrote was titled, The Zurian Child. It was published at one point by a publishing company that no longer exists. When I got the rights back to that book, I considered republishing. But I had learned so much in between when that book was published, and when i got the rights back. So, I rewrote the story instead, making it different, yet much better. In Bryce, the Galactic Defender is sent to Earth on a mission to hunt down Erebus that had made it to that planet. It's there he finds the princess of Hemera who was also his lover whom he had assumed had died in an Erebus attack on her home planet. He also learns she has a daughter who resembles him a bit. So, what happens when they're reunited? Read BRYCE to find out! You can find the beginning of the story below...  Enjoy the first chapter of BRYCE from Bryce's point of view...Bryce raised his crossbow, lining his sights on the creature standing amongst the bushes, its branch-like tentacles undulating in the gentle breeze. Focusing the crosshairs on the alien’s torso, he drew in a deep breath. He had one shot. If he missed, the Erebus would cry out and alert the natives of Terra to its existence, resulting in more casualties. At first glance, no one on the planet, also called Earth, would believe an Erebus anything more than an overgrown bush, but Bryce knew the truth. He’d trained to hunt the creatures from childhood. Each step carefully placed, he advanced until he stood twenty feet from the Erebus, no chance to miss the shot. With a slight movement of his finger, he squeezed the trigger, sending a zuranium-tipped arrow racing toward the alien. “Quinn, would you grab me another garbage bag?” Fornax. The creature lunged toward the female voice, Bryce’s arrow stuck in one of its tentacles. A kill, but not instant. He loaded another arrow. At the risk of being seen, he charged through the hedges. He had to cut the Erebus off before it had a chance to kill the Terran. He leaped over metal furniture and large urns, keeping his focus on the creature. “What the hell? Get out of my yard!” The woman rushed him, but Bryce darted around her. When the Erebus lumbered in front of him, he raised his weapon and fired. A clean shot to the middle. The creature dropped like a fallen log, crushing the furniture it landed on. Bryce loaded the crossbow again. No time to celebrate the kill. He had to worry about the possibility of other Erebus in the area, along with the Terran woman who had seen him. Instead of running away screaming, as he’d expected her to do, she stared, wide-eyed in horror. Not at him, but the Erebus. Her body trembled as she shuffled backward, mumbling incomprehensible words. An unexpected sense of familiarity washed over him. He couldn’t draw his attention away from her slim figure, the way her long brown hair flowed over her shoulders. Far more attractive than he’d pictured the Terrans when others talked about them. He took a closer glance. Lalia? How had she traveled so far from home without anyone knowing? She was no stranger, and definitely not Terran. Or, perhaps she was simply a doppelganger of the woman he’d once loved. He had the sudden urge to comfort her, relieve her worry. Hold her in his arms the way he had many years ago. But what if the missing princess had somehow made her way to a planet unaware life existed beyond their own? After she’d left Hemera and him behind without so much as a goodbye, he’d searched everywhere. Though not once had he thought to look on Terra. A ground-shattering bellow pierced the night. Bryce spun around, finding himself face-to-face with another Erebus. It stared at him with beady red eyes. Thick black goop dripped from its mouth. Bryce raised his bow, but the creature slammed him with one of its tentacles, flinging him back. The Erebus lunged at Lalia. Rolling to his knees, Bryce aimed and fired. He hit the alien from behind, launching it forward. Onto his former lover. Slinging the bow over his shoulder, he raced toward her. The creature’s tentacles still pulsed, even though dead. Careful not to trip himself up, he shoved his hands under the creature’s torso and heaved it off her. Lalia stood immediately and wiped the black goop from her clothes, as if she hadn’t been flattened by an alien. “They weren’t supposed to follow me. I was supposed to be safe here.” “Lindsay?” A Terran man appeared in the doorway of the house. He surveyed the property before his eyes focused on Bryce. “What the hell is going on? Who is that guy?” Lindsay? Maybe she wasn’t the woman he remembered, but his tired mind played tricks on his lonely heart. “Go back inside, Quinn.” She held her hand in front of her, slowly heading toward the other man. “It’s not safe out here.” “I’m not going anywhere until—” An Erebus leaped over the hedges, landing mere feet from the man. Erebus generally traveled in packs, but specimens this large had never been hunted so far from the systems in the Galactic Alliance. With one swipe of a tentacle, the Erebus knocked Bryce onto his back. He grabbed his bow and loaded an arrow. He shot. Too late. The alien pounced upon Quinn, its poisonous saliva filling the Terran’s mouth. Bryce lurched forward and heaved the alien off the man. He scooped the tar-like substance from his mouth. “Spit it out. Don’t swallow.” No one had ever survived an attack, but he had to try. Though with the black foam pouring from the man’s mouth, Bryce feared the worst. “Hey, there’s another Erebus.” The fact Lindsay knew the name of the creature gave him pause, but only for a second. Bryce pivoted and shot the creature the moment he had the arrow loaded. And missed. The Erebus bounded toward Lindsay, and she blocked his direct shot at the creature. With no other option, Bryce dashed to her, hoping to thrust her out of the way before the Erebus could pin her down. Closing in, he realized they would reach the Terran woman at the same time. As the creature launched into the air to attack, Bryce dove for her midsection. He skidded across the ground with her before the alien flew over them. It skidded to a halt, spinning around for another attack. At the same moment Bryce readied his weapon, a younger woman raced out of the house, holding a knife above her head. She launched off the deck, flying through the air toward the moving alien. Before he could get a shot off, she plunged the knife into the back of the Erebus, dropping the creature to the ground. What in Gaspra? Bryce stared, stunned by what he’d witnessed. She could only have killed the creature with a zuranium blade, metal not believed to exist on Earth. Yet, Bryce had no time to confirm. He needed to secure the yard then get the two women to a safe house. They had already seen him and the Erebus. Pollux and his squad couldn’t erase what the Terrans had witnessed, but he could protect them from another attack. After grabbing the canister from the side pocket of his pack, he thrust it at Lindsay. “Spread this around the edge of your property.” The zuranium powder would keep the Erebus back, give him a chance to get them to safety before he tackled the front of the house, allowing the cleanup squad the opportunity to do their job without coming under attack. “But, Quinn.... He’s gone?” She glanced behind her at the foaming lump, once a man, her body quivering. “This is all my fault.” Bryce gripped her biceps to hold her still. “No, it’s not. None of this is your fault.” Only his. He’d been too careless, easily distracted. “But, I need you to take the powder and spread it along the edge of your yard. There are likely more Erebus on the way. Okay?” Lindsay nodded, and while she sprinkled the metal powder along the bushes surrounding the yard, Bryce surveyed the area. He didn’t want to be caught unawares by another creature. The younger woman sat next to the remains of Quinn, holding her knees and rocking back and forth. She never should have had to kill an Erebus. He’d failed at his job. Failed her, Lindsay, and the dead Terran. Far too many beings had died across the universe at the hands of the Erebus, an experiment gone wrong by a now-extinct race. They’d thrown the creatures into the sun to burn, trying to put an end to their mistake. But the move produced the opposite effect, multiplying the Erebus’s numbers and giving them transport to many systems and worlds through solar winds. The Defenders of the Galactic Alliance fought to bring the Erebus population to extinction and end the casualties of the innocent. Yet, so many still perished. Including the man in front of them. Bryce’s fault for becoming mesmerized by the appearance of the woman called Lindsay. As a Defender, he had one responsibility, and it wasn’t to reminisce on his sexual escapades. He’d locked away all memories and feelings for Princess Lalia after she’d fled Hemera. But one Terran woman brought the heartache rushing back, leading to an innocent man’s death. BRYCE (Galactic Defenders book 1) by Jessica E. Subject
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AuthorJessica E. Subject is a USA Today bestselling author of Sci-Fi and Paranormal Romance. Please note: Some links contain affiliate links.
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