Saving Simon (Tarnished Saints Series Book 5) (31 page)
Read Saving Simon (Tarnished Saints Series Book 5) Online
Authors: Elizabeth Rose
The next book in the
Tarnished Saints Series
, is
Wrangling James
. James is the twin of Zeb and you’ve already met him in
Seducing Zeb.
James is my cowboy and loves horses. Watch for James’s story to be released sometime this fall.
This is a twelve book series and if you’ve missed any of the first books, I’ve listed the ones that are now available. Watch for a new story about one of the Taylor brothers every couple months. And watch for all of the books to be released in print form very soon. Go to my website at
http://elizabethrosenovels.com
and sign up for my blog in order to receive announcements.
Tarnished Saint Series:
Watch book trailer
.
Doubting Thomas
–
Book 1
Luring Levi
–
Book 2
Judging Judas
–
Book 3
Seducing Zeb
–
Book 4
Saving Simon
– Book 5
Wrangling James – Book 6 (coming soon)
You can see the covers slated for the other books of the series by
clicking here.
You may also be interested in my medieval series:
Legacy of the Blade:
Legacy of the Blade Prequel
- Free
Also, please take a look at my medieval
Elemental Series
.
Book trailer video
The books in the series are:
The Dragon and the Dreamwalker
,
Book 1: Fire
,
The Duke and the Dryad,
Book 2: Earth
,
The Sword and the Sylph
,
Book 3:
Air,
and
The Sheik and the Siren
,
Book 4: Water.
Greek Myth Fantasy Series:
Watch book trailer video
Daughters of the Dagger Series:
Book Trailer
This series is followed by my Scottish
Madman MacKeefe
series, with the first book being about the girls’ brother,
Onyx – Book 1,
who they thought was dead.
Aidan – Book 1
,
is next, followed by,
Ian – Book 3
.
Please visit my website at
Elizabethrosenovels.com
and make sure to subscribe to my blog in order to receive updates on new releases. You can also read excerpts from any of my novels on my website as well as get sneak peeks at covers of upcoming books. And please remember that there are other authors by the same name, but my novels can be identified by the rose on every cover. And be sure to take a look at my new
book trailer videos
.
Elizabeth Rose
Here are some excerpts from some of the series I’ve mentioned, for your enjoyment.
Excerpt from
Lady of the Mist
:
Book 4
(Legacy of the Blade Series)
Garrett made his way to the forecastle and climbed the raised platform as they approached the other ship. Sure enough, black sails. This was the pirate ship he’d been searching for. What a discovery to finally find it.
The wind picked up from the approaching storm, filling the single square sail of the cog. The clinker-built hull had high sides, which served as good protection from marauders of the sea. However, this was a merchant ship and the flat bottom was designed for loading and unloading cargo in shallow ports, it wasn’t designed for rough seas. It could very well capsize in a strong wind. The ship held one hundred tuns in the hold, but now they were traveling light, at only half its capacity. This made him nervous. Garrett eyed the dark roiling sky overhead. He knew what he had to do, but still the crew’s safety concerned him.
“Archers, prepare,” he cried. “Silas, take her in close, I am going to board off the forecastle. Get the grappling hooks and ropes ready,” he called over his shoulder as they came up alongside the ship.
“Aye, captain,” said Silas.
Garrett saw the crew of his target rushing around, looking very disorganized. He would be able to use this to his advantage. But the man in the lookout could have a weapon to throw or something to drop. He looked up and aimed his crossbow. He couldn’t allow himself to be a sitting target from the man up above. He pulled back the windlass, and lined up his bolt for the shot.
Echo quickly replaced her cap, tucking her hair underneath. She would never be able to fight with her hair in her eyes, now that the wind had picked up tremendously. Skye and the male osprey flew in circles just above the ship and she knew they wanted to land in the nest to get out of the storm.
She looked down to the deck to see her father and the crew running around aimlessly, trying to prepare for the battle about to take place. She knew if they hadn’t been soused, they would have already been boarding and attacking the Cinque Ports ship.
“Hard to starboard,” shouted her father, giving the sternsman the order to turn the ship. The Seahawk bounced and tilted in the high waves that the storm now brought upon them. A gust of wind hit Echo head on, nearly knocking her from the basket. “Go to half sail,” shouted her father, but Echo knew that was going to be impossible now that they had to concentrate on the attack. The cold, sharp rain sliced down upon her like arrows from an archer’s bow.
That’s when she spied the man aboard the Cinque Ports ship upon the forecastle and aiming his crossbow right at her! She barely had time to dodge out of the way of his bolt, and caught herself as the ship jerked and she had to grab on to the pole mast in the basket in order not to be thrown out.
The sickening shriek of a bird brought her attention upward, to see the man’s bolt lodged into one of the hawks, taking it down into the sea.
“Nay!” she cried, not knowing if it were Skye or the male hawk that just went to its death at the hands of her attacker. The ship leaned once again, and the two eggs rolled out of the nest and through the slats in the basket and over the side. She watched in horror as they plummeted down to the deck far below. “Damnation and hellfire,” she shouted, first looking to the path the eggs had taken and then back to the passenger from the Cinque Ports who was jumping from his fighting post by aid of the bowsprit and boarding their ship even before his crew tossed the grappling lines.
“Attack!” shouted her father from below her. The crew of the Seahawk picked up long wooden poles with spikes and axes and rushed toward the side of the ship. The Cinque Ports crew was just throwing their grappling hooks aboard, but nature took its course and one more huge gust of wind changed the outcome for everyone.
Garrett watched in disbelief as the wind hit their single square sail head on and sent his ship backwards, away from the vessel he now stood upon. His archers opened fire from the castle decks, but the strong winds sent their arrows off course. While several landed on deck, not a one hit its mark. He feared for his men in the storm and now he feared for his own life as well. He stood alone amiss a band of cutthroats that would most likely kill him before they’d had their breakfast.
“Damn!” The ships separated so quickly in the storm that he knew there would be no retribution for these pirates now. He could only hope Silas headed the ship for Great Yarmouth as he’d instructed, and not be capsized in the storm.
He turned and raised his crossbow as two of the crew rushed him. He managed to loose one bolt and it grazed the shoulder of a man who cried out. The weapon was too bulky and the windlass too slow to load quickly. He threw it down and pulled his sword from his side instead. But before he even had a chance to use it, someone from up in the rigging dropped atop him, knocking him to the ground.
“Ye killed m’ bird!” came a high voice in his ear.
His sword was knocked out of his hand from the impact, and he reached for the dagger at his waist instead. The attacker’s small hand reached out in a strong grip, digging his nails into Garrett’s wrist, trying to make him release it. The edge of the man’s sword rested against his throat as the rest of the rowdy crew came forward and urged the man on.
“Aye, let’s see ye spear ’im,” called out one man.
“Kill ’im,” shouted another.
Garrett managed to unarm the man, and in the tossing of the ship from the waves, their bodies rolled together over the deck only to be stopped by the planking of the ship’s wall.
He didn’t understand why none of the rest of the men stepped in to seize him. Instead, they almost found it amusing to watch him and this young man struggle. He managed to pin his attacker to the ground, and hold his dagger to the man’s throat. The pirates behind him laughed and shouted in the pouring rain. Water dripped down off his long hair and hit the pinned man in the eyes.
“Devil take ye, ye landlubber king’s bitch!
The men laughed behind him, and Garrett now thought he understood why. This man’s voice was high and his body small, but if his instincts served him correctly, he’d been fooled. He yanked the man’s cap from his head and ebony tresses spilled around his attacker’s head. As he looked closer at the man’s face through the dirt and grime, he realized this was not a man at all, but a woman!
Excerpt from
The Sheik and the Siren:
(Elemental Series, Book 4)
Book trailer video
Tied to the center mast, Ace’s heart beat quickly as the faint sound of the siren’s song floated across the water and to his ears. His men were thankfully safe in the hold, their own ears plugged by coarse wool. But he could hear every alluring beautiful, haunting note as a woman’s voice surrounded the air around him and about drove him from his mind.
She sang about the water and of the life beneath the sea. She sang of a coral cave and something about a mystical, magical crystal dolphin. He took it all in and tried to remember every word. But he found it hard to concentrate, as the bulge beneath his tunic distracted him and all he could think of was that he had to get this siren of the seas into his bed. He needed to take her, and he needed her badly. On the deck. In the water. It didn’t matter where, but all he knew was that his body cried out to mate with her and he needed to go toward the sound of her singing. Nothing else mattered anymore but this – nay, nothing at all.
He pulled at the ropes that bound him, unable to move, making him shout out in frustration.
“Arrrgggghhh!” If he didn’t have her soon, he swore he would burst. And if Boots hadn’t tied him to the mast, he’d have dove into the water by now and be swimming toward the rocky crags straight toward the sound of the siren and toward his death as well.
“Show yourself!” He shouted at the top of his lungs. “Come to me, my siren of the sea. I hear your voice. I want you – I need you.” He looked toward the bulkhead of the ship but could see naught through the thick fog.
The humid salt air weighed heavy on his lungs and he felt as if he could barely breathe. The winds had oddly diminished, and the ship hardly moved now. All was silent – too silent around him and he felt as if he were in the eye of a very deadly storm. If he were to stay here, dead in the water and haunted by her alluring song much longer, he’d chew through the ropes just to get to her, he swore he would.
Then he saw the oddest thing. A long line of dead fish that the ship was about to cross over. And once the bow of the Paradigm crossed this line of death, a gale of wind blasted from nowhere, hitting the larboard – the loading side of the ship so hard, the masts and sails were nearly touching the water on the opposite starboard side. One more gust of wind and the ship shot forward, moving at a good clip straight through Death’s Door.
The plan was now in motion and even if he wanted to, he could do naught to stop it. They were in Death’s Door now, with the song of the siren driving him mad. And he prayed he’d been accurate in plotting the course, because if not, he will have not only sentenced himself to death, but by his own hand he will have taken the lives of every man on his ship as well.