Today is the publication day for Riders of the Mapinguari, by Gaddy Bergmann. It is the thrid book in the Feral World series.
To celebrate, we are having a book launch party all day today. The party is being held primarily at Twitter, with the hashtag #FeralWorld.
Earlier, I posted the book descripion of Riders of the Mapinguari, and an excerpt from the prologue.
I have been promisng everyone more excerpts, so here is a pretty exciting and tense moment from Chapter 9:
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Blake was on the fourth floor, stationed in the same room as Spartan, Murdoch, and Chief Zaaru. Dandoll was with them, too.
"Are you sure you're up to this?" Spartan asked Dandoll.
"Yes, I'm fine. I want to help."
"You've already done your part. Just coming here and warning us when you did was enough."
"Thank you, but I can do more. Besides, you'll need all the archers you can get ... believe me."
"What's the word from upstairs?" asked Blake.
"Aries was here a moment ago," Zaaru said. "Our families are fine. Everyone is in their shelters and secured."
"How are Lana and Jake?"
"He didn't mention them specifically, Blake, but I'm sure they're fine. Everything's in order. It's up to us now."
Blake leaned against the edge of the window and looked out at the horizon. The dust cloud was approaching. Beneath it, the Terran army came into view: an endless sea of shimmering, metallic bodies with large, colorful banners swaying above them. There was a dull, ominous rumble like an earthquake, but it was only the sound of thousands upon thousands of feet striking the ground at the same time.
"Dear God," muttered Blake to himself, "I never ... I never imagined."
Murdoch was standing by the opposite edge of the window. "Me neither. This is ... this will not be easy." All the fighting men were at their battle stations by the windows. Zaaru stood directly in front of the window. With his feet spread apart and his arms folded over his chest, he narrowed his gaze and watched the oncoming horde quietly and intently.
The army kept coming closer and closer until it filled Blake's vision and covered every square inch of ground. It seemed to go on for miles without interruption, consuming the soil, leaves, and bark and replacing them with its own vibrant red, green, and silver.
The army moved onto the sand, hissing as it did so, and marched right up to the Rookery, stopping short of it by about five hundred feet. Then it stopped and abruptly fell silent. The individual soldiers were visible now. They stood motionless as they stared straight ahead and waited. For a moment, no one made a sound and nothing moved.
Blake turned to Murdoch. "That's a lot of targets," he muttered.
"Yeah, and we'll have to aim carefully, too," said Murdoch. "Look at all that armor. Remember to aim for the face and joints." Blake nodded succinctly.
Just then, they heard someone amid the Terran ranks shout out an order in a strange, rolling language. Instantly, hordes of men brought out their bows and arrows and took aim. The faceless officer barked another order, and all at once, a swarm of arrows flew at the Corpushi.
"Duck!" shouted Zaaru at the top of his lungs. Everyone took cover as the arrows found their marks, slamming into wooden boards and bouncing off stone blocks. None of the Corpushi was injured.
Blake noticed an arrow embedded in a wooden board next to him, so he plucked it out and examined it. The shaft was long and straight, like those of his own, but the arrowhead was made of metal, not stone. Blake felt the tip with his forefinger, and was shocked at just how sharp it really was. He shuddered.
Zaaru stood up once more, determination now evident on his face. "Archers!" He cried. "Fire!"
Now it was the Corpushi's turn. The warriors lined up their shots and released their arrows. The barrage landed among the crowd, but only a handful of soldiers went down.
With the first volleys exchanged, the war had begun. Now, both sides fired at each other. The Corpushi managed to hit a smattering of soldiers while simultaneously avoiding getting hit themselves.
"So far, so good, eh, Murdoch?" said Blake in between volleys.
"Yeah, not bad," groaned Murdoch. "Just a few more hours and we got 'em!"
The arrows continued to fly. Terran soldiers fell here and there, but there were always others to take their place.
"We can't win at this rate," Zaaru told Spartan. "Archers! It's time for Phase Two!"
In the next instant, the Corpushi warriors began dipping their arrows into pots of rendered animal fat. Then they held them over lit torches, set them on fire, and launched them into the horde below. They cheered when they saw banners go up in flames and frightened soldiers scatter in all directions. Whole battle formations broke up.
"Good work!" cried Zaaru. "Keep going!"
Suddenly, burning arrows began appearing in the Corpushi stronghold as well. The arrows stuck in the wooden parapets on the windows and lit clothing and provisions ablaze. Zaaru became alarmed.
"Put out that fire! Throw down the wooden blockades and pour water on the supplies! I don't care what you waste, as long as you put out that fire!" Zaaru's men followed his orders. They lost some of their protection and water, but they successfully warded off an immediate threat.
Now, only burning arrows flew between the two enemies, but the Terran army seemed hardly any thinner, while the Corpushi were forced to divert their manpower from archery to extinguishing fires.
The exchange continued for what seemed like hours. Blake's arms were getting tired, and he was short of breath. He hid behind a wall to rest for a moment.
"Are you all right?" asked Murdoch as he launched another projectile.
"Yes, I'm fine," said Blake, "I'm just ... I don't know how long I can keep this up."
Murdoch frowned. "As long as you have to! Now catch your breath, and get back in there!"
The young warrior named Aries ran in with more arrows, and with more wood for the fire. "Here you are, sir," he said, huffing and puffing. "More ammunition."
"Hey, Aries. Tell Blake here how much ammunition we have left."
"A lot, sir. We have enough to last us for days."
"You see, Blake? Days! Now, come on!" said Murdoch as Aries hurried to another part of the room and hunkered down. Blake's throat felt dry and hot. He took a swig from his canteen, got back into a crouch, and resumed firing.
The sun arced across the sky as the battle wore on, turning the light from yellow to gold.
"Stalemate," Murdoch muttered, his face flushed, his long, curly hair drenched with sweat. "It's attrition. Whoever runs out of arrows first loses."
"Don't be so sure," said Blake. "Look!"
Down below, a squadron hurried toward the Rookery's main entrance and began to pound on the thick, wooden door. Despite struggling to find purchase in the sandy soil, they tried to break down the door by beating on it with their gauntleted fists, or slamming their armored bodies entirely against it.
"Will it hold?" asked Blake.
"It's reinforced," Murdoch said as arrows continued to sail past him and strike the wall behind, "but it won't hold forever. Sooner or later, they'll break in!"
Zaaru took notice. "No, they won't. Water! Right side! Now!"
Peter and Aries, manning one of the vats of boiling water, heeded the command. First, they looked down to make sure of the Terrans' position. Then, with the help of several other warriors, they rolled the vat toward the window. Groaning, they tipped it over and let the water spill onto the enemy.
The Terrans below screamed in agony as the hot water penetrated their suits of armor and scalded their skin. Incapacitated, they either fell down or instantly backed away. The Corpushi cheered in triumph.
Another squadron came forward, this time collectively toting a giant wooden shield over their heads for protection. They quickly set upon the front door and tried to beat it down.
"Again! More water! Right side!" cried Zaaru. Another team of warriors poured more boiling water onto the Terrans. This time, however, only a few soldiers-those toward the outside of the phalanx-were injured. The rest continued to batter away at the front door, but in vain; the door held up.
"Ha ha!" said Murdoch. "They'll never make it! They'll never get in!"
Just then, the main body of the Terran army parted to make way for something coming up from behind. The barrage of arrows continued, except from the gap where the formation had split.
Blake saw something enormous emerge from the crowd. "What the clump is that?" he cried, pointing at a truly gigantic creature with long, shaggy, brown fur. The beast lumbered along as an armored soldier with distinctive livery led it by a chain around the neck.
"It's huge!" said Murdoch. "Must be a mapinguari. Dandoll was right!"
The creature approached the main entrance to the Rookery. Then its handler shouted a command, and it began to slash at the door with its sharp, massive claws.
"More water!" Zaaru said. "More water!" Again, a team of pourers tipped a vat, showering the mapi with boiling water.
As the creature roared in pain, thunder emanated from its belly and the air itself trembled. It shook its ponderous body and sent droplets of water flying in all directions. A moment later, it was ready to try again. Once again, the mapi slashed at the thick doors. This time, the wood began to splinter and crack.
"Shoot it!" screamed Zaaru. The Corpushi fired at the beast. To their horror, their arrows-whether burning or not-actually bounced off its body and tumbled uselessly to the ground. A few of the arrows did find purchase and stuck in its hide. However, the fur failed to catch fire, and the beast remained undeterred. After a few more swipes, the main entrance door simply flew apart. The Rookery had been breached.
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The Feral World trilogy is available wherever great books are sold. Here are the three titles in The Feral World tirlogy:
For more information about Flying Pen Press, visit www.FlyingPenPress.com.
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