AU | Charley Descoteaux

Excerpt:

He had awoken, on that day after, to find himself lying alone in bed.

It had all been a dreaming, then: the promise of everlasting love, the passion that had followed upon that promise, the warmth of Elsdon’s body – and more importantly, the warmth of his companionship. Layle had expected it to happen one day: his dreamings had become so real that he had begun to believe them.

The bedsprings creaked.

He reacted automatically, which meant he reacted violently. Reaching toward the only loose object at hand – the night-table next to the bed – he grasped it by its leg, wrenched it from the floor, and had begun to swing it toward the intruder before he checked himself in time.

He opened his eyes. Elsdon, fully clothed and hooded but with his face-cloth raised, sat beside him. He looked, Layle realized with amazement, more amused than fearful.

“By all that is sacred,” Elsdon said, speaking the mildest of oaths, “is this how you always greet your love-mates upon awakening?”

Layle slowly lowered the night-table, feeling the blood thunder within his body. “I’ve never had a love-mate before who slept with me.”

“I can see why, if this is how you wake from your sleep.”

Layle slowly raised himself into a sitting position. Elsdon was still smiling, he noted with growing incredulity. The Seeker-in-Training had made a joke about the fact that Layle was a killer born.

Buy the book:

Universal / Global Amazon

Rafflecopter Prize: An e-copy of “Life Prison.”
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Stops:

Parker Williams, Divine Magazine, A.M. Leibowitz, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Full Moon Dreaming, Bayou Book Junkie, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, My Fiction Nook, Jessie G. Books, MM Good Book Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter, Charley Descoteaux, MM Book Escape, Bonkers About Books, Velvet Panic, The Hat Party, Outrageous Heroes, Open Skye Book Reviews

Meet the author:

Honored in the Rainbow Awards, Dusk Peterson writes historical adventure tales that are speculative fiction: alternate history, historical fantasy, and retrofuture science fiction, including lgbtq novels and young adult fiction. Friendship, family affection, faithful service, and romance often occur in the stories. A resident of Maryland, Mx. Peterson lives with an apprentice and several thousand books.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: http://facebook.com/loveindarksettings

Twitter: http://twitter.com/duskpeterson

Website: http://duskpeterson.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2072858.Dusk_Peterson

Tumblr: http://duskpeterson.tumblr.com

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29909931-the-balance

Publisher: Love In Dark Settings Press

Cover Artist: Dusk Peterson

Pages or Words: 90,000 words

Categories: Alternate Universe, Gay Fiction, Historical, Adventure, Queergender

Book Name: The Balance

Series: The Eternal Dungeon

Book: Three – Can be read as a standalone

Release Date: April 11, 2016 (reissue)

Excerpt:

“Has the High Seeker said anything that it would be useful for me to know, Mr. Taylor?”

After a minute in which the Codifier gave him a pointed look, Elsdon seemed to remember that he had been asked a question, for he said wearily, “No, he . . . he is concerned about the dungeon, of course. That is what he speaks of most of all – his concern that he has once again abandoned his duties. It’s no use trying to make him think about his own health; he won’t center his thoughts on himself. So instead I’ve been trying to make him think about . . . us. Him and me.”

“You’re perfectly right,” said Mr. Bergsen gruffly. “Make him remember his love-bond with you, and that will keep him from losing touch with this world.”

The Codifier picked up a pen, rolled it between his fingers for a moment, and said, with the finality of a magistrate about to pass judgment, “Do you have anything else you wish to add, Mr. Taylor?”

Elsdon looked as though he would have liked to speak, but he said nothing. Weldon felt pity enter himself as he watched the High Seeker’s love-mate. It must be like waiting to see whether your loved one would be hanged. If the Codifier ruled that the High Seeker’s renewed illness and long absence from searching prisoners was grounds to remove him from his work as a Seeker . . . Every man in this room knew that it would be a sentence of death to take that from Layle Smith. Yet, as always, the best interests of the prisoners came first.