Dan Decker Books

Lord of the Inferno - Chapter Twenty Five

This week’s episode features a chapter from Lord of the Inferno, Volume Two of War of the Fathers. War of the Fathers is available as a free ebook if you sign up for the Dan Decker Newsletter. Here is an excerpt from the show:
It was still dark when Adar awoke with a start. Stars were overhead, and a slight breeze caressed his forehead. He could tell by the height of the moons that dawn was approaching. The sky was already starting to lighten or was that just his imagination?
He discovered his hands had been bound together when he reached to rub the back of his sore head. He took a deep breath while he carefully shifted his feet and discovered they were bound as well. His first instinct was to sit up, but he repressed it, not wanting to move until he had a chance to get a bearing on his surroundings.
Helda would be nearby.
Rocky ground dug into his elbows and back. He moved his head in a small motion and discovered the rock was quite smooth. Cobblestones?
How long had he been out? When he had gone into the ship, it had been the later part of the afternoon. He hadn’t had a way to track time while he’d been clearing the ship and trying to find a way to open the door.
Surely, that hadn’t taken all night.
The more likely explanation was he’d been unconscious or sleeping for much of that time.
He sniffed the air. The stench of burned Hunwei flesh still hung heavy. That didn’t tell him much since the whole confounded town stank of the stuff.
He could hear voices nearby, but they spoke softly. He was unable to make out any words, or even if they were men or women.

Lord of the Inferno - Chapter Twenty Four

This week’s episode features a chapter from Lord of the Inferno, Volume Two of War of the Fathers. War of the Fathers is available as a free ebook if you sign up for the Dan Decker Newsletter. Here is an excerpt from the show:
Neare came to with a start. It was dark outside, and the fire had died down, only the glow from the embers giving him light to see. Thon’s chest continued to move, despite the lack of proper medical attention. It was surprising the man hadn't long since died.
I wouldn’t be stuck in this mess if I had killed him when I had the chance, Neare thought. The other men and I would be miles away by now. Instead, here he was waiting for Thon to die. And the bloody fool was taking forever to do it.
It was the only option at this point. He and Erro had spent a considerable amount of time giving Thon additional attention after their efforts to find a local healer had failed. Erro would notice if Thon had any new or enlarged wounds.
Neare closed his eyes, willing himself to go back to the sleep, but they popped open, and he sat up.
Where’s Erro? He was supposed to have awoken me by now. Erro had offered to take the first shift, but Neare had refused and made the boy rest.
Neare had hesitated for a long time before waking his son. It had gotten to the point that Neare was barely able to keep his eyes open anyway and he’d been forced to take the risk of leaving his son on guard duty.
He arose and stepped outside the doorway, hoping that Erro had just gone to relieve himself. They had been lucky so far that the former occupants of the home hadn’t returned, but he didn't know how much longer that would hold.
Erro had wanted to cover the open space where the door had been, but Neare had kept him from doing it because he hadn’t wanted to advertise their presence.
Neare had also moved an overturned table to the fire to keep the flicker of light from reaching those outside.
Erro wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and after several deep breaths, Neare went back in and walked through all the rooms of the home before going out what would have been the doorway of the back. It was now a much larger opening than it should have been. Much of the brick wall was now on the floor, and the door had been broken in two.
Neare stepped gingerly by the light of the moons to avoid disturbing any of the rubble as he moved outside.

Lord of the Inferno - Chapter Twenty Three

This week’s episode features a chapter from Lord of the Inferno, Volume Two of War of the Fathers. War of the Fathers is available as a free ebook if you sign up for the Dan Decker Newsletter. Here is an excerpt from the show:
When the first blast went through the door of the ship, Adar couldn’t help but smile. There is more than one way to slaughter a pig, he thought. He was surprised to see it was dark outside. It had been late afternoon when he’d entered the ship.
He knew he had lost track of time, but now that he thought about it, he realized he'd wasted hours going through the ship. In situations like this, he often found his perception of time became warped.
It wasn't uncommon after a battle to have thought that only a few minutes had passed but then to realize hours had gone by when he checked the position of the sun.
It had taken a lot of time to take control of the ship. He’d also wasted a bunch of time trying to get the door open.
Melyah! It had been hours. It could be near morning for all he knew. Next time, he couldn’t afford to wait until he was desperate to try a blaster.
He approached and pushed on the door, hoping the blast would have done something to loosen it. It held strong. While he listened, he also peered through the hole from a number of different angles, trying to get an idea of what was going on outside.
He didn't see any Hunwei or turncoats. The last ship was also gone as well. He wanted to believe Zecarani was now free of the creatures but didn't let himself get very far down that path in his thoughts. He would assume the enemy was just outside the door until he knew otherwise.
“What are you waiting for?” asked Melynda, her voice a quiet hiss in the silence. “A dozen or more of those and we’ll be able to get out of here.” Her demeanor had changed when Adar had returned with Hucky from the command center. Before she hadn't been scared by the Hunwei, but since he'd come back with Hucky in tow she mentioned several times how much she hated the Hunwei and had feared for her life. She had also told a harrowing story of her and Hucky’s capture.
Adar hadn't believed a word of it. Hucky had opened his mouth, a confused look on his face. She had spoken over him while latching onto his arm.

Lord of the Inferno - Chapter Twenty Two

This week’s episode features a chapter from Lord of the Inferno, Volume Two of War of the Fathers. War of the Fathers is available as a free ebook if you sign up for the Dan Decker Newsletter. Here is an excerpt from the show:
Adar didn’t have a clue how to make the ship door work again. The ramp he had slid down on his way into the ship was only distinguishable from the rest of the wall of the hold by the rough metal texture that covered it. Otherwise, he was unable to tell where the ramp ended and the wall began.
He ran his hand along the textured area that he was certain became the ramp when it separated from the wall, halfheartedly hoping that it would open merely from his touch.
He snorted. This isn’t the technology of my fathers, he thought. If anything, it might be made so that a human touch keeps it from working.
It was a pity that he’d been in too much of a hurry to watch the ramp as it closed. If only he wouldn’t have been so busy killing Hunwei at the time.
He had scoured the ship, fighting and killing half a dozen Hunwei and several turncoats. He’d also found other human captives in addition to those that had been brought aboard just before he’d rushed into the ship.
They all stood in the back of the hold now, murmuring quietly among themselves.
A clanking sound came from the direction of the ladder. Adar spun, blaster at the ready.
He growled when he saw what was going on. “Get down from there, Hucky.”
The boy flashed him a grin. “I promised to remain still for a couple of minutes. It’s already been waaay longer than that.” The kid continued to climb the ladder towards the next level of the ship.
“Hucky,” Melynda said, covering the distance in a few quick steps. “Down!” The boy continued to climb higher, heedless of his mother.

Lord of the Inferno - Chapter Twenty One

This week’s episode features a chapter from Lord of the Inferno, Volume Two of War of the Fathers. War of the Fathers is available as a free ebook if you sign up for the Dan Decker Newsletter. Here is an excerpt from the show:
The doors of the three remaining ships were still down, just as they had been earlier when Adar had encouraged the captives to flee right after the tower had killed the Hunwei. That didn’t mean Hunwei hadn’t already gone aboard and were waiting for some of the stragglers to join them. At any moment, another of the doors might shut.
How insane is this little plan of mine? Adar wondered. Waiting until the last ship? All three doors could close at once and where would I be then?
There was hardly a movement on the grounds in front of the town hall other than gusts of wind that moved leaves and grass. The stench of the dead Hunwei was still as strong as ever. Melyah, it could be weeks before it got any better. 
He was alarmed when he saw a trail of smoke coming from the ruins of the governor's mansion but after careful observation realized it was just coming from one of the smaller fires of burning Hunwei armor. The breeze was dragging the smoke, so it looked as though it was coming from the mansion.  
“Are we going to do this or what?” Barc asked with a small tremor in his voice. “I’m getting tired of waiting.”
Adar snorted. You were out cold for much of it. “Have patience,” he said instead. “We only need one ship.”
He was uncertain about what to do next. Should they go now? At least five ships had crashed, but more than that had already lifted off. They might be down to one or two groups of Hunwei, but there was no way to know. If they were to wait it out, they could get a ship without any fighting at all. 
No, he thought after he mulled it over. That’s wrong. Not only could they not afford to wait much longer because he still had Isak and his men to contend with, he knew there were tactical flaws in his logic.
 
 

Lord of the Inferno - Chapter Twenty

This week’s episode features a chapter from Lord of the Inferno, Volume Two of War of the Fathers. War of the Fathers is available as a free ebook if you sign up for the Dan Decker Newsletter. Here is an excerpt from the show: 
The ship door closed and Adar lowered his blaster, wondering what kind of damage a blast would do to the hull of the ship. He wasn’t willing to risk taking a shot just to see what happened, but it was difficult to watch another ship slip through his grasp even though it was part of his plan to let exactly that happen. Once two more ships were gone, it would be time to make his move, but as each one disappeared, he would become more anxious about their chances.
Adar’s mouth formed a thin line when he took in the wounded man who had died within a step or two of the door. As Adar had thought, his hand and lower forearm had been taken off by a blast as well. If only the man would have ducked down. He would have blended in with the other bodies, and the Hunwei would have walked right past him.
Adar examined the distance from the man to the house.
Just that much further and we would have had a real mess on our hands, Adar thought. He wasn’t glad for the man’s death, but he was happy he hadn’t had to fight the Hunwei. The shooting would have drawn the attention of the others, and with only Barc for support, Adar didn’t think that they would have survived. He was glad he didn’t have to find out what would have happened.
It is a dangerous game I play, and so far I’m not winning it either. If I had returned directly to the Arches, I could have handled Tere and had the tablet in my hands to take care of the Hunwei. He pushed away the thought to calm his nerves. There were always ways to have done things differently. 
The whine of the engines disappeared as their volume increased to a roar. The ship lifted up into the air, hovering a few feet off the ground. After a minute or so, it gained altitude at an ever-increasing rate. The sound of its departure was loud enough to make him wonder if they were at risk of hearing loss.
A grim smile crossed Adar’s face. Maybe I’m getting too used to all this. It isn’t any louder than what I experienced outside the entrance of the Arches. If anything, that was worse because it was a much larger ship. He slung his blaster over his shoulder and covered his ears with his hands still the same, trusting his eyes to warn him of any approaching danger.
 

Lord of the Inferno - Chapter Nineteen

This week’s episode features a chapter from Lord of the Inferno, Volume Two of War of the Fathers. War of the Fathers is available as a free ebook if you sign up for the Dan Decker Newsletter. Here is an excerpt from the show:
The front of the town hall was all but destroyed. Adar was relieved to see that the back of the structure near where the archives were located still stood firm. He intended to go back into the archives to poke around if he got a chance, there hadn’t been time to explore during any of his previous visits. The rest of the building was on its last legs. It looked weak enough that the smallest of breezes should be enough to topple it.
It must be sturdier than it looks, Adar thought when the wind picked up, and the remaining part of the destroyed structure didn’t move.
A Hunwei ship had crashed into the field before the town hall and slammed into the building. The small side door Adar had used when leaving the town hall earlier in the day was still standing, but the great double doors were not, they had been shattered by the impact. 
A large piece of the great door lay on the ground not far from where Adar knelt, peeking out of the open door of an empty home. The great doors had been works of art. It saddened him to see them lying in pieces.
The same could be said for the town hall itself. It was a relic of the ages past. It was a shame it had made it through the invasion only to be taken out now. It may have taken more than a decade to build, but it had been destroyed in the blink of an eye.
The domed roof over the great meeting hall had caved in. Adar had noted it had suffered a lot of damage when he had passed through the large room earlier in the day, right after the tower had been activated. At least something had still been there. Now the whole of it was gone. It had stood for more than a thousand years and was gone in an instant.
Smoke still rose from the pile of burning Hunwei bodies that had blocked his path earlier. The flames had died down, and it was possible to see bits of the armor pointing out here and there, but much of it had melted as it slowly formed into a single mass.

Lord of the Inferno - Chapter Eighteen

This week’s episode features a chapter from Lord of the Inferno, Volume Two of War of the Fathers. War of the Fathers is available as a free ebook if you sign up for the Dan Decker Newsletter. Here is an excerpt from the show:
It was difficult for Kura to avoid growling as she stormed away from Adar and the other man. She’d teamed up with Adar because he seemed to have common sense in addition to an ability to fight the Hunwei. It had been a good idea at the time, but now she wasn’t so sure she wouldn’t be better off on her own.
Let him wait around outside the gate wondering if I’m okay, she thought. Maybe then he would appreciate the anxiety she’d experienced about whether or not he was coming back.
The very idea that Adar was going to try to take on the Hunwei to capture one of their ships was laughable, not to mention suicidal. I was wrong about him having a good head on his shoulders if he’s going to try to pull a fool stunt like that. Very wrong.
Adar hadn’t abandoned her, but he might as well have done exactly that because the consequences would be the same when the Hunwei ended up killing him.
Lars bounced on her side and reached back towards Adar, babbling away in his baby talk. The rain didn’t seem to bother him at the moment. His happy mode wasn’t going to last forever, at some point, he was going to get cold and then she’d have to deal with that as well.
Melyah be cursed if she didn’t have a dry roof over her head before that happened. If she hadn't known Lars’ mother, she would have forced Adar to take him.
Bleeding Melyah send me to the nine bleeding burning fires.