Dan Decker Books

War of the Fathers – Chapters Eight and Nine

This week’s episode features Chapters Eight and Nine of War of the Fathers. Here is an excerpt from the show:
Soret was a step ahead of Jorad and the street was crowded with people so he had to strain to hear her words. The dust kicked up from all the traffic was sticking to his sweaty face. Using the back of his hand, he wiped off his forehead. It came away grimy and he cleaned it on his pants. He wanted to take a few minutes to rest and calm down but couldn't afford the luxury. 
His blood was still racing from the encounter with Erro. If Erro tried something again, Jorad would give him the beating he deserved, whether the town guard was there or not. He didn’t know what else to say to Soret about the Hunwei. At least Erro’s poster hadn’t seemed to faze her.
Jorad couldn’t blame her for her anger and confusion about the Hunwei though. Ruder hadn’t been able to convince him, Jorad had needed to see it for himself. He wished that he had evidence to show her but all he could do was tell her what he'd seen. 
“Save your breath, I’m not coming with you,” Soret said when he caught up to her. “Not for something like this.”
“Once I leave, I won’t be coming back, Adar is adamant about getting to Zecarani as fast as possible.” 
“He wants to get that weapon or whatever, right?” Soret looked like she was thinking of slapping him. “Why the rush now? It sounds like he’s known about it for years.”
“It won’t be the first time we’ve tried, but this time is different. He’s not going to leave without it now that the Hunwei are back.” 
“And where will you go after that?” 
“I don’t know,” he lied. Much as Jorad hated to admit it, Adar’s logic made sense. If there was even a slim chance that something in the Portal could help, it was worth Jorad making the effort to access it. Assuming of course that Rarbon hadn't already been taken over by the Hunwei. 

War of the Fathers – Chapters Six and Seven

This week’s episode features Chapters Six and Seven of War of the Fathers. Here is an excerpt from the show: 
“Ruder was right,” Jorad said, not knowing how to start. He couldn't afford to have this conversation go badly but there also wasn't much time before he would be leaving. He needed to convince her to leave Neberan by either coming with him or by going somewhere safe and hiding. 
“Ruder is crazy,” Soret said, her eyes bored into him but he held her gaze. She was wearing brown trousers, a green blouse, and had her hair back in a ponytail. She might have thought she looked prettier when she had dressed up for the wedding, but she was just as beautiful now. He could smell the hint of the shampoo she used this morning. 
Jorad shrugged and recounted to her the events of the last day, his certainty that the Hunwei had returned and that he was going to Zecarani to help Adar find a way to fight them. He left Rarbon out of the explanation for now. 
“I can't believe you're trying to convince me the Hunwei are real.” Soret shook her head while standing up. “I need to return to the store. I promised dad I’d make some deliveries. I don’t have time for this.” Soret stalked away with her back straight. He’d seen that walk before, and knew that she was furious. He would have liked to give her time to calm down but didn't have the luxury. He chased after her.
Somebody called his name from behind as he ran, but he ignored it because Soret turned. “Is this your plan to trick me into marrying you? You’re not the first man to try something like this on me. My dad won’t give me a dowry if I pull a stunt like that. So if that’s your plan get it out of your head now.” She stood in the middle of the road. Several people were passing by on either side, but she didn't seem to notice the strange looks she was getting. 

War of the Fathers – Chapters Four and Five

This week’s episode features Chapters Four and Five of War of the Fathers. Here is an excerpt from the show:
The leaves rustled with the breeze and flashes of moonlight splashed onto Adar's face as the movement of the trees created gaps above them. Jorad was surprised to see that Adar was calm, even contemplative. He would have expected Adar to be anxious and afraid, given that the thing he'd been paranoid about for years had finally happened. 
“We have to get to Rarbon,” Adar whispered as he stared at the place where the Hunwei had disappeared.
Jorad made a face but didn't speak. He could still smell the Hunwei even though they were gone. It was a musky stench mixed with rotting flesh. He sniffed trying to imprint the smell on his memory. The return of the Hunwei changed everything. His first thought was for Soret. He'd have to convince her to come with them. Adar hadn't expressed the sentiment yet, but Jorad knew that their time in Neberan had come to a close. His second thought was that he'd have to reevaluate his decision about returning to Rarbon to make a claim. 
“The Rarbon Portal is our best chance now.” Adar stared at Jorad.
“We don't even know if the Portal will work.” Jorad didn’t need any more lectures from Adar. He needed time to think. “For all we know it's just a bunch of scrolls gathering dust.” He strained his ears. The only sound he was able to hear were the crickets that had started up again after the Hunwei had left. 
“What do you suggest?” Adar asked.
“I don't know.” Jorad thought about Ruder and was filled with anxiety. Why hadn't he told Adar about the Ou Qui? They had lost a day. One day could make a big difference.
No! He thought, I won’t wallow in what could have been. He couldn't afford to think like that or second-guessing would keep him from getting anything done. Telling Adar about Ruder wouldn't have changed much. They would still have spent the day looking for Hunwei. Adar might have been more zealous but in the end they'd found the Hunwei by mere chance anyway. 
Regardless, Jorad could no longer keep the truth from Adar. He took a deep breath and hoped Adar wouldn't kill him. When he'd finished telling Adar everything about Ruder, Adar didn't say anything. He didn’t need to because he could recognize the guilt on Jorad's face. 

War of the Fathers - Chapter Three

This week's episode features Chapter Three of War of the fathers. Here is an excerpt from the show:
The sun blinded Jorad when he stepped out of the shadow of the boarding house onto the road. It was just peeking up over the top of the Jagged Mountains and hadn’t yet warmed things up. He tried to ignore the chill as he took a deep breath. The air held a hint of pine from the nearby forest and he exhaled, feeling a little bit more awake. He hadn't slept much during the night. Between Ruder's claims and the way Soret's parents had treated him last night when he’d seen her home, there had been too much on his mind. As he tossed and turned, he had hoped that the morning would bring greater clarity, but it hadn't. He still didn't know what to think about any of it.
It had been dark long before they'd finished their walk the night before, so Jorad had walked Soret home. That had been a mistake. Barc Tedenhel, Soret's father, had met them at the door. One look from Barc had been enough for Jorad to know that he needed to make himself scarce. 
The balding short man had pretended that Jorad wasn't there when he'd addressed Soret, demanding to know where she had been. Soret's mother Hira looked over Barc's shoulder—she was a head taller—and had glared at Jorad. Neither had spoken to him during the exchange and talked of him as if he wasn't there. 
Jorad had spoken up a few times, raising objections to being classified as a scoundrel, but he went unheeded.
Before going in, Soret had whispered a quick apology explaining that her parents still hadn't gotten over her breakup with Erro. 
Jorad wasn't so sure that her explanation made sense. They'd treated him as if he had a terrible disease and that their daughter was at risk of catching it. There had to be more to it than what Soret had said. 
“What did Soret do now?” Adar asked, shutting the boarding house door behind him and bringing Jorad back to the present. A slight breeze disturbed the leaves of a nearby tree and Adar flicked at a bug that landed on the back of his neck. He unconsciously touched the hilt of his sword afterward. That particular nervous habit had sometimes landed them in trouble. There were places that if a man reached for his sword and didn’t follow through he’d be dead. 

War of the Fathers - Chapter Two

This week's episode features Chapter Two of War of the fathers. Here is an excerpt from the show:
The last rays of the day lit upon the trees of the forest and caused the leaves to glimmer. Some of which were already turning orange and yellow. Even though a majority of the leaves still held their original color, the reminder of the approaching fall wasn't lost on Jorad Rahid as he made his way down the trail.  
He looked through the forest to the large clearing ahead. Clearing wasn’t exactly the right word since it was quadruple the size of Neberan but he couldn’t think of another way to describe it. Little grew in the open area because it was covered with paved rock.
The pavement showed little in the way of wear, despite the fact that Jorad believed it to be well over a thousand years old, maybe from even before the Severing. That wasn’t what drew his eye though; it was the tower in the center. He was certain it—people from Neberan called it Vigorock—was from before the Severing. 
At several places in the clearing, rocks had been mounded up in various formations, the largest of which was several stories high and shaped like a pyramid. These formations looked much newer.
“We need to get back,” Soret Tedenhel said, breaking into his thoughts. “It won’t be long before my dad notices I’m gone.” She was a step or two behind him and was moving carefully, trying to keep her dress from brushing up against the bushes that were crowding the path; it had been made for festivals, not for moving about the woods. He figured she was also getting cold, but didn’t want to say so. 
“Besides Vigorock gives me the creeps,” Soret said. “Wish it wasn’t so close to Neberan. I hate seeing it every day.” She fidgeted, her green dress shimmering and Jorad couldn’t help but notice her figure as she shifted, her long black hair twisting around her. She caught him looking and he returned his attention to Vigorock, a much less impressive view and perhaps less mysterious. 

War of the Fathers Prologue and Chapter One

Welcome to the first podcast of Dan Decker books. This show features the complete audiobooks of Dan Decker. War of the Fathers will be presented first:
After twenty years of war, the Hunwei left suddenly. Many called it a victory, few believed that they would return. When the war between the Hunwei and the humans ceased without warning, not many people had survived. Those survivors lost much of the technology that had been commonplace in their society, sending them back to the dark ages. More than a thousand years later, when most thought the Hunwei to be a myth, Adar believed that the Hunwei would return and resume the fight. Adar and his reluctant son Jorad continued to search for a way to defend their people. This time, without that technology, there will be nothing standing between them and the entire capture or destruction of the human race.
Also, don't forget to sign up for the Dan Decker Newsletter to receive a free ebook. Click here for more details.