Sunday Snippet: Kings of Chaos

It's so weird we're almost to the end of the month. One more October Sunday after this one. Had a decent work week and made a lot of progress on my cleaning project.

Also had a solid viewing week. Started with The Muppet Show and ended up getting four episodes watched. Beverley Sills, Kenny Rogers, Lola Falana, and Dizzy Gillespie were the guest stars.

Watched Prime Suspect and finished up season five and started season six. Six is proving to be very interesting. I can't remember how it ends up playing out but I'll find out this week.

Caught two episodes of Peak Practice and liked both. Sometimes the bickering between the partners gets a little wearing but I do like this mix.

Ended up watching two episodes of MasterClass with Brandon McMillan. I like this guy and I'm getting some good tips on how to work with my doggos.

Finished up Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Man. "Summer" and "Fall" hit me in the feels in a really big way. At some point, I want to rewatch the four episodes and do a recap on my fictional universe blogs. I can honestly say the revival had everything I would've wanted and only a few things I didn't. Which means I'm left with a feeling of completeness. This isn't to say I wouldn't welcome another year in the life that would pick up at the present time. That could be a lot of fun.

I enjoyed two musician spotlights. Dolly Parton: Queen of Country turned out to be an enjoyable look at the amazing woman and her long career. Pop Profiles: Christina Aguilara shed some facts about her career that I didn't know. As a casual fan, I found it interesting.

Watched an episode of Star Trek: Discovery and loved the mirror universe. Those kinds of episodes always make me happy. I'm looking forward to the next installment so I can find out how things play out.

Caught two episodes of Chicago Med. The second one ended up blowing me away. Understated but really strong performances all around. I love this show.

Weirdly enough, I watched an episode of Midsomer Murders and it featured scarecrows. I say weirdly because the final episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries had a scarecrow feature also. Anyway, nice to see Winter get some backstory and lovely to see Betty again.

Finished up the second episode of Silent Witness. I vaguely remember this one and enjoyed getting caught up in the cases again. Looking forward to starting the next two-parter.

Caught another four-episode arc of Classic Who. Nice to see the brigadier again. Interesting episode with a potential new companion in the mix.

Finished up UFOs over Earth. This one focused on mass sightings in Mexico. I'll be starting a new series this week and I think it's going to be about Roswell.

Last but not least, I watched two more episodes of Classic Rugrats. The first season had some great standalone episodes and two were in the set I watched. The second season of the new version is streaming now but I'm waiting until all episodes are available before diving in.

And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Kings of Chaos, a novella that features a couple caught in a brewing feud between warlocks and wizards.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Ainslee and Witt are stranded during a charity ride for their local children's organization. Foul play is involved and they have to determine which rival club member has the most to gain or if someone closer to home is the culprit. Either way the warlocks versus wizards mindset is supposed to be null and void when a truce is underway.

And a preview snippet…

Going astral never failed to be a thrill ride. The first euphoric moments of freedom provided a giddy escape and Ainslee relished the experience for a few moments. Hovering above the campsite, she sobered quickly when her gaze caught sight of the hex spells Witt set.

Right. She had a mission—check on the old man.

Soaring high, she spared a final glance at Witt now sitting beside her physical form, keeping vigil until she returned. "God, I love that man."

He wouldn't let anything happen to her. She'd stake her life on him.

Soaring outward, she followed the route for the charity ride and found the clubs at a rest area—one no longer maintained by the state—where the MCs often stopped to regroup and stretch their legs. This spot—considered neutral territory—served as a place to conduct pickups and drop-offs, usually of a supernatural sort.

Ainslee spotted the old man ambling down one of the trails and she followed. He cleared the rest area perimeter and kept going, which surprised Ainslee. He didn't mention anything about a meet or other business before they left. Not that he had to. Being president had perks—he could do what he wanted.

He stopped at the mesh fence bordering on some private property owned by the Kings. He didn't go further. Ainslee spotted the reason why several seconds later. Frank Cavalli, flanked by one of his goons, strolled to the old man's side.

Wyatt arched a brow. "You asked for this meet. What do you want?" He planted his hands on his hips and held Cavalli's gaze.

Ainslee hovered around and caught the glint of a blade. Dammit. Power play.

She shouted a telepathic warning, which had Wyatt's torso whipping around. Her paranormal action sent her hurtling back toward her corporeal self, but not before she witnessed the lunge of the knife into the old man's body.

She also heard the ominous warning.

"It's time for a change, old man."

She fought the pull back to her physical form, but lost the battle, crashing down into herself. Her body jerked with a violent start. Her mouth opened on a gasp and her mind screamed. No!

The convulsions from her rapid reentry started almost immediately. Strong hands gripped her shoulders, holding her steady and keeping her from doing too much harm to herself. The ethereal fog, thick and gritty, tried to hold her under but Witt's voice broke through the haze.

"Roll with it, Ainslee. Ride the wave and come back to me."

She struggled to clear her mind, kicking through the murky veils, and finally opened her eyes to the sight of Witt's concerned face.

She gripped his shirt, fisting her hand in the fabric. "The old man..." Her voice croaked and she swallowed hard. "Not good." She coughed, gagging for air.

I love this story and the sages are feeding me ideas for two more books. Here's hoping they let me finish this one before they really get going.

 

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye