Eclipse of the Warrior: The Interdimensional Saga (Book 1)
Read Eclipse of the Warrior: The Interdimensional Saga (Book 1) Online
Authors: J.L. Hendricks
ECLIPSE OF THE WARRIOR
The Interdimensional Saga, Book 1
J.L.
Hendricks
This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters,
organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the
author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Copyright (c) 2016 J.L. Hendricks
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the author. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions,
and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted
materials.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It
may not be sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this
book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each
recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not
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Cover Design by Michael Anderle
Cover Font by Dawnya Goode
First Edition April, 2016
All rights reserved. Copyright © 2016 J.L. Hendricks
For Michael Anderle
Who showed me what I could do if I
just tried
This book is part of a series and best read in the following
order:
Book 1 – Eclipse of the Warrior
Book 2 – Eclipse of the Soul – scheduled for release late
April, 2016
Book 3 – The Eclipse of Power – scheduled for release early
May, 2016
Book 4 – TBD – scheduled for release late May, 2016
Table of Contents
I couldn’t believe my eyes;
I blinked them twice to make sure it wasn’t the smog messing me up. The
group of guys in front of me had to be going to a costume party, or coming from
the Comic-Con that was in town this week.
Or maybe, they just
finished filming a scene for an upcoming Hollywood blockbuster?
I tried to get a little
closer to see the make-up they were wearing to go with their incredible
clothes. They had to be on a movie shoot, no average joe was going to be
wearing those black ops warrior clothes, even on the streets of L.A.
I strained to sneak a
look around without anyone catching me. I hate the thought of someone
thinking I’m a stalker.
Even if that was exactly
what I was doing at the moment.
Finding no movie trucks I
mumbled,” They must be going to a movie set.” Then blushed hoping no one
caught me talking to myself.
My curiosity was going to
do me in some day, but I just had to follow them. I thought it would be
fun
to watch a midnight film
shoot in the streets of Los Angeles.
Oh, how so very wrong I
was…
Earlier That Day In Los
Angeles, CA
“DeeDee, I just got out of my interview!” I called my best
friend DeeDee as soon as I left the building to share my great news.
“B’Lana, that’s great! How did it go?
“It went for almost
three
hours
! Can you
believe it?” I was very excited about how well the interview went.
“I take it that means it was a really good interview. But B,
I don’t want you to move to L.A. I wouldn’t see you very often, and it’s a long
drive from L.A. to Riverside.” DeeDee lived in Riverside and we had been best
friends for most of our lives, always living close to each other. Well, except
for right after college.
“I’m sorry DeeDee, but this job is everything I want,
including the salary and benefits. It has taken me almost 5 months to get an
interview like this.” This job was offering me 6 figures plus all of the
benefits I had at my last job. I couldn’t turn down an offer like that.
“You know you would have already had a job if you weren’t so
picky about title and pay.” DeeDee sounded a bit snarky, but I laughed anyway.
“Yes, but it would have been a $30,000 pay cut and less
benefits. You try taking a pay cut like that and see how well you live, even in
Riverside.” I returned her snarkiness with a bit of my own and then laughed
along with her while she begrudgingly agreed that a $30,000 pay cut was too
much to take. Even if it meant living near her.
“I just know I am going to get this job. It’s everything I
want, except for the location. They told me I was on the top of their list
right now but they have two more candidates to interview, can you believe it? I
really do hope I get this job!” I had graduated from college eight years
earlier and felt that my last two jobs were just placeholders while waiting for
this one chance to advance my career by years.
“B, that’s great! Congrats on a wonderful interview. I hope
you get it too. But gone will be our late night chats if you do. Since you will
have to be up so stinkin’ early every morning just to commute to L.A., ugh! You
will still live in Yorba Linda, right?”
“Of course I will. I hated living in L.A. last time I worked
here. The smog is horrible in the city.” I was remembering how often I woke up
gagging on the smog when I lived there last. After college I couldn’t be too
picky about where I worked so I accepted the first decent job, and it was of
course, in L.A. DeeDee and I saw very little of each other back then. So I
looked for a job in Orange County as soon as I could.
“B, looks like you are going to miss the earlier showing of
the new vampire romance movie. I guess you will have to catch the 7:50 showing,
but that gives you time to eat a nice dinner, right?” DeeDee was so jealous
that I was seeing the latest vampire flick without her, but I knew I would see
it again with her since we always watch the paranormal or supernatural shows
that come out.
“Of course, I am sooo gonna have a steak dinner instead of
movie theatre hot dogs. Remember that steak house we went to before I moved to
the O.C?”
“Yeah, that was a great steak. I guess I could come visit
you after work and we can do dinner there once a month, like before.”
“That my friend, sounds like a great plan. I’ll call you
after the movie and let you know how it is.” I continued to chat about my interview
while I walked to the restaurant. And then I said goodbye to my friend.
___________
Downtown Los Angeles,
California
A group of five males stood inside a meeting room of a
non-descript warehouse in Downtown L.A., not too far from skid row. They were discussing
fighting techniques and how they each had taken down their enemies in the past
week.
Just then a very good looking middle aged male walked into
the room commanding everyone’s attention. He was over six feet tall and was
dressed in the same black leather gear as the other warriors in the room.
He had long blond hair that came down to his shoulders,
which was covering up the secret about what he really was. His eyes were
sometimes as blue as the ocean, but right now they were more of a steely blue-gray
showing his impatience.
“Gentlemen, please be quiet and take a seat. We need to get
started with this meeting or we will be here all night long discussing our
prowess in the field.” Their Commander said as his warriors took their seats
around a long, wooden table that seated ten.
“However, we have more important things to discuss. Like how
the enemy keeps grabbing humans right in the middle of the street and no one
sees a thing!” The Commander said as he pounded his fist on the table.
“We need to up our patrols of the city every night and
figure out how they are grabbing their victims and leaving no evidence, besides
blood.”
Lancer, the leader of the squad, stood up and looked right
at the commander as he said, “Sir, we have gathered intelligence from the local
police but they are even more clueless than we are. We at least noticed that
there were a few blood spots in the areas where the humans were reported to be
seen last.”
“But we still aren’t able to find their lair, or how they
are disappearing without anyone seeing which way they went.” Lancer said while
running his hand through his black hair, which ended just below his jacket
collar.
It seemed all of the males in this room wore their hair a
bit longer. While the color of their hair varied from one warrior to the next,
they all had hair that went just past their jacket collars. And none of them
wore their hair tied back. Almost as though it was cut to regulations, but not
any standard military regulations.
This meeting went on for several more hours. Once they
finally finished everything on their agenda it was after 10PM. They decided
they needed to get outside and start patrolling the streets to make sure no
more humans disappeared.
This time they would start in a grid pattern and search
alleyways for any indication of possible tunnels to underground hideouts. They
decided the enemy must be hiding under ground since they have not uncovered
anything above ground in the surrounding two mile radius.
Two blocks away a young woman was exiting the movie theatre
on her way to what would change her life forever…
____________
2 Blocks From The Warehouse
As I walked out of the movie, I texted DeeDee that I just
got out of the movie and it was not anywhere near the quality of what we
usually watch. I felt she would be disappointed in the plot and the lack of
other paranormal or supernatural creatures that usually play in our favorite
movies. I told her that we could talk about it the next day.
While I was walking back to my car, which was parked about 6
blocks away, I noticed a group of guys walking across the street. They looked
strange, but I couldn’t be sure since it was so dark outside and the light from
the streetlights was not very bright.
So I did what any normal girl would do, I called my best friend
to chat about it.
“DeeDee, you aren’t going to believe what I am looking at
right now!”
“What? Do you see a movie star? Ooohhhh, is Chris Hemsworth
there? I loved him in Thor and can’t wait for the next movie!” DeeDee sighed,
while dreamily picturing Chris Hemsworth in his Thor costume.
“No, silly. I see a group of seriously hot guys, like models
or actors, in costume or something. I’m not sure if they are heading to a party
or a movie set.”
“Well, don’t just stand there, follow them!”
“Yeah right, like a stalker?”
“Of course you’re not a stalker. You’re just curious about
their costumes and if they’re part of a movie shoot or something, right?” Of
course DeeDee started laughing after she said that, which only made me feel
more stalkerish.
“Ok DeeDee, I’m gonna check them out.”
“Make sure to send me photos of them too” DeeDee chuckled.
Later I would decide that it was all DeeDee’s fault that I
was messed up in a crazy new world.
I crossed the street so that I was in front of them. When I
came up to the corner at the next intersection, I stopped and looked into the
window of the business on my right. The guys were talking in low voices about
the meeting they just exited and none of it made much sense to me. I wondered
why they were calling people humans. Then I got a better look at them and
wondered if
they
were human.
One of the guys was so handsome, he reminded me of a fae
warrior from a movie I had recently seen with Orlando Bloom.
Yes, he looked
a lot like Orlando Bloom
, I thought as I almost tripped on the broken
sidewalk.
“Yikes!” I said a bit too loud to no one in particular. Oh
how embarrassing. I sure hoped no one saw me almost fall while I was ogling
those guys. I was even wearing my favorite black Skechers with my most
comfortable blue jeans and a black Star Wars shirt, so there was no excuse for
tripping.
I thought he must be in costume as he had pointy ears and was
prettier than any man I had ever seen, in person or on screen. In fairy tales,
weren’t all fae warriors better looking than any other creature?
Is he an
actor
, I wondered to myself.
Then I got a good look at the rest of the guys he was with,
they were all dressed up in black leather, like some kind of black ops warriors.
So I thought they must have been going to a costume party, or were they from a
film set? I was in Los Angeles after all. Hollywood filmed all over the city on
a regular basis.
These guys were extremely good looking. Man I could not stop
thinking about how good looking they were, DeeDee would be making fun of me right
about now if she were here with me. She would probably say something along the
lines of, “You know B, McHotty’s have hearts too. You shouldn’t just be
concerned with their bodies, what about their minds?” Then we would bust up
laughing and continue talking about their physical assets.
Aaaahhh, if only DeeDee had come to meet me for dinner and a
movie after my interview. This would be so much more fun if she were here. I
silently mused.
Maybe it was a photo shoot with hunky male models? What
about that Comic-Con that was going on at the convention center?
I let them
enter the crosswalk before I slowly followed them. I hoped I might get to watch
either a movie being filmed, or some crazy photo shoot.
Wouldn’t DeeDee just love a bunch of photos from some crazy
new male cologne photo shoot or, something.
I thought to myself as I
continued to follow them down the street.
There were 5 guys in total, the first one I noticed had
caramel colored skin with long, dark brown hair that fell in waves to the man’s
shoulders. Oh, how I wanted to run my fingers through that gorgeous mane of
hair! While I couldn’t get a good enough look at his face, he appeared to be
about 23? He was a little young for me. “Momma didn’t raise no cougar!” I
quipped.
Well, maybe for him I would consider it…
His friends all looked young as well, ranging from maybe 18
to 24. When they walked under a bright street light I noticed they all had
pointy ears and were carrying weapons.
One had what looked to be a katana sword. The McHotty I
noticed earlier had two swords strapped to his back that were curved. And the other
three had long knives attached to their belts. Two looked to also have guns
under their black jackets, but I couldn’t be sure that was what those bulge’s
were.
“Hmm, this seems a little strange, even for a photo or movie
shoot. Where are the wardrobe people, other actors, or even a director?” As I
whispered that I realized I really needed to stop talking to myself. Even if I
am in L.A. people are going to wonder about my sanity.
All the guys wore black combat boots, not strange since this
was L.A., but they all were wearing tight, black leather pants and each had a
different type of black leather jacket. What kind of photo shoot were these
models heading to? Or was it a movie shoot? I really needed to figure this out.
I kept following them, even after they passed where I parked
my car. I decided that I really wanted to see what they were up to. And I still
needed to get a photo to send to DeeDee.
All 5 guys turned down an alley, so I peeked around the
corner hoping to see what they were up to. I couldn’t believe my eyes at first.
If this was a film set, where was the director or the crew members? That is
when I realized I made a
huge
mistake following these guys…
In the alley waiting for the 5 “fae warriors” as I called
them, were 7 beings that could only be described as
vampires
! A cold
feeling started to creep up my back as I realized that I needed to get out of
there, and quick.
I made the mistake of letting out a yelp before putting a
hand over my mouth to keep quiet. But it was too late; one of the vampires
noticed me and grabbed me before I had a chance to get away from the alley.
As he was grabbing my left arm I wondered how he made it
over to me so quickly, he had to have been at least one hundred yards away when
he first saw me.
I swear DeeDee is gonna pay for talking me into following
these guys! I thought as the vampire dragged me further into the alley.
“Let me go, I swear I don’t know anything about what you
guys are doing and I didn’t see any faces. I promise I won’t say a thing to the
police!” I said while trying to keep from looking straight into the face of my
captor.
“I don’t care if you saw anything, I saw you. Don’t you want
to play? Aren’t I prettier than those white hats you followed in here?” The
vampire whispered into my ear.
I took that to mean he was not going to let me go. So I did
what any Southern California girl was taught to do, I smashed my knee into his
family jewels so hard he actually bent over gasping. “I don’t care what you want;
I don’t want to be a part of this fight so leave me ALONE!!!” I yelled as I
pushed away from him.
As I pulled my arm out of his grip, his grotesquely long
fingernails scratched my biceps and drew a little blood.
I tried to run away but he seemed to recover more quickly
than any normal human male should have after a hit between his legs.
“Ah, ah, ah, you my dear are going to be my midnight snack.”
He said while he slowly licked my blood off his fingers.
“What are you? A vampire?” I couldn’t think what this guy
could be, other than a bloodsucking demon of the night. I really wished that
all of those vampire books and movies would have prepared me for this.
“Ha, ha, ha, you really think I am some vampire like your
romance fantasy novels? Do I look like I shimmer? Do I feel cold to you? NO, I
am not what you humans call a ‘vampire’! I am something much more, I am….umph.”
While he was going on about today’s vampire novels and
savoring my blood, I took that opportunity to find a weapon. I hit him right in
the face with an old 2” x 4” piece of wood that had several long, rusty nails
sticking out of it.
“Hmm, I think he is going to wake up with a nasty headache,
I better run!” I said to no one in particular. Looking back now, I think I was
a bit in shock about what just happened. I should have noticed the damage I did
to that vampire.
This whole time I was not paying attention to the fighting
behind me at the end of the alley, I was too concerned with trying to get away
from the vampire. So I didn’t notice that one of the fae warriors was right behind
me.
“You there, with the Star Wars shirt, STOP!” The ‘fae warrior’
I noticed earlier said to me. But I ignored him and tried to run away. Since he
was faster and stronger than me, he had no problem blocking my exit from the
alley.
“How did you kill that ripper?” said the warrior with the
luscious black hair.
“Huh? Ripper? What’s that?”
Something else I failed to realize was that the wood I used
as a weapon had a lot of blood on it along with some gross cottage cheese
looking stuff hanging off of the end of the longest nail.
“A ‘ripper’ is what you just killed; your kind might call
him a vampire. But vampires are not real, the myths your people believe in are
based on rippers.”
“I didn’t kill anyone. I hit him across his face with a
piece of wood after he attacked me, he’s just knocked out. I’m sure he’ll wake
up with a bad headache, maybe need a stitch or two, but no real injuries, so I
should go now. No harm, no foul, right?” As I said that I looked back at the
ripper and the wood and realized that I might have killed that thing after all.
I wasn’t really sure how I felt about killing another being,
granted he wasn’t human. But he was going to kill me, so maybe it was ok?
Wait, why was I worried about killing a vampire? Since he
wasn’t a human I wouldn’t get into any trouble, and I most likely did the world
a favor. This wasn’t something I should be worried about.
Just then I looked back at the other end of the alley and
realized that the fae warriors were doing a good job killing the rippers. There
were only three rippers left standing at this point.
I really hoped he was going to let me leave that alley. Fear
started to envelope me and I wondered if I would see any of my friends again.
These guys looked like they were real black ops fighters who
had either pointy ears, or pointy teeth. The ‘rippers’, as the warrior in front
of me called them, had red eyes with weird blue veins, kind of like spider webs
with the eyes in the center of the web. And an awful putrid stench – which was
burning my nostrils - was either coming from them, or the alleyway. Since I wasn’t
too far from skid row, it could be either or both. It was at this time that I
wished for one of those little vials of menthol they always used in the movies
whenever someone went to the morgue.
One of the ‘white hats’, as the ripper called them, just
used his katana to cut the head off a ripper.
Who were the bad guys and who
were the good guys
, I quietly wondered. And at the same time one of the
other ‘white hats’ took out his gun, which had a silencer on it, and shot the
ripper in the eye!
“Gross!” I said disgusted. “Is that brains all over the wall
behind the ripper’s head?” I asked to no one in particular.
“Oh my gosh! Who are you guys? You aren’t going to kill me
are you?” I asked the guy who I thought was even nicer looking than Orlando
Bloom earlier, but now wasn’t so sure.
“Calm down, we aren’t going to hurt you, we are here to help
protect you from the rippers. But it looks like you can handle yourself pretty
good. Did you know that you pierced his eye with a nail from that piece of
wood?”
“What? No I didn’t look too closely at him after he went
down, I just want to go home.”
“That wood has a pretty long nail in it. Looks like it went all
the way through his eyeball to his brain. That is how a ripper is killed,
piercing his brain, kinda like a zombie.”
“NO WAY! Are zombies real too?”
I couldn’t believe what
was happening right now. Did I fall asleep in the movie?
I thought it was
kinda boring and lame, but enough to fall asleep and start dreaming? I had
never done that before in a movie, so I couldn’t imagine doing it now. Still, I
pinched my arm to see if I was dreaming…
I wasn’t.
While chuckling, he answered, “No, zombies aren’t real. But
you humans all seem to think they are, and that in order to kill them you have
to either cut off their head - which by the way, works for rippers too - or
pierce their brain.”
“Wait, you keep calling me ‘human’, aren’t you human too? If
not, what are you?”
“That will have to wait until we can get you back to our HQ.
Looks like we are done here. Maliki,” he called out to his friend, “Call this
in with HQ for a clean-up. The rest of us will walk this lady back to HQ and
make sure she stays safe.”
“Stop right there mister! I don’t know who you are, or what
group you work for, but I know my rights and I don’t have to go anywhere with
you!” I was starting to get really angry at this point. “How dare you think you
can order me to go anywhere with you when I don’t even know your names!”