Saturday, June 23, 2012

Cliff Hanger Saturday Just Like the Matinees of Old


Review:

Dragons Among the Eagles
Dragons Among Us opened a door to the possibility of secret societies, creatures of legend and a whole world unseen by the human population.  The Dragons story continues when Cyre and Aleda return to Portland from the Dragon Council in China.  For Aleda, returning to life as usual is not an option.  With all of the turns and twists she has recently experienced “normal” is out the window.  Her newly discovered dragon senses and the ever present reporters’ curiosity will keep her on the move discovering just how close to home the Shifter troubles really are.  As she realizes how hard it is to keep her secret life separate from the human world she will have to depend on old friends to help her mesh the two worlds safely.   Dragons Among the Eagles is an excellent sequel that will hold your attention until the very end and leave you craving more.  Well done Ms. Kraemer for delivering yet another awesome book!

Worthy of a 5 Angel Eyes rating

L. Nickels

Cliff Hanger:

Excerpt for Dragons Among the Eagles by C.L. Kraemer


She rubbed her palms against her eyes and blew out a weary breath. The one bright spot of her email inbox had been Cyre’s answer. Aleda picked up a pen and put a star on Friday, Sunday and Monday of her calendar. Her stomach flipped and she couldn’t help but smile. It would be absolute heaven to fly wingtip to wingtip with him. Snuggling in front of his big screen TV watching movies until they fell asleep--could life get any better?

She doubted it. Meanwhile, she felt as though her eyes were bleeding. She’d been sitting in front of her computer sifting through the letters from a different set of far-fetched enthusiasts than the usual Bigfoot sighters. The frightening part was the similarity to her initial meeting with Cyre described in some of the letters. They were certain they’d seen the dragon pictured in the shots on the inner page of the paper.

Aleda stood up and stretched her hands over her head, twisting from side to side and bending to alleviate the kinks. Cyre needed to see these letters. His innocence could get him killed if he wasn’t more cautious.

Shaking her hands to get the blood flowing, Aleda decided to go for a walk. The day had dawned with misty skies but being in the house this long was making her feel claustrophobic. Fresh air and a brisk walk would clear her mind.

Her life was just beginning. She was going to live to be seven hundred fifty years old. Was a master’s degree really necessary? In the next seven hundred twenty-five years was the advanced degree going to make a difference in her lifestyle choices? Most of this argument was moot. Her inheritance included the home where she lived and enough money to survive. But could she keep her things and not be suspect?

Aleda began to jog along the riverfront with the overload of questions invading her mind. Soon she was listening to the rhythmic slap, slap, slap of her shoes against the pavement leading up the west hills toward home. All thoughts of what she needed to do, wanted to do were lost in the joy of misty rain rushing against her face, wind playing with her long, dark hair and the rush of running.

Aleda reached the top of the hills and slowed to a walk, letting her breathing even out and pulling in deep breaths of crisp, clean air. Her life had changed, that was certain, but she could handle it. After all, her history certainly hadn’t been fairy tale. The trauma of her childhood, a mother who abandoned her when she was barely three and an aunt, who tried to beat the wicked out of her, hadn’t succeeded in breaking her down. Why should simple lifebumps such as learning she was a dragon/human shapeshifter who was going to live to be seven hundred fifty years old beat her?

Aleda dragged herself up the steps and unlocked the front door. The light on her phone was blinking furiously.

“No way am I checking that.”

The thought of a hot shower enticed her and articles of clothing dropped to the floor with each footfall along the hallway. Donning dry clothing, Aleda moved to the couch to flip through the news channels.

A television helicopter was circling the scene of an accident. Several police cars were visible and an ambulance was arriving. The newscaster was warning folks to avoid the area as there would probably be delays. Suddenly, the picture went black and the sound vanished.

Aleda blinked. What the…?

“Sorry folks, we’re having some technical difficulties. We’ll keep you updated as we get the information. On a different note…”

That was strange.

Her phone rang and she groaned. Before she looked at her caller ID, Aleda knew who was on the other end of the line. If she didn’t answer, he would call and leave messages all night.

“Hello, Warren.”

“Aleda. Tell me you’ve been watching the news.”

“Yes, Warren. I’ve been watching the news.”

“Good, then I won’t have to bring you up to speed on the accident on I-205. Get over there as fast as you can.”

“Why, Warren? The news just warned everyone to stay away. The traffic will be horrific. Besides, we don’t do everyday fender-benders. What’s so special about this?”

There was a hesitation on the line and Aleda’s stomach plummeted to her toes.

“You know I listen to a police scanner all the time.”

“Uh-humm.”

“The scanner was going wild before they shut it down. There were three different agencies on the frequency and each one made the same shocked statement about this accident.”

“Get to the point, Warren.”

“Aleda, I want you to get over there and find out the truth. Go now and get back to me tonight. This is the story that could put our paper on top.”

“WARREN!”

“What?”

“What is so important you want me to cover an accident?”

“The police reported the deceased driver of the vehicle was…”

Aleda heard him swallow, pull in a deep breath and continue.

“…half human and half dragon.”

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