An excerpt from “Lineage: A Crimson Reign - Book One”

From Chapter One:

Conover’s attention was again then drawn to the heavy wooden door which sealed the room, and the thick cloud of smoke making its way under it. As he drew forth his new weapon, the plume entered the room and began to swirl into a menacing shape. What little he had seen during the attack was distorted in all the chaos. He wasn’t able to discern what the intruders looked like, until now.

What emerged from the smoke was like nothing Conover had ever seen. A creature stood before him, with glowing red pupils staring back. Conover was tall, but the creature was taller. It had the appearance of a man with a mane of long dark hair tied back, and sharply defined features. were more defining. Its face was sharp, and it had pointed ears, a slender chin, and its skin was so pale that it appeared of ivory.

Conover was frozen with his eyes locked on the creature. He dared not make a move, merely held his place, clenching the hilt of his newly acquired dagger. As he gripped the blade, he felt a building rage seething inside of himself. The building aggression within him felt overwhelming.

The creature quickly took one step back and bent at the knee, in what appeared an attack position. Conover knew he had no choice but to act immediately.

With the same swiftness witnessed before, the creature suddenly lunged straight toward him, claw like hands out wide. It moved with great speed, seeming to glide right at his victim. With little more than seconds to think, the young blacksmith thrust the dagger forward, hoping to injure his aggressor or at least stop it.