reviews_and_ramblings | Excerpt Day: Devotion and Grace by Vaughn R. Demont

The Last Paladin 3: Devotion and Grace by Vaughn R. Demont
Release Date: June 27, 2009
Publisher: Torquere Books
ISBN: 978-1-60370-750-3
1-60370-750-6
Publisher Link: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2041

Blurb: With a succubus under his protection and his two satyr lovers in tow, Lennox returns to Elmwood to spend Thanksgiving with his father, who has been blissfully unaware of his son's new career as a paladin. When a demon follows Lennox home though, his two worlds collide, and Lennox will be forced to make the hardest of choices. Between his lovers, his father, and his vows to his liege, where will a paladin's devotion lie?

Excerpt:

The grass is wet so my footing isn´t sure. The moon is obscured by the trees so I can barely see a thing. It´s a little past one in the morning and I have a terrible headache that´s keeping me awake. There´s a light snowfall, the trees in Tolon Park haven´t lost all their leaves yet, as November is the time in the City where the seasons can´t make up their minds. I´m following a beautiful woman with black horns and bat wings who makes my body react in ways that are rather contradictory.

At first, when I woke up with my awful headache, I did so in the arms of two very attractive naked males whom I´ve been involved with for two months. And I had fallen asleep after having sex with both of them, just so that there´s no doubt about the fact that I pretty much go for guys. But damn if this woman didn´t make me curious. Not that there´s much to be curious about, considering she´s completely nude.

However, the throbbing pain in my head as well as the burning sensation on my skin that seems to radiate in her direction gives me the distinct impression that she´s more than likely evil and the guy she´s beckoning along with one finger is very likely about to die. Still though, what a way to go...

I have the feeling I´m going to hate succubi.

I´m carrying my sword, sheathed still, following her through a very cold park wearing nothing but a biker jacket and flannel pajamas that have been nesting in my hamper for nearly a month. Sleeping with two satyrs does tend to make you question the point of clothing after a while.

She´s following a trail into the woods, which I know from my regular running routes. It´ll lead to a small clearing that´s perfect for screwing in public, as Karden has been happy to show me.

No. Focus. There´s an innocent life in the balance. Victory sex comes afterward. Don´t plan it before you´ve earned it.

I´m keeping my distance, because I´m not really all that stealthy and I have to guess that succubi have preternatural hearing or something like that. Darren hasn´t covered much on demons with me. Mostly he´s been teaching me how to control my urges and Karden´s been teaching me the ways of the blade. I can stick and move, but that´s pretty much it. But come on, I´m a holy knight with a sacred blade and she´s a naked chick in a snowy park. I have the feeling "consecrated sword" beats "glass-cutting nipples".

I can feel her moving along the path, so I keep following, and she stops, probably at the clearing. I need to move fast because public sex in thirty degree weather tends to discourage lengthy foreplay. Keeping my pace, I move along the path, but the sounds of a struggle makes me speed up. Fuck. Please. Please don´t let me be too late.

I come upon the clearing and...

She´s on her back, her hands locked about his wrists, which hold a knife. He´s still clothed, his skin dark, reddish, long black claws visible, a long thin tail sticking out from under his coat.

The pain in my head is searing, but it´s clearly coming from the guy with the knife. Damn it! I misread it! I clumsily draw my sword, wincing from the pain. "Hold it! What the Hell is going on here?" I point the blade at the one with the knife. She looks at me, pleading, still struggling to keep the dagger away from her.

"This ain´t none of your business, human." He turns to look at me, and sees the blade, and the tattoos that I know are glowing with heat from his presence. "What the--" With him confused for a second, she sees her opening, kicking him hard in the groin and pushing the dagger away from her face. As she struggles to get out from under him, he returns his focus to her and I advance, lunging to thrust the blade into his side, the sword shining brightly in the limited moonlight.

He howls in rage as I puncture through the side of his coat and he backhands me hard, knocking me into the air, cutting him again as the sword exits his body, the wound smoking, actually smoking. Holy shit. I hit the ground, the wind getting knocked out of me, but little else in the way of pain, at least at that moment, and I get to my feet. The succubus has scrambled away from him, and she keeps her distance. He looks between me and her a few times.

"You are in Lord Pan´s woods." The park may belong to the City, specifically Allora, but to the supernatural population, Allora is Pan´s turf. "And you aren´t, uh, welcome here." I point at the succubus with the blade, and then quickly put it back on the guy before pointing at her with my free hand. "And she´s under my protection, then, I guess.." The succubus looks decidedly unimpressed. "So unless you want to mess with a Paladin, I suggest you go, uh, hence back whence.... Just fuck off, okay?"

"I think I´ll take my chances, kid."