This is the “working” cover for now, but the “Orlosian Warriors” have a shield, and now that Asriel has become more “real,” he says he’s not quite this pretty 😉 What that means for me is back to the drawing board to find a model who suits his personality (Yes, my characters are bossy and particular). Here’s the synopsis for book one, and I hope you enjoy the excerpt.
A straight-laced Nephilim-descendant and a human trouble-magnet?
Asriel – Orlosian Warrior, descendant of Nephilim, law enforcer – glimpses Malina, a human with a penchant for drawing trouble like a tornado, and she becomes his obsession.
With no hope of finding love in his dimension, he breaks the cardinal rule, leaving his home to protect her, but she has also drawn the attention of his enemies. If Asriel chooses to stay with Malina, not only does he risk forfeiting his right to ever return home, but he will need her blood to survive.
Asriel stood on the platform and lifted his wings for take-off as the rest of his team passed through the Orlos/Earth dimensional wall. He waited, watching Uziel’s approach, his clasped hands evidence of bad news. So…the rumors must be true.
“Apologies, Brother, but as one of our most trusted warriors, you have been reassigned.” He handed Asriel the etched stone.
“So let me get this straight.” Asriel wasted no time inspecting the stone before rounding on Uziel, untempered fury firing his next words. “Because you have failed, I am rewarded for being trustworthy by being made to suffer the consequences of your ineptitude.”
“It was no failure on my part! He would not listen, and you know their ways even better than I. You know everything about them. They are…difficult.” Uziel bowed his head, sorrow evident in his voice.
Asriel sighed, took a step toward his friend, and folded his arms across his chest. “You are right about one thing. I do know their ways, and anticipate their actions accordingly. Humans never listen. This ‘charge’ as you call him, needs constant supervision, and I have not been called to guard one of them in a very long time. You are the guard, not I. Warriors do not guard. We kill. I will not be remanded to that wretched place again. The last time I remained there more than seven days, I—”
“We all know what happened the last time, Asriel, the event caused a panic among the humans as well as the elders, and you were nearly cast down because of it, but the choice is not yours to make. Camael requires it, and you cannot afford another disagreement with him. He is—”
Asriel threw his hands up. “DAMN YOU! I know who he is. What I don’t understand is why he chooses to revoke everything he told me.”
Uziel darted back out of his reach and slunk away, leaving Asriel stewing. The last thing he needed was another ill-fated baby sitting assignment. He might just as quickly kill the human himself as protect the ungrateful imbecile, and he certainly had better things to do with his time, like figure out what was causing this grating restlessness he could not escape even in slumber.
Worse yet, he had no idea what made this particular human so important. All humans had guardians, but those guardians were usually angels – not cast-aside Nephilim bastards like himself.
