It’s been a quiet week aside from one incident where I had to be, er, stern (or so I was told) so I’ve been catching up on some writing and a bit of household backlog.

But, now it’s Saturday! Time for another #Rainbowsnippets!

The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook is “for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation. (no spoilers please!)”

Here’s a another #RainbowSnippet* from Surrogate: Hunted. Yes, this is a bit over six sentences, but I feel it’s justified considering the scene’s intensity.

Note: Last week’s Snippet was violent, but the violence was by no means gratuitous. Think of the novel’s title, Surrogate: Hunted, then think of the ramifications of the second word.  Here are some meanings for hunted as listed on Dictionary.com. Every definition for hunted listed below appears inside this novel.

Hunted (verb used with object)

1.to chase or search for (game or other wild animals) for the

purpose of catching or killing.

2. to pursue with force, hostility, etc., in order to capture

(often followed by down): They hunted him down and

hanged him.

3. to search for; seek; endeavor to obtain or find (often

followed by up or out): to hunt up the most promising

candidates for the position.

4. to search (a place) thoroughly.

5. to scour (an area) in pursuit of game.

The Setup: Etain now knows exactly whose hands she and her traveling companions have fallen into and now is face-to-face with one of their captors. They speak her native tongue when it is convenient to them, not due to any form of nicety.

     “I’ll cut out your tongue if you don’t control it.” The red-robed Cycalk woman turned her ears back, laying them flat as her thick upper lip curled into a snarl.

    She means every word. Etain couldn’t break the bonds holding her to the table so she relaxed her arms, trying to remember the Cycalk she’d met years before on Gno’— Khrst’s drive to hunt, the painted trees on her room’s walls, her keen sense of smell. Cycalks were large, muscular humanoids with heavy jaws bearing double rows of teeth. They looked very Human in the face and neck, possessing the angular features many Humans found appealing— not entirely alien if you could get past the pelts covering most of their bodies and the pointed, flexing ears atop their heads.

     “Talk to me with disrespect again. Go ahead.” The woman tilted her head back to laugh, revealing both rows of teeth at once, then leaned forward to look directly into Etain’s eyes. “Please.” Her hot breath slid beneath Etain’s overmane. “I haven’t eaten today.”

Read other Surrogate: Hunted #Rainbowsnippets HERE.

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*Rainbow Snippets is a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQIA+ authors, readers, and bloggers to share 6 sentences each week from a work of fiction—published or in-progress—or a book recommendation. Feel free to join in!