Flash
Point
Nite
Fire Book 1
by
C.L. Schneider
Genre:
Urban Fantasy
Slated
for execution, shapeshifting assassin, Dahlia Nite, flees her world
to hide in the human realm. As payment for the shelter they
unknowingly provide, Dahlia dedicates herself to protecting humans
from what truly lives in the shadows. Moving from town to town, she
hunts the creatures that threaten an unsuspecting human race; burying
the truth that could destroy them all.
But
the shadows are shifting. The lies are adding up. And when Sentinel
City is threatened by a series of bizarre brutal murders, light is
shed on what should never be seen. The secrets that have kept
humanity in the dark for centuries are in danger of being
exposed.
Wrestling
with a lifetime of her own deceptions, Dahlia investigates the
killings while simultaneously working to conceal their circumstances.
But with each new murder, the little bit of peace she has found in
this world begins to crumble. Each new clue leads her to the one
place she thought to never go again. Home.
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Prologue
I’d almost
forgotten what it was like to be afraid. I’d outgrown the nightmares of my
youth long ago. Burying the events that sparked them, locking away the images,
I’d dismissed the power they held over me. But
I still remembered…
Waking in my dark
den, throat raw, fire spitting from my fingertips; in those first few moments
before sleep released me from its clutches, I’d sworn the creatures’ hot breath
was still on me, their barbed tongues darting out, smelling my fear on the air.
In every shadow, I saw the black blur of their shifted forms, circling me.
Every heartbeat bore the promise of pain as the razor-like teeth of the savage
nageun shredded the meat from my bones. Every night, I waited for the
creatures’ bites to penetrate, for their venom to flow in and my blood to spill
out.
Those
moments were far behind me. The nightmares were gone. Experience had made me
stronger and wiser. Determination and training had pushed my fear of their
slender, stunted reptilian forms to the depths of my mind.
Now they were
crawling out.
They were
stepping from my past.
The dark
swarm was closing in, and the nageun’s pursuit of me was as real as the cold
fear burning in my veins; twisting like a frozen blade with each pump of my
legs as I ran.
Shifting
out of my human form, crimson scales erupted to spread beneath the malleable
confines of my uniform, covering breasts, stomach, thighs, and back. Muscles
increased in size as my slender nose widened. Rounded jaw hardened. Cheekbones
and forehead became more distinct as my full lips darkened. I dropped to all
fours, back arched slightly, and the forest floor sunk beneath my weight. Claw
tips extended, digging in, releasing the aroma of damp soil and moldy
undergrowth. With a rustle of leaves, I pushed off.
Night birds
scattered in haste at my swift trespass. Woodland creatures stirred and
scurried. My unmistakable smell, an arousing amalgam of human female and
dragon, had them skittish as I dove headlong into the clog of downed boughs and
scrub. My agile hybrid form slipped through the labyrinth of timber with
minimal effort. Arcs of fire crackled off the ends of my hair as it fluttered
out behind me.
I was too
conspicuous. I needed to blend.
Without
breaking stride, I shifted the strands and their composition changed. From
scalp to ends, human hair emerged, and doused the visible fiery heat wafting
off the lengthy red waves. It wasn’t camouflage even close to what my pursuers
were capable of creating. Their ability to shift into shadow, nearly erasing
the edges of their bodies—little more than whip-like tails, long flat jaws, and
serrated teeth to begin with—was one of the creatures’ greatest weapons.
It wasn’t
easy to kill my kind. Death by nageun was a long, tortuous mutilation there was
no coming back from. Picturing it, I tore deeper into the forest.
I tried to
run and not think. But my mind was spinning, desperately seeking to understand,
to conceive how a normal assignment on a normal day had landed me on the wrong
end of an execution. With a single hesitation, my hopes, my future—my life—was
over. The Guild was all I’d ever known. They’d plucked me from my den-mates,
sheltered, fed, and trained me; promoted me to the coveted role of Executioner.
They’d shown me the rewards of a life in service to our dragon elders. Dahlia
Nite was a name respected in the ranks. I was known to all the tribes,
decorated for fealty and bravery. Now, all had turned against me.
I carried the order through. I did as I was told. I’d just needed more
time.
If the child hadn’t been there, if I
hadn’t…
What? I thought bitterly. I still didn’t know what
happened. Only that her emotions had been strong beyond explanation. They’d
been tangible, slithering over and in me, affecting me in an impossible way. I
hadn’t been merely sympathetic to the human child’s terror. Her panic had
brought me to my knees. I’d felt the violence of the moment, the violence I’d
been sent to inflict, in a way I never had: as a victim. I’d seen it, growing around her ankles like
a black wet fog. Stunned, I’d lost hold of my fire and faltered. Pausing, even
just a moment, had created a memory; a record of my uncertainty, and,
therefore, a death sentence.
In a society
where not even our thoughts were private, no mistake was overlooked. No
performance could be embellished or hidden. Our mission reports, our kills,
were pulled straight from our minds by the highest authority: Naalish, the
Exalted One; mother of all firedrakes and Queen of the Elder Dragon Tribes of
Drimera.
Telepathy was
common in female elders, but Naalish was said to possess a superior mind. It
was also rumored she’d ripped the heart from her predecessor and ate it,
consuming her soul to gain her power. I’d never believed it. Naalish was the
most beautiful and majestic of all the dragons. Even hours ago, standing before
her wrapped in chains, I’d been in awe of her presence. Deference and pride had
kept me silent as she ordered my execution. I hadn’t even thought to plead for
mercy. I was better than that. I was a hybrid, a shifter, a lyrriken. The product
of a human female and an elder male in human form, both human and dragon
existed within me. It was by the grace of the elders alone that I lived. They
had every right to judge and punish me.
It didn’t
matter that I’d gone before the Queen confused, that I’d needed help and she’d
called for my arrest. Mercy was a not a common dragon trait, and I would never
have shamed either of us by begging. I took her condemnation with my head held
high.
It was after
when my outlook changed. After, as I sat in my cell, with the blood of that
human child drying on my hands, as I dissected my actions and tried to
comprehend—I watched the walls go inexplicably fluid and gray. And I saw her. I
saw it all again: the clearing where her home sat, the woods surrounding it, the
charred body of her headless father on the ground. Stretching out like a hand
from the grave, the child’s terror, stronger than anything I’d felt before, had
gripped me anew. It dominated everything. My status, my honor, my duty to die
as commanded, had no value. My squad, not even my lover mattered. Suddenly and
inexplicably, I cared for one thing.
Survival.
No one had
challenged my escape. They had no reason to expect such a bold move. Even
facing execution, no Guild-trained lyrriken would dare defy the Queen. We would
stay and take the death that was given us.
Yet something
had crawled inside me that didn’t want to die.
Something that wanted to live more than it wanted to obey.
Now the coin
had flipped, and I was the target. I was the one striving to outrun the
oncoming death on my heels, clinging to life even knowing the odds of
surviving. Fleeing was foolish. My impulse to do so was puzzling, but I
couldn’t stop. Even now, with my cell in the depths of the Citadel far behind
me, with the lights from the City of Spires dim in the distance, the sounds of
the child’s scream rang as strong as the wind in my ears.
I’d left her
alive too long. Her noise had brought the nageun out of the forest. My
hesitation, my compromised aim when I recovered, had left her not quite dead
when the horde descended. She’d watched them swarming. Felt their teeth
puncture and tear. I’d backed quietly away, out of their view, listening to the
foul crescendo of the cracking of bones and the slurping of organs as soft
human bodies were reduced to strips of meat and puddles of viscous matter.
They were to die, anyway. It had been my
duty to kill them.
But not like that.
I’d
botched the entire job, and I still couldn’t fathom how. How could one little
human melt away my years of training, one mistake label me weak and
untrustworthy?
Now, in fleeing, I’d earned another brand. Traitor.
Dahlia Nite is a dragon assassin but one night she came upon
a job that she couldn’t complete and as a dragon if someone fails to do their
job then they will be severely punished. To avoid punishment DahIia escapes to
the human world.
Being half human Dahlia knows she can pass for human if she
is careful to keep her dragon side hidden. Dahlia works with the police
department as a crime scene investigator. Dahlia is called in to help when
people start turning up dead with their bodies half burned. Who is leaving half
burned bodies all over town and why? Is the murderer human or dragon?
Dahlia has been in the human realm for ninety seven years
moving from place to place hiding from her people. Dahlia has spent her life trying
to protect humans from the truth and the creatures that live in the shadows.
I have only read a few books with dragons but I think Flash
Point may change that. I loved following Dahlia on her journeys and watching
the fights scenes play out in my head as if I was there seeing it instead of reading
it and when she turned into a dragon that was just awesome. I can’t wait to see
what Dahlia has in store for us in the next book Chain Reaction.
I would recommend Flash Point to fans of dragons and urban
fantasy. It will keep you on the edge of your seat for the fight scene if
nothing else. The pages are filled with enough action to keep the adrenaline pumping
for days long after the last page.
Chain
Reaction
Nite
Fire Book 2
If
anyone can tell the difference between monsters and humans, it’s
Dahlia Nite. For nearly a century, she’s hunted one to protect the
other; safeguarding humanity from the creatures that slip through the
torn veil between the worlds—creatures like her. But the lines are
blurring. As people begin mutating and combusting on the streets,
Dahlia realizes a strange affliction has descended upon Sentinel
City. The mysterious ailment strikes all walks of life, from the
posh, high-end nightclub district to the homeless community. Its
victims, driven to random acts of savagery, are drawing attention too
fast to cover up.
Assigned
to the case, Dahlia and her human partner, Detective Alex Creed,
investigate the deaths. But all they have are questions and bodies,
and a public on the verge of panic. Working behind the scenes with
her self-appointed sidekick, Casey Evans, Dahlia struggles to
discover what, or who, is behind the alarming transformations. As the
violence spreads and the mystery unfolds, she wonders: are the
victims still human? Were they ever?
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Dahlia Nite and Detective Creed are back for more in Chain
Reaction book #2 in the Nite Fire series with more people turning up dead. All
the bodies have been burned. Did they spontaneously combust or is someone
running all over town burning people? Dahlia, Creed and Evans are chasing down
leads hoping to find the answers or the one responsible for the deaths.
Not only do they have to worry about dead bodies there is
something else affecting the people, a new drug Chrysalis has turned up in the
city that is having strange effects on people and causing them to act in weird
ways and causing strange things to happen to their bodies. Dahlia must find the
source of this new drug before it takes over the whole city.
This has been one epic journey that Chain Reaction has taken
me on and one that will stay with me for a long time to come. It is filled with
lots of twist and turns and lots of action in between. It is fact paced and
kept me on the edge of my seat waiting for the next fighting scene and I didn’t
have to wait long in between each one. I love books book with lots of fighting
and the Nite Fire series does not disappoint in that department at all.
The world building with the fire breathing dragons is so
amazing. I would so love to see this on the big screen. I have not read that
many books about dragons but the Nite Fire series has certainly changed my
mine. I do see more dragon’s in my future. I was so glad after reading book #1
Flash Point that I had Chain Reaction book #2 on hand so I could jump right in
and continue my journey with Dahlia, Creed, Evans and the dragons. I can’t wait
to see where Dahlia and all the other characters take us in book #3 of this
amazing series.
If you like dragons, paranormal creatures with lots of
action on almost every page then you are going to love Chain Reaction but I
would suggest reading book #1 Flash Point first to get a better understanding
as to what is happening.
Born
in a small Kansas town on the Missouri river, C.L. Schneider grew up
in a house of avid readers and overflowing bookshelves. Her first
full-length novel took shape while she was still in high school, on a
typewriter in her parent's living room. While her main focus is adult
epic and urban fantasy, she also pens the occasional science fiction
or post-apocalyptic story.
Though
she has been writing all of her life, Magic-Price (the first
installment in The Crown of Stones Trilogy) was Schneider's first
published novel. With the trilogy complete, she is excited to be
embarking on a new path with her urban fantasy series, Nite Fire.
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