Book Debut: Warrior's Psalm by Thomas Rowe Drinkard
Blurb
Freya and Kalev are the newest members of an elite warrior
clan, the Recondos. They are a unique
reconnaissance team, since they are true telepaths who can link their minds and
communicate silently, over extended distances.
On their initiation recon, they see the enemies of their
civilization for the first time: The Deciders and Protectors. They also witness
a brutal execution ordered by the Deciders.
From that day, their courage and faith will be put to severe
tests as they rely on their gifts and face a cruel enemy and the challenges
that young women and men encounter as they begin to mature.
Excerpt
“Listen. They’re coming.”
Kalev shuts his eyes and diverts the power of all other
senses to his ears.
Nothing.
He relaxes, counts to thirty, and then focuses again on
hearing.
There. A brush of tall grass against britches; whisper of
branches pushed aside into leaves of others. Slow, but closer.
“Four. I saw them cross a clearing. Not
Hivers—armed.”
Kalev hears Freya’s voice in his mind as clearly as if she’s
sitting on the tree limb beside him.
There is no sound and she, too, is in a tree, probably several hundred
yards away. Closer to The Hive.
“Coming this way. I haven’t seen them yet. A game
trail runs in their travel direction. They’ll probably use it,”
Kalev.
They are using the trail. The sound of their boots on bare
earth is louder than if they were walking on grass.
“Use the Shopper anyway, don’t take a chance that
they’ll see you,” Freya.
In an inside pocket of his leather vest, Kalev finds a
device the size of a thick fountain pen. He uncaps both ends and spreads a
conical fan from each. He points the larger cone at a point on the game trail
where someone, looking up in the trees, could see him. The smaller cone is
aimed over his shoulder. If anyone on the ground looks up, the only visible
sight will be a picture gathered by the device and projected. They’ll see the
tree limbs and oak leaves behind him.
“They’re on the game trail, not looking up. I’ve got the Shopper putting out a false
sight anyway. What are they searching for?” Kalev.
Through summer oak leaves, thirty feet below and fifty feet
away to the east, four men in green and tan mottled camouflage walk the trail,
their tread—virtually noiseless. They’re armed with stubby automatic rifles and
grenades hang from their belts. Protectors.
“Don’t know.
After they’re far away, let’s go closer to The Hive. Something’s
happening there. Protectors don’t normally come to The Hive,” Freya.
Kalev focuses all sensory power into his ears, listening to
the diminishing tread of the patrol.
When only silence touches him, he relaxes.
“Freya, send a locator. I’m coming to you.”
Immediately a silent, but strong, pleasant song, like a solo
violin begins.
“Like the sound?” Freya.
“Yes.”
He slides, limb by limb, to the ground. His feet touching
with no more sound than a falling leaf. Lithe as a whip and maturing, he moves
with easy grace.
He turns, seeking the music. If he veers off course, the
song fades. Never traveling on trails, he reaches the base of an immense beech
when the song reaches a crescendo. The trunk is probably five or six feet
thick. There are no low-hanging limbs.
How to climb?
“You don’t need to go up. I’m here.”
Freya had moved behind the trunk when she sensed his
approach. She appears from behind the
huge tree’s base, smiling, her head cocked to the right—a mannerism she’s shown
Kalev since they were six.
Author Bio
Thomas Rowe Drinkard the University
of North Alabama with a degree in English.
Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army
Within two years he completed parachute school and was selected for the
U.S. Army Special Forces (the Green Berets). He spent more than ten years with
the fabled unit.
After active duty, he found his way
into teaching and writing in the securities exam preparation business. Many of
his articles and texts are currently in use.
Tom is now a full-time
writer/part-time editor. He is the author of the novels; Piety and Murder,
Where There Were No Innocents, Overload and Devil’s Blade as well as the
novellas, V Trooper -First Mission and V Trooper-Second Mission, The Demon. He
is also the author of a chapbook of Vietnam poetry, Finding the Way Home.
His newest work is a Science Fiction
novella—the first in a planned trilogy—titled, Warrior’s Psalm.
And look what others are saying about Warrior's Psalm!Reviews
"A well crafted fantasy thriller." - Rich Weatherly
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