The Seedbearing Prince: Part I (58 page)

A famed Montollene sunset painted the sky in
beautiful reds and golds. The distant towers looked like half
submerged reeds in some fiery lake. But the beauty was lost on
Dayn, for all he could see was the horrible amber glow of another
weep’s underbelly.

The voidwalker perched on the creature's back
wore dark armor from head to heel, including a black helmet that
looked like a worn scarab shell. The fleshweep's wide head boasted
six eyes, and bony protrusions that could have been teeth poking
from its purple skin. Two smaller appendages with dripping hooks at
their ends moved incessantly, like an insect's antennae.

The voidwalker's thrall rushed over Dayn so
powerfully that all he could think of was escape. He scrambled back
mindlessly.

Nassir's warning came too late. “Dayn, stop!
The one behind you!”

Horrible heat and light enveloped him in a
rush. Foul juices slicked over his clothes, and pressed his pack
tightly against his body. Dayn felt a horrible pain in his knees
and shoulders, as if starving wolves were fighting over his
limbs.

He held his breath, pounding with all his
might on the translucent surface before him. His eyes burned so
fiercely he was forced to squeeze them shut. A vile, amber liquid
crept steadily past his pinched fingers, grown too weak to squeeze
his nostrils shut any longer. The liquid pushed down his throat
until his spasms ceased. Dayn lay still, trapped in the belly of
the fleshweep.

###

If imagination was a mutant power, DaVaun Sanders
could have enrolled at 1407 Graymalkin Lane. Instead, he went the
safe route and earned a Bachelor's degree from Washington
University in St. Louis in 2002. He eventually acquiesced to the
student loan gods and took up architecture in Phoenix. Yet his
passion for the field faded as he spent more free time writing and
performing spoken word poetry.

The Seedbearing Prince began as a dream vivid enough
to play like a movie trailer. Deciding to write the debut novel
took some time, as it wasn't part of "The Plan," but the housing
market collapse forced DaVaun's small design firm under in 2008. He
decided to plunge into writing full-time, and is loving every
minute of it. When the keyboard cramps his fingers, DaVaun gets
lost in the great outdoors of Arizona or hits up open mic spots in
the Valley. He responds to email from fans, but postcards are even
better!

DaVaun is currently hard at work editing Part II of
The Seedbearing Prince. Follow him on Twitter and like on Facebook
for updates and giveaways!

twitter.com/davaunwrites

facebook.com/davaunsanders

davaunsanders.com

*

I owe thanks to so many for the completion of
this first novel. Here are a precious few. My muse and my light,
Tamika Lamb. Sharla and Ian White, for your endless support.
Tremaine Jasper and Isham Bennett for the opportunities you both
provided. Tynesha White, for your enthusiasm and encouragement.
Jaan-Paul Van Eeden, my godsend of a cover artist. Susan Sernau, my
brilliant editor who always finds a way to squeeze a little more
awesome out of the story. Also Neil Wade, Teesha Borum, Ikram
Abdulmajeed, Jonathan and Jessica Standifird, Jordan Sanders,
Nikita Ortiz and Anthony Haskins. You are appreciated more than you
know!