Maze of Fates
Entering the world of self-publishing is much like stepping into your very own maze of fates; following your nose and trying to discover worthwhile routes, propspering (or not) on the strength of your decision-making. And, while it's great to have three titles out there, the game moves on apace with marketing and promotional tasks added to the creative work of writing the next title. It's all great fun though.
The work has already begun on Maze of Faiths, to be released 24th Dec, all things being well.
However, in the rush to publish, the task of teasing you, the reader, with a taster for the latest title, Maze of Fates, was cruelly overlooked.
Including appearances from some already familiar faces, Maze of Fates is essentially a fucked-up love story from the dark underbelly of Dominion. The story follows Agnise and Dolores, two 'perishables' of the skin trade, as they strive to overcome the existential threat to their relationship.
Here's an excerpt:
Storm clouds massed over the city of Dominion, buffeting violently against each other and releasing charged emissions from their interactions. Jagged fingers and crooked splinters of fierce energy were seen to set alight the ochrous formations, all corroded orange and phosphorous yellow. And, before the storm broke, the angel of death could be seen battling an oriental dragon in the skies overhead.
As lightning played havoc with the Grid and disrupted all manner of communications and security arrangements, the avenging angel conducted the first in a series of unexpected manoeuvres. Swooping, Agnise cut off the head of the dragon, leaving its body writhing and squirming in a state of shock and panic.
Manifesting for the briefest of moments in the public and ceremonial chambers of the Kingpin, Ozeki; earthly representative and Master of the House of the Immortal and Omnipotent Dragon, the avenging angel revealed herself as Agnise, a ‘perishable’ belonging to an Outfit establishment concerned with the skin trade. Agnise was not known to Ozeki, but this did not concern her.
Without need of physical contact, Agnise knocked Ozeki backwards and to the floor, with force so violent it sent the Kingpin careering across the floor of his chambers. She also caused his airways to constrict, leaving Ozeki desperate for oxygen and grappling with his own throat in the most undignified manner.
As the Muscle of the Kingpin’s security detail closed in around her, Agnise pulled apart her ribcage, unleashing the energy of all the storm clouds combined, in a wave of obliteration that wreaked utter destruction upon the House of the Supposedly Immortal and So-Called Omnipotent Dragon, leaving nought but dust and ruination in her wake.
Without further need to materialize at her next destination, Agnise swept through the hallways and corridors, the hangars and detention blocks, the laboratories and interrogation suites of the Security and Management Bureau Headquarters situated at Darvaz Central. Her presence there blew out windows, ruptured water mains, shorted electrics and fried the networks. Wardens and Security Personnel were powerless to stop her releasing detainees and deleting their database. But, not before she had cross-referenced checks with Central Bank to determine who was on their payroll; State shills, double agents, snitches, narks and covert operatives: All the relevant names were taken.
Next, the avenging angel took this information and made it public, broadcasting the names of all the State-sanctioned and State-financed underworld operatives all over the Messages, hijacking every billboard and digital stream across Dominion with the status and identity of every double-crossing, back-stabbing, no-good rat fink in town.
Many Dominionites learned that the drugs they imbibed were supplied by State. This explained why many dealers and pushers operated with apparent carte blanche. Skidz Freaks learned that many of their Yard bosses were stooges for State, and these Hard-Ballers were not in the least bit wowed by the news. A greater number of Flipswitches, used to store contraband and fence hot goods, were outed the city over as monitored operations, seeing their proprietors only too eager to flee the scene. Similarly, ‘perishables’ of the skin trade, males and females alike, were naturally disconcerted to be made aware that their commodification and essential slave status were circumstances which were, in a large portion of establishments, approved of and supported by State.
This state of affairs was by no means the case for every underworld enterprise or operation. But, in those double-dealing organisations where it very much was the case, Agnise intended to bring it all down.
She got to Zoot before his own Yardees, Muscle Crew and Skidz Freaks were able to tear him limb from limb. But they had him cornered. And, he was terrified...
It pleased her to see him this way, but, for Agnise, this was just the beginning.
Somehow, she wasn’t in the least surprised to find Zoot’s name on the payroll. Everybody had speculated on how he came to survive his brush with death when he’d been hung out to fry on the perimeter fencing at the Yeltsin. Everyone had seen the hacked footage from Central Bank: his goose looked cooked, for sure. Well, finally, the pieces fell into place; he was a sick little fucked-up stooge and State had helped facilitate his takeover of the Yard.
She was tempted to leave him for the Yardees, who he had compromised and lied to; leave him for them to do their little number on. However, that wouldn’t generate the same satisfaction as inflicting torment and humiliation upon him herself.
But there he was, blanched and quaking, despite the body armour and the hefty metal appendages, barricaded into his personal quarters with no place to go, desperately trying to put a call through to his State contacts; the handlers and fixers who make it all work while keeping things on the hush-hush. Little did Zoot know that, like all the other mooks and shills who were calling for back-up, even were he to get through to the Bureau, there would be no way for anyone there to verify his status or authorise an escape plan, since all of their systems were down and most of their operatives were otherwise engaged, busy dealing with the fallout and meltdown from Agnise’s significant and disruptive pre-emptive intervention.
“Zoot to control: Patch me through, this is a fucking emergency!”
Zoot didn’t receive the response he was looking for, Agnise saw to that. She delivered through his ComsTex piercing, squealing high-intensity feedback which dropped the Yard boss to his knees. Zoot held his head in his hands and began to groan, begging for the noise to stop.
As Agnise materialised in the room before him, Zoot was slavering like a GreyFlake and his doleful eyes were pitiful to behold.
For the briefest moment, Zoot seemed to take hope at her arrival, until something in her appearance disabused him of the notion.
Brandishing the electro flail, Agnise wrapped it around Zoot’s throat and began to explain to him the hopelessness of his situation; how there was no way back from his treachery and that this was going to be as good as it gets.
“This is for Dolores...” she said.
