Title Of Book: From Men and Angels
Series: The Deliverance Trilogy Book 1
By: HL Walsh
Genre: Fantasy
Sub-Genre: Action/Adventure, Coming of Age, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, High Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery
Blurb:
From the dawn of man, the war between Demons and Angels has ravaged the land. Two thousand years of peace has lulled the people into a false sense of security. Malach is on a journey to find his place in the world and pick a side in the war that is quickly approaching, meeting unlikely allies along the way.
Excerpt
Malach Tresch ran through the dense underbrush swiftly and quietly; he was in his element. It was night, and even though these woods were not the woods he grew up in, he did have an idea where he was headed. He also knew it would be easy to get turned around and lost in this forest. His legs ached from running so fast for so long and he was pulling in ragged gasps of breath. Something was hard on his heels and he didn’t know who or what it was, but it was big, and it scared him so much he didn’t have the courage to even look back. He just kept running. Something hard and metal was in his hand, and it was heavy. He looked down to see what it was.
It was a peculiar looking weapon. A short staff with
two swords protruding from both ends of a handle, one on each side so that he could use either side of the staff to stab or cut at… well, at whatever he wanted. It felt good in his hand; balanced, normal, right, like he had used it all his life, and it was just an extension of his body. The only issue was he had never seen it before! He also had his bow slung over his chest, his side quiver, and a large hunting knife on his belt. Those he recognized. However, as he ran, he realized there were no arrows in the quiver, which was probably why
he was carrying the staff weapon instead of his bow, his weapon of choice.
All of this only took him seconds to process and seconds more to realize he had, in fact, gotten lost. He couldn’t stop though. He could hear the monster behind him, breathing as hard as he was and knew it would be on him at any moment. As scared as he was, he knew he would have to turn and face the creature head-on soon. He had hoped to outrun it but knew that had been a mistake now. Possibly a fatal one.
His mind reeled as it processed what had happened. The creature had dropped down on his platoon and killed half a dozen of them within the span of a few minutes. Fully trained men. Men whom he knew and trusted. Men who had been trained from childhood lay dead, dying, or running like scared rabbits in all directions, all semblance of discipline lost.
Malach was no exception. He had looked back and gotten a glimpse of Daziar standing his ground with his spear and losing his head for it. Malach would never forget the sight of Daziar’s head hitting the ground as his body slumped onto its side, the lifeless eyes staring out at nothing. That one pause to look back would probably cost Malach his life. He
had been spotted by the creature at that moment. He looked it in the eyes, and it was going to kill him. The creature stood well over ten feet tall, mostly black, with large, bat-like wings; it stood on two legs to fight and had large, razor-sharp, clawed hands and feet with spikes sticking out of its elbows and knees. When it spotted Malach, it dropped to all fours and gave a wicked, spiked-toothed grin that made Malach’s blood run cold. Malach had mentally screamed at his legs to move and they had finally responded.
Now it was almost on him. He must have run five miles by now, and Malach had a sinking feeling that it was playing with him. Staying just behind him to keep this sick game of cat and mouse going. But why? Whatever the reason, Malach was done with it. He wouldn’t play its game anymore. He mustered his courage and strength and reached up, grabbing a low hanging branch, and swung up onto it, climbing swiftly and nimbly up a few more feet and waited for the creature to run by. He planned to get behind this creature to become the hunter instead of the hunted and kill this thing once and for all.
Malach forced his breathing to slow and become normal while he waited. He couldn’t hear the creature breathing or running anymore, and for a second, he thought he might have actually lost it. Then it came into view, as silent as the night. Slow, cautious, like it knew something was not quite right.
Like it knew that its quarry had changed tactics. It started toward the tree that Malach was hiding in and he held his breath. He readied his staff weapon and prepared to leap down on top of the giant monster. He prepared for the end. Looking at the creature he realized that this monster was a demon. The bat-like wings and horns that were visible from the back of the demon’s head were unmistakable. Malach knew if the creature turned around, he would be able to see the glowing red eyes staring back at him. His strength almost failed him at the realization. No one had seen a demon in over two thousand years. . . at least no one he knew about. They were the stuff of legends. Something grandparents would tell their grandchildren to make them behave. Malach pulled his thoughts back to the present and the task at hand. He would be the first to kill a demon in over two thousand years, or he would be one of the first to die by its hand. The next few moments would decide that.
The demon was almost under him now and he would have a clear path to drop onto its back and run the blade of his staff through the creature’s brain. All of a sudden the demon snapped its head to the side, or rather turned it almost all the way around behind it without moving its body, as if it heard something that Malach couldn’t and then took off at full speed in the way it had come with a flurry of wind from its wings. Malach didn’t dare relax until the sound of its retreat had faded into the night entirely. He sat down heavily
on the branch he had been crouching on and let out a sigh of relief. He had to tell someone what he had seen. He had to get out of here before that demon came back.
He climbed down from the tree, but before sliding all the way to the ground, he looked around cautiously and listened for any sign that the demon was still around. Hearing and seeing nothing, he dropped soundlessly to the ground and stood upright. He heard a deafening roar and at the same time, felt a searing pain in his chest. He was being lifted off the ground. He looked down to see a long black claw protruding from just under his ribcage, blood trickling from around the claw. The beast shook him off into the bushes like
he was no more than something distasteful that had gotten attached to its claw and stalked off into the night in search of something else to occupy its time, leaving Malach to bleed out in the unfamiliar woods.
What People Are Saying:
5 Stars – “You have an amazing adventure here.”
5 Stars – “This story is full of action and unexpected twists and turns. Can’t wait to read the next one.”
5 Stars – “The author does a great job of creating an immersive world with a unique mythology.”
5 Stars – “Highly recommend it to anyone looking for a thrilling and exciting read.”
5 Stars – “Great action, interesting worldbuilding.”
Where to buy From Men and Angels: https://www.amazon.com/Men-Angels-Deliverance-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B07YJ6DRLY
Meet HL Walsh:
Award-winning author of the Amazon Bestseller in Christian Fantasy, From Men and Angels: The Deliverance Trilogy: Book One. I write Scifi & Fantasy.
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Deception: Wahrheit Book 3 on Kickstarter
The Book
WAHRHEIT is a huge, sprawling epic fantasy that features political intrigue, assassinations, mystery, adventure, battles, a little bit of fun, and yes, even dragons. It’s my take on those incredible stories that captured my imagination and took me on a ride I’d never forget. It’s packed full of colorful characters that fans love, faced with incredible adversity that they fight to overcome, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. I hope this series goes down as one you remember forever.
The Truth is a weak thing. It has no power. The only power the Truth holds is the power we grant it.
For six hundred years, the kingdom of Wahrheit was ruled by an unbroken line. It rose on a wave of technology and magic and stood alone—a bastion of stability built on pillars of economic and military might. The nation and her people thrived due to the strength of soldiers and the protection of dragons.
But the line has ended—the king is dead.
Noble houses vie to carve out their own domains. Foreign armies march across Wahrheit’s soil for the first time in memory. Without leadership, the king’s army watches helplessly. The fae, a source of enchantment and treachery, work unseen to secure their share of Wahrheit’s blood. And far beyond the kingdom’s borders, a growing threat looms—an empire built to right a bitter wrong.
Only a small band of conspirators stand between the kingdom and chaos: Otto Tilly, captain of the king’s Dragon Knights, the steel fist that shields the weak. Gerhard Fisher, a spy and assassin, who owes more than his life to the former king. Ilse Brinke, the quartermaster, the keeper of the kingdom’s secrets and magic. The wizard, an ancient soul who understands the cost of failure. And by fortune’s curse or fortune’s favor, two orphans from the growing war must carry the kingdom forward. As has always been, the burden of the future lies across the shoulders of the young.
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