I am offering a small sampling of my
latest book, available through Amazon in the next few days. I hope you enjoy
it.
An excerpt from, “For
the Love of Ivory”
***
In the darkness of the deep woods, on their way to the spot Dr. Song last saw the
herd, the hope held that Rupiah remained alive and with his inoperative Jeep.
Kalanzo listened for any warnings of predators above the birds shrieking their
annoyance at being disturbed.
He stopped the Jeep, shifting to neutral, and turned off the
headlamps. “Dr. Song, please turn the light off for a moment.”
“Why?”
“Because, I don’t want to be a beacon in the night for
predators. Also, the birds will settle and I’ll be able to hear more than their
protests.”
Song huffed, but complied. The sudden darkness took a moment
to adjust to. The rain had stopped and the cloud cover lightened enough to
allow a soft glow of the full moon to shine on their trail. Kalanzo shifted
into first, and drove on without headlamps.
A tingling sensation raced up Kalanzo’s spine. Something was
not right, but he could not say what. The night birds called, the trees swayed
in the night wind, no growls of large cats in the distance to announce a
feeding. So, why this feeling of dread attempting to squeeze his heart to
bursting?
A gunshot shattered the relative quiet of the jungle.
Dr. Song shrieked as a second deafening blast burst the
small trunk of a palm next to them. Kalanzo swerved the Jeep off the trail.
They knew this to be poachers, warning them off their
course. The gunmen were not trying to kill them, or else they would be dead.
With hate-filled gratitude, Kalanzo spun the Jeep around and raced back down
the dirt path.
Song now had his shotgun in hand, barrel pointed behind
them, bouncing hard with every hole in the trail. The jeep sped through the
dark until they hit a sharp rise in the road. The tires left the earth for a
moment and crash-landed with such ferocity as to slam his jaw together.
Kalanzo’s head spun, but he realized no blasts were following them. He heard
neither the sound of engines or shouts of man. He slowed the Jeep to a halt.
***
I hope you enjoyed this excerpt. Please check out the rest of the story on Amazon.
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