Happy Weekend, my blogging droogs! We have, once again, reached the end of another gruelling work week.
I shall jump straight into this and show you what is promised in the title: another excerpt from the fifth book in my fledgling literary series, Angel of Death, now available on Amazon:
While in the eastern district, Uzume stopped when she thought she sensed two hostile presences, one of them believing to belong to her target. She spoke into her earpiece when she spotted a man in a yellow suit. His face is shielded with sunglasses, and his hair resembles a broad broom.
The expression on her face showed shock and confusion.
Aluin’s voice continued speaking through the microphone.
“Inoue-san, are you there?” asked Aluin through the intercom.
“Uh…yes,” Uzume said reluctantly. “Again, his current location is before a boutique shop on…” She glimpsed at the street sign, which is in neon, an unusual feature in a street sign, which is in Romanian. “Titov Avenue. Wait, he’s moving.”
She began following the man without his knowledge. He made a turn at the end of the block and passed a film theatre. She hid herself behind any obstacle she came across to keep her presence hidden from him. She resumed pursuit before he vanished from her sight.
The man’s steps became rapid the moment he passed a fifteen-storey building. He ran as fast as he could, but she caught with him. He ducked as she swept her sai across and increased his speed. He ran from her sight and dove into a nearby alley, where he hid inside a seemingly unseen bar. He let out a breath of relief as he slumped into a table in the corner.
However, he’s far from safe.
He shifted his eyes about to see if the woman that was chasing him came alone. He suddenly saw a young man in white with mid-length black hair. His pale face has thin black eyeliner on his eyelids, bringing out more of his purple eyes.
The man scrambled out of his seat and desperately tried to open the door. The young man pulled his katana from its scabbard and sliced through thin air as his target stumbled out the door.
As the man made his way to the other end of the alley, Aluin blocked his way, while Uzume approached him from the opposite direction. The yellow-suited man became frozen with fear.
“You’ve nowhere to run,” said Aluin.
He ignited the silver flames in his left hand and flung them. The man turned and saw Uzume spin her sai around her hands as she closes in on him.
“Wait,” said the man. “I-I-I…”
“Make it quick, bub,” said Uzume, who pointed her weapon at his face.
He began laughing nervously and sweating under pressure.
“Listen, I’m not the one you want. It…it’s someone else!”
Aluin readied a gun he’s been carrying and aimed it at the man. Before he pulled the trigger, Aluin was brutally cut down by the man in white, who went after the man in the yellow suit. The man in white swung his bloodstained blade at the other man. The slash was intense enough to tear the man asunder, turning him in a crimson blast. Blood exploded from the waist, but briefly, with some even going on Uzume. Aluin pushed himself to his elbows, only to behold his now-dead target.
“That wasn’t fair,” Aluin said weakly. “He was our target.”
“Well, apparently, you didn’t act fast enough,” said Xochitl.
Uzume grew slightly frustrated and attacked the man in white without warning. He moved in a blink of an eye to evade the sharp tip of a sai before it struck air. She sensed him from behind and deflected his katana with her sai daggers. She planted her foot in his abdomen and tossed him overhead before slashing him in midair. Despite receiving such a blow, he landed on his feet and pointed his finger at her. A small, red light grew slightly in size before it turned into a beam. She deployed her shield, but the beam pushed her back due to its immense power.
“Get outta here, Aluin-kun!” shouted Uzume. “Hurry!”
“Not without you!” shouted Aluin.
He fired a silver sphere of fire at Xochitl, resulting in a direct hit that disoriented the latter. She threw one of her sai at Xochitl, who caught it within two inches of his face and redirected it at her. She grabbed it while dodging it, making sure it doesn’t get away from her. She barely evaded the sweep of his katana and countered with a slash across his face. Blood streaked from the cut on his cheek.
He knocked her out of the alley with a powerful kick. She tumbled against the asphalt, nearly causing traffic to halt, but she got back up. He came walking toward her calmly with his left hand in his pocket, as if that fight didn’t happen.
“He’s right,” said Xochitl. “You’re a superb fighter.”
“Who’s this ‘he’ to which you’re referring?” asked Uzume.
“You’ll see soon enough…Uzume Inoue.”
Her green eyes widened in absolute shock. “What the- -how did you know my name?!”
He looked over his left shoulder and at her, his purple eyes expressing the same frigidity as before. “If you really want to know…meet me at Osaka Castle one week from today…alone.”
“Me, come alone? What happens if I don’t?”
“Then my associates and I will hunt down all of you and kill you one by one.”
She gasped and took a few steps back, believing his threat to be true. The expression on her face changed to anger. Even the few spectators are surprised, as if they’re watching a live taping of a popular tokusatsu show.
“Y…you wouldn’t dare!” she said in shock.
To prove his words to be true, Xochitl fired his beam at Aluin, blowing the latter young man far from where he stood. Although Xochitl only used his attack at minimum power, it’s still fairly strong.
He fluidly turned his back. “I’ll be waiting…”
He walked into a strange portal, which closed behind him. She went to check on Aluin and cast a healing light on him. Fortunately, the attack didn’t have a serious effect on him.
“You OK?” asked Uzume.
“I’ll live,” said Aluin.
He noticed the solemn expression of concern on her face, but didn’t ask her about what had transpired because he heard- -and felt- -Xochitl’s threat for himself.
–A Ballad of Gray, Ch. 12, Act I
What you all just read was a flashback scene from the book, specifically of an event that concerns Uzume. Why was she asked by Xochitl to meet him at Osaka Castle? And what plans does his boss have for her, especially regarding her combat skills? The important answers to those questions cannot be displayed here for fear of spoilers.
This arc, for lack of a better word, was written way back in the late Noughties, roughly fifteen years ago. I wrote it because I thought a certain female character from a certain anime I saw on late night TV at the time- -here named Orihime, on whom Uzume was based- -wasn’t kidnapped. Based on my logic, I theorised that she chose to leave instead of what the narrative stated, which set the stage for all sorts of tragedy, as I had seen it before. Naturally, because my suspension of disbelief was already broken at that point, I thought of punishing the character for what appeared to be a betrayal or some sort of foolish abandonment. That is all I can say here.
Now, for those of you joining in today, Angel of Death is a book series written by yours truly. It follows the gory adventures of Akiko, the eponymous assassin herself, as she strikes down anyone who was stupid enough to incur her wrath or not face karma, starting with the man who attacked her family when she was little. Armed with her katana, flames and martial arts training, she slashes her way though civilisation. Accompanying her is her personal army, the Killer Doll Posse. (Fun fact: the name of Akiko’s personal army is a reference to the Tori Amos album, ‘American Doll Posse’).
The following books are available on Amazon, in paperback and ebook:
Child of Samael
Killer Doll Posse
Sinners and Saints
An Anthem of Evil
A Ballad of Gray
I’m also working on a prequel series, which focuses on a different set of characters, two of who appeared in the third book. Half of it is completed so far.
Some of you are likely wondering, ‘when is Akiko gonna fight the Sabiile?’ Even I don’t know when.
Well, that does it for this post. I’ll return soon with another excerpt from the book. If you want more, check out the first four books. I promised you, you won’t be disappointed.
Stay safe out there, and happy reading!
alidabutler 