Release date: December 22, 2016
Subgenre: Urban fantasy
About Hounds of God:
Torn from her parents at a young age, Katherine is raised in a pack of
werewolves like herself and brought into the ways of the Hounds of God:
An army of werewolves that will bring justice to evildoers.
But when their leader is killed and everything Katherine has believed is thrown on its head, she sets off with a small group of friends in search of a cure to what she now believes is a curse.
This search for a cure leads her to a fight for survival where she’s challenged to embrace the beast within. Will she give up everything to stop the nefarious army of werewolves, betraying those she once considered family?
But when their leader is killed and everything Katherine has believed is thrown on its head, she sets off with a small group of friends in search of a cure to what she now believes is a curse.
This search for a cure leads her to a fight for survival where she’s challenged to embrace the beast within. Will she give up everything to stop the nefarious army of werewolves, betraying those she once considered family?
Excerpt:
You are the Hounds of God. Through your deeds, all sins will be corrected, all wrongs righted, and the evildoers of the world will cower in fear at your feet.
– The Way of Light, A Manifesto, Page 259: Section C.
Katherine pulled at her dusty leather jacket to fend off the cold wind’s bite, mind racing at the possibilities of what they’d find in these mountains. A cure? More clues? As long as it wasn’t simply another dead end, she’d accept anything.
With each leap over rocks and along the mountain path, she became increasingly annoyed at the bounce of her ponytail. One of these days, she’d just shave it all off and be done with it. She liked to tell herself it didn’t matter what Danny would think if she did, but she often found herself taking the extra minute each morning to look her best, even if she knew they’d be searching freezing mountains for hidden caverns—as they were this day.
Searching, and probably ending up disappointed—again.
The years had been a mixture of hope and defeat. Nine years of looking for answers as to why she’d become a werewolf. Nine years of hoping to find a cure, but always coming up empty-handed.
She had only two companions left at this point—Babur and Danny. During their search, they’d found myths of wolf spirits taking over one’s body, and of Native Americans who had called upon these spirits for help. So far, they’d dismissed the European stories of villagers transforming in the night to fight off the evil witches, or going into Hell to keep the demons at bay—they had to draw the line somewhere between plausible and ridiculous.
In these days of the internet, there was no shortage of stories and theories. Yet, in all their searches, they hadn’t come across anything regarding the cure she longed for. The myths were their best bet, and they had led them to the mountains of Washington State.
She slowed at a fallen tree she’d noted earlier as a marker, smiling to see Danny crouching nearby and inspecting the area. His tan leather jacket was covered with dust, and a layer of sweat shone from his forehead.
When he turned to grin up at her, his white teeth gleamed in the dim light of dusk.
“You found it?” he asked.
“I found something.”
She motioned for him to keep up as she led him back to the small cave she had discovered. This could be it, she thought, as he knelt down and kicked at the clods of dirt that blocked the entrance. They broke apart to reveal stone steps leading down, chipped and worn.
“You think it’s down there?” he asked. She could tell he was trying to keep the hope out of his voice. Like her, he’d been disappointed many times, too.
“There’s only one way to find out.”
Katherine pulled at her dusty leather jacket to fend off the cold wind’s bite, mind racing at the possibilities of what they’d find in these mountains. A cure? More clues? As long as it wasn’t simply another dead end, she’d accept anything.
With each leap over rocks and along the mountain path, she became increasingly annoyed at the bounce of her ponytail. One of these days, she’d just shave it all off and be done with it. She liked to tell herself it didn’t matter what Danny would think if she did, but she often found herself taking the extra minute each morning to look her best, even if she knew they’d be searching freezing mountains for hidden caverns—as they were this day.
Searching, and probably ending up disappointed—again.
The years had been a mixture of hope and defeat. Nine years of looking for answers as to why she’d become a werewolf. Nine years of hoping to find a cure, but always coming up empty-handed.
She had only two companions left at this point—Babur and Danny. During their search, they’d found myths of wolf spirits taking over one’s body, and of Native Americans who had called upon these spirits for help. So far, they’d dismissed the European stories of villagers transforming in the night to fight off the evil witches, or going into Hell to keep the demons at bay—they had to draw the line somewhere between plausible and ridiculous.
In these days of the internet, there was no shortage of stories and theories. Yet, in all their searches, they hadn’t come across anything regarding the cure she longed for. The myths were their best bet, and they had led them to the mountains of Washington State.
She slowed at a fallen tree she’d noted earlier as a marker, smiling to see Danny crouching nearby and inspecting the area. His tan leather jacket was covered with dust, and a layer of sweat shone from his forehead.
When he turned to grin up at her, his white teeth gleamed in the dim light of dusk.
“You found it?” he asked.
“I found something.”
She motioned for him to keep up as she led him back to the small cave she had discovered. This could be it, she thought, as he knelt down and kicked at the clods of dirt that blocked the entrance. They broke apart to reveal stone steps leading down, chipped and worn.
“You think it’s down there?” he asked. She could tell he was trying to keep the hope out of his voice. Like her, he’d been disappointed many times, too.
“There’s only one way to find out.”
Amazon
About Justin Sloan:
Justin Sloan writes urban fantasy, epic military fantasy, and
supernatural thrillers. He is a video game writer (Game of Thrones;
Walking Dead; Michonne, Minecraft: Story Mode), novelist (Allie Strom
and the Ring of Solomon; Teddy Bears in Monsterland, Back by Sunrise,
Falls of Redemption), podcaster, and screenwriter.
He has written on taking writing from hobby to career in his book Creative Writing Career and its sequel, and how veterans can pursue their passions in Military Veterans in Creative Careers. Justin studied writing at the Johns Hopkins University and UCLA after five years in the U.S. Marine Corps, and now works as a writer and editor for Military.com.
He has written on taking writing from hobby to career in his book Creative Writing Career and its sequel, and how veterans can pursue their passions in Military Veterans in Creative Careers. Justin studied writing at the Johns Hopkins University and UCLA after five years in the U.S. Marine Corps, and now works as a writer and editor for Military.com.
