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| “The day we die heroically?” |
Constable Aubrey Hartmann’s
first novel doesn’t release until May 7th, but she had
a couple of adventures before she
flew into Aqualinne. Here’s a brief sample from “Grenadiers and Dragon’s Fire”:
Screams
crossed the sky, spitting sparks and fire until they slammed into the lower
slope of Bourgogne Hill. Explosions
erupted a moment later with a shower of dirt, bloody limbs and two unfortunate
Imperial soldiers.
“Lieutenant!”
a voice yelled down the line. Panic
broke the soldier’s voice.
“Don’t
you move,” Lieutenant Aubrey Hartmann called back. She didn’t use his name. There was no need to shame him when everyone
was equally scared. “Don’t you
dare. Keep your heads pressed into the
dirt until you’re kissing rock.”
The
Imperial advance had been stymied. Their
right flank along the wide River Raglan was covered by a combination of air
platforms and naval ships of the line.
The heavy and light guns had made it impossible for the enemy, the
Glorious Republic of Hamill, to mount a counterattack and encircle them on that
side. But on the left, they’d needed at
least a division to hold the wing. The
support came from the Light Division under Sir Heinz de Lutz. The Light Division had angled as they came up
Bourgogne Hill, straight into Aubrey’s company and half of the 4th
Division. De Lutz either hadn’t realized
it, or hadn’t seen it in time. The mix
of the two divisions was now such a thorough jumble that they’d lost any
cohesion. The officers had halted the
Imperial advance and were trying to divide the two divisions. The Hamills had taken advantage of the
confusion and started the mortar bombardment.
Would anyone be interested in reading the entire
story? Let me know in the comment below.
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