New Release Excerpt

Today’s excerpt is from The Soul Jar [Available later today from New Concepts!] The Soul Jar is actually the end of a much longer tale that begins 3000 years ago in Egypt. Originally I submitted this as my offer for NCP’s Relic II anthology, but it ended up being released as a standalone. [For some reason Blogger isn't letting me upload my cover art - but trust me, it's faboo!]

Blurb:

Trapped in an alabaster prison for three thousand years, the souls of two ancient lovers await their freedom. Reunited after a bitter betrayal, modern fortune hunters Bree Sennett and “Chance” MacKenzie will risk their lives and their love for the fabled Soul Jar and its long-hidden secrets.


THE SOUL JAR

“Do you know the legend of the jar?” Chance said when he finally felt Bree begin to relax.

Her shoulders drooped a little and she lowered the book she’d purchased as a shield to help her avoid long stretches where they might have nothing to do but talk. She sighed and turned her attention to the dark sliver of window visible next to the seat in front of her. “I know some.” She picked up her book again, ready to hide behind the colorful jacket where a blond man and a redheaded woman embraced amid stylized flames of passion. Chance reached over and gently touched her arm, drawing down the barrier. He couldn’t bear the silent treatment any longer.

“Two lovers, forbidden to be together by the rules of Egyptian society, had their souls torn from their bodies in a dark ritual. The souls were captured inside an alabaster jar and sealed for eternity, preventing them from crossing into the afterlife.”

“I’ve heard.” Her voice was low and a little sad.

Chance didn’t dare look over at her, but instead concentrated on the spot where his fingers caressed the warm flesh of her arm.

“According to a scroll found buried in the tomb where the jar was unearthed, the lovers both belonged to a powerful magistrate who might have been an illegitimate brother of the Pharaoh Seti II. She was a concubine granted to the magistrate as a gift for services rendered. He was a royal guard who lost his heart to the beautiful slave. When she was given away, he couldn’t bear their separation, so he helped her flee before her new master could claim her.”

Chance paused here. He began rubbing the pad of his thumb over the silky skin on the underside of her wrist. He felt her pulse flutter and heard her breath quicken. How many times had he kissed that sensitive spot? He thought of other places where her skin was just as smooth, places he’d claimed and ravaged with his lips and his tongue. When he spoke again, his voice was husky with desire.

“The guard took his beloved to a small village where they hid from their master among sympathetic peasants. He claimed her there--made love to her and married her--in their hearts, since no proper religious leader would have blessed their union. By the time the magistrate found them, she carried his child.”

Bree made a small sound in the back of her throat. When Chance casually let his knee brush against hers, she didn’t move away.

“The magistrate was an angry, jealous man who resented what he thought was a meager gift for his considerable services to the king. A disloyal body slave was useless to him, especially one used by another man. Rather than kill the traitorous pair outright, believing their souls might somehow find eternal rest, he conscripted a wizard to prepare a punishment worse than death.”

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To find out more about The Soul Jar visit: http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/jennifercolgan.htm
This is my author page at NCP. Soul Jar will appear there shortly and it will also have it’s own page over the course of the weekend.

Stay tuned for details on a contest I'll be running to celebrate the release of The Soul Jar!