Blog
29
Sep
2015

Lexi Anders’ Dragon’s Eye

Lexi Ander’s Sumeria’s Sons series is now five books strong. Dragon’s Eye is out now and you can continue the adventures of Tristan and Ushna. Today she stops by with not only an exclusive excerpt you won’t read anywhere else, she also wrote a continuing fiction for the blog tour. Start at the beginning though since it does need to be read in order. You can find the beginning blogs at the bottom with the tour stop list. You definitely want to check out both things here today, along with all of the details on the book. At the very bottom enter for a chance to win one of five prizes including a paperback copy of the book, Amazon or ARe gift card, fabulous swag and digital copies of the book.

Thank you for having me over today! I wanted to talk about where I picked up the word Annunaki and how I decided to use within the series.

For Sumeria’s Sons, I used the word Annunaki to refer to the gateways the gods used to shuttle people around the world. The Ophidians such as Bixx Decimus were Kenwards of the Annunaki Gates, basically keepers of the gates. A Child’s Wish gave the reader a little more depth to the gateways, describing different kinds that were once used widely by the gods but were almost forgotten.

Who or what were the Annunaki? I stumbled across the term in the Babylonian creation myth. When I was researching the Annunaki I came across a conspiracy theory that they were actually aliens from space who had “stargates” and spaceships and watches. It made me think of the series Stargate, which was one of my all-time favorite shows… see where that line of thought went? Fanciful stuff aside, the Anunnaki can be found across ancient Mesopotamian cultures Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian. Something to remember when myths cross cultures things change especially since the time period ranges from about 4100 B.C.E. to about 500 B.C.E.

The name means “princely offspring” or “offspring of Anu”. It is thought they encompass the primordial Sumerian deities specializing in fertility and they are mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh when Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh the story of the flood. Later the Annunaki became associated with the underworld, where they became identified as seven judges. They take their name from the old sky god An (Anu).

All that was great but I was stuck on the conspiracy theory with the Annunaki being people from a different world. I reshaped that a bit to beings from a different plane of existence. Think of Superman and how on Krypton he’s just a regular joe-schmo, but bring him to Earth and our yellow sun and he becomes someone with great power. He’s unstoppable, unless faced with different kinds of kryptonite, but put him in a primitive culture—what would he be. A God.

Now I’m not saying that the Gods/Goddess of Sumeria’s Sons are aliens, only that they come from a different plane of existence that can be accessed through the Annunaki gates, and this here, our Earth—our cosmos—is their creation playground.

A huge thank you for allowing me to be a guest on the blog today! Throughout the blog tour for Dragon’s Eye, I hope you enjoy the behind the scenes look at the gods and mythos, and how they play a part in Sumeria’s Sons. For a visual representation, please visit my Pinterest page. (https://www.pinterest.com/lexiander1/sumeria-sons-inspirations/) During the tour I discuss the Sumerian pantheon, about who and what the Gods/Goddess are, and how I use them. Make sure you stop by the other blogs to get a complete look at the Gods and Goddess the Lycan’s follow.

Also, Less Than Three Press is running a special sale on Sumeria’s Sons from September 23rd through October 7th (dates inclusive).

Twin Flames is $0.99. 25% off Songs of the Earth. 25% off Dreams of the Forgotten. 25% off Surrounded by Crimson.

Blurb:
In the wake of birth and betrayal, Ushna takes the God Ashur to Tristan in a last desperate bid to save Tristan’s life—and is helpless to do anything but watch as Ashur instead buries him in a grave. Though he has no desire to go on living, having now lost Brian and Tristan, Ushna has no choice. Not only do their children need him, the mysterious Simurgh has come out of hiding and forces him to continue on—for there is much to do and little time to do it, especially with treachery and danger closing in on them from every side.

Exclusive Excerpt:
The other vehicles parked behind us. Corey spoke to my parents but I couldn’t hear what he said. My father nodded and headed towards the last vehicle, where the wounded had been loaded. Warriors surrounded our SUV before Corey opened my door. I didn’t want to leave the vehicle. If I did, then Tristan’s fate would be set in stone. Illogical, I knew, but the thought of stepping foot in that house without him was the point of no return. I’d never be able to undo anything that transpired today, as if I even had the power to accomplish something like that. Part of me knew I didn’t want to answer the questions that would eventually come.

What Saéna said kept returning to the forefront of my thoughts. Why was this not a time to grieve? The only reason could be that Tristan wasn’t lost, wasn’t dead. But I saw him buried and Ashur held onto me until there was no hope of saving Tristan from suffocating. My blood boiled at the memory and I breathed around the anger. She is tending him now. What did that mean? Who? Who was tending Tristan? How was I to look past my pain when I’d lost the brightest point in my life? When Brian was killed, even though we wouldn’t have bonded for years, I still felt the absence of his Flame. Tristan and I had bonded last night and… and… wait.

Extended Excerpt:
Chapter One

**Ushna**

The God Ashur followed behind me carrying Tristan, whose body was battered and broken. The cry of our newborn pups preceded me. Their birth was supposed to be a wondrous occasion, but through treachery and lies, that was stolen from us. Instead of enjoying the happy moment, I feared Tristan was dying.

There was so much blood. The damage to his body overwhelmed my senses. I was afraid if I didn’t keep my eyes on him, if I turned my back for a second too long, his Flame would slip away. We ran through the cursed caverns that wouldn’t allow me to touch my wolf or feel the song of the earth. Ashur’s harsh commands to hurry spurred me on faster but I had to look behind me, I had to see with my own eyes that Tristan was still with us, still fighting.

The scars… I couldn’t care less but Tristan might. I vowed I would spend the rest of my life showing him how beautiful he was to me—but first we had to get him out into the open.

I glanced back. “Hurry, Ashur.”

The corridor seemed much longer than when we’d come in. Glancing over my shoulder again to ensure Ashur followed closely, my impatience caused a snarl to rumble in my throat. Tristan’s skin was a gray-blue, stark and sickly against Ashur’s rich mahogany tone. With every passing moment, we were losing him.

“Please.” I don’t know if I begged Ashur to go faster or if it was a plea to the Gods to spare Tristan’s life.

When we entered the darkened corridor carved from the bedrock, I heard Tristan sigh. For months, he’d been teaching me how to listen to the Earth and I could practically feel her rush to him. I climbed the stairs, my foot slipping on the wet step in my hurry to get outside.

The open air had never smelled so good, filling my lungs with the scents of life. My wolf stirred, frantic for our mate. I reached to take Tristan from Ashur, but he dodged my grasp, moving off to the side. His low voice had a musical tone as he chanted in a language I didn’t recognize and next to him, a hole formed in the ground.

“What are you doing? You said all we had to do was get him outside!” Why was Ashur not singing the song for healing? I reached again to take Tristan from Ashur’s arms. Tristan was teaching me the complex chant, but Ashur was Tristan’s tutelary. He knew what to ask the Earth for and how. Why was he not begging her to save Tristan’s life? She wouldn’t say no. She’d never say no to Tristan because she adored him.

It took a moment for the haze of my frantic thoughts to subside enough to realize Ashur was talking and then another for me to process the meaning of his words. What did he mean he couldn’t restore Tristan’s health?

With rising alarm, I said, “You’ve been teaching him how to sing to the Earth. Why can’t you do that now?”

Ashur dodged me, laying Tristan in the hole atop the dark loamy soil. Something eased in me seeing Tristan in contact with the ground, although the Earth didn’t rush up to him as I’d expected. She never missed an opportunity to touch him… until now. Instead, I felt power build until my bones ached and the snakes on my chest writhed in discomfort.

Staring down, I searched for the source of the energy, sure that at any moment, whatever it was would show itself. My gaze continued to return to Tristan with his ruined eyed, his torso ravaged and gaping. Never had I seen him so vulnerable, so small, the very sight calling to the caretaker within me.

Tearing my gaze away, I confronted Ashur who was pleading with me. “I teach him the songs but She doesn’t respond to me.”

An ancient sadness shone in Ashur’s visage but I didn’t care. I had trusted him to save Tristan. Never before had I been filled with such useless rage. I didn’t understand what Ashur was saying. Who was he talking about? The Earth? He was the king’s tutelary, so why wouldn’t the Earth answer his call?

Desperation rose up and I barked, “Why the fuck not?”

“Because I took the wrong side in a war, now I’m forever separated from Her.”

What did that have to do with the here and now? What did it matter he’d lost something or someone? My Tristan was dying and all he could do was talk. Ashur’s pleading gaze held mine and I suddenly understood. I glanced back down at Tristan, lying in a bed of fresh dark soil.

A grave.

“No! You cannot mean to do this. He’s not dead!” I jumped into the hole; Tristan’s single eye stared at me with clarity, despite the state of his body. His chest rose and fell with each labored breath. There was still time. I could save him.

With the strength of the God he was, Ashur wound his arms around my waist and easily hauled me away from Tristan.

I went mad.

I fought, screamed and begged. First Brian and now Tristan. How was I to stay behind? I pleaded with Ashur to allow me to go with Tristan. We’d travelled through the Earth together before, we could do it again. I could sing to the Earth and beg for Her help.

It wasn’t too late.

Then Ashur chanted and the soil covered Tristan, taking him from my sight. I roared with fury, thrashing and clawing at Ashur’s hands. I vowed vengeance for this act of betrayal. Silently, Ashur held me as I beat and wailed upon him, trying to free myself from his steely grasp. He whispered continuously, “I am sorry but this had to be done,” in my ear. Tears of grief stained my cheeks and I hated him all the more because it didn’t have to be like this. He had no right to take Tristan from me.

About Lexi:
Lexi has always been an avid reader, and at a young age started reading (secretly) her mother’s romances (the ones she was told not to touch). She was the only teenager she knew of who would be grounded from reading. Later, with a pencil and a note book, she wrote her own stories and shared them with friends because she loved to see their reactions. A Texas transplant, Lexi now kicks her boots up in the Midwest with her Yankee husband and her eighty-pound puppies named after vacuum cleaners.
Website: http://www.lexiander.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexi.ander.9
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/LexiAnder1
Blog: http://lexiander.blogspot.com/
E-mail: lexi.ander.author@gmail.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6521302.Lexi_Ander

Buy Links:
Less Than Three Press: http://www.lessthanthreepress.com/books/index.php?main_page=product_bookx_info&cPath=116&products_id=973

Tour Stops:
24-Sep:
Andrew Q. Gordon, Christy Loves 2 Read
25-Sep: Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Dawn’s Reading Nook, Bayou Book Junkie
28-Sep: Decadent Delights, Hearts on Fire, MM Good Book Reviews
29-Sep: Amanda C. Stone, Jessie G. Books, The Novel Approach
30-Sep: The Jena Wade
1-Oct: Louise Lyons, Lee Brazil, BFD Book Blog
2-Oct: Love Bytes, Chris McHart, TTC Books and More
5-Oct: Molly Lolly, Wake Up Your Wild Side
6-Oct: Three Books Over The Rainbow, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, GGR Review
7-Oct: Inked Rainbow Reads, Prism Book Alliance, Crystal’s Many Reviewers

Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

5 Comments

  1. Lexi Ander says:

    Thank you for hosting me today! <3

  2. Ree Dee says:

    Hello Lexi! Congratulations on the new release! I just bought the book and am ready to go!

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