Title: Dream Weaver
Series: Roam, Book Three
Author: Dez Schwartz
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: April 27, 2020
Heat Level: 1 - No Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 45400
Genre: Paranormal, celestials, death, dream world, dreams, Elementals, ghosts, magic, MM Romance, sandman, witches
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Synopsis
Ethan Roam has faced a lot of nightmarish challenges—finding out he’s a sandman, falling in love with the man who once hunted him, and thwarting attacks from The Order of Azoth, a secret occult organization set on using his bloodline to conquer the universe by controlling immortality. And the battle is far from over.To defeat The Order and its leader, Phantom, Ethan must first find the original Sandman and then bring the fight to the Dream World. Saving the universe might be too tall an order for one dream creature, but with the help of his friends and some Celestial beings with questionable motives, Ethan just might be able to weave a trap of surreal proportions.
Excerpt
Dream Weaver
Dez Schwartz © 2020
All Rights Reserved
The Misguided Travelers
“Maybe it’s broken.” Ethan Roam, the
sandman, shook the orb as though giving the device the magic-eight-ball
treatment would bring it pulsing back to life.
“It had better not be. Technical support
doesn’t exist for magical artifacts,” Mercury said.
Unsuccessful at reviving the device,
Ethan set the orb down on the flattened surface of a nearby stalagmite. “I’m
surprised to say it, but I really wish Chris was here. If anyone could fix
this, it would probably be him.”
“The Sandman Orb doesn’t need to be
fixed. You’re just a bad driver,” Mercury, the former vampire, Dacey, who was
now transformed into a celestial entity, chided. Guarded, he turned a
one-eighty to view what little he could make out about their dark cavernous
surroundings. This wasn’t the first alien planet Ethan had transported them to.
But without the Sandman Orb working to give them a proper idea of where they
physically were, it was becoming the most foreboding.
“Well, it would help if I had the
driver’s manual,” Ethan defended, referring to the Codex, which had been left
behind in Grady Hunter’s study during the battle with the Hunters of Azoth,
forcing them all to escape to the Dream World. “My driving doesn’t explain why
the orb just stopped working all together.”
“Of course, it does. You took a wrong
turn into an uncharted dimension. You’re off the grid, darling.”
“Sorry I didn’t pull over to ask for
directions,” Ethan snipped.
Before he could add anything else to his
sarcastic rebuttal, Mercury grabbed his arm in a protective manner and
whispered, “Hide the orb. We’re not alone.”
Ethan scooped the archaic device up and
stowed the orb away inside his jacket’s inner lining, thankful Grady had
bestowed the hand-me-down to him. His boyfriend’s wardrobe had all sorts of
custom pockets and restraints for portable weaponry, which Ethan found to be
more and more a necessity.
A cluster of glowing eyes appeared in
the darkness, followed by the sound of grunts. Ethan released a pulse of
glowing blue dream energy from his palm to light up the space. The alien animal
let out an annoyed squawk. Now that Ethan could get a good peek at the
creature, he wished he hadn’t.
The alien matched the murky gray
sediment of the walls around them and appeared just as bulky. Its long body
reminded Ethan of a salamander, only several feet longer and the size of a
large crocodile. Once its gaggle of eyes adjusted to the light, the creature
used six legs to propel itself rapidly toward them.
“Ball play is over. Back to basics,”
Mercury instructed. Mercury had no reason to worry for his own life, seeing as
he currently held the title of Death. Instead, he’d be more interested in
protecting Ethan’s.
Picking up on his meaning, Ethan opened
a portal back to the Dream World. In the blink of an eye, he and Mercury left
behind a confused, angry, and hungry alien life-form.
*
Luckily, Mercury noted, Ethan has
mastered the art of landing on his feet and not on his face when traveling
between worlds.
Mercury grinned his approval. “You’re
improving.”
“Not nearly fast enough,” Ethan reminded
him, producing the orb once again. At least now they knew for certain the
device wasn’t broken since the orb glowed back to working order with the
atmosphere of the Dream World to energize it. “And this thing is basically
useless without the Codex.”
“There’s more than one way to navigate
foreign waters. Might I refer you to the Age of Exploration?” Mercury patted
him on the shoulder in encouragement.
“No need to ask if you had any luck. I
see Vincent still isn’t with you.”
They turned to see Marcus von Rottal,
the vampire, standing nearby, his hands casually resting in his pockets.
Mercury had reason to be wary of
Marcus’s extreme interest. They were all in limbo until they could find Vincent
Roam, Ethan’s father—the original Sandman. Unbeknownst to the others, Marcus
was the reason for Vincent’s disappearance. He’d pushed Vincent into a portal
out of unfounded jealousy. Mercury had guarded their secret in order to protect
Marcus. However, the truth seemed destined to come out. Especially if they were
successful in finding Vincent alive. Mercury imagined Marcus would want to put
all his efforts into doing whatever he could to prevent that from happening.
As long as Mercury had known him, Marcus
had put his own interests above everyone else’s. Nothing could stop him or
deter him once he set his mind on something. Mercury would have to play his
hand very close to keep Marcus from interfering or suspecting he mistrusted his
intentions. And as unrealistic as his desire was, a part of him also hoped the
others never would know the truth. Regardless of everything which had
transpired to drive them apart in the last century, and as much as he’d shed
the coil of his past life as Dacey, Mercury still felt protective over him. Or
at least responsible for him.
“Marcus, darling! I’m so glad you’re
here,” he lied. “Would you be a doll and fetch Grady and perhaps even the
portly fellow? What’s his name again?”
“Arthur,” Ethan helped.
Mercury snapped his fingers in
confirmation. “Yes! I have an ever-growing list of questions needing answers
from those bookish occultist blokes.”
“Hunter wandered into the dream forest,”
Marcus informed them. He often referred to Grady by his surname to slight him.
“I was quite hoping he’d lose himself in there, but I suppose I’ll go fetch him
out if I must. Must I?”
Mercury nodded.
Marcus pursed his lips in response
before making his way into the fluorescent-hued woods surrounding them.
Knowing full well Ethan would question
the need to interrogate the other men, Mercury went ahead and answered. “Who
has read the Mechanics of Sleep Travel more times than anyone else, and even
better, who helped write the damned thing?”
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Meet the Author
Dez Schwartz is a LGBTQ, Dreampunk,
& Gothic Romance author and artist based in San Angelo, Texas. She holds a
BFA in Studio Art and worked as a graphic artist, and a Director’s Assistant at
a fine arts museum, before transitioning to writing full-time.
Her longtime love of Victorian
spiritualism, gay literary fiction, and romantic comedies inspired her to begin
writing all of the stories she wished existed.
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