Deliverance, Mortal Path, Book 3 by Dakota Banks

Publisher: Harper Collins/Harper Voyager
Pages: 340

(Release Date: March 27, 2012)

From the Cover:

Kill . . . or be damned.

A demon's assassin for centuries, Maliha Crayne has gone rogue, determined to save a life for every one she's destroyed in order to free herself from an eternity of enslavement, damnation, and excruciating torment. But as the powers that sustained her in the past fade, she is wary of trusting those closest to her—especially her lover, Jake. And her closest friends are beginning to disappear, one by one. Amid her anger, suspicion, and sorrow, her life is spiraling out of control.

Worse still, a beautiful Renaissance murderess is recruiting Maliha as her new assassin. Maliha is turning into a lethal puppet with an evil Immortal pulling the strings, forced to kill innocents or see her missing friends die horribly. Suddenly trapped in a moral no-man's-land, Maliha is damned if she does and damned if she doesn't . . . and time is rapidly running out.

(Originally posted on Book Lovers, Inc.)

Maliha, the ex-demon assassin, needs to balance the scales of justice. For each life unjustly taken as the demon assassin, a life must be saved. As the scales balance, tiny footsteps burned across Maliha's flesh. But, there is another price for the justice she seeks. With every balance of the scale, she grows older, her body slows, and takes longer to heal from her time as one of the Ageless. It makes her more vulnerable to the forces wishing to end her before she achieves her goal, and her soul becomes her own once more.

This time around, Maliha finds herself up against her worst foe yet. To the real world, she is known as  Marsha Winters, author extraordinaire. To her close friends, she's known as Mahila, the righters of wrongs. But, when she returns from the trip to New York, she finds people are missing from her life. First, Arnie Henshaw and then one of her closest friends and advisors, Yanmeng. Arnie was a warning, a foretelling of what is to come. When pieces of Yanmeng start arriving at her apartment, she knows something has gone horribly wrong. Someone wants to pull her strings, become their murderer for hire. Not only does she have to worry about getting Yanmeng back before he's cut up into tiny pieces, but she has to worry about the tight knit group that surrounds her. If Yanmeng was vulnerable, the rest would be easy prey.

The ex-demon assassin takes matters into her own hands. An Ageless has to be responsible, which can only mean, a demon is behind this latest assault on her sanity and her ability to earn back her soul. Then, there's Jake, DEA agent, her lover, and Ageless assassin. She wants to love him, but she can't trust him. Is he the Ageless responsible for Yanmeng? Would he remove everyone important in her life to make sure he stays in hers? She can't rest until Yanmeng is returned and the responsible party held accountable. The question remains, will she succeed or will she become the one thing she detest, an assassin in the service to another demon?

Deliverance by Dakota Banks is the third book in her Mortal Path series. And not to worry, if this is your first foray into the series, it is easy to read as a stand alone. There is plenty of background information to the new reader and well as the longtime fans of the series. In this addition, someone is hunting Mahila's friends. Picking them off, using them as leverage in a bid to retain her services as an assassin. This she can't have. She won't become a demon's puppet ever again. Yanmeng, her oldest and closest friend, has been taken and she has to be honest with herself... he may not even be alive. But, it becomes the new purpose in her life to see his safe return and the demon assassin responsible to meet their doom. Is she strong enough to meet this new challenge? Are her friends? And will they understand if she leaves them, even if it's for their own safety? This new challenge disrupts her life and those of the friends, and if she honest with herself, they have become family, something she never thought to have again. But, if she can't keep them safe, she can't keep them at all. Then, there's Jake and she's becoming more suspicious of him all the time. There are events that only an Ageless could be responsible for, and though he claims his demon as forgotten about him, Mahila doesn't buy it. Evidence of Jake's deviousness keeps popping up in her life.

Deliverance delivers a pulse pounding start, Mahila is back in action with and she's better than before. And it ends in the same way, a wild ride in the life of the one-time assassin. Mahila faces choices, decisions will have to be made, and it all depends on how much she's willing to sacrifice and for whom. She has a code in her life, one she's bound to if she going to buy back her soul, if she's going to right the centuries of the past. But, she also has another code, one she holds sacred, and that's for the tight knit group of friends. Lovers aren't taken lightly in Mahila's life and Jake is proven himself, but something is wrong in their relationship, and it leads Mahila to question more than just his love, his desire, his almost fascination. Dakota Banks writes a series where action pours from the pages, from one heart racing event to another. A strong story of lifetimes bound together, where friendship means more, where love is shared. The Mortal Path series is urban fantasy at it's best. The new reader wouldn't have any trouble at all picking up this book and being drawn into the story. My personal preference is that I like to start at the beginning of the series and read my way forward, but it's not necessary for Ms. Banks' series. Highly recommended for urban fantasy lovers, it's one not to be misses. Paranormal Romance lovers may also want to give this one a try, just enough romance to keep them needing more too. Five out of five fairy kisses for this reader.

I received a copy of the ebook for review from BLI. All opinions expressed are my own.

Deliverance, Mortal Path, Book 3 by Dakota Banks

Publisher: Harper Voyager / Harper-Collins
Pages: 304

(Release Date: March 27, 2012)

From the Cover:

“A gut-kick of a read, with non-stop action and as inventive a world as I’ve ever seen.”
—Vicki Pettersson, New York Times bestselling author of the Signs of the Zodiac series

“Great characters who jump from the page; a smart, layered plot, and pacing that screams. This is the kind of book that makes you look forward to a rainy day.”
—John Gilstrap, author of Nathan’s Run

“Readers…will devour Banks’s clever and compelling Mortal Path series. Assassins, demons, and danger, oh my!”
—Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love You More

Dakota Banks has taken the supernatural thriller and given it a breathtaking new twist! Deliverance is the third book in Banks’s relentlessly exciting urban fantasy series, Mortal Path, featuring heroine Maliha Crayne, once a demon’s henchwoman and paranormal assassin now determined to atone for her centuries of murderous acts. A cross between Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft and Marvel Comics’s Elektra, Maliha finds her powers are rapidly fading in Deliverance, and discovers that her quest to avoid eternal damnation has put those she loves most in gravest peril. Banks’s Deliverance delivers suspense and edge-of-your-seat adventure—a non-stop paranormal roller coaster ride that fans of Jeaniene Frost, James Rollins, Vicki Pettersson, and Indiana Jones, won’t want to miss.

It will be another rockin rollin thrill ride from Dakota Banks and my favorite heroine, Maliha Crayne... a kick-ass ex-assassin, bent on reclaiming her soul. Can't wait to see what happens!! 

I have to say, Dakota is blessed with some of the best cover art... I'm loving these covers!!

How would you like to find yourself on the Mortal Path?

Dakota Banks visited Tink's Place recently, but she's not finished with her giveaway of the Mortal Path series.

If you go to her blog you can get all the details, but I'll share a few with you here.

1. You has a character in the next book!
AND
2. A subscription to the series.
OR
3. A critique, personally, from Dakota Banks.

Giveaway ends December 1, 2010

So, get on over to Mortal Path Blog, and see how to enter, and Good Luck! Too Cool!

Winner of Dakota Banks Giveaway!!

Before I announce the winner of Sacrifice, Book Two, Mortal Path by Dakota Banks, I want to thank her for spending time here at Tink's Place, answering questions, and letting us know a little about herself and her writing process. I always enjoy learning about authors!

I used Randomizer to choose a winner, and it has spoken. The winner is.....

Blodeuedd!!

B, Send me your snail mail addy and I'll send it to Dakota! You have 5 days to claim your prize. Congrats and Happy Reading!!

Sacrifice, Mortal Path, Book Two by Dakota Banks

Publisher:  Eos Books / Harper Collins
Pages:  304

From the Cover:

A demon's enslaved executioner—a ravager of lives and souls—Maliha Crayne has been reborn, willing to sacrifice her immortality for a chance at freedom . . . and salvation. Now she has an opportunity to prevent the death of thousands—perhaps tens of thousands—to make up for the countless lives she has obliterated over the centuries. 

To do so, she must locate and destroy an evil cabal of madmen in possession of a weapon of unspeakable power—and survive the immortal assassins who are now after her blood. But it means reverting to the old ways and surrendering once more to the darkness. And if Maliha dies before the mission is accomplished, the hell she once knew will seem like a picnic compared to the eternal torments awaiting her. 

When we last visited with Maliha Crayne, she was wondering how Jake, her new boyfriend, had entered her sanctum, her safe zone known to few and impenetrable by all, until now. How could Jake have navigated her safety procedures which were difficult even for an Ageless... there could only be one explanation, and Maliha doesn't like it.

Maliha and crew are setting out upon a new mission, and it all starts with a distress call from Maliha's good friend, Hound's wife, Glass. She was on a medical mission in Darfur and went missing. Maliha fears the worst, Sudanese bad guys, the Janjaweed, supplied by the government were known to beat, mutilate, and rape the women they captured, before killing them that is. Hound can only see finding Glass, and not what may be the consequences of her capture. So, into the battle zone they go, and manage to free Glass who has sustained multiple injuries, and just when they think maybe they're all going to make it out, the scales on Maliha chest and stomach balance, causing her to falter. She beaten, kicked, stoned, until a savior appears in silver armor.

Maliha wakes up in the hospital, knowing only an Ageless could have possibly saved her, but why? As they recuperate in a private hospital in the Switzerland, Maliha begins to ponder the attack. When she asks Amaro and Yanmeng, the other members of her extended family to check it out, the town has been burned to a crisp, nothing is left. Curious, Maliha gets the whole story from Glass about people so sick they were dissolving. Again, Maliha sets Amaro on the trail, and he discovers an organization experimenting with nanites, microscopic technology able to work at the molecular level. Suddenly, Maliha's gut is telling her there's more going on, and it could have deadly consequences, for thousands, if not millions of people.

During all of this, Maliha's personal life in knocking on her door, and it's nothing she's happy about. Jake, who could be the love of her life, hasn't been telling her the truth, or at least not the whole truth. The knight in silver armor, Lucius, who saved the day in Darfur; he kidnaps Maliha, wanting to know how she defied her demon. She begs him to join her, but will it be his ultimate undoing?  As an Ageless, he's been working for his demon hundreds of years, can he ever balance his scales?

Sacrifice by Dakota Banks is thrilling urban fantasy at it's best.  Maliha denied her demon when she was asked to do the impossible, kill an innocent. The God, Anu, allowed the defiance, but on the condition of balancing the scales of deaths. For each life she took as a demon's assassin, she must save a life, and with each life she saves, she ages, which in turn reduces her abilities to save additional lives. As an Ageless, she healed in the blink of an eye, moved faster than the eye could see, and trained in the deadly arts.  She's still as deadly, but slower and it takes time to heal, not as much as a mortal, but much longer than an Ageless. And the foe she has to match wits with this time is deadly, probably one of the most deadly creatures to have ever walked the Earth, without scruples or conscious. He wants her death, Jake wants her body and soul, and Lucius wants to gain her love, even at the cost of his immortality. When Maliha realizes what she's up against, she has to grab her extended family, and throw them into hiding, only Hound, Amora, and Yanmeng know her secrets, and now not even they can help her. Without her safety net around her, she feels herself slipping back into the Black Ghost persona, the one she used as a demon servant. Will it be Maliha ultimate undoing?

Sacrifice is an excellent example of a thrilling urban fantasy. There's mondo bad guys, the Sudanese creeps, the evil council members, and demons assassins. Maliha is thrust into a world where she's not sure who she can trust, and it makes her question her friends, the new life she's been leading, the purpose of her life. It even makes her question whether or not she was better off as a demon assassin. Then she meets Lucius, and he wants to defy his demon, how can she help him if she can't help herself? And then there's Jake. Sacrifice is the perfect title for this story, can Maliha ask Jake to sacrifice himself, will Lucius sacrifice himself by defying his demon, will her friends and family sacrifice themselves all to help Maliha in a life she's not even sure about? This book was an incredibly quick read, I thought I start it one evening, just to get a feel for the story, and 74 pages later, I realized I'd have to keep reading. There's action, adventure, excitement, horror, and a fantasy island in the middle of the Mediterranean, and it's all wrapped up as an urban fantasy. I highly recommend this book for all lovers of urban fantasy, even thrillers, there's a great mystery that Maliha has to solve if she's going to save the day and her life. It's an excellent follow up to Dark Time, Mortal Path, Book One.

Guest Post and Giveaway! Tink's Place Welcomes Dakota Banks

Hi to all my blogosphere buds!!

I have a very special guest to welcome to Tink's Place today!!

Dakota Banks has become one of my favorite authors. She always delivers a story filled with action, adventure, excitement, and a little love; and she does it all in the guise of an Urban Fantasy, making the reader that a look around, wondering if it's a possibility. After all, the Salem Witch Trials really did happen. What if you were Maliha and could bargain away the pain and death, the only cost was your service to a demon. You'd have a second chance at life, a chance at revenge, and you'd be better than before, enhanced, immortal. The only problem, your conscious doesn't like to follow the demon's demands. This is the premise for Dakota's books.

And now, to celebrate the release of her new book, Sacrifice, Book Two, The Mortal Path Series, Dakota has prepared a special post today.

Thanks, Dottie, for having me on your blog today.

Sacrifice is out! I've been waiting for it, building up both anticipation and honestly a little nervousness. I'm well aware of the "second book fizzle," in which the second book of a series doesn't live up to the promise of the opener. I pour heart and soul into each book and I hope there's no fizzle in the Mortal Path series. Instead, I honestly hope to make this a best-selling series. Enough with the honesty! I'm starting to get dewy-eyed.

I love book releases! It's when I have the most opportunity to talk with readers other than during conventions. Otherwise, with my daily routine that includes writing in the middle of the night, I can go a long time without saying a word. The writing and the research that go into the Mortal Path books are very intense activities for me. Think trance. Think throwing the stapler at anyone who interrupts my trance. My cats are immune from that rule, and when you think about it, there's something trance-inducing about cats purring in unison anyway. Writing in the middle of the night also means I can slip out into the kitchen for s'mores and not have to make some for everyone. Seriously. The "k" key on my keyboard sticks a little because somehow microwaved marshmallow dripped down next to it. You'd think toothpicks would do a better job of cleaning.

Many authors have two or more book releases a year. So far in the Mortal Path series, it's been one a year, and I see that pattern continuing. I'm working on book #3 now (working title Despair, although I don't know if my editor will go for it). Instead of doing more than one MP book a year, I think I could add another series, and I'm looking into that now. Something that isn't quite so dark. Something that would never have a title of Despair, even tentatively. Any suggestions? Vampires? Werewolves? Zombies? All of the above? And I guess (sigh) I'm going to have to get into writing in first person, something that doesn't come naturally to me. Well, no one said writing was easy.

I want to go on record about something. My original intentions for the Mortal Path series had Maliha ending up alone and bereft, as she was at the beginning of the series, in a full circle thing. I dropped that idea because I love Maliha too much and could never do that to her. I solemnly promise, right here on Tink's Place, a HEA for Maliha, but she has a lot to go through to get there. Don't you just love HEAs? I think even a dark fantasy deserves some light at the end.

This short excerpt represents a problem Maliha has to face in Sacrifice, where the challenge lends itself to her returning to the ways of the Black Ghost, when she was a demon assassin:

       Maliha wanted to talk to Hound, Amaro, and Yanmeng before she left. She corralled them all in a bedroom.

       "Don't expect to hear from me often," Maliha said. "I can call the phone here because it's secure, but mostly I'll be operating quietly and quickly. I'll be using my old assassin techniques and you don't really need to hear about that anyway. Keep everybody calm in here and I'll let you know when I'm successful."

       Her three friends exchanged looks that she couldn't interpret. "What gives?"

       "You're shutting us out. Do you need to work secretly?" said Yanmeng.

       Maliha frowned. "If you want the job done and lives saved, then let me have a free hand."

       "What exactly does a free hand mean? How do you operate with your 'old assassin techniques'"? Yanmeng wanted to know.

       With no regrets, no looking back, and nobody getting in my way. Using any method to get what I want.

       "Efficiently," she said. Her voice was cold. Unconsciously, she'd taken an aggressive stance: feet spread apart, her right foot slightly in front of her left, her left hand inches away from the gun in her hidden waistband holster.

       "Whoa, back off," Hound said as he stepped in front of Yanmeng. "It was just a question. Shit, don't get all Rambo on us."

       Maliha swung her arms to loosen them, and moved backward to sit on the bed. "What's with all of you? This is no different from other missions we've worked on."

       Yanmeng shook his head. "Your attitude is different. You're slipping back to the way you behaved when you were Ageless, and it seems like you … want to."

       What gives them the right …?

       "How do you know how I behaved when I was Ageless?"

       "Because you've told us," Amaro said. "You also said that you never wanted to be that way again."

       "I can handle this. It's temporary." Maliha stood up and left the room, cutting off the conversation. It was time for her to leave.

Wow! What an excellent taste of Sacrifice! Thanks Dakota for sharing what it's like for you to write, I like middle of the night s'mores too, lol, it's the only peaceful time of my day! My dog likes middle of the night snacks too, but I make him have puppy treats.


I love the excitement you have for the Mortal Path series, it keeps the characters fresh and your readers happy! Though writing means lots of hard work and long nights, the payoff is a story that's hard to put down. I do hope Maliha has many more books and adventures yet to come, she's a magnetic heroine, and yes, I do believe she needs her HEA. She's worked too hard not to end up happy!

Dakota also has a special treat for my readers today. She'd like to have an international giveaway of one signed copy of Sacrifice to one lucky commenter.  YAY!!

So, leave a comment for Dakota.  Ask her a question, make a suggestion for her new series (you know, I'd suggest Vampires, hot sexy vampires, lol, and Dakota, you write dark so well!), pick her brain about writing, and please congratulate her on the release of Sacrifice, my review will be up soon, all I can say... it's a must read!!

If you're a follower, remind me and I'll give you an extra entry, but you don't have to follow to enter. Spread the word, and let me know, earn an extra entry. We'll leave the contest open until Tuesday midnight, and randomizer will pick a winner. Good luck and good reading!!

Cover Alert:: Dakota Banks ~~~ Sacrifice: Mortal Path, Book Two

Publisher:  Eos / Harper Collins
Pages:  304

(Release Date:  8-31-2010)

From the Cover: 

The Mortal Path Series: What if a woman sold her soul to a demon and 300 years later wanted it back?

Sacrifice: Mortal Path Book 2

Available August 31, 2010
 
A Sumerian demon's enslaved executioner--a ravager of lives and souls--Maliha Crayne has been reborn, willing to sacrifice her immortality for a chance at freedom ... and salvation.

Now she has an opportunity to prevent the death of thousands to help balance the countless lives she has obliterated over the centuries. To do so, she must locate and destroy an evil cabal of madmen in possession of a weapon of unspeakable power--and survive the immortal assassins who are now after her blood.

But it means reverting to the old ways and surrendering once more to the darkness. And if Maliha dies before the mission is accomplished, the hell she once knew will seem like a picnic compared to the eternal torments awaiting her.

"Chilling, thrilling, and a page turner!" - HEATHER GRAHAM


"Action packed. Tons of fun. Dakota Banks slams you through a wild tale of mayhem and murder. You'll love every page." - MARIO ACEVEDO



I've been patiently waiting for this book's release. This is a must read for me after reading Dark Time: Mortal Path, Book One. To see my review, click here.

Welcome To A New Blogger

Some of you may remember a sweet little dark Urban Fantasy that I reviewed a few months ago called Dark Time, Mortal Path Book One by Dakota Banks. Well, Ms. Banks has decided to join our little community of authors and book reviewers. She's just starting her blog out, so please everyone, give her a big welcome!

http://dakota-banks.blogspot.com/

I love the name of her blog, Mortal Blog. Stop by and welcome her to the blogosphere!

Last Day to Enter for Dakota Banks' Dark Time Giveaway!!

If you haven't entered, tonight is the last night to get your entry in!! I'll draw a winner first thing in the morning!!



Thanks to everyone who has made this a fun giveaway!

For Kirsten....Happy Birthday Baby!!!




FTC Note: I have always stated where or when I've received a book, but from now on I will now be ending reviews with a disclosure statement something like:

I received this book for review from (the author, publicist, publisher, editor, win, buy, or library) and all opinions expressed are my own. Thanks to the FTC for making reading and blogging a little more fun!! (If I purchase, borrow, or win a book, I am forgo the statement as I see fit.)

Guest Post With Dakota Banks and Giveway!!

Today on my blog, I have an extra special guest. I have the pleasure of welcoming Ms. Dakota Banks. She has written several suspense novels and she has agreed to impart some of her words of wisdom (I can use all the words of wisdom I can get!). I recently reviewed her book, Dark Time: Mortal Path Book One (to read my review, click here) and I thought it was a fantastic adventure with her first foray into urban fantasy genre. So please join me in welcoming Ms. Banks to the blog!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I want to thank Dottie for the opportunity to reach out to her blog readers today.





I sat down prepared to write something perky, ending with a few self-congratulatory statements about my book, Dark Time: Mortal Path Book 1. Instead I found myself in a more reflective mood. So stay with me and I promise a treat at the end.

I'm one of those people who had a lifelong urge to write and knew from the age of eight that I'd be a writer someday. That was the year I wrote a 200 word short story and had it published in the school newspaper. Wow, my first byline! I slept with that story under my pillow until it got tattered and smeared (mimeographs were used at that time). It must have been a health hazard, because one morning the story was gone and a quarter was left its place. My mother talked nonsense about the story fairy, but I was convinced it was my first paid writing. I was a pro, and the only thing I had to work on was a higher payment per word and maybe getting an agent.

I was swept up by life after that. Science and computer studies, college, marriage, a career, a couple of adopted sons. The dream never died, though. I kept waiting for the "perfect" time to devote myself to long days and weeks of writing, and naturally something always came up to cause me to put it off. I finally learned what all writers have to learn: there is no perfect time. If you wait for it, they'll carve on your gravestone, "She could have been a writer, but the laundry had to be done." When my first son was a toddler and still taking naps (thank God), my inclination was to nap when he did. Oh, how that pillow called to me! Instead, I chained myself to a desk and began writing. Soon I was staying up late or getting up early to add more writing hours. I'd proven to myself it could be done, and the timing was anything but perfect. Did I mention I was juggling a full-time job as a computer consultant working from home and being a wife, too? Sacrifices had to be made. Watching TV? What's that? A social life? Family time came first.

Six suspense novels later, I let go of the security blanket of continuing with the same type of book. I was at a point where I wanted to try something new, to move into the paranormal genre, and I had an idea for a series that had been building up inside to the point that I couldn't shove it into the background. I had to write it. I was starting to inhabit my protagonist, Maliha Crayne, like an actress immersed in method acting.

Most new writers experience a lot of angst in their search for a first agent. So imagine what it's like to fire one! That's the first thing I did, so I could search for a higher-profile agency. It was like stepping off a giant cliff. I was in freefall with no agent, no contract, and only a new, unconventional idea to offer. There were so many times that I doubted what I had done and berated myself for firing an agent. Was I nuts? What if no one liked the concept of the Mortal Path series except me? And an even deeper fear: what if my writing couldn't stand up to the competition in an already-crowded urban fantasy/paranormal thriller genre?

It took six really scary months to find a new agent. Whew. Thanks for listening as I relived all this. You're a good audience! Somehow I went from age eight to the present in a few paragraphs, complete with some soul-baring. I'm not destined to write an autobiography—it would be too short to publish!

Now for the treat. Here's an excerpt from Mortal Path Book Two, Sacrifice, coming next year. It's from the middle of the book. Thanks again to Dottie for inviting me!

Sacrifice Excerpt

When Maliha woke, she was half-reclined on a chaise lounge in a sunroom overlooking a grand view of forested hillsides. The sun glinted on water in the distance, with a hazy area that might be land to one side.

Lucius was sitting on the edge of the next lounge, looking over at her. When he saw that she was awake, he spoke.

"Please enjoy my hospitality."

She sat up abruptly and faced him. She was wearing a soft, flowing green gown that was the opposite of her killing outfit in every way. It didn't escape her that somewhere between killing outfit and gown, there must have been a nude stage. That riled her. If she was going to get naked with a guy, she didn't want to sleep through it.

"I don't suppose you had your wife change my clothes and give me a bath."

He blinked. "I don't have a wife, or any female but you, here."

"I thought so. You kidnapped me and stripped me," she said, with disbelief and anger fighting for control of her voice. "Whatever you did, you were cowardly enough to do it to an unconscious woman." She pursed her lips. "Where am I?"

"I didn't do anything to you but make you clean and comfortable. If you don't like this gown, I can take you to where there are others choices. You are on my island home in the Mediterranean Sea. I said I wanted answers from you, and short of torture, this seemed to be the best way to get your attention."

Maliha looked around. She could see olive trees nearby, with their evergreen leaves and gnarled trunks. Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. Or Chicago, either.

She shook her head and regretted it. Dizziness made the world swirl around her.

"The dizziness will wear off. It's from the drug. I'm a skilled physician. You needn't worry about any permanent effects."

"You can take your torture and your permanent effects and this gown"—she grabbed a handful of the fabric—"and shove them up your ass. I'm leaving here now." She stood up and the dizziness was worse. Sitting back down, she said, "I'm leaving here in a few minutes. You should know this isn't the Stone Age. You don't knock a woman on the head with your caveman's club, drag her home, and expect cooperation."

"I've taken women without their consent. But I've matured since then."

"That does it. I'm out of here."

She stood up and began to walk away in spite of the dizziness. Instantly he was in front of her, his hand grasping her wrist tightly enough to signal that he wasn't going to let her just swim off the island. Even though it was a restraining move, his touch stirred something in her. There was no denying that she was physically attracted to him. Relaxed in his own home, with the breeze stirring the curtains on long windows, patches of sunlight on tile floors, and the scent of the Mediterranean in the air, he wore loose shorts and nothing else. She could see the mark of his demon on his chest, faintly pulsing with power.

"I wish you'd stop doing that," she said. "I never did anything that annoying when I was Ageless. Are you going to let me leave?"

"I'd rather you didn't."

His grip on her wrist loosened and his hand slid up her arm all the way to her bare shoulder, leaving an invisible trail of sexual sparks.

"We're not finished," he said. "In fact we haven't even started. You haven't answered my questions about your rogue status. Plus I … " He paused and gave her a slow, appreciative look down her body and back up again, ending by gazing directly into her eyes. He had expressive brown eyes, and at the moment they were expressing passion.

Maliha's legs felt a little weak and warmth radiated from low in her abdomen. He could turn on a rock.

His hand on her shoulder strayed and swept slowly across her body just above where her breasts filled the soft gown. He was very close to her now, close enough to bend and kiss her shoulder. Then his arm moved around her waist and he pulled her against him.

Whoa, girl, don't forget this is a demon's servant and a stone-cold killer. I think it's time to toss a little cold water. Remember that business about taking women without their consent.

She raised her knee to strike his groin, but he caught her leg and gave it a painful jerk. She ended up on her back on the marble floor. He offered her a hand up. She took it, planted both of her feet into his hard, flat belly, and flipped him over her head. He never made it to the floor in a body flop as intended. He twisted like a cat in mid-air, landed on his feet, and ended with a move that left her arm and shoulder half a second way from breaking. She rotated on the floor to face him, taking the pressure off her limb.

"So you like to play," she said. "I've done this cat-and-mouse thing with another demon's slave and he came out the worse for it. Don't think I can't do the same to you."

His face, so warm and welcoming just seconds ago, had taken on a look that frightened her. She thought of all the murderous power contained in his body, no matter how attractive the packaging.

"You are mistaken if you think a cat and a mouse are in this room. A tiger and a mouse are here, and I see no stripes on you."

The words were delivered coldly. She'd switched off both his good will and his lust.

He pulled her up from the floor, gathered her gown in his fist and kept lifting, holding her a foot up in the air with one hand. Lucius brought her to within an inch of his face and paused there. She expected to be flung backwards with murderous force.

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Thanks Dakota for being here today, it's been an honor! And you're welcome to come back anytime.

All I can say is WOW, I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of Sacrifice: Mortal Path Book Two! I have so many questions that need to be answered!

Now for the giveaway! The wonderful Dakota Banks not only gave us her words of wisdom and the treat of the excellent excerpt from Sacrifice: Mortal Path Book Two, but she's willing to giveaway a copy of Dark Time: Mortal Path Book One to one lucky commenter.



So, here are the rules:

1. Leave a comment or a question for Dakota, we'd really enjoy hearing from you and she'll be stopping by throughout the day (please include your email address, it will make it easier to track down the winner!).
2. This is an international giveaway, if you have an address on this planet, (hmmm I'll have to check on extra planetary visitors), you are welcome to enter.
3. If you follow this blog, you can have an extra entry. (Don't feel you have to follow. You still get the original entry.)
4. If you spread the word about the contest, let me know, and I give you another entry.
5. This contest will run for one week, so on my daughter's birthday (10-15-09), at midnight anywhere, (that means the next morning for me, lol), I'll let randomizer draw a winner.
6. Most importantly, have fun!!

That's it....nothing difficult.....so start commenting and good luck!

Dark Time: Mortal Path, Book One by Dakota Banks

Publisher: EOS Books / Imprint of Harper Collins Publishing
Pages: 306

From the Cover: Three hundred years ago, she sold her soul to a demon. Now she wants it back.

For centuries, the woman calling herself Maliha Crayne has lived a second life—as an assassin for the malevolent creature who owns her soul. A haunted killer with the blood of countless victims on her hands, she has finally discovered a way to nullify the demonic pact that chains her: If she saves a life for every one she has taken, she will be free.

But if she fails, her punishments will be unspeakable, unendurable . . . and neverending.

As our story opens, Susannah Layhem of Massachusetts (1692) is a healer and works with herbs, but then she's accused of being a witch and sentenced to burn. She has done nothing but bring good health to her community and for it, she is going to gain death and so will the infant she's carrying. The night before her burning, she gives birth in the dirt and squalor of her cell to her stillborn infant daughter; her body too abused and an damaged to continue supporting the life growing within her. She's dragged crying from her cell and placed upon the wooden mound; set aflame. Just as she takes her last breath and utters her final curse, she's snatched from her fiery death, and transported to another place and time. A voice offers her a choice, go back to the flames or becoming his slave. She chooses life and the cursed existence to the demon, Rabishu. She becomes Ageless, continuous life for the rest of eternity.

For centuries, the death that she brings does not burden her consciousness, but when she's told to kill an infant girl, much like her own long dead daughter, Constanta, she has to draw the line. She cannot bring herself to harm the infant who hasn't even had a chance to live. It's the beginnings of her conscious self re-asserting. Over the years, she has come to the conclusion that she can no longer be the demon's killing machine.

After many years of searching for the answer to her release from the Rabishu's service, he reveals that there is an escape clause to her contract. But to escape, she has to set the scales straight, for every life she has taken, one must be saved. She will become mortal again, but with a longer lifespan. She can be wounded, but she'll heal faster. For every life she saves, she'll age faster. And if she is killed, she becomes Rabishu plaything for an eternity of hell. She'll have to re-invent herself over and over again to hide her extended life.

In this incarnation, she becomes Maliha Crayne (alter ego: Marsha Winter, thriller author) and she still trying to balance the scales.

Dark Time: Mortal Path Book One by Dakota Banks was a fast paced thriller/urban fantasy that jumps from the days of early Massachusetts to the present then back again throughout our heroine's existence, showing the trials and tribulations she must endure if she wants to regain her soul from the enslaving demon. When Rabishu released her from his service, he etched the scales of justice into her skin, and with each life earned, the justice scales losses a tiny figure as it marches across her skin with fiery footsteps to create balance. She soon discovers Rabishu doesn't play fair, his assassins will kill her if they're able. But, Rabishu has also trained her well, she is quick and powerful, a force to be reckoned with. She can bring death to even the Ageless. So begins her new life to fight against the wrongs of the world; to the weak, the young, and the powerless, she is their champion. To the cruel, evil, and bloodthirsty, she is their worst nightmare. There are several powerful players in this novel; long time friends, Yanmeng and Amaro, provide a supportive extended family for her as well as back up. New love interest, Jake, may be what he appears to be, DEA agent, or maybe he's something else altogether. If you enjoy a thrilling urban fantasy as much as I do and if you like a kick-ass heroine, pick up this book, an excellent read well worth you time. I loved the qualities that Mahila embraces as she tries to regain her soul. It's a quick read moving through time as Mahila works to right the wrongs. The story leaves me begging for more with one question remaining, who or what is Jake Stackman? To learn more about Dakota Banks or the new series, Mortal Path, please visit http://www.dakota-banks.com/ . Her second book, Sacrifice: Mortal Path, Book Two will released in 2010, I can't wait to read it. For a sneak peek of Book Two, check out SciFiGuy's sneak peek. Thanks TJ Dietderich at Planned TV Arts for my review copy.

Here's a peek at the book trailier. Excellent presentation of the story to follow.

Dark Time: Mortal Path Book One (July 2009)
Sacrifice: Mortal Path Book Two (2010)