As an affiliate at retail sites, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. See my disclosure for more details.
About Soulstealer: Steven by Shane Boulware
Title: Soulstealer: Steven
Author: Shane Boulware
Series: Soulstealer #2
Genre: Paranormal
The Soulstealer’s greatest power is that no one believes it exists…
…except Steven Carpenter. One of the last remaining members of the Ordo Solis—a thousand-year-old order sworn to kill the ancient demon—even his faith has begun to wane. But when he witnesses the return of the Soulstealer with his own eyes, belief quickly turns to grim reality.
With the souls of the world at stake, Steven knows what he has to do—expose the Soulstealer. There’s just one problem, it knows it’s been discovered … and so do the nefarious cults sworn to the demon’s cause. In a race against time and evil, Steven will have to find help. But will it be enough? Or will they be too late?
Author Shane Boulware ramps up the action in his hair-raising second entry in the Soulstealer series. Burning the boundaries between urban fantasy and suspense thriller, this grim-dark stomach-churner will leave you as breathless as the characters trapped within its pages.
Excerpt from Soulstealer: Steven
© 2022
Shane Boulware
Steven paced his cell. He had heard of Unas’ brutality, but this brought things to a whole new level. Were these really made from our Ordo Europe brothers and sisters? His body shuddered.
The Soulstealer came and took Raeleigh, Mia, and someone from Ordo Europe that the Unas captured. They were to help with some damnable Ordo Solis peace treaty. Steven felt confident the bad blood between the two sides would prove too tricky for common ground to be found. Someone would make the wrong move.
The thought produced as much fear as it did satisfaction. Raeleigh was at that meeting. He prayed she stayed out of the crossfire should things go south. The Unas cleared out as well. One thug guarded his cell, a few Unas walked the tunnels.
If ever he should devise a plan to escape, he couldn’t pick a better time. His current confinement, however, wouldn’t give him an inch to work with. No one would claim Steven to be a small man, but he made minimal impact trying to shake loose, kick open, or shoulder bash the structure. No way out.
Occasionally, some wannabe masked barbarian trotted past. One passed by when a sharp shout came from Steven’s right. His guard and the patrolling Unas turned around. They made to bring their weapons up but were riddled with bullet holes; red spattered in every direction. One fell against the wall, the other face-first into the sandy floor.
Steven blinked at their newly minted corpses. He snapped into action, rattling the bone bars and pressing his face against them to peer down the tunnel, but couldn’t see more than ten feet. He heard hushed whispers before three figures appeared. They each wore long-sleeved bodysuits and balaclavas. The first pointed its weapon at Steven; the other two switched back and forth between Steven and further down the hallway. Their twitchy movements made Steven wonder if they had ever held a weapon before.
More masks, always more masks.
“Uh, hi,” one said, looking Steven’s prison up and down.
Steven blinked, then waved. “Who’re you guys?”
“Doesn’t matter who we are, chap, who are you?”
These guys didn’t know I was here. “I’m Steven. Proud Ordo Solis, American branch.”
The men glanced at one another, then back at Steven. “We heard you were bagged,” one said.
“We don’t have time for this,” another hissed.
“And you propose to leave this chap here? He’s obviously not Unas,” the second man replied.
“There’re two Solis Americans left,” Steven said. “I’m one, and the other, Raeleigh, is currently being held by the Soulstealer as some sort of liaison for the meeting with Solis Europe.”
“J, we have to finish clearing this section before they come back,” the first man said.
Steven motioned down the hallway. “No problem, please feel free to take ‘em all out. But make sure you come back. I’d rather not continue to be a prisoner.” He pointed at the long scratch marks on his face. “Not sure how much longer they’ll restrain themselves.”
“Good idea. Alright. Let’s go,” the second man said. They hurried away.
Those buffoons have got to be Solis Europe. Steven pumped his fist. “Yessssss!”
He paced the length of his cell. At last, he heard heavy footsteps coming toward him. The gaggle of colored balaclavas found Steven smirking as they came to a stop in front of him.
“Here he is,” one of them gestured toward Steven.
A slender figure stepped forward and peered through the bone bars. “You’re Ordo Solis?” a woman’s voice demanded.
Steven winked. “Wouldn’t dream of being otherwise.”
“Who vas the first of our Order?” she questioned in a thick German accent.
“Jedidiah, the wisest of us all,” Steven recited. He imagined the many afternoons he and Jeff spent as Ordo Solis initiates in frigid New England. Their mentor made them memorize whole paragraphs of information to pass their oral examinations.
“And who is ze Lionheart?” she asked.
Steven clenched his fists, shaking them. “We’re all the Lionheart!”
The woman looked at the bolted lock. “Destroy zese doors, break him out.” Two of the men broke the bones from the rebar and pried a few of them apart. Steven wasted no time stepping through to freedom.
Pick Up Your Copy Today
About Shane Boulware
Shane Boulware is an unconventional idealist from Orlando, Florida. Naturally, he commissioned as a Contracting Officer in the United States Air Force in 2012, where he promptly got tased, was hit with pepper spray, participated in a mock riot, jumped out of an airplane, and lived in a combat zone. These experiences tempered his creative instinct and led him to publish two music albums, found an innovation company, break a Guinness World Record, and learn over sixteen dance styles.
Having grown up a huge fan of Dune, Star Wars, Stargate SG-1, Warhammer 40K, Harry Potter, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and The Lord of the Rings, Shane always wanted to create and share a world of his own. His imagination set him on a path to write the supernatural thriller, Soulstealer, and its sequel, The Ordo Solis.
When he’s not negotiating contracts or salsa dancing the night away, you can find Shane taking his creative passion out on an unsuspecting keyboard. If you want to know when his next book will be available, visit his website at ShaneBoulware.com, where you can sign up to receive release updates and join a community of savants, swashbucklers, and nerds.
Connect with Shane Boulware Online
Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon
