For the last few weeks, I’ve been working on a new Cy Reed story. It was to be part of an origins series, one that would describe how Cy Reed got to Chaos in the first place. It started out as an expedition to uncover one of the lost Ancient Wonders of the World and turned into … well, something else.

Regardless, the story continued to come along quite well. But there was a problem. The Cy I was writing about was far less green than I’d imagined. And he was coping with an emotional issue that would’ve put him ahead of where he was in Chaos. And as I was finishing up the second draft, I had an epiphany. It turns out this isn’t a prequel after all. It’s a sequel. To Fury, specifically.

And yet, it still feels … different. I don’t know if I’ll slot this one in as Cy Reed Adventures #6 or continue with my original plan to start a whole new series. I guess I’ll see how it turns out.

So, here’s an excerpt from my Work-in-Progress. It’s raw and not fully edited. But it should give you a good idea of how things are going. Enjoy!

We were positioned behind a couple of medium-sized boulders, lined up in the middle portion of the cavern. I held my pistol loosely in my left hand. My legs were comfortable and I kept up a steady aim at the light. And all the while, a single thought replayed endlessly in my brain.

Does it ever get better?

The past few years had been some of the worst of my life. Which was unfortunate, because they should’ve been some of the best. After all, I’d discovered an important lost treasure and gone public with my story, thus clearing my family’s name. I’d never really sought glory before, but suddenly, it’d been mine for the taking.

Unfortunately, that glory had been short-lived. For in telling the truth about Fort Knox, I’d also caused tremendous embarrassment to then-President Wade Walters. I knew he’d retaliate. I just never realized how far he’d take it.