Author:
Daniel M. Bensen is paid to teach through fiction. His debut novel JUNCTION is available now from Flametree Publishing. His Sidewise Award-winning short story “Treasure Fleet” is in the Tales from Alternate Earths anthology. Dan lives in Sofia, Bulgaria, where he teaches English. For more news, visit thekingdomsofevil.com and sign up for The Kingdoms of Evil mailing list.

Former soldier Andrea Herrera isn't happy with where her life has taken her: Hell Creek, Montana, 65 million years before the present. When their time machine malfunctions, Andrea and her paleontologist clients are trapped in a timeline that shouldn't exist with something a hell of a lot more dangerous than dinosaurs: other humans.

Kidnapped by the stone-age descendants of a lost time colony, Andrea finds herself stripped of her technological advantages and forced into a war against the implacable armies of the Slaver Empire.

Andrea's only hope lies with the ferociously intelligent and violently insane tribal war-leader, Trals Scarback. Can Andrea persuade him to see her as a partner rather than a tool for his ambitions? Only if she beats the barbarian at his own game and becomes the Tyrannosaur Queen.

Groom of the Tyrannosaur Queen

Andrea had to admit, the Ethlek threw one hell of a party.


They sat in the center of the burned-out field, covered in soot and blood, hungry and exhausted from the fight, but they still managed to raise a pretty good ruckus, singing and screwing and wrestling over rights to the weapons and armor of the dead guards, the carefully stacked skins of moonshine, and of course the women "freed" from the caravaneers.


The ex-slaves scuttled busily around the battleground, collecting ears from the bad guys and hair from the good guys. There was probably some deep spiritual significance to that. Mostly Ethlek of other tribes, the girls didn't seem to mind their conversion from slaves into "wives." Maybe that meant the Ethlek made good husbands, or it could just be that the other guys made bad masters.


Andrea was certainly having second thoughts about her Ethlek groom. What did you call a shotgun wedding with cavemen? A blowgun wedding? A club-skull wedding? 


Chapter 27: Mastery Of Tongues Part 1