SHADES OF JUSTICE – SNIPPET 1

by | Oct 20, 2017 | Snippets

UNEDITED (Shades of Justice is book 4 in the Hidden Magic Chronicles)

Shades of JusticeAlastar took an offensive stance and closed his eyes, imagining the goddess, Lady Mowain—his aunt—standing before him. Wind blew against his cheek, warm and gentle like Estair’s nighttime touch. It with it brought the scent of the upcoming palace feast, still cooking while training continued in the yard.

He wasn’t training there, though. He had found a secluded spot to focus on this damned sword.

With a quick thrust he dove forward, focusing his energy on the sword. He tried to pretend the legend was real and pull the power from the Sword of Light.

Nothing.

It didn’t matter how much he practiced or willed it to be so, it was just another sword. How many times had he heard the story of the magical blade and its green glow when blessed? It had the fabled jade-encrusted hilt, to be sure, but that was about the extent of its being true to the legend. When he had fought with it in battle and cast his magic, it had glowed white like any other sword he had ever wielded.

He sighed, holding the sword out with one hand and staring at the fine craftsmanship. Who was he kidding, anyway? Hope that it was the magical Sword of Light meant he was still grasping at a lost cause, at the idea that there had been any truth to be had in the Order of Rodrick.

Instead, it had all been a lie. His entire life, or most of the part that he could remember, had been a lie. His aunt had killed his mother, taken him and his sister away from their father, and left them with the madman he had grown up thinking was his mentor. His spiritual leader, Sir Gildon of the Order of Rodrick.

And then he had killed that son of a bitch. And his sister Rhona had taken out Lady Mowain’s daughter, and little Kia had done a pretty number on Master Irdin. All in all, they were doing quite well.

Hell, he was even a prince, and his sister was a princess! (more…)

SHADES OF GLORY – SNIPPET 3

by | Sep 17, 2017 | Snippets

UNEDITED

Shades of Glory

“Remnant!” a voice shouted, then repeated itself again, “Remnant nearby, and they’re attacking a group led by Laird Lokane!”

Alastar sat up, confused, head hurting from an uneasy sleep, and then registered that it was Kia shouting as she ran past a barely alert guard. Several around the camp were rousing, all turning with confusion, and he glanced around, worried about his sister—only to find her curled up against Donnon.

Estair hadn’t been able to sleep near Alastar, much to his annoyance. Laird Summers had a protective watch over her, and still hadn’t warmed to the idea of her being friendly with a paladin.

Others were murmuring about the disturbance, some brushing her off as a silly girl, but Alastar knew better. Donnon and Rhona knew better. The three were at her side in an instant.

“What is it?” Donnon asked his daughter.

She repeated herself, saying she had seen the remnant out there and come across a man who said he was with Laird Lokane. (more…)

SHADES OF GLORY – SNIPPET 2

by | Sep 15, 2017 | Snippets

UNEDITED

Shades of GloryAn early morning breeze tickled Kia’s nose, but when she woke she realized that hadn’t been what got her attention. In spite of the calming effect of the otherwise cool morning air and the way the sunlight was scattered across the forest floor with trickles of orange and red seeping in from the sunrise, her heart was pounding and her palms were clammy.

She heard a noise, a clang of metal on metal, then a distant, gravel-crunching voice.

She sat up and saw that the others in camp were still sleeping. Laird Summers and his men had set up a perimeter with guards keeping watch, though she noticed one who was close to nodding off.

It was easy to sneak past him. She scampered up into one of the trees and used it to move through the sky like a squirrel until she dropped down out of sight of the guards and made a run for it.

This might not be worth waking the others for. It might have just been her imagination, or some local boys out for an early morning training session, though as far as she knew, there weren’t any villages in this area.

Again with the gravelly voice.

Trees blocked much of her view ahead, along with gullies and fissures where old riverbeds had dried out here or earthquakes had torn apart the ground there.

She rounded a group of blackberry bushes that grew over some rocks, pausing to grab a couple of the blackberries for an early breakfast, and immediately threw herself backward into a prone position.

Not quite sure she had seen what she thought she had, she inched forward on her elbows and peeked around the rock again. (more…)

SHADES OF GLORY – SNIPPET 1

by | Sep 13, 2017 | Snippets

UNEDITED (SHADES OF GLORY IS BOOK 3 IN THE HIDDEN MAGIC CHRONICLES)  

Shades of GloryRhona strode forward, always pressing on, refusing to be the one to slow down the group. What had been a small group consisting of her brother and their companions plus the survivors they had found on Sair Talem had now grown to nearly one hundred.

They had the clan folk who had made it back to the main group, along with Laird Summers and his warriors. Plus, more warriors and clansfolk were likely out there still and just hadn’t found the main group…at least she hoped so.

Donnon walked beside her and his daughter Kia kept close to them. He still had that wild look in his eyes that he got every time his daughter was in danger. It didn’t matter that the girl was probably more powerful than he was, at least as far as her magic was concerned. Rhona had never had a child of her own, so she knew she couldn’t fully understand. The best she could do was think back to a small kitten that had wandered into the castle once when she was in her early teens. She had insisted it was hers, thought of it like another member of her family since her brother was always too busy training. (more…)

SHADES OF DARK – SNIPPET 4

by | Jul 11, 2017 | Snippets

UNEDITED (The Final Snippet!)

Shades of DarkAlthough her father had insisted they get a full night’s sleep before beginning their mission, Kia found that sleep didn’t come easily the night before riding off. Add in her worries about Rhona and the others, and she had only been able to sleep for a couple hours. The rest of the time was spent staring at the ceiling and flashing back to those sorcerers and their magic.

Her father had always told her to hide that her magic was different than the others. Not only had she skipped the phase where others saw spirits or familiars, but she could control fire without a nearby flame. No one else even considered that possible. While fighting to save their lives, it obviously hadn’t been such a big deal. Now she wondered where they stood on the issue.

When they went out to the surrounding clans, would she be expected to stand by and pretend like everything was normal, or would she serve as an example of how their situation had changed?

She finally gave up and, opening the door carefully to avoid waking her father, crept out into the early morning. The sun was still just a faint light beyond the clouds on the horizon, a distant glow that sent long shadows across the village. (more…)