Defy

Firstborn Trilogy Book One

by

Raine Thomas

Published by Iambe Books at Smashwords

Copyright 2011 Raine Thomas.

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All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places and incidents are either the product of the author’s
imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual
persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely
coincidental.

Visit the author's website:
http://www.rainethomas.com

Cover design by:
Nimbi
Design

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This book is dedicated with sincerest gratitude to
all indie authors and everyone who supports us.

It never ceases to amaze me what an inspiring and
supportive community this is. Here’s to defying the odds, pursuing
our dreams and reaching for the stars!

Acknowledgements

Most books don’t come together without a lot
of help, and
Defy
was no exception. As a result, I want to
acknowledge those people who made significant contributions to
Defy
so that the world knows how grateful I am for their
efforts.

First and always, thank you to my husband,
Kevin, for being my alpha reader, marketing/sales manager, book
formatter, career advisor, website designer, therapist, tear
blotter, punching bag (in the figurative sense–really) and biggest
fan. Thank you for not ever letting me give up.

Next, many thanks to amazing writers Krystal
Wade, Erica Lucke Dean and Roy “TC” Bronson for putting aside their
own work to beta read
Defy
and offering me their frank
feedback. I know how challenging it can be to critique a peer’s
work, so I bow to each of you.

Beta reading done by friends and family who
know my characters as well as I do is just as important during the
editing process. Special thanks to my mom, Diane, and my friends,
Sundée Himburg and Robin Casto, for their valuable time and
comments. As for those readers who asked to remain anonymous…a
quiet thank you!

Another big thank you goes out to Devan
Edwards of Nimbi Design, who created a cover so beautiful it
brought tears to my eyes. You captured Tate like no one else could.
Much love to you!

Last and certainly not least, thank you to
all of my fans. You’ve all given me the encouragement I needed to
begin the story of the next generation of Estilorians and finish
Defy
.

You make me love every moment of being an
author!

A warm welcome to those readers who are new
to the Estilorians! Please note that the Firstborn trilogy serves
as a follow-up to the Daughters of Saraqael trilogy. For an
overview intended to bring new readers up to speed or refresh the
memories of those who have already enjoyed the Daughters of
Saraqael trilogy, please read the following Glossary. Happy
reading!

Glossary

Click here to skip the glossary

Daughters of Saraqael
– Amber, Olivia,
and Skye, triplets born to the Corgloresti, Saraqael, and their
human mother, Kate, as a result of a ritual outlined in a powerful
scroll. They’re the first and only half-human Estilorians, which
allows them to carry children…something full Estilorian females
can’t do. Amber is avowed to the Gloresti elder, Gabriel; Olivia is
avowed to the Gloresti, James, and Skye is avowed to the Gloresti,
Caleb.

Estilorian
– A being that physically
resembles a human, appearing no older than 40 human years old (most
look like humans in their late teens or early twenties).
Estilorians can fly, and have specific powers based on their class.
They can live forever without aging if they’re not mortally
wounded. Their eyes, wings and markings—if they have any—are always
the same color, and identify their class.

Estilorian Plane
– About two millennia
ago, the nine Estilorian elders created a separate plane of
existence to remove themselves from humanity, making their kind the
objects of human myths and legends. All Estilorians live on this
plane, and humans cannot travel to it. Estilorian society hasn’t
evolved like human society, and doesn’t have such modern inventions
as electricity, vehicles or modern weaponry.

Corgloresti
–
Soul Harvesters
–
Identified by their silver eyes, wings and markings, these
Estilorians travel between the planes of existence to facilitate
the transfer of dying human souls to the Estilorian plane via The
Embrace…the only method full Estilorians have to reproduce.

Elphresti
–
Lords of Wisdom
–
These Estilorians, identified by their black eyes, wings and
markings, maintain the highest levels of authority among their
kind. In human terms, they would be considered judges or beings in
similar positions of authority.

Gloresti
–
Defenders
– Gloresti
bond with Corgloresti who are on the human plane to protect the
Corgloresti. Gloresti are highly trained to defend and are
identified by midnight blue eyes, wings and markings. Aside from
the Corgloresti, the Gloresti is the only class that can travel to
the human plane, but only in emergencies.

Kynzesti
–
Elementals
– Having
half-human mothers, the Kynzesti are identified by deep blue-green
eyes, wings and markings. Unlike other classes, they are only
created through biological childbirth. The youngest of all
Estilorian classes, the extent of their powers and abilities is
largely unknown.

Lekwuesti –
Hospitality
Ambassadors
– The Lekwuesti are identified by lavender eyes,
wings and markings. Their primary focus is assisting their fellow
Estilorians. They form exclusive pairings with other Estilorians to
provide them items of “creature comfort,” such as food, clothing,
accessories, furniture, etc. All other Estilorians rely heavily on
this class.

Mercesti –
The Dark Ones
– Once
lauded for their skills in strategy and innovation, this class is
identified by red eyes, wings and markings. The nature of the
Mercesti changed dramatically when Grolkinei assumed power by
killing the class elder, Volarius, out of hatred and rage.
Estilorians now convert into Mercesti if they kill or intend to
kill another Estilorian for any reason other than defense. Because
they are formed largely of beings that used to belong to other
Estilorian classes, some Mercesti maintain remnants of their former
skills and abilities.

Orculesti
–
Advisors
–
Identified by dark green eyes, wings and markings, the Orculesti
function as advisors regarding humankind. They work with paired
Corgloresti and Gloresti to provide a mental connection between
them when they are separated by the planes of existence. This class
can read the thoughts of other Estilorians who aren’t strong enough
or trained enough to prevent it, and use their mental powers to
suppress the thoughts and abilities of others.

Scultresti
–
Creators
– The
Scultresti are identified by brown eyes, wings and markings. This
talented class creates all forms, including those that Corgloresti
assume on the human plane when they transition there. They also
create new Estilorian forms for human souls to inhabit when they
are Embraced by Corgloresti, and are responsible for producing new
animal and wildlife on the Estilorian plane.

Waresti
–
Warriors/Lords of the
Flame
– Identified by burnt orange eyes, wings and markings,
the Waresti are dedicated to the overall protection of Estilorians
from the Mercesti and other dangers. The most physically strong of
all Estilorians, these warriors are markedly muscular and highly
skilled with weapons and all forms of attack.

Wymzesti
–
Intuits
– Incredibly
charismatic, the Wymzesti have deep purple eyes, wings and
markings. With the ability to read body language and intuit actions
based upon past behavior, this class can predict events before they
happen. Like the Orculesti, this class has the ability to
manipulate thoughts and decision-making of those who aren’t strong
enough to resist them.

Parents
: Amber and Gabriel

Children
(in order of birth): Clara
Kate, Joshua, Zara, Corliss, Riley, Kiera

Parents
: Olivia and James

Children
(in order of birth): Sophia,
Keane, Leigh, Elle, Will, Paige

Parents
: Skye and Caleb

Children
(in order of birth): Tate and
Tiege (twins), Nicholas, Abigail and Adam (twins), Grace, Quaid,
Emma

adelfi
– A term of respect
applied to Olivia and Skye, the sisters-in-law of the Gloresti
elder, Gabriel.

adelfos
– A term of
respect applied to James and Caleb, the brothers-in-law of the
Gloresti elder, Gabriel.

archigos
– A term of
respect reserved only for the class elders.

Avowed
– The strongest connection two
beings can have. An avowed pairing is made when two beings exchange
heartfelt vows of love. It results in shared thoughts and feelings
and can never be undone.

Central
– The primary area where most
Estilorians live, similar to a capitol city. Floating above the
ocean and surrounded by heavy enchantments, Central is inaccessible
to Mercesti. Also called
home base
.

Elder
– The oldest and most powerful
member of an Estilorian class; an elder must have inherent
abilities that blend cohesively with the other elders.

Kragen
– A beast that crossed over to
the Estilorian plane when it was formed; humans called these
creatures “dragons.”

kyria
– A term of respect
applied to Amber, the wife of the Gloresti elder, Gabriel.

Mainland
– All of the area outside of
Central/home base. This area is not protected like Central, and as
such is sparsely populated by Estilorians other than the
Mercesti.

Markings
– Estilorians develop
markings on their skin, similar to tattoos, when significant events
occur. For example, Gloresti develop a midnight blue marking when
they pair with a Corgloresti, and the Corgloresti receives an
identical silver marking. Also, Estilorians may have markings
around their eyes, indicating they have a second ability.

Prologue

The pain was unimaginable. She dragged
herself along the ground with her one working arm, at turns
scrabbling at tree roots or shrubs and at others digging her hand
as deep into the earth as she could manage before hauling her
broken body as far as possible. In the past hour, she had moved
approximately fifteen feet.

She knew she was going to die. The horrors
that had been visited upon her were so atrocious that she couldn’t
even think of them now. It was as though a black haze coated her
memory.

But her attackers had left her in sight of a
platform that could get her to Central. They had no way of knowing
it because, being Mercesti, they were unable to see the heavily
enchanted travel system. The platform glimmered to her like a
taunting beacon, however, bouncing lightly on the waves. If she’d
had the required energy left, she would have extended her wings and
flown to it.