Highmage's Plight (Highmage’s Plight Series Book 1) (24 page)

BOOK: Highmage's Plight (Highmage’s Plight Series Book 1)
11.43Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

“But what are we to do now?” a woman asked.

Thomi sighed as Walsh ambled to his side. “We have a choice. We came here for refuge. We can either stay or go back where we came from.”

Balfour came over and said, “I would not advise returning to the Crescent Lands. Fenn du Blain controls both Gwed and Trelor. His people are raiding the lands below.”

The crowed greeted the news with horror. Thomi put his hand on Walsh’s now healed arm and said, “Then we stay.”

“But this is Imperial land, the elvin lords rule!” a man shouted.

Walsh growled, “Thomi lord here!”

Thomi looked up at his friend in surprise.

No one chose to argue, however, and the ogre smiled.

Cle’or watched the scene with interest as Walsh turned around as if listening to something. 

Wonderful
, Cle’or thought,
I hear an exultantly laughing old elf everywhere I go. I wonder what he’s hearing
.

The ogre was nodding thoughtfully. “Thomi…Lord Niota.” He bent and bowed to the boy.
 

Raven curled up licking her paws at the top of the stairs that led to the guestroom. Bright white light shone through the edge of the blanket that now served as the room’s door. She paused, trying to decide if there was any danger in the sounds coming from the bright room but decided to heed Cle’or’s warning not to interfere.

She shook her head and hoped that if this was any indication of what might happen when she found a mate, she would not have to scream so.

“Father?” his daughter muttered beside him as she sensed him stir. “Father?”

The aged elf lay in a cocoon of darkness, which was keeping him alive only moments from death.

Highmage Alrex felt his Summoning exult. It offered him only glimpses of what it learned. The man was in the Empire at long last and fate was binding him to this world whether he willed it or no.

And apparently the man was quite stubborn, which might actually help him survive what was to come. He only hoped the man would live to reach him. The Empire was not for the faint of heart, particularly not for a human, even when that human was obviously a mage of great power and skill.

“Father?”

“Wina,” he muttered ever so faintly.

“Father!”

“Listen, Wina. He comes.”

“What? Who comes?”

So much he needed to say but could not. But this? How could a father not tell his daughter this?

“Bal-four,” he whispered before he husbanded what life he had remaining.

Carwina gasped. Her father said no more. He didn’t need to. She rose and stalked out of the room. The servants fled as she began breaking things with abandon.

 

 

A special offer to readers of this book…

·Imagine getting an advance look at another book in this series.

·Imagine after reading this book, another version is evolving online, where dialogue may change, where a new chapter could appear.

·Imagine being able to be an exclusive character in the series, serving as the spirit of the character, advising on the character’s dialogue or actions, with approval of the author.

 

Welcome to 
Highmage’s Plight
/Dhr2believe.net,
where the Highmage’s plight can become your own!

 

Highmage’s
 
Plight
 is different from tradition books in that the 
Plight
 is intended to evolve over time online. A limited number of readers with the purchase of this book have the opportunity to join what is essentially an experiment.

 

To learn about the current promotion, allowing a select number of readers to join the 
Highmage’s Plight/Dhr2believe Group
, visit 
www.dhr2believe.net
and use the word "Cathartan" when seeking to participate.

Author Biography

 

D.H. Aire has walked the ramparts of the Old City of Jerusalem and through an escape tunnel out of a Crusader fortress that Richard the Lionheart once called home. He’s toured archeological sites that were hundreds, if not thousands of years old… experiences that have found expression in his writing of his 
Highmage’s Plight
 Series
. D.H. Aire’s short stories and a serialized version of 
Highmage’s Plight
 
have been featured in the ezine 
Separate World
s
 
and appears in their first anthology, 
Flights of Fantasy, Vol. 1
 
(available on Smashwords.com). The author is originally from St. Louis, Missouri and currently resides in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. He has an active support site for his story at 
www.dhr2believe.net
.
 

 

Malachite Quills presents the high fantasy story
Stolen
:

There are strange beings in the woods, and young Rioletta Eris has seen them. Many doubt her story, but Rioletta eventually realizes she has opened the door to a secret history.

 

When Rioletta is about to join the Council of Sorcerers, she is set an unusual task: solve the mystery of her childhood abduction. She’s forced to face facts that don’t fit with her strict traditional upbringing: animated leaves that seem to be stalking her, a creepy changeling made of twigs, and a best friend who turns out to have practiced the Forbidden Skills. When a coup in a nearby village leaves an entire Council missing, Rioletta and her forbidden knowledge may be the only key to their rescue.

 

For a century, the Councils have relied on their charter to save them from the disaster that ruined their cities. Have they been on the wrong path all along?

 

Malachite Quills presents the new young adult mythological fantasy Telemachus and Homer:

 

 

For every boy who grew up in his father’s shadow and every girl who has been underestimated, there comes a time to look within themselves to see if they have the strength to meet the challenges of the lives. For Telemachus this time arrives soon after Odysseus returns from his twenty year absence, when Telemachus comes to appreciate that his own life needs to be about more than waiting for his father to guide him. On the verge of embarking on an adventure, he learns that his community has been threatened and realizes that he does not know how to help. Swallowing his pride, he recognizes that Homer, a young blind woman is a necessary ally. Homer, like Telemachus, has something to prove, for although she is respected for her knowledge, she feels unfairly defined by her community. Together, as the people of Ithaca’s last hope, they begin their quest.

 

Available now through most online e-book retailers.

BOOK: Highmage's Plight (Highmage’s Plight Series Book 1)
11.43Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Lie for Me by Romily Bernard
The Sinking of the Bismarck by William L. Shirer
Faithful Shadow by Howard, Kevin J.
The Dream Maker by Jean Christophe Rufin, Alison Anderson
Murder at the Mansion by Janet Finsilver
Ana of California by Andi Teran
Hidden Agendas by Lora Leigh