Water & Storm Country (38 page)

Suddenly, Wilde stops us. “I feel blessed by
the sun goddess to know all of you,” she says.

“Yer our sister, too,” Skye says.

I nod in agreement.

“Thank you,” she says. “I mean all of you
though, the Icers included.” Dazz raises an eyebrow and Buff smiles
widely.

“We’re lucky to know you too,” Buff says.
“All of you.”

“But I won’t force any of you to fight,”
Wilde says. “Hiding is an option, and I won’t stop you if that’s
what you choose—there’s no shame in it.”

“Burn that,” Skye says. “I don’t know ’bout
anyone else, but I’m fightin’. Our leaders have failed us. Our
father, Head Greynote Roan, was selfish and arrogant. Scorch, King
Goff was a hysterical madman. And this Admiral Jones guy was the
biggest baggard of all, controlling the tribes like pieces on some
gameslab. We gotta be better’n they were, unite together to fight
fer our homes, our lives, our children and our children’s children.
This is our home and we won’t give it up. I won’t give it up.”

“Unity,” Dazz says suddenly.

“Yeah, that’s what I mean,” Skye says. “We’re
stronger together’n apart.”

“We’re with you,” Dazz says, speaking for all
of us. “We’re all with you.”

“The Unity Alliance,” Wilde says, trying it
out. “The Tri-Tribes—the Marked, the Wildes, the Heaters—and now
the Icers. Fighting together. Fighting for our lives. If you can
convince your people, Dazz, we can convince ours.”

“Consider it done,” Dazz says.

~~~

Although I think we all hate to do it, we
split up when we reach the border of ice country. Dazz and Buff
will go back to their families—who, according to Wilde, are in
better shape’n when we left: Dazz’s mother is still drug-free and
his sister is back to being a kid again, while Buff’s father is
walking, albeit with the help of a cane—and to update the new ice
country leadership on the situation. They’ll get as many
able-bodied men and women to fight with us as they can.

I watch Buff and Dazz trudge up the hill with
more fondness than I ever woulda thought possible.

Our fire country group splits too. Feve and
Circ will take Jade back to the hidden Tri-Tribe village, while
Wilde, Skye and me will meet with the spies. Wilde needs to get the
latest news, and Skye and me won’t let her go alone.

Leaving Jade again is the hardest thing in
the world, but she’ll be safer with them than anybody. “We’ll see
you in two days, maybe three,” I say.

“I know,” Jade says, hugging me.

I hug her around the head, careful not to
touch her healing back.

When we go I don’t look behind me ’cause I’m
afraid I’ll run back.

It’s strange to be back in the desert again,
’specially now that I know there’s so much else out there. And yet:
The burnt landscape and dusty hills will always feel like home to
me.

As the sun arcs high overhead, I watch the
few lazy clouds move like yellow sea ships across the red sky. A
hawk soars overhead, just above a rocky outcropping, which casts a
long shadow on the desert floor.

Skye walks between Wilde and me, sort of in
front, setting the pace, being the leader that she is. We make for
the shadow of the boulders, desperate for a break from the
relentless heat.

When we get closer, I notice a gap in the
boulders. A hole, full of the deepest, darkest black I’ve ever
seen. A cave. And sticking out of the cave are—

—I can’t believe my own eyes—

—two pale-faced people, a girl and a guy.

I swear my heart stops for two beats, ’fore
pounding faster and harder’n a tug stampede.

T’others see them too, and Skye motions us to
the right, out of their direct line of sight, so we can sneak in a
little closer, getting into the shadows.

The girl is whiter’n the snow in ice country,
her hair falling in long dark waves ’round her face. The guy’s hair
is light, like yellow sand, wavy in parts, like the big pond—uh,
ocean—in water country. We watch as they kiss each other, squinting
and whispering and pointing at the sky.

Skye looks at me, at Wilde, and then clears
her throat, stepping out into the light. As Wilde and me step
forward along with her, I see the two pale-faced people twitch,
their heads jerking to look at us, still squinting in the bright
light of day.

They stare at us, frozen, looking us up and
down and all around, like they don’t believe their eyes.

Skye says, “In the name of the sun goddess,
tell me who you are,” her voice stronger’n and clearer’n I’ve ever
heard ’fore.

The girl’s mouth opens like she wants to
speak, but it’s the guy who says, “I’m Tristan Nailin, a sun
dweller, and this is Adele Rose, a moon dweller. We’ve come from
the depths of the earth.”

~*~

Keep reading for an author’s note and a sneak
peek of the mind-blowing fourth and final book in The Dwellers
Saga, which doubles as the fourth and final book in The Country
Saga,
The Earth Dwellers
, coming September 5, 2013!

A personal note from David…

If you enjoyed this book, please, please,
please (don’t make me get down on my knees and beg!) considering
leaving a positive review on
the major book review sites
.
Without reviews
on the major sites
, I wouldn’t be able to
write for a living, which is what I love to do! Thanks for all your
incredible support and I look forward to reading your reviews.

Acknowledgments

Thank you thank you thank you to the READERS
of both
the Dwellers Saga
and
the Country Saga
(or
both). You and you alone make me want to write forever and
ever!

Thanks to the awesomeness who is my wife,
Adele, who pushes me to be better, to try harder, to never give up.
I’ve stepped through so many important doors in my life because of
you.

Another BIG thanks to Rhomy at Black Lion
Book Tours, who once again got things kicked off the right way with
a fun and amazing blog tour. Your enthusiasm and optimism is
contagious!

To Regina Wamba, my cover artist, you
absolutely nailed the third cover. The three together are an
absolute work of art that represent the series so well.

Thank you to my beta team, most of whom have
been around for all six books in the combined series so far. The
following people should be recorded in the ship’s annals as being
AWESOMESAUCE: Laurie Love, Alexandria Theodosopoulos, Kerri Hughes,
Terri Thomas, Lolita Verroen, Rachel Schade, Brooke DelVecchio and
Anthony Briggs Jr.

And finally, to my street team, you rock! My
ARCs couldn’t possibly have a better home than in front of your
eyes. If you didn’t get the word out, I’d be poor and homeless
(well, more poor and homeless than I already am).

The saga continues in other books by David
Estes available through the author’s official website:

http://davidestesbooks.blogspot.com

or through select online retailers including
Smashwords.com.

Young-Adult Books by David Estes

The Dwellers Saga:

Book One—The Moon Dwellers

Book Two—The Star Dwellers

Book Three—The Sun Dwellers

Book Four—The Earth Dwellers (Coming
September 5, 2013!)

The Country Saga (A Dwellers Saga sister
series):

Book One—Fire Country

Book Two—Ice Country

Book Three—Water and Storm Country

Book Four—The Earth Dwellers (Coming
September 5, 2013!)

The Witch Wars:

Book One—Brew (Coming December 12, 2013!)

The Evolution Trilogy:

Book One—Angel Evolution

Book Two—Demon Evolution

Book Three—Archangel Evolution

Children’s Books by David Estes

The Adventures of Nikki Powergloves:

Nikki Powergloves—A Hero Is Born

Nikki Powergloves and the Power Council

Nikki Powergloves and the Power Trappers

Nikki Powergloves and the Great Adventure

Nikki Powergloves vs. the Power Outlaws
(Coming soon!)

Connect with David Estes Online

David Estes Fans and YA Book Lovers Unite

Facebook

Blog/website

About the Author

David Estes was born in El Paso, Texas but
moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was very young. He grew
up in Pittsburgh and then went to Penn State for college.
Eventually he moved to Sydney, Australia where he met his wife and
soul mate, Adele, who he’s now been happily married to for more
than two years.

A reader all his life, David began writing
novels for the children's and YA markets in 2010, and has completed
15 novels, 13 of which have been published. In June of 2012, David
became a fulltime writer and is now travelling the world with Adele
while he writes books, and she writes and takes photographs.

David gleans inspiration from all sorts of
crazy places, like watching random people do entertaining things,
dreams (which he jots copious notes about immediately after waking
up), and even from thin air sometimes!

David’s a writer with OCD, a love of dancing
and singing (but only when no one is looking or listening), a
mad-skilled ping-pong player, an obsessive Goodreads group member,
and prefers writing at the swimming pool to writing at a table. He
loves responding to e-mails, Facebook messages, Tweets, blog
comments, and Goodreads comments from his readers, all of whom he
considers to be his friends.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

THE EARTH DWELLERS

BOOK 4 OF BOTH THE DWELLERS SAGA AND THE
COUNTRY SAGA

Available anywhere e-books are sold on
September 5, 2013!

The Earth Dwellers
will cap off an
eighteen month journey that has taken me from unknown Indie author
to still-mostly-unknown
fulltime
Indie author. The change is
a subtle one for most people, but for me it’s a dream come true. To
the hundreds (and now maybe even thousands!) of readers who have
come along for the ride with me, either by reading
the Dwellers
Saga
,
the Country Saga
, or both, I thank you from the
bottom of my heart.

Now down to business. There may be some of
you who have only read the three books in
the Country Saga
,
and are now thinking you’ll read
The Earth Dwellers
, which
is supposedly the 4
^th
book in
the Country Saga
,
even if the title sounds a bit funny. Well, that’s awesome!
However, I must highly recommend that before reading
The Earth
Dwellers
that you read the three books of
the Dwellers
Saga
:
The Moon Dwellers
,
The Star Dwellers
, and
The Sun Dwellers
. Trust me, doing so will greatly enhance
your experience, as
The Earth Dwellers
will be taking
significant characters from both series and crashing them together
(yes, like a water country wave) into an action-packed tale of
struggle and loss and hope and friendship…and maybe a little love,
too ;)

Anyway, that’s my advice, it’s up to you what
to do with it. In any case, thanks for being a part of my own
adventure, I’m a better person for having written stories for
you!

Recommended Reading prior to The Earth
Dwellers

Fire Country

Ice Country

Water & Storm Country

The Moon Dwellers

The Star Dwellers

The Sun Dwellers

A SNEAK PEEK

THE EARTH DWELLERS

BOOK 4 OF BOTH THE DWELLERS SAGA AND THE
COUNTRY SAGA

Available anywhere e-books are sold September
5th, 2013!

I
blink against the
blinding sun and the crimson sky and the birds wheeling overhead,
and they’re still there. My mind is spinning, remembering: the long
journey with Tristan through the rock-surrounded shaft, the
exhilarating walk down the tunnel to end all tunnels, the thrill of
stepping out onto the surface of the earth, of kissing Tristan, of
breathing the real, real air.

And then the three girls appearing, as if
from nowhere. But no, they stepped from the shadow of the very rock
looming behind us. The middle one asked a question—something about
who we are and a sun goddess, right?—one that’s still hanging in
the air, patiently awaiting an answer.

I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes
out; not a breath, not a word, not a sound.

Thankfully, Tristan answers for the both of
us. “I’m Tristan Nailin, a sun dweller, and this is Adele Rose, a
moon dweller. We’ve come from the depths of the earth.”

The girls just stare at us for a moment, the
two on the sides not smiling, but not frowning either—just staring,
like we’re covered in filth. The one in the middle, however, is
wearing a thick scowl, her eyebrows bent and threatening to pinch
her nose. I want to look away, to avert my eyes under their
scrutiny, but I don’t. I stare right back.

They’re wearing very little clothing, just
small swatches of material that appears to be some kind of animal
skin around their chests and torsos. They’re beautiful and dark
and, strangely, remind me of Cole—who I haven’t thought of in a
long time—not because of their skin, which is several shades
lighter than his shadowy complexion, but because of the
undercurrent of energy that seems to surround them, both dangerous
and exciting and the kind you want on your side. Especially the
middle one, the frowner, who is musclier than I am, her toned,
tanned arms hanging loosely at her sides.