How far would you go to save everything you ever loved?
Kaliel was warned about her love for the Ferryman. One day he will marry the land and leave Avristar forever. She doesn't listen, and because of what she is-- a Flame-- one of nine apocalyptic weapons, she sparks a war. In a desperate attempt to save her home and her love, Kaliel tries to awaken Avred, not knowing she may have to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Excerpt:
The banks of the river were sloppy and full of muck. Krishani watched as clumps of mud were drenched by more of the murky waters, eventually forcing the clumps to fall into the river entirely. He never knew where he was when he dreamed, but they always began like this, in the dead silence, in the din of places he had never been before. The only place he had ever seen rivers were in his dreams, and the only time he heard about rivers was when the brothers talked about the Lands of Men. This river was no exception. He waited for the other thing he would see, the things he had seen since he woke up a child in a forest, abandoned by the men. He remembered they smelled like sweat and firewood. It was a musky male smell that the elders in Avristar never possessed no matter how blistering hot it got in summer.
Water babbled as it rushed over the rock bed of the river. Little pools of ripples fluttered across the surface. Krishani grew anxious. He hung there, seeing nothing but clumps of mud let go of the banks and follow the ride of the winding river. He peered down-stream and saw it curve and curl as it cut through the tall spruce trees on either side. Part of him wanted to wake up, but part of him hated the reality he would wake up to. Days of careful planning, of menial tasks, nothing like what he endured during the rites; this was much more intense. He was always aware during his dreams, as though he was really there, watching from the shadows. He turned his attention upstream. There was a body floating face down, moving towards him. A white shirt swished around the body and clung to tanned skin underneath. Sandy blond hair covered its head and bare ankles floated up out of the water. Krishani moved instinctively, throwing off his cloak, planning on diving in after the body, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
Krishani looked to his right and saw nothing but the river bank. A tall man with his back turned came into view, plodding along the banks with body language that said he was equally disappointed. The floating body belonged to a child, maybe nine or ten.
Krishani hung his head and watched the body float downstream, knowing there was nothing he could do to help. The boy was already dead.
a Rafflecopter giveawayRhi is the weird one in the red lipstick. She writes Young Adult Fantasy, Dystopian, Urban Fantasy and sometimes Contemporary. When she's not writing she's reading minds, singing karaoke, and burning cookies. You can find her sipping iced cappucino at www.yafantasyauthor.com
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Rhiannon put together a grand prize for ONE lucky international winner, to be drawn on April 26th. The prize is 2 signed paperback copies of SURRENDER + JUSTICE.
I have such love for any story involving the whole Ferryman/Death plot. I love that excerpt, the descriptions are amazing! Added to my to-read!
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