Join the authors at #MFRWHooks http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com here to find some great excerpts. Mine is Moon Summoned, a fantasy romance with three heroes, three heroines and three villains.
Three Moon Summoned women. Ashiera the Seer who controls the winds and sees into the thoughts of others. Dian the Warrior who controls fire and fights with the sword. Egeria the Healer who controls fluids and heals those who are injured. They are joined in their battle by Sieper a sailor who knows the winds, Kobe once sworn to the Lord of Shadows and Jetan a healer of animals. These three vow to help the three women against those sworn to Evil.
Lugal the Cabal reads the winds and thoughts. Sargon the Gladius controls fire and the armies of the Lord of Shadow. Lugal the Cabal has knowledge of herbs and uses them for evil. These three with their cohorts will face the three and three sworn to the Mistress of the Moons.
Janet Lane Walters has written a story that will take you to another time and place. She gives vivid descriptions of her characters and their role in this story. Ms. Walters has constructed a civilization so real that you will feel its very existence. A place where men rule women as chattel for their sexual needs, and three evil rulers who drain their bodies of their very essence for spells and to gain power. There is betrayal and treachery inside of plots, as each priest plans to rule alone. Ashiera, Egeria, and Dian are bound to the spirits of the ones who came before them. They discover a truth that will astound them, and have them doubting their chosen path. They will experience a love that is forbidden and discover that two stand together better than one. I could feel the emotional struggle between love and destiny, described so passionately by the author. I hope Ms. Walters plans to continue this story. I could feel that this is just the beginning of this tale. Janet Walters book, Moon Bright, Moon Dark will go on my keeper shelf, beside such authors as Charlotte Boyett-Compo and Nancy Gideon. I give this story Five Hearts and recommend it highly. Enjoy!
EXCERPT:
Eclipse
The setting sun brought shadows
creeping along the mountain slopes. From the battle lines stretched across the
plateau, the smell of blood mingled with the dust. Metal clanged against metal.
Shouts, curses and screams filled the air. The moans of the wounded broke the
Seer’s concentration on the amber light streaming from the crystal atop her
staff. The beam sent a jagged pattern through the growing darkness.
A piercing cry
arose. The ruby ray from the Warrior’s sword shot toward the sky. The Healer
darted among the fallen and knelt beside the sorely wounded woman. Blue light
from the Healer’s wand focused on the Warrior’s wounds. The Healer poured
life-sustaining energy through the azure beam.
Gusts of wind drove
thick waves of fog from the mountain peaks to obscure the plain and to cover
the retreat of the women. A cluster of the servants of the Mistress of the
Moons, clad in tunics of amber, red and blue, stumbled after those who bore the
Warrior. They carried her between a pair of standing stones into a narrow
passage that led to a crater lake and the Place of Choosing.
The Seer stumbled
and would have fallen if the Healer hadn’t caught her arm. Together they moved
through the fog. The edges of their cloaks brushed the standing stones.
“How much time have
we?” the Healer asked.
The Seer tightened
her grip on the staff. “I pray enough to complete the ritual before the eclipse
hides the light of the moon.”
The Healer guided
the other woman into the narrow passage. “With the coming of the fog, the bright
moon and the dark moon have risen. We must succeed or all is lost for the One
we serve.”
“Pray our call is
answered before the next eclipse and the time of the lunar of the dark moon.
For now and to all eternity, the thirteenth moon, the dark moon will rise each
year to fill the sky.”
“We must wait
thirteen years before this comes to pass. Pray the Mistress of the Moons will
hold the Queen of Darkness at bay so the ones we call will have a chance.”
“Unless those who
serve the Lord of Shadows call the Queen forth.”
The Healer sucked in
a breath. “Never will the ones who serve the shadowed one share the rule.”
The Seer sighed.
“Mistress bless. So be it. We will call, the Three will come and all will be as
it has been. Unlike those in the other nomes, we can’t allow a drastic change
to alter what we’ve built.”
“Agreed,” the Healer
said.
They emerged from
the passage and walked across the rock-strewn earth to the crater lake. The
walls on three sides formed a crescent around the pool.
The Seer marshaled
enough strength to walk unassisted. Her hair, darkened by age, flew wildly
around her face. The Healer’s hair was as black as a night beneath the dark
moon.
The remaining women
clustered at the edge of the lake. The Seer and the Healer took the ends of the
stretcher on which the Warrior lay. They waded through the cool water to the
isle in the center of the lake. Gently they laid their companion on the pale
rock. The Healer placed the Warrior’s sword on her chest and crossed the
woman’s arms beneath the orb in the hilt.
Those who served the
Mistress as seers, warriors and healers held torches aloft.
The ebon globe slid
across the surface of the pale golden moon. The Seer passed her hand over the
head of her staff. From the depths of the amber crystal, a band of pale yellow
light flowed.
“From out of time
and out of space, we three, Seer, Warrior, Healer, send our spirits questing
for those who will continue the battle against the Lord of Shadows. We call for
those who will keep the faith exactly as we have. Mistress of the Moons, pray
keep the Queen of Darkness in bonds so You will prevail.”
The Healer raised
her wand. The blue crystal on the tip flared and blue light shone. “The time of
passing is upon us.” Her voice held neither fear nor anticipation. “Moon bright
becomes Moon dark. May this eclipse add strength to our quest.”
The dark orb
continued its stately progress across the face of the moon. The Seer held her
staff so the light shone across the body of the Warrior. “How fares our
sister?”
The Healer pressed a
hand against the Warrior’s chest. “Her heart beats, but her body weakens. Can
she bring forth the light of her sword?”
“The Mistress will
sustain her.”
The Healer gasped.
From the ruby crystal embedded in the hilt of the Warrior’s sword, a red ray rose
to touch the blue and amber. “Just as our lights unite, we three are one.”
Moon
Bright, Moon dark,
Mistress
of the Moons.
From
out of time,
From
the depths of space.
Call
the Three,
Seer,
Warrior, Healer.
Empower
them.
From
conception comes the thought.
From
the thought rises the desire.
From
desire springs the seed.
And
the fruit becomes the harvest,
Ending
shadows, bringing light.
The women who had
gathered at the edge of the lake added their voices to those of the Three.
Once, twice, thrice, they intoned the call. As the dark globe completely
covered the moon, they plunged their torches into the water. Clouds of
herb-scented smoke obscured the isle. When the sun rose only a staff, a sword
and a wand remained.
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You've created a neat ritual.
ReplyDeleteI felt like I was right in the scene.
ReplyDelete