Join the authors at #MFRWHooks here http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com For some great excerpts. Mine is at http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com and is a fantasy romance
BLURB:
To honor a promise made to his dying father, Alric trains as a Defender. For some reason the Swordmaster wishes him gone and his first two bondings end in failure. A failed third one will see Alric banished. His meeting with the older daughter of the Swordmaster reveals a double heart bond, but she has been promised to Petan, the Swordmaster’s favorite. A duel is fought and though Alric can read Petan’s lines of fire, the other dueler cheats and nearly kills Alric. Petan is banished but he knows secret ways into Defenders Hall. Kalia, his now bondmate’s lines are tarnished. Not only do Alric and Kalia need to find Petan, they must learn how to cleanse her lines.
EXCERPT:
Whispers of the grief to come
slithered through Alric’s thoughts. He knelt beside his father’s bed and
brushed the older man’s hand. The lines of fire on his father’s skin, once
bright scarlet, had faded to pale pink. Though the end approached, Alric wasn’t
ready to see his father pass from life into the abyss of death.
“Papa,” he whispered. “The men
of the Guild House and their bondmates arrive in just five days to test me for
admission into the Defenders Hall.” His words were a plea for his father to
remain with him for that time.
The older man’s eyes opened. The
pain Alric saw brought wetness to his eyes. When his father died, there would
be no relative to witness the acceptance as a Defender trainee. From the moment
his father had given Alric a wooden sword and shown him the ways one could be
used, he had desired to leave the village and pursue more training.
With fierce determination, Alric
sought to infuse some of his vitality into his father. As always, the attempt
failed. Why could the lines of fire be used to halt the flow of blood and to
not achieve a return to vitality? Alric groaned. If he had been on the
wood-cutting trip into the forest, he could have helped his father and the
other man. A boar had gored and broken their bodies. The other lumberman had
died. Alric’s father had lingered and suffered.
“Son.”
The harsh whisper startled
Alric. His father hadn’t spoken once in the ten days since his shattered body
had been carried to the village.
“Papa.”
“Listen. Be Defender.”
“I promise.”
“Swordmaster. Enemy. Lines of
fire. Not all can see.”
Alric frowned. What did his father mean? Was the
Swordmaster the reason his father’s bond had been broken and he had been
banished to this distant village? Why should the lines remain a secret? Before
he had a chance to ask his father spoke again.
“Find sibs.”
Alric’s head jerked up. “Sibs. I
have none.”
“One boy. One girl. Too young to
steal away. Just you.”
This new information rocked
Alric’s thoughts. “I will find them.”
“Bracelet. Take. Use. True
mate.”
New ideas and new demands
swamped Alric. Questions rattled like nuts falling from the trees in autumn.
“Save. Defenders. Restore old
ways. Promise.”
“I will.” Alric wasn’t sure what
he had promised but his father’s words flowed through his thoughts the way the
lines of fire flowed over his skin. He pressed his forehead against his
father’s hand and slammed shut the gates of grief.
The rattled breathing slowed and
began again. Each stop and start brought a welling of tears closer to the
surface. The sound stopped. Alric waited. He raised his head. The lines of fire
on his father’s skin vanished.
Gut churning sobs began and
wracked Alric’s body. When the storm of tears stopped Alric rose. With leaden
steps he walked to the cabin door to summon the village women to care for his
father’s corpse.
January 20, 2013
This was a good story. I liked the characters and the world created. The "lines of fire" was an interesting concept
I especially liked this idea and how it was revealed and used within the story. However, this book could have
been so much more. I would have liked the characters to be fleshed out more and with greater emotion. It
needed more explanation of the background details. Sentences were choppy and hard to follow at times.
Characters had little physical descriptions and that drove me crazy as I always work to create a picture of them
and the world they live in as I read. Truly, this is a good story and a good read. I do recommend you read it
July 19, 2014
Everything you would expect from a Paranormal romance.
My Places
http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com
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3 comments:
Walters always finds a new fresh way to tell a tale.
Wow -- does this snippet ever raise questions for the future! I came away with a sense of what his goals in this book will be, and what his heart needs.
Talk about foreshadowing! You've loaded the scene with amazing promise for grand adventure and love.
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