Blurb:
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.
Editorial Review: 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:
The harsh rasp of a
strange man’s voice woke her. Where was she? Dried scallas and peppers hung
from the rafters of the -- loft? She put her feet on the rough wood floor.
Memories surfaced slowly. She was Egeria and this was her home. She turned her
head and stared at the huge empty bed. Where was Malara? Egeria had no memories
of ever sleeping alone in the loft. Always her sister had been with her.
“Where is she?” the
stranger bellowed. “Malara ails.”
“Don’t shout.
Egeria’s moon-touched and slow, but she obeys.”
The sound of her
father’s voice drew her to the opening where a ladder led to the lower floor of
the farmhouse. She stared at the stranger. Who was he?
“She should be here
to tend the fire and fetch the eggs for my breakfast.”
Egeria frowned. Why
did this man give orders? The farm was Malara’s legacy from their mother. She
smoothed the skirt of the dress she’d slept in and pulled on the fleece-lined
ankle boots. As she climbed the ladder, a wave of dizziness nearly made her
fall.
She glanced around
the large main room. Fireplaces stood at either end. Around one was a circle of
chairs. Near the second, a more massive one, stood a long table flanked by
benches and chairs at the ends. On the wall near a door, an open cupboard held
dishes. Pans and kettles hung from hooks on the stone wall of the hearth.
“What kept you?” A
muscular man with red hair grabbed her arm. “See to your chores.”
“Who are you?” Only
garbled sounds emerged. Where were her sister and her brother?
“Idiot.” The man
pushed her toward the hearth. “The fire. The eggs. Can’t you remember anything
from one day to the next?”
Egeria raked ashes
from the banked fire. She added kindling to the glowing coals. When the flames
leaped high, she reached for several logs. This return to a routine stirred
memories. She donned her cloak and lifted the egg basket.
Just before the
evening meal, Egeria heard an equis neigh. Radan opened the door, shouted a
greeting and ran into the yard. “Jetan, come to the house. Why did you take so
long to reach the farm?”
Egeria watched the
men. The newcomer’s green eyes shone with laughter. His light red hair hung in
a braid to the middle of his back.
“Been busy. Stopped
here and there to earn coins by tending beasts.” He pointed to the equis. “This
beauty was a gift from the Thamaturg after I treated his favorite mare. I’ve
coins aplenty.”
Radan laughed. “For
poor boys we’ve prospered. Look at my farm and house. Makes Pa’s look like
nothing to brag about. There’s an orchard and a woodlot across the road that’s
mine, too. Trag, take his equis.”
They brushed past
Egeria. Their faces showed they shared a heritage, but the younger man was
taller and leaner. He moved with a lithe grace. His eyes held none of the anger
that smoldered in his brother’s eyes.
“Set a second
place,” Radan ordered. “Jetan comes to stay a bit. Tave, fetch the jug of
fermenti and move your things into Trag’s room.”
Malara offered hot
herb-scented cloths. The man washed and sat at the table.
“My thanks, lady,”
Jetan said.
Radan punched his
brother’s shoulder. “No thanks needed. She does what is right to honor a guest.
Have you grown soft since I last saw you?”
Jetan shook his
head. “Just using the manners Ma taught us.”
“The family? Have
they recovered from the earth shakes?”
“Last I heard. Not
been home for more than a year. Ma was ailing. Pa beat her bad when the last
born was a girl. Couldn’t help her so I left. I won’t go back.”
Radan poured
fermenti into two small cups. “Neither will I. We’re best gone. Nothing for us
there.” He touched his cup to Jetan’s. “You can find a place here. Lots of
families need a man with coins to pay their taxes.”
Egeria placed a
platter of fried pullet and hearth-roasted taters on the table. Radan gestured
to Malara. “She’s first woman of my court. Carries my quickened seed.” He
pulled her onto his lap. “Next week I’ll go to
Jetan pointed to
Egeria. “And her?”
Radan snorted.
“Moon-touched. Locals believe to bed her will bring ill luck. Don’t want to
stir them so I leave her alone.”
Jetan lifted a piece
of pullet from the plate. Moon-touched? He could swear he’d seen awareness in
her blue eyes. His gaze followed her movements at the hearth and his body
heated with thoughts of plowing her. If he could win her, there would be no
thoughts of sharing with Radan. Where did she sleep? Though if she was
proscribed, he’d have to be wary. “Maybe I should visit the pens. Been near
three months without a woman.”
Gamish, the Thamaturg,
sat on the high seat in what had been the banqueting room of the house he’d
taken from a wealthy merchant. She’d protested the seizure. To solve the
problem, he’d stopped her heart.
He’d made changes in
the house for his was an austere nature. Gone were the paintings, sculptures
and delicate furniture. The white marble floor had been metamorphosed into a
livid blue that reminded him of the merchant’s face at the moment of her death.
The changes pleased him as did the extensive glass-covered gardens where he
grew the herbs and flowers he used in the censor.
He lifted a dirose
from a vase and watched the oily liquid drip from where he’d removed a thorn.
He took care that none of the oil touched his skin for the burns were slow to
heal.
His thoughts weren’t
completely on his guests. He had other concerns. The servants of the Lord of
Shadows had won their first battle with the creatures of the Mistress, but a
second confrontation would soon take place. The things his minions and fetches
had revealed had convinced him that somehow the Three had escaped to complete
the ritual of transfer. Somewhere in Keltoi there were women who could hold her
power. Surely they were as yet as weak as suckling babes. If he could find them
before they learned control, he could subvert them and thus bring defeat to his
co-rulers.
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Great introduction to the book. Very interesting excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThis is really complicated, Janet... probably would be easier to follow if it weren't an excerpt.
ReplyDeleteVery intriguing, though.
A power look into that era. The brutality.
ReplyDeleteInteresting Excerpt. A lot going on here. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete