by Frank Hurt
Brandon looked past Evan toward the sunflowers and his fox-eyes grew wide with alarm. A half-second later, a hole appeared between his eyes and his body went first rigid, then limp. Black matter and red fur splattered the yellow gumweed growing along the embankment.
Evan dropped his best friend’s body and fell backward. His mouth opened in a silent scream as he looked up at the silhouette leering above him.
The hunter’s Mossy Oak head cover concealed everything but a pair of rage-filled eyes. A hint of gun smoke escaped the muzzle brake of the rifle before the wind stole it away. The barrel was pointed at him.
Evan squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the trigger to be pulled. When he closed his eyes, he saw Brandon’s face. He opened them and blinked up at the killer. “Why are you doing this to us?”
The hunter said a word, but the head cover and wind conspired to muffle his voice. When the killer took his hand off his rifle’s foregrip to pull down the mask, Evan seized his chance to escape.
He launched himself at the stranger, catching him by surprise. The man fell backward, swinging his rifle like a club and barely missing Evan’s head. The hunter fell into the sunflower field. Evan ran up and over the road to the ditch on the opposite side.
As he ran, Evan focused his thoughts on shifting. He and his best friend didn’t practice their abilities as changelings often, choosing to live their lives full-time as regular humans. Their families never understood their lifestyle choices, but he and Brandon understood one another. They had that, at least.
He grunted as his bones creaked and slid. Coarse fur sprouted from his skin as his body morphed from its human form. He was on the north shoulder of the gravel road when he dropped to all fours. Evan would be able to run fast, to get away then. His senses became sharper, his eyesight just a little better, his nose more focused, his hearing more acute. He knew that even in human form, changelings had elevated senses when compared to NonDruws, but in his animal form everything was more primal, more instinct-driven.
If only he would have practiced his shifting, he might have been fast enough to get into his coyote form and run away. He was too slow, though, and no sooner was he transformed into a coyote did he smell the hunter. He heard the rifle’s action and a deafening crack.
The bullet crashed through his rib cage and dropped him. Evan rolled twice down the ditch and came to rest as a crumpled heap, his neck twisted beneath his body. It hurt to breathe. A strange texture confused him. It felt like a fire was alive in his chest.
The growing haze of pain made it hard to make sense of the human who approached from downwind. Before Evan inhaled his final breath, he thought of his salsa garden and how they had left the water on. Those sweet tomatoes would be ruined with rot.
Ascending Mage 2: Changeling Hunter is a page-burning modern fantasy with a kick-ass heroine and magic that will grab you by the throat.
Learn more or order your copy now, at go.frhurt.com/am2
Author Notes
It seems as though every time I’m about to admit to a mystical experience, I preface the admission with a statement: “I’m not a mystical person,” or “I don’t believe in mysticism.” You might be surprised that someone who writes fantasy fiction proclaims any semblance of rational thought, but it’s true. That’s my claim, at least.
So let me just offer this disclaimer before I continue: I don’t believe in mysticism.
And yet…
It was on a drive to Minot when RaeLea and I began brainstorming the next story we were going to write. We always knew that Fog Over Mandaree would serve as a prequel to what we hoped would blossom into a wider series, but we weren’t entirely sure of the form that series would take. Somewhere on Highway 83 near Washburn, we realized that our protagonist—who we decided would be an up-and-coming sorceress—should be from somewhere other than North Dakota, though nevertheless English-speaking. Having her from, say, the United Kingdom, would allow our readers to discover the rural landscape of our state even as our main character did.
Wanting her hometown to be somewhere other than London, we randomly selected a community called Great Malvern. It wasn’t until we started reading up on the surrounding district that we learned how one of the earliest Ley Lines—the pseudoscientific term for what possibly is a geologic fault line—exists in Malvern Hills.
We learned that the ancient Druids considered this area holy, and later generations built healing spas in the area. One of the more recent such spas was constructed right around the time Minot was founded.
Foreshadowing a bit, later in the series you’ll find that other such magical connections exist around the world, and not-coincidentally that’s where you will find other Druwish colonies.
Speaking of the Druws, we came up with that term as we wanted our magical beings—changelings and mages (who are also known as Malverns for their original source of magic)—to have an umbrella term that was unique but rooted in historical reality. As the Druids were famously present in Great Britain, it made sense that their descendants would borrow from that identity. Thus, they became “Druws.”
RaeLea wrote the first draft for the opening scene in the book we would eventually name Ascending Mage 1: Changeling Justice. She had a vivid image of Ember running through an aged cemetery, with Wallace splitting off from her as they enter the gates. Within the graveyard, they would encounter a giant who happened to be a ghost. RaeLea searched online for graveyards reasonably near Great Malvern and found a photo of the Blackburn Old Cemetery. The photo matched the description and layout in her mind’s eye. Further research found that a real-life giant had lived in that community—the tallest man, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. One Mr. Frederick Kempster.
That was a nice coincidence.
Stateside, Minot’s nickname—we were reminded as we drove into the city limits—is the Magic City. What better setting could we hope to have for a modern fantasy story than a place that literally has “magic” in its name?
Wandering around Minot, we had an idea of what we wanted the Druwish embassy to look like. As she lived in Minot for over a decade, RaeLea knew of the iconic Parker Building downtown. When she showed me the eight-story structure, it was hard not to imagine secret offices hidden behind the thick masonry facade. Wouldn’t it make sense for this building to sit atop a Ley Line? The ground floor would contain a spa, within which the local Druws could recharge their mana—just like they do in Great Malvern.
As a cover story, Ember would work in that spa. As a licensed massage therapist, RaeLea is able to provide realistic insights into that career, so it’s a nice fit.
In later research, RaeLea found a century-old photo of some prominent-looking men standing in downtown Minot. Wouldn’t you know, in the background was a construction site identified as the Parker Building.
I get chills even now, thinking about what an eerie coincidence this is.
We had our cover artist include that photo in the background for Ascending Mage 4: Nothing Broken. You’ll see in the story that we identify some of the individuals in the photo, and you might not be surprised to learn that they’ll be familiar to you by that point.
We needed a place for Ember to stay that was within walking distance of her workplace. There aren’t too many residential areas in downtown Minot, but wouldn’t you know there is a three-story brick building renovated from its original purpose as a plow factory. It, too, was one of the earliest structures in the Magic City. On its ground floor was a bakery. The Sweet and Flour has sadly since closed its doors, but it was open during the time the Ascending Mage series takes place. As Ember has a penchant for sweets, this, too, seemed like fate.
We learned that connecting many of these downtown buildings is a network of old utility tunnels—the perfect route for a changeling and a mage to bypass spying eyes.
There are so many other coincidences like these, though I have to be careful not to give away the plot and characters you’ll be meeting throughout the series.
&nb
sp; Our motto is “Genuine Modern Fantasy.” It’s easy to be authentic when there are so many real elements which align with our fiction.
But like I said, I’m not a mystical person. This isn’t magic; just multiple coincidences. Right?
Frank Hurt
Acknowledgments
We are incredibly fortunate to have a fantastic Alpha Team. These folks pick through our stories, proofread, and help find gaps in the plot and prose. The novel you just read is much stronger thanks to their efforts. Special thanks to:
Robert Severson
Jackie Hope
Lucy Hurt
Muriel Hurt
Bonnie Olson
Benedette Knopik
Joy Vasquez
Ian Cowie
Stephanie Sapp
Ronald Colbert
Luke Hurt
Gloria Warner
Jolene Briles
Boniface Knopik
Elizabeth Key
Finally, a huge thanks to everyone who reviews our novels on Amazon and Goodreads!
Did you leave a review yet? If so, send us an email so we can thank you properly!
Our email address is [email protected] or use the contact form at https://frhurt.com