“I call thee forth from the grounds of Bolivia. Come to us, so we may craft our charms.” Atropos waved her hands over the cauldron, and five large pieces of silver floated out, moved to hover over a nearby table, and dropped softly to the worn wood. “That is from the purest source.”
“Give me your fingers, sisters.” Lachesis took three vials and collected a drop of blood from her own finger, one from Clotho, and three from Atropos. After settling in front of the silver blobs, Lachesis waved her hands. Steam issued from the ore, and it grew so white-hot, it melted into puddles, leaving scorch marks on the table. “Now, it is pure as freshly fallen snow.” Once the impurities burned away, she dribbled the blood over the molten metal, ordering it to swirl and combine in an unbreakable bond.
Once cooled, each sister dropped hers in the cauldron. It hissed and sparked, tiny flecks of multicolored flame scattering in every direction.
They lifted their hands and chanted, “These gifts we create for our daughters, imbued with our blood, so they shall always feel a part of who they truly are. May these charms protect them from ever becoming lost on their paths.”
Five tiny necklaces rose from the liquid; each with one or more silver bars dangling from the fine chain.
Clotho snatched them out of the air and hurried to the workbench. After placing them carefully, evenly spaced, she removed a bit of powder from a pouch at her waist and sprinkled it liberally over the jewelry. “I give thee power to transform as our daughters grow and hide your messages when not in this realm of existence. You shall also be our line to call them home.”
Words flared, appearing like fiery ink, on the metal bars: Lust, Pride, Greed, Envy, Sloth, and Gluttony—the sins the newly born goddesses would help humanity resist.
She blew across the metal, and the words dimmed.
Atropos came and gathered three, fastening them around her daughters’ necks. Once it was done, she kissed the top of each infant’s head. “May the power of the Fates be with you.”
Clotho and Lachesis repeated the ritual, and the women stood back to admire their offspring.
These five babies were the Fates’ gifts to the world, guides for humanity, created to assist struggling humans on the paths to redemption the old women set.
About the Authors
If you review this book, please send an e-mail to:
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With the subject line:
7 Review
Include the perma-link for your review in the e-mail, and get a response with a surprise from the authors!
For your reference, following the author bio, you’ll get a list of all the signings they’ll be at in 2016 and some of the ones in 2017 (so you can get your book signed and more)!
Thank you for reading our novel. We appreciate it more than you know!
Casey L. Bond
Award-winning author Casey Bond resides in West Virginia with her husband and their two beautiful daughters. They have two fur-babies, a cat named Nefertiti and an enormous puppy named Benson. Casey loves to read almost as much as she enjoys writing young adult and new adult fiction. Dystopian is her favorite, but all of her works include a romantic element.
Casey’s books:
Harvest Saga (set):
Reap (FREE – Winner Best World Building award in 2014 from IABB)
Resist
Reclaim
Catalyst
Sin (Winner 2015 Utopia Award for Best Serial Series)
Temptation
Dark Bishop
Prep for Doom (anthology)
Liquid
Winter Shadows
Shady Bay
Crazy Love
Light in the Darkness (anthology)
Fractured Glass: A Novel Anthology (Finalist – IBA/Fiction: Cross Genre & Finalist – Reader’s Favorite 2015/Young Adult Sci-Fi)
Chasing Wishes
Devil Creek
Prisoner of Prophecy
More at: http://authorcaseybond.com
Casey will appear at the following signings:
2016:
RAI—April 2, 2016—Roanoke, VA
UtopiaCon—June 22-26, 2016—Nashville, TN
R&R—November 4-6—Huntington, WV
Jo Michaels
Jo Michaels is...
Hi, I'm Jo. Let's forget all the "Jo Michaels is blah, blah, blah" stuff and just go with it. I'm a voracious reader (often reading more than one book at a time), a writer, a book reviewer, a mom, a wife, and one of the EICs at INDIE Books Gone Wild. I have an almost photographic memory and tend to make people cringe at the number of details I can recall about them and/or their book(s). My imagination follows me around like a conjoined twin and causes me to space out pretty often or laugh out loud randomly in completely inappropriate situations.
I have a degree in graphic design, and my journey to the end was one few students who begin that program ever complete. However, this was one case where my memory and OCD tendencies helped me. Graduation was one of the most amazing days of my life. But, my most amazing day was when my now husband proposed. Every little girl dreams of being Cinderella someday, and he pulled off the proposal of fantasies.
At the risk of sounding cliché, I'm going to let it out there and say how much I absolutely adore the man I'm married to. Along with my children, he's my whole world.
I've lived in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Georgia, but I've had my feet in almost every state. Traveling is something I adore, and have plans to someday see the Mongolia I've written about in Yassa.
One of my favorite things is hearing from fans! You can find me on social media most any day of the week. Connect! I'd love to hear from you.
Jo’s Books:
Mystic series (set):
Bronya
Lily
Shelia
Melody
Coralie
Markaza
Abigale Chronicles (set):
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
M
The Frivoloity Fairies: A Christmas Short Story
I, Zombie
The Bird
Yassa: Genghis Khan’s coming-of-age tale
Fractured Glass: A Novel Anthology (Finalist – IBA/Fiction: Cross Genre & Finalist – Reader’s Favorite 2015/Young Adult Sci-Fi)
The Indie Author's Guide to: Building a Great Book
Emancipation
Utterances
More at: http://writejomichaels.com
Jo will appear at the following signings:
2016:
RAI—April 2, 2016—Roanoke, VA
UTOPiAcon—June 22-26, 2016—Nashville, TN
2017:
UTOPiAcon—Unknown dates—Nashville, TN
Chapter.con—August 24-27, 2017—London, UK
Tia Silverthorne Bach
Tia Silverthorne Bach has been married to her college sweetheart for twenty years, has three beautiful girls, and adores living in sunny California. Her daughters were born in Chicago, San Diego, and Baltimore; and she feels fortunate to have called many places home. She believes in fairy tales and happy endings and is an avid reader and rabid grammar hound.
She is an award-winning, multi-genre author and an Editor for Indie Books Gone Wild. From an early age, she escaped into books and believes they can be the source of healing and strength. If she's not writing, you can find her on the tennis court, at the movies, reading a good book, or spooning Jif peanut butter right out of the jar.
Tia’s Books:
Tala Prophecy series:
Chasing Memories
Chasing Shadows (Finalist – Reader's Favorite 2014/Young Adult Paranormal)
Chasing Forgiveness (novella)
Chasing Destiny
Depression Cookies (Winner – Reader’s Favorite 2011 Silver/Realistic Fiction, Finalist – Reader’s Favorite 2011/Chick Lit & Finalist – 2011 Next Gen Indie Book Awards/Chick Lit)
Fractured Glass: A Novel Anthology (Finalist – IBA/Fiction: Cross Genre & Finalist – Read
er’s Favorite 2015/Young Adult Sci-Fi)
More at: http://tiabach.com
Tia will appear at the following signings:
2016:
RAI—April 2, 2016—Roanoke, VA
UTOPiAcon—June 22-26, 2016—Nashville, TN
Penned Con—September 23-24—St. Louis, MO
2017:
Chapter.con—August 24-27, 2017—London, UK
Kelly Risser
Dreamer. Writer. Wanna-be Princess. Kelly works full time as an eLearning Instructional Designer, fitting her creative writing into the evenings and weekends. She's often found lamenting, "It's hard to write when there are so many good books to read!" So, when she's not immersed in the middle of someone else's fantasy world, she's busy creating one of her own.
Kelly’s books include the Never Forgotten series (Never Forgotten, Current Impressions, and Always Remembered); Sea of Memories, a novella collection set in the Never Forgotten world; Twists in Time, an anthology on time travel; and Fractured Glass, an anthology that is one continuous story written by five authors.
Kelly lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two children. They share their home with Clyde the Whoodle and a school of fish.
Kelly’s books:
Never Forgotten Series:
Never Forgotten (FREE – Finalist - International Best Book Awards 2015/Fantasy & Finalist USA Best Book Awards 2014/Sci-Fi)
Current Impressions (Winner - Reader's Favorite Silver 2015/Young Adult Fantasy)
Always Remembered
Sea of Memories
Certain (anthology)
Twists in Time (anthology)
Fractured Glass: A Novel Anthology (Finalist – IBA/Fiction: Cross Genre & Finalist – Reader’s Favorite 2015/Young Adult Sci-Fi)
More at: http://kellyrisser.com
Kelly will appear at the following signings:
UTOPiAcon—June 22-26, 2016—Nashville, TN
Once Upon a Book—August 12-13—Frankenmuth, MI
Penned Con—September 23-24—St. Louis, MO
N. L. Greene
Author N. L. Greene is a writer of YA and NA Contemporary and Paranormal Romances. She currently lives in Florida with her husband and two beautiful daughters. When she isn't writing or reading, she enjoys traveling around the world with her family, shopping and doing other girly things with her girls, or playing video games with her husband. She is a lover of dogs, chocolate, and anything pink!
N. L.’s Books:
MysticSeeker Series:
Illusions Begin
Magic Unfolds
Twisted
Fractured Glass: A Novel Anthology (Finalist – IBA/Fiction: Cross Genre & Finalist – Reader’s Favorite 2015/Young Adult Sci-Fi)
More at: http://nlgreene.com
N. L. will appear at the following signings:
AITC—March 12, 2016—Kissimmee, FL
UTOPiAcon—June 22-26, 2016—Nashville, TN
Penned Con—Sept 23 & 24, 2016—St. Louis, MO
Indie BookFest 2016—October 7, 8, & 9—Orlando, FL
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