by Amy Bearce
A battle. One she’d have every right to fight, in self-defense.
She fought to suppress the thrill of longing. Oh, she didn’t miss the pain or the fear. But the sheer physical beauty of battle, the competitive nature of the beast, oh yes. The singing slice of a sword was like nothing else. A thing of perfection. And hand-to-hand combat meant the best person won, fair and clear.
And the best was usually her.
There was none of that for her now. The voice that spoke through her needed to be heard―the people wanted a prophetess, not a warrior. Besides, if she let herself go down that path, she might lose herself to the darkness all over again. Jasper was probably just trying to scare her. He’d never accepted her refusal of him. As if she’d ever marry such a scavenger.
She wasn’t sure she could marry anyone, much to Corbin’s dismay―and her own. But they both understood the situation and were in agreement to wait for a more peaceful time to make a formal commitment. What kind of life could she offer a family now? She’d hoped for things to settle down, for the voice to move on, for a chance at… normal. It obviously wasn’t starting tonight. Normal young women didn’t have unconscious dark alchemists in their living room in the middle of the night.
She shook her head, tucked her dagger in the waistband of her pants, and got to work dragging Jasper into the yard. Even with muscles kept strong from her workouts, she grunted with the effort of maneuvering his heavy weight. The wind blew chillier than usual, cooling her brow.
Killing him would be smarter, more expedient. Stronger message, too. But she shook her head. Even in her work as an enforcer, she’d never taken a life, and she wasn’t going to start now. She could hardly redeem a life of violence by killing all who opposed her.
Even if it would feel incredibly satisfying.
Nell tied Jasper to the fence post along the edge of their land, making sure the knots of the thick rope were extra tight. Considering his rise to leadership, she added a chain around him and secured it with a padlock, the key kept on her belt loop. Then she tossed a sign around his neck that read: “This man thought he could threaten Nell Brennan. He was wrong. Payment of forty gold coins required for the release of Jasper Gallagher from his penalty.”
Smirking, she backed up to admire her work. His cronies would find him in the morning. Just like the others over the years. By all of Aluvia, would they never learn?
The wind blew hard for a moment, whipping her loose hair across her face. She shivered, and her smirk faded. It had been a mild summer, but tonight felt different. Colder than it should be. The soaring sky held a deep darkness, despite the moonlight dusting the ground like sugar and the tiny pinpricks of stars glittering as if chipped from ice. Trees moaned in the wind, shaking their arms full of green leaves that looked black in the shadows.
Nell curled her bare toes against the chill of the damp grass. She took a step back and a thin branch cracked beneath her foot. A loud flapping among the trees had her reaching for the dagger in her waistband. Wings flashed briefly, silhouetted against the glow of the moon, but then were lost in the blackness above.
Just a bird. She shook her head at her own fancies. She’d let the rat play with her mind. He was just trying to scare her. She’d never admit it had worked. A little.
Nell cast one more look at the unconscious man in her yard and went inside, rubbing her arms. Goosebumps crawled down her legs. She told herself it was just the chill of the air. But inside, a small part of her, a part she ruthlessly ignored, screamed… Change is coming.
Amy writes stories for tweens and teens. She is a former reading teacher who now has her Masters in Library Science and her school librarian certification.
As an Army kid, she moved eight times before she was eighteen, so she feels especially fortunate to be married to her high school sweetheart. Together they’re raising two daughters and are currently living in Germany, though they still call Texas home.
A perfect day for Amy involves rain pattering on the windows, popcorn, and every member of her family curled up in one cozy room reading a good book.
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Please Don’t Tell my Parents I’m a Supervillain, by Richard Roberts
(http://bit.ly/1hm3sML)
Penelope Akk wants to be a superhero. She’s got superhero parents. She’s got the ultimate mad science power, filling her life with crazy gadgets even she doesn’t understand. She has two super-powered best friends. In middle school, the line between good and evil looks clear.
In real life, nothing is that clear. All it takes is one hero’s sidekick picking a fight, and Penny and her friends are labeled supervillains. In the process, Penny learns a hard lesson about villainy: She’s good at it.
The Code of Magic, by David D. Hammons
(ttp://bit.ly/1OSZTwh)
There’s a monster in Alex’s backyard. He doesn’t know how it got there, but with his parents refusing to help, Alex must capture it on his own. When he does, a monster hunting Keeper comes to claim it. Alex follows the Keeper to the world of Edin, a preserve for monsters run by magic-wielders. Aboard the Keeper’s airship, and with his giant socket wrench-wielding monster companion, Alex must learn the art of magic if he hopes to stay in this wondrous world. But as he trains with the other children in the fortress of Babili, rumors begin that the Heretic Pharaoh has returned, and Alex’s new home is in danger.
Cogling, by Jordan Elizabeth
(http://bit.ly/1Siz623)
When fifteen-year-old Edna Mather tears an expensive and unfamiliar pocket watch off her little brother’s neck, he crumbles into a pile of cogs right before her eyes. Horrified, Edna flees for help, but encounters Ike, a thief who attempts to steal the watch before he realizes what it is: a device to power Coglings—clockwork changelings left in place of stolen children who have been forced to work in factories.
Desperate to rescue her brother, Edna sets off across the kingdom to the hags’ swamp, with Ike in tow. There, they learn Coglings are also replacing nobility so the hags can stage a rebellion and rule over humanity. Edna and Ike must stop the revolt, but the populace believes hags are helpful godmothers and healers. No one wants to believe a lowly servant and a thief, especially when Ike has secrets that label them both as traitors.
Together, Edna and Ike must make the kingdom trust them or stop the hags themselves, even if Ike is forced to embrace his dark heritage and Edna must surrender her family.
Appetizer:
Book Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Map of Aluvia
Main Course:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Dessert:
Acknowledgements
A Taste of Book 3: Aluvia’s Warrior
Closing
About the Author
Copyright & Pu
blisher
More from Curiosity Quills Press
Table of Contents
Copyright & Publisher
Title Page
Dedication
Map of Aluvia
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Acknowledgements
A Taste of Book 3: Aluvia's Warrior
About The Author
Thank You for Reading
More from Curiosity Quills Press
Table of Contents