Restriction: A Kurtherian Gambit Series (The Rise of Magic Book 1)

by CM Raymond

  With a final word from Ezekiel, it wrapped down in every direction, forming a perfect cover over the structure, like an azure glass bowl flipped over on flaming logs.

  The magician’s body went limp, but the shield around the house remained. Parker eased the man to the ground and watched as all hell continued to break loose inside the bubble.

  As the fires and energy shot from the house, it bounced off the blue force keeping it within. Eventually, it became too bright, and Parker had to look away.

  Finally, the lights and flames ceased, and the neighborhood became deathly quiet. Parker held his breath knowing that Hannah could have never lasted through whatever just happened inside. The blue shield slowly evaporated into the air.

  “It is finished,” the old man said, though Parker was unsure if it was a question.

  Or an answer.

  “Yes,” was all he could say. They sat in the aftermath for a few minutes, Parker wondering what the hell he should do.

  “Help me up,” the old man said. “We need to find her.”

  Parker’s stomach turned as he knew that they were going in to find her body. They stepped through the frame, whose door was blown off the hinges. Blood and body parts and rubble littered the kitchen. His eyes scanned for some sign of his friend.

  Nothing.

  He wondered if the magic had wholly disintegrated her. Walking down the hall, he half-carried the magician along with him. Most of the roof had fallen down, and they had to pick their way through the debris. Parker reached the back of the house and froze in the doorway to what was once Hannah’s room.

  That’s when he saw her.

  Hannah knelt on the floor with William’s broken body in her lap. Her hair was crusted with blood. Whether it was hers, Will’s, or the enemy’s, he’d never know. A dead Guard with a hand of bronze lay in a corner. The skin had all but melted off of the dead man’s face.

  As the two men cautiously approached, Hannah lifted her head. Her eyes glowed red—brighter and deeper than even Ezekiel’s had. But her face, her face was emotionless. She didn’t even see Parker. As far as the girl was concerned, Ezekiel was the only one in the room.

  Hannah spoke, her voice all the more chilling since it lacked any feeling. “This? This is what your student has done, Ezekiel. He sent these men here to kill my family. To kill me. But I was stronger than they were.”

  Ezekiel looked down at the girl, sadness marking his wearied face. “Hannah, I’m so sorry—”

  She cut him off. She didn’t need his pity.

  “Teach me, Ezekiel. Teach me everything dammit! Drive me till I fall, exhausted to the ground, and I will get back up. I will never bend, I will never break, I won’t yield. In the name of the Matriarch, in the name of the Queen Bitch, my queen, I will not stop. I swear on my brother’s dead body that rest will not find me until Adrien is destroyed. Even if I have to burn Arcadia to the ground to do it.”

  She turned back to view her brother's face, a faint red glow lighting it.

  “I will see justice served.”

  Epilogue

  Adrien sat at his window, sipping on twenty-year-old elixir from the finest the mystics’ had to offer, as he watched Queen’s Boulevard burn. The liquid bit at his throat as he tilted the glass. As the magical show died out, the world went black again beyond his spot at the Academy. The Boulevard was left in a shroud of darkness, just as Ezekiel’s student had hoped it would remain.

  “Cheers, old friend,” he said, as he let the buzz take his mind.

  Without knocking, Doyle burst through the door. “Chancellor, it’s the Hunters.”

  “Yes,” Adrien said. “They put on quite a show. Tell me they have good news.”

  “They’re dead.”

  Adrien froze, the glass halfway to his mouth. His forehead, just above his left eye began to twitch. Slowly, he got up from his chair and paced over to his loyal assistant.

  The man began to stammer something, but before the words got out, Adrien slammed the glass across the man’s temple. Doyle stumbled back, blood dripping down his face and terror in his eyes. “No, please,” the man said as he pissed himself.

  Directing his hand in Doyle’s direction, Adrien began to crush the assistant’s throat. Doyle’s eyes pleaded with his master, but Adrien didn’t see them. He saw nothing in his cold rage.

  Once again his men had been killed. Once again his plans had been thwarted, and someone needed to pay.

  Just before killing the man, Adrien released the pressure; his assistant gasped for breath and fell to the hardwood floor.

  A thin smile formed on Adrien’s lips. “We’ve been doing this the wrong way, Doyle.” He extended a hand down to his assistant.

  Doyle looked up at him in distrust. The Chancellor had always been erratic, but the man’s loyalties had protected him from the ebb and flow of Adrien’s wrath. Now, he feared for his life. Nevertheless, he reached out with a trembling hand and let his leader help him to his feet.

  “I need you to set up a meeting, Doyle,” Adrien said as if they were in the middle of any ordinary appointment. “Gather the chief engineer, the Governor, and Jedidiah.”

  “Sir? Old Jed, the Prophet?”

  Adrien paced the office. “That’s right. This attack may have been precisely the push we needed to accelerate our plans. Tonight was a tragedy, but no tragedy shall be wasted, not while I’m in charge. Gather everyone, tonight. We’ve waited long enough.”

  He paused a moment, speaking half to Doyle, half to himself, “I’ve waited long enough.”

  As Doyle scampered out of the room, Adrien poured himself another glass. He thought about Ezekiel, afraid no longer of the old man.

  Once my weapon is complete, he thought, no magic of Ezekiel’s, no force on Irth will be able to stop me. And then, I will make him pay.

  I’ll make them ALL pay.

  Author Notes - Lee Barbant

  Written February 28, 2017

  Thank you so much for reading Restriction (and for reading these notes!). It was a ton of fun to write, and I hope that you like it as much as I do.

  When Chris and I first approached Michael about writing in the Kurtherian Universe, we were thinking it would be about vampires or werewolves or secret government operations. I even started rewatching my favorite vampire shows to prepare for it (everyone here watches True Blood, right?).

  But then Michael completely flipped the script on us by mentioning a new direction he wanted to try… How far can the etheric take us?

  Michael had this vision for a future world, where the Kurtherian nanocytes had taken over everyone but had also morphed in such a way as to give people access to magic. How would this influence culture? How would it influence our understanding of the world? Could it create an age of magic?

  Obviously, if you are going to have a magical world, you need magical schools to teach and train people in these dangerous arts (otherwise you’re gonna have kids running around turning their siblings into toads or bar fights that end with blowing up the town.) A magical world would require a magical university.

  But schools come with their own problems, political infighting and unequal access, just to name a couple. We figured that would hold true for magical schools too, right?

  In some ways, Chris and I were the perfect match to try and figure this all out. We’re both college educators, and our first series, The Steel City Heroes, focused on superheroes that work at universities in good old Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

  But the Kurtherian world takes it to a whole new level. The stakes are higher, the world is more dangerous, and justice needs to be served with a large helping of whoopass.

  It also comes with added benefits. I’ve always wanted to write a high fantasy universe with dragons and wizards and knights. But the stories that do that stuff best tend to have a well thought out history, with thousands of pages of historical addendums. That would take years to create, and I wanted to write about some freaking wizards now!

  The Kurtherian w
orld solves that problem.

  If you’ve been a fan of Michael’s works for years, then you know all about that backstory. Hopefully you saw in our book how Bethany Anne et al still have a strong influence on a world several hundred years later.

  And, if Restriction is your first book in the Kurtherian universe, you’re in luck! There’s a whole body of literature supporting the Age of Magic. Want to know more about the Bitch and the Bastard? Check out the Kurtherian Gambit or the Dark Messiah. Want to know more about the mysterious Oracle, Lilith? Check out The Boris Chronicles. Curious about how we got from our world to the age of Irth? Start with Justin Sloan’s Reclaiming Honor. We’ve got plenty more story to tell, but there’s a whole world that has also come before it.

  So thanks for reading. Tell your friends. Chat with me on Twittter (@lebarbant) or Facebook and get ready for book 2, Rebellion. Cause there are plenty of douche nuggets left to fight and Hannah has a long way to go before she gets her vengeance. Magic has a lot farther left to rise.

  Author Notes - Chris Raymond

  Written February 28, 2017

  Holy fireballs, that was fun!

  I actually started writing my first book a little over two years ago. My daughter is a voracious reader and had wrapped up the Harry Potter series by the end of the third grade (yeah, she’s wicked smart--pardon the dad brag). Then she read it again. And again. One of the challenges for Mrs. Raymond and I was trying to find stuff that she liked, was at her reading level, and that we were OK with her reading at her age (the second half of Harry’s adventures were VERY borderline).

  For fun, I decided I’d take a crack to write something for my little darling Simone. A short story turned into a book, which turned into a yet to be finished trilogy. Simone and her friends loved it, so I decided, what the hell, I’d post it on Amazon. (It’s pulled now, but sign up for our list to get announcements of when the new and improved Arcanum Island series will be rereleased!!)

  Little did I know that was the beginning of a writing career that I have fallen in love with!

  I can’t wait for Simone to read Hannah’s story, but she’ll need to wait a few more years.

  So, how did I get from Middle Grade mysteries to foul-mouthed wizards?

  Months ago, Lee and I started talking with Michael about the possibility of writing in the Kurtherian Gambit universe.

  If we could revise history, we’d say that he begged us to contribute because of our prowess as writers and creative genius (not to mention our boyish good looks).

  But… let’s stick with reality for a minute.

  We wanted in on TGK universe because Michael has shaped a kick ass world with tons of possibilities and a fan base that is ravenous, engaged, and interactive. And we are so glad he has taken us in as co-authors. We’ve learned a lot from him and from you all about what makes a story great.

  I get to play a funny role in our triumvirate of authors. Lee and Michael sweat over the story arc and beats (detailed outline), shaping and reshaping the story into what it would become.

  Me? I’m the word monkey who gets to take the first crack at writing their story ideas into a narrative. This means I get the fun rollercoaster ride of watching their ideas unfold as I type away at my keyboard as fast as possible.

  The greatest thing about this work is that, like you, I get to hit all the twists and turns, the badass fight scenes, and the emotional highs and lows as I write them. And (hopefully) like you, I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here.

  As I write this author note, I’m actually about to finish up the words for Rise of Magic, Book 2. I’ll tell you this: If you liked book one, you’re going to love book two. It’s the second step of a long pathway that will explore the Rise of Magic and of our favorite 19 year old…

  Thanks so much for reading! As this is our first book in the Kurtherian Universe, we would LOVE it if you took a minute to leave a review. These are really important for visibility and to help other readers find our work.

  And I’ll see you back in Arcadia!

  Cheers,

  Chris

  PS:

  If you dug Lee and Chris’s work, you can also find them collaborating on:

  The Steel City Heroes Series

  When monsters, magic, and mayhem descend upon the steel city, it's hard to tell the difference between the heroes and the villains-especially when they don't know themselves.

  The Jack Carson Stories

  On the run from a fate worse than death, with secret powers too dangerous to reveal, Jack Carson is not your average hero.

  Sign up to make sure you don’t miss their new releases and giveaways!

  Author Notes - Michael Anderle

  Written March 16, 2017

  SONOFABITCH!

  Holy crap… First, before I forget, THANK YOU for reading these notes! However, they are going to go by SUPER fast because…

  Well, I almost put the book up without writing them!

  I mean, I have the file open right before I upload. I’m doing a last sanity check myself to see if anything was forgotten and I’m reading Lee’s Author Notes, then Chris’s Author Notes and then my page…

  Completely blank.

  Not. A. Damned. Word. On. It.

  Yeah, that “blood drained from his face” description I write sometimes? Felt it happen to me just minutes ago and now I’m furiously writing down my Author Notes.

  Which sucks, because really this book deserves a kick ass Author Notes from me to go into the back story that these to guys from Pittsburgh (or, at least they live there now) conned my gullible ass into …

  Wait…wait…yeah, that isn’t the truth (damn my dad and his ‘never let the truth get in the way of a good story’ preaching).

  I have to fight the urge to lay it on thick.

  Chris approached me some time before / during the Christmas break, and we agreed to chat when everyone got back into their respective towns in the new year. Partially, this new effort might have happened because I said a few things on their Podcast (Part-Time Writers Podcast - One of my favorites even before they allowed me to speak on it).

  Those two guys are just so damned honest, and funny. The honesty is something I treasure until it got turned in my direction.

  Ouch…I say ‘ouch’ again ;-)

  It wasn’t bad, but man, I know that if they don’t like something, it will come out on their podcast, that’s for damned sure.

  Either way, they were looking at what to do in their second year of their Indie Publishing career, and I had recently challenged them to rethink their mountains. So, because of my stupidity (I mean, lucidity) of thought, they asked me and the rest is, now, history because we are in the ‘Now.’

  For those who have seen Spaceballs, you remember the scene when they are going through the Spaceballs - The VHS? “When are we? We are Now? When is Now? It’s gone!” (Or something like that, I’m trying like crazy to publish fast, here!)

  I’m both SUPER excited about this series and this age. It is (perhaps) the ultimate thought process to nanites. We have seen foreshadowing of this age all the way back in TKG 13 - My Ride is a Bitch. If you read the intro to TS Paul’s Conjuring Quantico (think of it similar to a Marvel Scene at the end of the movie, AFTER the credits)…

  Here is the part that is most pertinent, but go back and read the whole thing, because I place another hint at the end:

  *****

  Why aren’t witches real? Tom interrupted her thoughts.

  What? She asked absentmindedly as she opened the app for communications.

  Witches, why aren’t they real? He asked again.

  Bethany Anne stopped reading when she realized TOM’s question had no context. Then, her eyes opened wide. Oh shit, how the fuck is he getting stories again?

  They weren’t near the kitchen crew (a requirement when the ship was built she had made damn sure was followed).

  Bethany Anne thought back over the last few days, and nothing they had done together had anything to
do with witches.

  Wiccans? She asked. It’s a religion, I don’t know if…

  No, not Wiccans, true magic using witches. Or Warlocks, Magic-Users and the rest.

  Bethany Anne sat there, perplexed.

  Why the hell would we have witches and warlocks? She finally asked.

  Well, there is no reason that I can ascribe to that there can’t be any.

  *****

  That was a MAJOR piece that started me down this path. However, if you go forward just a little further into I think Book 14, you can see me setup Bethany Anne with ‘magic’ when she melts the little pins the guys are wearing in the next book.