Readers Love Shira Anthony’s
Stealing the Wind
“In this novel, Shira has created a fascinating alternate world, rich in culture, political turmoil, and intrigue. This epic adventure is quite an undertaking. It's very different from the other books I've read by Shira and I applaud her versatility. It's high fantasy at its best….”
—Rainbow Book Reviews
“The underwater imagery was beautiful. I wanted the couple to be together and hated the bad guy. This was a majestic read and I’d recommend it to fantasy lovers.”
—Live your Life, Buy the Book
“Romantic and sexy and really wonderful world building. Anthony gives us a rich and exciting story here and a great set up for the remaining books.”
—Joyfully Jay
“Stealing the Wind is a magical epic fantasy tale, and a wonderful start to the Merman of Ea series. The writing is smooth and flows along beautifully, the characters are rich and colorful, the world Shira Anthony creates is mysterious and dark, full of legends and prophecy.”
—Mrs. Condit & Friends Read Books
“I recommend this one for any lover of fantasy stories, mermen, or to those who simply want to enjoy the adventure. I’m looking forward to reading more about these two in book two.”
—Hearts on Fire
“The originality, the world the author created, the balance between reality and fantasy, the obstacles Taren faced, and characters were described really well…. The sex didn’t take over the book. The plots won this time….”
—World of Diversity Fiction
By SHIRA ANTHONY
The Dream of a Thousand Nights
BLUE NOTES SERIES
Blue Notes*
Melody Thief*
Aria*
Prelude*
Encore*
Symphony in Blue*
MERMAN OF EA
Stealing the Wind*
Into the Wind*
With VENONA KEYES
The Trust*
With EM LYNLEY
A DELECTABLE NOVEL
Lighting the Way Home*
*Available in paperback
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Copyright
Published by
Dreamspinner Press
5032 Capital Circle SW
Suite 2, PMB# 279
Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886
USA
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Into the Wind
© 2014 Shira Anthony.
Cover Art
© 2014 Anne Cain.
[email protected]
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and
any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/.
ISBN: 978-1-62798-875-9
Digital ISBN: 978-1-62798-876-6
Printed in the United States of America
First Edition
May 2014
FOR CODY. More than you could ever know, your friendship inspires me and gives my words wings to soar.
Foreword
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
~Albert Einstein
Reading, at its very best, is an enthralling experience, and a good story draws us into another world and stays with us long after the book is closed. The worlds, characters, and events live inside us, piquing our curiosity and fueling our imaginations for years to come. Einstein’s aphorism reflects the ancient dichotomy between knowledge and imagination and is seen in the contrast between rationalists and mystics, realism and surrealism in the visual arts, and between the brutal rigors of experimental physics and the feathery abstractions of superstring theory. Metaphors are plentiful, but more to the point, imagination is a good in itself.
Hi, I’m Cody Kennedy. I love a great fantasy novel not only for its imagination candy but because I appreciate and value the extraordinary effort required to write a good one. Fantasy authors have a duty to readers that goes above and beyond mere storytelling. They must build worlds, create races, and delve into the impossible and make it believable, something we can relate to. In doing so, they must not only capture a reader’s interest but also infuse the mind’s eye with fantastic visions and implausible ideas, and compel the reader to use his or her imagination. It’s a daunting undertaking, to say the least, and Shira Anthony has accomplished this magnificent feat in her first fantasy series, The Mermen of Ea.
Highly original, richly layered, and incredibly imaginative, Into the Wind tells the mystical tale of Taren and Ian, two mermen of Ea, and the suspenseful search for the mysterious Odhrán, a man rumored to hold a fabled rune stone. The very stone needed to save the Ea race. Aboard their ship, the Phantom, Ian and Taren are attacked and Taren is separated from the crew. Washed ashore on an island, Taren comes to know Odhrán, and his world forever changes in ways we couldn’t have fathomed.
A masterful wordsmith with an exceptional talent for building not only adventure on the high seas but endearing love beneath it, Shira Anthony weaves a splendid tale of romance and suspense. Artists, geniuses, and rebellious spirits alike have claimed imagination as their territory, and Shira Anthony has certainly staked her claim. To the best of my knowledge, there is no Shira Anthony cult yet, but as a practitioner of the writer’s craft, she is as good as they come.
Enjoy Into the Wind.
Cody Kennedy
Los Angeles, California
March 2014
Acknowledgments
SPECIAL THANKS to Tali Spencer, Rebecca Cohen, Cody Kennedy, and Matt Portnoy for their time and wonderful ideas. Thanks also to Bob, my husband and captain of my heart, for helping me imagine life on the ocean, and for his help with sailing terminology.
Dramatis Personae
The mermen of Ea have hidden their dual nature for centuries after their race faced extinction at the humans’ hands. Now at a crossroads, the mainland and island merfolk are at war amongst themselves for the future of their people. At the heart of the conflict are two Ea, Ian Dunaidh and Taren Laxley, reincarnated Ea priests who have just rediscovered the truth of their past.
Now safely living on the mainland, Taren and Ian rekindle their centuries-old love. But the civil war looms ever closer, and Vurin, the leader of the mainland Ea, asks them to risk their lives once again in his service. For the good of their people, they must reclaim the legendary rune stone, an Ea weapon of great power, which took the life of Ian’s previous incarnation years before.
Mermen (Ea)
Taren Laxley: For most of his life, Taren lived as an indentured servant, helping rigger Borstan Laxley work on t
he ropes and guy lines of ships that put into port in Raice Harbor in Derryth Kingdom. Taren discovered he is not human but an Ea when he was rescued by Captain Ian Dunaidh and the crew of the Phantom, Ian’s ship. Taren is the reincarnation of the Ea priest Treande. In his past life, Taren was handfasted to Owyn, the prior incarnation of Ian Dunaidh. Taren becomes Ian’s lover again and is Ian’s soul mate.
Ian Dunaidh: The son of Ea parents, raised near Raice Harbor, Ian Dunaidh is captain of the Ea ship the Phantom. Ian’s parents were executed as traitors by the island Ea during the first war with the mainland Ea. To avenge his parents, Ian became a spy for the mainland Ea, rising through the ranks of the Ea navy. He reveals himself when he saves Taren’s life and rescues him from the island Ea prison. Ian is the reincarnation of the Ea priest Owyn. Owyn was the wielder of the powerful rune stone and died protecting it.
Renda: Renda is the quartermaster and healer aboard the Phantom. A mage and a warrior, Renda is Ian’s longtime friend and also a spy for the mainland Ea.
Vurin: Leader of the mainland Ea and governor of Callaecia, the mainland Ea settlement near Raice Harbor, Vurin is a powerful mage whose gift is that of empathy. Vurin was present at Taren’s birth and handfasted Taren’s parents. He believes Taren is meant to wield the fabled rune stone, a weapon of immense power about which the last Ea priestess prophesized.
The Ea Council: The group of old and powerful Ea who rule the island of Ea’nu with an iron fist. The Council fear Vurin and the mainland Ea, with whom they fought twenty years before at great loss of life. The Council believe they must protect their people from humans at all cost, even if it means imprisoning or executing dissenters.
Seria: Once the Ea Council’s eyes and ears aboard the Phantom, Seria has risen through the ranks of the island navy to become one of their most powerful political figures. Seria does the Council’s bidding while manipulating them to take action as he sees fit. Seria hopes to someday lead the Council and the island Ea to victory over their mainland brethren.
Barra: Ian’s former bedmate and sailing master of the Phantom.
Aine: The young cabin boy aboard the Phantom.
Humans
Rider: Captain of the human ship Sea Witch, Rider kidnapped Taren from the inn at Raice Harbor. Rider offered Taren his freedom for three years of servitude. Rider is Ian Dunaidh’s former childhood friend and lover. He knows the Ea exist, and helps transmit messages from Vurin and the mainland Ea to Ian when he is at sea aboard the Phantom.
Bastian: Rider’s lover and quartermaster of the Sea Witch, Bastian came to be part of Rider’s crew as Taren did, first as a slave, then as a free man who chose to stay aboard and serve with her crew.
Borstan Laxley: The rigger who took Taren in as a baby and raised him. Borstan sold Taren to the innkeeper in payment of his gambling debts.
Fiall: The young cabin boy aboard the Sea Witch whom Taren rescued during a storm.
Odhrán: A pirate with a bloody reputation who is rumored to make his home in the Gateway Islands. Odhrán is said to enslave Ea and use them to protect his hideout. He is also rumored to possess the fabled rune stone, the Ea weapon prophesized to be the salvation of the Ea people.
One
DEAFENING CANNON fire rang out from the port side of the ship. Ian braced himself against the stair railing to keep from falling backward as the ship leaned deep and heeled hard to starboard. He heaved himself upward and crested the stairwell to the deck as the ship pitched again, forcing him to grab one of the barrels lashed to the deck to remain upright. Cannon shot landed off the bow, sending water over the forecastle and cascading down the already sodden deck. The acrid smell of gunpowder stung his nostrils and burned his eyes, and the familiar scent caused his adrenaline to skyrocket and set his mind racing.
“Renda! What the hell is happening?”
“She’s fired on us with no warning shot, Captain!” Renda, the ship’s quartermaster, barely looked at him as he struggled to steer the Phantom out of the line of fire.
“What colors does she fly?” Ian shouted as he ran toward the helm and lifted a spyglass to one eye.
“None, Captain! Her crew’s human! Navy ship!” Renda shouted above the cannon fire.
Ian felt it too. There were no Ea aboard the attacking ship. An entirely human crew? Only the Derryth navy sailed brigantines. But if he and the crew of the Phantom were fair game for the king and his navy, why didn’t they fly Derryth’s colors? They’d appeared out of nowhere. Had the mist been so thick that the men on watch had missed her?
Renda ceded the helm before Ian could think much more about it. For now, he needed to focus on their attackers and on gaining the upper hand. It had been more than twenty years since Ian had taken his ship into battle, but his crew was well seasoned. He prayed silently to his goddess that the winds would favor them.
“Derryth?” he asked Renda as he steered to avoid another blast from the enemy’s cannons. “Aligned with the Council? Or is this just a coincidence?” He’d expected to face the island Ea in battle eventually, but never had he expected them to use humans to chase them down.
Renda scowled. “No coincidence. Magic, seeing as the fog cleared just in time for them to attack. They had help tracking us down. A mage, no doubt.”
Humans did not possess magic. When had the island Ea recruited the humans to their cause? The thought made Ian’s blood boil. Humans had nearly wiped out their kind hundreds of years before, looking for the fabled rune stone, a weapon more powerful than the Derryth Kingdom’s largest cannons. Had someone told the humans they were heading to the Gateway Islands to find the reclusive pirate, Odhrán, and recover the very weapon that had nearly been the cause of their destruction?
No. He mustn’t think about that now. He needed his wits about him to keep his ship safe. Then he could think more about the implications. He focused once again on the ship and her crew. The feel of the wood beneath his hands and the stiff wind against his cheek always warmed Ian’s soul, even in the midst of battle. The bright, crisp scent of the salt spray awakened his senses and mind. He’d been born for this command, although he’d paid a stiff price for it. His father before him had been a sailor, although he’d long given up the seafaring life by the time Ian had learned to sail in the Derryth navy. Sailing was in his bones and his blood. The only thing he loved more than sailing on the water was swimming in it.
Renda shouted more commands to the men manning the ropes, then turned back to Ian and scowled. “Their ship is fast. She’s shooting the sun and she has the weather beam.”
Stealing our wind! Ian cursed beneath his breath. With the enemy positioned between them and the wind, the Phantom could do little to maneuver. If he hadn’t been forced to stay within the Council’s reach, tied to the island, he’d have long before found the best clockmaker in Derryth and purchased a sextant. He was tired of others sighting guns upon the Phantom so easily. Their ancient astrolabe might have sufficed twenty years ago, during the civil war that cleaved his people in two, but it was useless against a better-equipped navy. As things stood, Ian could only guess at the angle of the enemy’s guns and what direction he might be able to steer the Phantom to avoid them.
He glanced skyward and was momentarily blinded by the sun’s brilliant reflection in the lookout’s spyglass. He moved his gaze to the mainsail and the seagulls that rode thermals alongside it. It had been a calm day until the enemy appeared. Now the wind raced the heavens. The telltales on the sails fluttered frantically with each powerful gust of the wind, making it difficult for Ian to determine the wind’s direction. He fought the helm in an effort to maintain their course as the sea swelled and the ship bucked. Worse yet, the Phantom was poorly situated in the wind on a close reach that placed the ship at a crucial disadvantage.
The enemy’s guns belched again and cannonballs spun past, spitting fiery tar and narrowly missing the main mast. The flames that licked from the metal nearly set the mainsail afire.
“They’re using pitch!” Renda shoute
d as the pungent smell of burning pine reached Ian’s nostrils.
Ian heard his father’s words echo in his mind. “There is nothing as deadly as fire at sea.” If one of those cannon blasts hit the Phantom, she’d go up in flames.
Heeling starboard as the Phantom was, her portside guns aimed high above the waterline. Each cannon shot fired was nothing more than wasted ammunition. They were outmanned, outgunned, and out-positioned in the wind. Damn. Ian considered his options quickly, mulling their position relative to the enemy and eyeing the wind in the sails. He had no choice but to bring the ship about and take aim with the starboard cannons. Yet if he turned and lost the wind, they’d end up in irons and stalled in the water.
“Are the starboard gun ports open?” Ian shouted.
Another blast from the enemy ship’s cannons landed within a yard of the Phantom. The ship shook with the impact, and several crewmembers scrambled to better tie down some of the supplies on deck.
“Aye, Captain! Ports open, guns loaded!”
A quick glance around the deck told Ian that his beloved Taren was not there. He reached out first with his innate senses and was relieved to feel Taren’s strong heartbeat as if it beat within his own chest. Their connection had continued to grow stronger over the past few months. Among Ea, a bond like theirs—what their people called soulbound—was rare. Where most Ea could only sense that one of their brethren was near, Ian and Taren could sense each other’s presence in particular. Sometimes Taren’s fear became Ian’s, and although Taren had not spoken of it, Ian guessed his own anger and frustration sometimes became Taren’s.
Ian looked up, searching the mastheads and rigging with his eyes, and found Taren atop the main mast. He worked furiously, tying Turk’s heads in the rigging as fast as he could and adjusting the sails to compensate for the heeling Phantom.
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