“The Guardians sent Eamun into hiding to protect the Last Shard. They have been waiting for the arrival of the Ninth Chosen ever since.”
“The Ninth Chosen?” Tolen whispered.
“Yes.”
“It’s not a group? It’s just one person?”
Nova squeezed Tolen’s hand tighter. “Yes.”
“Are you two through?” Incrah stood over them his eyes livid, his nostrils flared.
A look of terror flashed across Nova’s face and she almost fell over in her hurry to leave. She didn’t even give Tolen a parting glance as she scurried away, leaving her basket behind.
Tolen looked up into the eyes of the Radia Warrior, not knowing what to say, how to take what he’d just learned.
Incrah’s eyes softened to a look of pity. “Put it out of your mind for now Tolen. It is time to train. The Dominants are waiting.”
Tolen stood up and shook his head. “Incrah, I’m sorry I can’t. I-I just—” He turned on his heel and staggered back toward his tent; shame, guilt, worry, fear, and anger all vying for the biggest spot in the storm cloud of emotions swirling over him. He passed people, but saw no faces as he stumbled along the dusty trail. A tiny part of him was surprised Incrah hadn’t tried to stop him, but the bigger part couldn’t care. He barely made it through the tent door before he dropped to his knees.
For years he’d wanted to know who he was, what he was. And when Bastian and Macy showed up at his door, he felt sure he was going to get some answers. But the Watcher said he wasn’t ready to know everything. He’d determined to learn, train, prove himself ready to know the full truth. He’d thought he’d found a friend and ally in Macy. But as the full weight of the Legend of the Ninth settled over Tolen, he knew just as he’d been wrong about Macy, he’d been wrong not to accept Bastian’s plan. Even though he didn’t fully understand what it meant, he felt no comfort, no relief in this new knowledge, only rising dread as the thought pressed down on his mind and heart.
I am the Ninth Chosen.
And he was not ready.
Acknowledgements
With the second edition of The Shadow Prison, now called The Chosen Chronicles: A Chosen Life, I have several incredible new people to thank, along with all those who have been with me since the beginning.
First, I must thank Heather Godfrey, Kirk Edwards, and all the amazing people at Snowy Peaks Media who loved this story from the beginning, and stood behind me with their encouragement and support as we took it to the next level. Thank you for this opportunity. You guys are fabulous!
I also want to thank my husband, Brent, and my two awesome kids for all the excitement, love, and super cool ideas; my parents, Jan and Jacy, for always being my biggest fans; my sisters-in-law, Staci and Tricia, for cheering me on and taking care of my social media needs; and all my remarkable friends for the love and encouragement when I need it most. I am truly blessed.
Big hugs and immense gratitude go out to my first edition beta readers and reviewers for all your advice, support, heart-warming and encouraging comments, and positive criticism that kept me writing and trying harder. I hope you find what you asked for in this edition.
Big thanks also to my second edition helpers: Dawn, Lisa, Angie, Suzie, Heather, and Laura for your character insights, and my new beta readers KayLynn, Kirk, TayLyn, Andrea, and Shannon.
Thank you David P. King, amazing author and ultimate blogger, for such a stellar review.
Thanks to Deborah Bradseth of Tugboat Design for her incredible talent designing the cover for this second edition, and to KayLynn for the gorgeous interior. You both are truly gems. Love ya!
And finally, I once again want to thank all the incredible youth I’ve had the privilege to work with over the years. This is all because of you.
Coming Soon
Book Two in
The Chosen Chronicles
The Shadow Prison
Excerpt
The Chosen Chronicles:
The Shadow Prison
He wasn’t alone.
The feeling that someone was watching him pulled Tolen from his restless sleep. He opened his eyes to see Jonas—the ancient guardian for the Radia Warrior camp that Tolen temporarily called home—sitting beside the cot, knobby hands folded across his cane, focused intently on Tolen’s face.
Tolen sat up quickly and the blood rushed from his head, making Jonas appear blurry. He rubbed his eyes and cleared his scratchy throat. He’d slept terribly, his mind spinning like a carousel all night, tossing garbled images and sounds around and around, while his subconscious tried, and failed, to make sense of it all.
“Good morning Tolen,” Jonas whispered.
“Is it?” Tolen mumbled while rubbing his temples.
Jonas shrugged his thin shoulders. “I suppose that is up to you.”
Tolen knew why Jonas was in his tent watching him sleep, but figured he’d let the old guy bring it up, since honestly, he really didn’t want to talk about it, but knew he’d have no choice. He leaned over, tugged on his sneakers, walked over to the metal basin, and splashed some of the cool water onto his face. The icy water dripped on his bare shoulders. He tugged a faded green shirt over his head and ran his fingers through his damp chocolate colored hair—all while trying to ignore that he had an audience.
Jonas waited until Tolen had sat back down on his cot, propped his elbows on his knees, and met the old man’s eyes, before speaking.
“You had a difficult day yesterday.”
Tolen looked at his clasped hands and shrugged. “I didn’t do anything hard.”
“I said difficult, not hard.”
Tolen raised an eyebrow at the strange old man.
“Gift and weapon training is hard, difficult is accepting what you do not understand.”
“How can you accept something you don’t understand?” Tolen shook his head in frustration.
Jonas tapped his fingers on his cane. “Truth is truth whether it makes sense or not. That’s why you couldn’t deny what you learned, even if you didn’t fully understand it. Yet.”
Tolen thought back to what Nova told him about the Legend of the Ninth Chosen, how he’d known it was him, even though it made no sense. He looked into Jonas’s strange eyes and saw a hint of a twinkle behind the cobwebbed surface.
He looked back at his hands and kept his eyes down as he asked, “Bastian told me I wasn’t ready to know my destiny yet, that it wasn’t the right time.” He heard Jonas shift on his seat. “But, yesterday, Nova . . . I . . . she said some things, some things that . . .”
“She said some things that got your heart pounding and your mind working,” Jonas prompted.
Tolen nodded.
Jonas took a noisy breath. “That was your body’s response to truth.” He waved his hand. Tolen could just see the tips of his fingers from his bowed position as they swished by. “Go on.”
“There are only eight gifts.”
“Yes.”
“You said something along the lines of ‘the Ninth shall lead them’ when I first met you.”
“Yes.”
“I can do a combination of things that no other Hidden or Chosen can do.”
“Yes. Yes you can.”
“So, my destiny . . .” Tolen gulped. “I-I’m supposed to be some sort of leader?”
Jonas leaned forward and Tolen looked up to see his expression was very grave. “That is a crucial piece of your destiny, yes, Tolen. But it encompasses far, far more than that.”
Tolen met the old man’s gaze and tried for confidence, but his insides were wriggling. How could he, a consistently dangerous failure, lead anyone? “Can you tell me—?”
Jonas was shaking his head before the question had completely left Tolen’s lips. “No, Tolen. The Watcher is right. There is much you still need to learn before you are ready to a
ccept the grander part of your destiny.”
Tolen’s stomach twisted. More secrets. His hands closed into fists in his lap. How much worse could it be? He wasn’t running away from it even if he wasn’t ready. He’d been doing things beyond what was expected of him for years. Didn’t that count for something? He’d been making decisions that would have qualified him as a man in the human world since he was twelve years old, caring for his sick mother, responsible for their food and bills.
A glimmer of fear quelled his inner argument. What if all this secrecy was because he was as dangerous as he feared? He shook off the thought and leaned back until his shoulders brushed the side of the tent. “How am I supposed to fulfill a destiny I don’t even know?” he tried to keep his tone calm, but his frustration leaked through.
Jonas shook his head. “Your desires are fueled by anger and guilt, neither of which are good sources of energy to drive your intentions. Until you want to know for the right reasons, the knowledge will only hurt you, and slow your progress toward the ultimate purpose of your destiny.”
Tolen bit back a retort that would just prove the old man right, and instead pushed on to something else. “Bastian said that the Light wanted me to try to save my dad from the Shadow Prison. I really think that the Dark might have my mom there too.” He took a deep breath and plowed on, ignoring the regretful look forming on Jonas’s face. “Bastian said he would ask the warriors here to help me, but since h-he’s gone, I . . . I’m asking you. Will you help me?”
Jonas stared back until Tolen’s hands started to shake and he had to look away. “Tolen, when is your eighteenth birthday?”
This question was so far off base that Tolen’s hands stopped shaking and he glanced back into Jonas’s lined face. “July tenth.”
Jonas nodded slowly and ran his thumb across his crinkly chin, his eyes deep in thought. Calculating. “Less than a month away.”
Tolen swallowed and nodded, not daring to hope that this weird twist in conversation had something to do with helping him.
“Has anyone told you of Transcendence?”
“Transcendence?” Tolen shook his head.
Jonas nodded as if unsurprised. “Transcendence is the point at which the physical body and the metaphysical gifts of the Light fully intersect and become one. It is the time when your powers, your gifts, reach their peak, their strongest. This always takes place on the eighteenth birthday.” He leaned forward and the gravity of his next words sent a thrill of fear over Tolen. “At your Transcendence, Tolen, not even the Spheres of the citadel will be able to shield you if you don’t learn enough. If you don’t exercise patience, learn all you can, and master your anger, when you transcend, the Dark will take you for their own.” He tapped his temple. “Work hard, Tolen, focus, discover the right fuel for your desires, and then we will help you. The journey to save your father, and possibly your mother, will be fraught with danger and much difficulty. It is not an idle task. If you are not ready to face the darkness of the Shadow Prison, if you are too close to the time of your Transcendence and your gifts are too erratic, it would be a mission destined to fail, no matter the amount of warriors who went with you.”
Tolen bit his lip as the truth settled over him. He was dangerous. He knew this. Could he really expect others to follow him on a quest to save his parents when he could be the very reason they would fail? “Maybe . . . Maybe the Radia Warriors can go without me? Maybe they can find a way to save him—them?”
Jonas narrowed his eyes. “Tolen, there is something you need to understand about your Watcher gift. You saw your father because you are meant to watch over him. In your visions, did you see anyone besides yourself in there with him?”
Tolen shook his head as the nightmare filled his mind—his father on the floor, Tolen standing above him, helpless to do anything. “No. It was just the two of us.”
“A Watcher sees flashes of present, possibility, and set future.” Jonas pointed to Tolen’s eye. “If the vision you beheld showed only yourself, then it is very likely that you are the only one who holds the key to his rescue. Other unseen factors may have played a role, but ultimately, no matter how many warriors I send, you may be the only one with the tools to succeed. I do not want to send my family into a losing battle. Tell me if your visions change, but until then, Tolen, I suggest you work to make yourself ready to achieve what your visions are urging you to attempt. When I feel you are ready, when I feel you are strong enough, and in control, I will ask my warriors to go with you.”
About the Author
K.A. Parkinson was raised in a small suburb where she spent most of her time hiding under her bed with a book, a bag of cookies, and a flashlight. She currently resides in Utah with her husband and two children. If you would like to learn more about K.A., and the world of the Hidden, please visit www.kaparkinson.com.
To learn more about Snowy Peaks Media, please visit
www.snowypeaksmedia.com
If you enjoyed this book, please review it on
Amazon or Goodreads.
Character Index
Followers of Light (By order of appearance)
McLacy (Macy) Allicandra Burdow—Chosen (human)
Parents: Max and Alli Burdow
Forrest Bastian—Watcher
Tolen (Parks) Téloran—The Ninth Chosen (Hidden kind)
Parents: Daedal Téloran (Protector) Areen Téloran (Sphere)
Dane Smithy—Doogar
Father: Hank Smithy—Doogar
Hander—Doogar
Kiad—Doogar Warrior
Deegan—Doogar Warrior
Elryn—Doogar Warrior
Incrah—Radia Warrior Captain
Jeno—Radia Warrior
Kapha—Radia Warrior
Rada—Radia Warrior
Denhon—Radia Warrior
Sernad—Radia Warrior
Beyn—Radia Warrior
Jonas—Sphere and shield to the Unastra training camp
Lafar—Light elves
Servants of the Dark (By order of appearance):
Shadow Wraiths—Thick, black, oily, mist-like creatures who hide in storm clouds
Raksasha—Blood trackers. Main purpose is to track and kill the Chosen
Night Demons—Blood drinking demons who pull themselves up from the ground to feed on the death of the battlefield. Their decaying flesh is covered with maggots and bloody scabs. They are bald, have no eyes, or legs. Night Demons are one of the most grotesque creatures born of darkness
Divinators (crows)—Their eyes have been replaced by Oracle stones. Whatever they see, their masters see
Reconn—Chameleon type creatures used mostly as scouts
Phantoms—These mist-like creatures are placed within the dead or dying to reanimate and control them
Ookra—Demon servants
DéHool—Giant demonic wolves. Their sole purpose is to hunt and destroy Watchers
Darsapean—Lord of the Dark, currently imprisoned in Misery
Daemon—Demon Master and High Captain of the Dark
Daklafar—Once Lafar-Light Elves, but now serve the Dark
Tormentors—Tall women with gray skin, lifeless black eyes, and floor length orange hair. Their screams cause unbearable pain. The dark uses them to extract information from their prisoners
Kreydawn—Mindless creatures controlled by Suppressors
Suppressors—Single-eyed creatures with the Dreamer ability, they control the services of the Kreydawn
Chosen Groups/Abilities:
Honitahai—Nature speakers: have the ability to speak with all plant life and ask for aid
Kunamin—Fire wielders: can create, manipulate, throw, and snuff fire with their hands
Télora—Earth Movers: can ask the dirt to do their bidding
Arwah—Wind Shifters: can use the power of
wind to aid them
Dicernan—Unseens: can become invisible
Leenwa—Water Callers: can call water from anywhere and ask it to help
Animashta—Listeners: they understand animal’s thoughts and communicate with them. They can project their own thoughts and desires into the animal’s minds, as if they are sharing thought. It enables them to work together as a flawless team—so long as the animal is listening and willing. The animal always has a choice—it is not forced the way the DéHool are
Lóklana—Radiance: they can call light in darkness from within the life that stores it
Hidden Language Dictionary:
Ladonradi—The Light
Degani—The Dark
Liosladon—May the Light lead and protect you wherever you may go
Ladon—Light. Light come forth is Radi
To’—The
Y’na—I am
Hai—Here
Mindra—Chosen
Vast—Fight
Pench Ni’yã àlo—Be still
Lon’adras—Heal
Dón—For
Y’ takra—Take me
Da’bay—Friend
Ke’ay—Help
Mea—Me
Chan’ta—Please
Mah’ne—Journey
I’kashti—Summon
Walkarna—Servants come
Minradak-con-siadras—This ground is sacred and protected. The words spoken to bless the earth and make it burial ground, protecting those buried from the Night Demons
A Chosen Life Page 29