by Becca Andre
“My keeper, you mean.”
“It wouldn’t be like that with me. Besides, you were willing to return to the ferra so that isn’t the issue, nor is it canal life. This is something else. Would you please tell me so I can make an informed decision?”
“Because, if you’re my ferra, then you’re the one who has to put me down. I don’t want that for you.”
That wasn’t the answer she expected. “The point is for me to find a way to avoid that.”
“Please don’t pursue this,” he whispered.
“I’m not going to promise that. Not until I talk to Esme.”
He rubbed a hand over his face. “You’re a hardheaded woman, Briar Rose.”
“Yes, I am.”
“I can’t promise that Esme will agree to teach you.”
“I just want to meet her.”
He studied her, then finally nodded. “Very well. Let’s finish this.” He turned and started for the boat, leaving Briar to follow.
As she watched him walk away, it suddenly occurred to her that she was doing what Liam wanted. He had claimed that Grayson needed to be bound. She had scoffed at the time, but now, after meeting Farran, she understood.
But understanding didn’t mean she had to passively go along. Esme was going to teach her how to use her magic, whether she wanted to or not.
She took a few running steps and fell in beside Grayson.
He glanced over. “If you’re thinking about dropping a spider down the front of Esme’s dress, that won’t work.” Had he picked up on her thoughts?
“Why’s that? Doesn’t she wear dresses?”
“She’s not afraid of spiders. I can’t say as she’s afraid of anything.”
“Hmm. Then perhaps I should play for her.”
He faced forward, but she glimpsed his smile in profile.
“What are you thinking?” she asked.
“That Esme is about to develop a new respect for thorns.”
“Aye, that she is.” Steeling her courage, Briar offered him her hand. “And so are you,” she whispered.
He looked at her open hand. For a moment, she feared he wouldn’t take it, then he pressed his palm against her own. He took a breath and laced his fingers with hers.
Before she could ask what he was thinking, darkness washed over her, but in the heart of it, a tiny golden flame flickered. Hope. Against everything—his race’s entire history of failure—he hoped.
Joy didn’t fill her as she expected. She had worked so hard to convince him to give her a chance, but it wasn’t until this moment that she realized just what that meant. His fragile hope lay in a simple canal girl, who didn’t even know what she was, let alone how to help him. The only thing she did know was that she couldn’t let him down.
She tightened her grip on his hand as they walked back to the Briar Rose.
THE END
The journey continues in book 3.
Click the link below to learn more.
http://beccaandre.com/iron-souls-book-three/
Afterword
Thank you for reading Soul Singer. I hope you enjoyed it. If you liked it well enough to leave a review; that would be great! For release news, giveaways, and other goodies, use the following link to sign up for my newsletter. As an added bonus, you’ll receive an alternate POV scene from Ferromancer.
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Looking for more to read? Check out my Final Formula Series. Filled with action, magic, humor, and romance, this unique urban fantasy tells the story of amnestic alchemist and her quest to recover her lost past. The first book, The Final Formula, is free everywhere my books are sold.
Discover the Final Formula
http://beccaandre.com/excerpt-the-final-formula/
Map
Glossary
For those who did not grow up with the remnants of an abandoned canal in their neighborhood (the old timers still called the road into town the towpath when I was little), the concept of mule-pulled boats may be something completely foreign. To help clarify this world, I wanted to include a glossary of common canal terms.
The terminology used aboard a canal boat can be confusing, especially for those with some maritime knowledge. Since most canal boatmen did not come from a nautical background, their word choice was often quite different from their seafaring counterparts. Sometimes a boatman might use a nautical term, but apply it to something completely different. For example, a deadeye on a canal boat was not the same as a deadeye on a sailing vessel.
Another interesting feature was how the terminology changed whether inside or outside the boat’s cabin. For example, the upper level of the boat (the roof of each cabin) was called a deck while inside the cabin it was simply the floor. A wall was a wall, not a bulkhead, yet a boatman would often call the little corner containing his bunk, his stateroom. It was this delightful mix that gave the canal system a language of its own.
Aqueduct – A bridge-like structure that carried the canal and towpath across a waterway or other obstacle.
Balance Beam – The long, wooden beams that form the top of a lock’s miter gates. The length of the beams helped balance the weight of the gate and made it easier to manually open.
Boatman – A person who owned or worked aboard a canal boat. The term could refer to a man or a woman (yes, in those days, women called themselves boatmen).
Bow – The front end of a canal boat.
Bow Cabin (Bunkhouse) – The cabin in the front of the boat where the non-family members of the crew slept.
Bowsman – A canal boat worker who secured the bowline around a snubbing post when the boat was entering a lock. This stopped the boat and kept it from slamming into the miter gates at the far end.
Bridge Plank – A wooden plank used to walk the mule team from the stable to towpath and vice versa. It was stored aboard the boat when not in use.
Catwalk – A walkway connecting the decks (or roofs) of the cabins on a three-cabin freighter. It made it easier to get around the boat when the cargo areas were full.
Deadeye – An iron bar or eyelet mounted to the roof of the bow cabin and used to secure the towline.
Doubling – The ability to use a lock as found. The water level did not need to be adjusted before steering the boat into the lock chamber.
Driver – The crewman who controlled the mule team on the towpath.
Dry Dock – A chamber built beside the canal and used for boat maintenance. Once the boat was floated in, the water could be drained, exposing the hull for repair work.
Fit a Lock – The process of preparing a lock for the boat. If the water in the lock wasn’t on the same level as the boat, the water would need to be raised or lowered.
Freighter – A canal boat used to carry freight.
Guard Lock – A lock that connected the canal to the pooled water above a dam. A guard lock raised the boat to the level of the pooled water and guarded the canal below the lock from high water.
Hatch – A trapdoor in the roof of a cabin that allowed access to the cabin by means of a ladder. Hatches were used when the cargo holds were full.
Headway – A command shouted by the captain to indicated that the boat had sufficient speed to enter a lock. The towline would be detached and boat allowed to coast forward on its own.
Heelpath – The bank of the canal opposite the towpath.
Level – A section of canal between locks.
Light Boat – A canal boat with no cargo.
Lines – Ropes. The common lines on a canal boat were the towline, bow line, and stern line.
Lock – A chamber closed on each end by miter gates. Most locks on the Ohio & Erie were made of stone.
Lock Chamber – The space between the gates within a lock.
Locking Through – The process of taking a boat through a lock.
Miter Gates – The large wooden gates at either end of a lock chamber.
Paddle – A small “door” in the lower section of a miter gate that allowed water to flow in or out of the lock chamber. The door was controlled by the “paddle gear” at the top of the gate.
Rudder – A flat board hung vertically at the back of the boat and used to steer the vessel.
Snubbing Post – A heavy post embedded in the ground beside each lock. The bow line was wrapped several times around the snubbing post to bring a boat to a stop upon entering the lock chamber.
Stable Cabin – The center cabin on a three-cabin freighter that housed the mules.
Steersman – A canal boat crew member who steered the boat via a tiller mounted near the back of the boat.
Stern – The rear part of a canal boat.
Stern Cabin (Aft Cabin) – The cabin in the back of the boat. Typically where the captain and his or her family lived.
Tandem Hitching – An arrangement of towing animals hitched one behind the other.
Tiller – A horizontal handle attached to the rudder post. The tiller was used to control the rudder in order to steer the boat.
Tiller Deck – A small rail-enclosed deck behind the stern deck where the tiller was installed.
Towline – A braided rope up to 200 feet long used to hitch the mule team to the canal boat.
Towpath – The path on one side of the canal where the mule team and driver walked.
Transom – The stern end of the boat where a boat’s name was painted.
Acknowledgements
It’s time again to thank all folks who help me make my stories better. I’d to thank:
Lindsay Buroker, Kendra Highley, Kelly Crawley, Cindy Wilkinson, Genevieve Turcotte, and Walt Scrivens for taking the time to help me make this book the best it can be.
Shelley Holloway for her editing awesomeness.
Glendon Haddix and the team at Streetlight Graphics for the amazing cover art and formatting. (Check out my gorgeous website. They did that, too!)
And you, kind reader, for letting me entertain you. I really appreciate the reviews, comments, and emails. Thank you!
About the Author
Becca Andre lives in southern Ohio with her husband, two children, and an elderly Jack Russell Terrier. A love of science and math (yes, she’s weird like that), led to a career as a chemist where she blows things up far more infrequently than you’d expect. Other interests include: chocolate, hard rock, and slaying things on the Xbox.
For more on her books, upcoming releases, and random ramblings, stop by http://beccaandre.com
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