Her Father's Fugitive Throne

by Brandon Barr

  Danturas bowed deeply and turned to leave, but Isolaug stopped him. Rueik was walking down the Passage of Eternal Harmony.

  Isolaug noted the Shadowman’s hurried pace with growing unease, and then saw his bloodied arm. “Stay a moment,” he said to Danturas. “I may need your assistance with another matter.”

  Rueik stopped abruptly before him and fell to a knee. “Divine King, I bring grave news. I’ve been found out as a Shadowman by one of the Guardians.”

  The fresh pleasure Isolaug felt after being in Astrum’s presence melted away at Rueik’s words. The Divine King’s hands bound up into fists.

  “Did you assassinate the Empyrean?” asked Isolaug.

  “Yes, and the rest of the Guardians are dead, but for this one who escaped me.”

  “Where did she go?” demanded Isolaug.

  “Back to her homeworld on Birth 4. It is possible she has since divulged the information.”

  “Who is this Guardian?”

  “A Missionary named Arentiss.”

  Isolaug turned to Danturas. “Alert Warden Zeyfir. Tell him to contact Chavereel to intercept all messages from Birth 4 to Bridge.”

  “I already told Zeyfir,” said Rueik fiercely, a vengeful glint in his eyes. “If you’ll please allow me to redeem myself, Master—send me to Birth. I swear, I’ll hunt Arentiss down.”

  Isolaug observed Rueik coldly and slid into his mind to observe.

  “Stand before Astrum,” said Isolaug.

  Rueik paled. “I swear I will kill her, Master. I will not lose your approval.”

  Isolaug saw within Rueik’s mind an intense devotion and a hunger for status—to reach his fifth Quahi, attaining all secret knowledge and becoming equal to Danturas alone among the Shadowmen.

  Satisfied, Isolaug placed the king’s hand on Rueik’s shoulder. “Very well, Rueik. Redeem yourself. Kill Arentiss and everyone she comes in contact with. And Rueik, be careful to wipe up the blood when you’re finished.”

  Acknowledgments

  Update on Brandon Barr

  January 2019

  As you may know, Brandon Barr had been fighting leukemia for several years. During the fall of 2018, the cancer returned and Brandon passed away in November.

  Brandon is deeply missed by his family, friends, and readers.

  During his last months, Brandon worked with several other authors sharing his outline for the rest of the Song of the World series, and there are currently plans underway to finish the series according to his notes.

  Below is the original author’s note from Brandon Barr for Her Father’s Fugitive Throne when it was first released in 2017.

  To receive updates on the future publications of his books, please sign up for his newsletter here.

  Brandon’s Original Author Note:

  September 3, 2017

  There is no greater honor for me as a writer to know that you, dear reader, have followed my characters and their stories all the way to the end of book three. This series bears my heart and soul, especially the characters Winter and Meluscia, though each story in the Song of the Worlds Series is an aggregate of the whole epic picture that rests in my mind.

  Much of this book, as is noted in my dedication below, was written while I fought Leukemia (and pneumonia, liver fungus, brain fog, extreme fatigue, and all the other ailments that came with the cancer).

  I’m writing this note one year after releasing Her Father’s Fugitive Throne. I’ve had not one, but two bone marrow transplants to put me in remission. The first transplant (March, 3rd, 2016) failed after several months and the Leukemia was found to have returned in late November of 2016.

  I immediately started high-dose chemo again, and a few days before Christmas, I was in such horrible shape, the doctor informed my wife that I might not survive another night, and that family and friends should come and say their goodbyes.

  My children, ages 2, 5, and 7, came and said goodbyes to their father. Friends and family crowded into the hallway outside my hospital room and prayed.

  I’m thankful to report that I survived, and not only that, the chemotherapy worked JUST enough and I barely did qualify for a 2nd stem cell transplant. Off again I went to City of Hope Cancer Research Hospital and underwent more Chemo, and another transplant.

  I’m incredibly thankful to be here today (thank you God!), enjoying my beautiful family and continuing to write epic stories.

  (You can view pictures of my cancer journey HERE on my blog)

  My life these past few weeks has been busy! I took my oldest son, Nathan, to a gem mine and we found lots of cool rocks (pink tourmaline, crystals, garnet). Nathan and I are rockhounds, as well as fossil hunters, artifact collectors, and gold panners. The gems we found on our last trip remind me of the Hold and the people of the Blue Mountain Realm. Many elements in the Song of the Worlds Series come from parts of my life. I’ll share a few with you.

  I grew up in a city called Grand Terrace that lay under the shadow of Blue Mountain. Now, Blue Mountain was more like a large hill.

  I’m not sure if the title mountain was just a local name for it, or if it just barely made the height limit of mountain status, but nevertheless, as a child, I had many fond memories of hiking and exploring that “mountain” and its namesake made its way into my story.

  Another fun fact! I originally dreamed up this series as only a novella back in 2005/2006 and gave it the title, Slayer. You can probably tell from the title that, yes, it was a very different story back then.

  Anyways, I came up with the name Meluscia and my wife and I liked the sound of it so much that we bestowed our cat with the title. So if you happened to be a fly on the wall at our house, you might here phrases like, “Meluscia’s gonna barf on the bed! Qucik—throw her on the tile!” or one of kids running in with tears in his their eyes sobbing, “Meluscia scratched me daddy!”

  Or my personal favorite from my wife, “EWWW, Meluscia’s got poop stuck to her butt and she’s on my pillow!!!!”

  Thank you for reading Her Father’s Fugitive Throne, by Brandon Barr.

  Please do consider supporting Brandon’s wife and three boys now that Brandon has passed.

  #BrandonsBuddies.

  Click here for more information.

  Reviews

  Would you consider rating Her Father’s Fugitive Throne and giving a brief review on Amazon? One word or one sentence will do. You can find all the review links here on Brandon Barr’s website.

  Book Three is dedicated to all the doctors, nurses and and medical staff at Kaiser Fontana, Kaiser Ontario, and City of Hope who kept me alive during my bout with Leukemia from August 2015 to April 2016. Especially Dr. Saeed, Dr. Cao, and Dr. Dickter. And a huge thanks to my brother, Justin, whose stem cells post bone marrow transplant have kept me to date, cancer free!

  Two thirds of this book were written during my fight with cancer, portions of which were written during my stay at all three medical facilities mentioned above.

  -Brandon Barr, Sept 2017

  Thanks

  I would like to thank the entire Restoration Writer’s Group: especially Aimee Walnofer, and Sarah Christison for their feedback on this book. And a big thanks to my editors, Melissa Eskue Ousley and Holly Lorincz. And thanks Amanda Barr for proofreading, editing, and being an amazing wife and mother!!

  -Brandon Barr, Sept 2017

  About the Author

  Brandon Barr was a writer of science fiction and fantasy and often combined the two, preferring stories where the science was soft, the fantastic was vivid, and the flesh and soul characters were front and center.

  The Song of the Worlds saga was his breakout, genre-blending science-fantasy drama set in a vast universe where elements of science fiction were dominated by gods and monsters, visions and gifts.

  Barr wrote dozens of short stories, many published in SF/F magazines and anthologies.

  He lived in Southern California with his wife, Amanda, and their three boys. When not writing, Brandon loved to garden, hik
e, fish, and play board games. He attended a small church which just so happened to be absolutely infested with wonderfully artistic members, who cheered each other on.

  The most influential authors in his life were Michael Crichton, Ray Bradbury, C.S. Lewis, and Orson Scott Card.

  After a four year battle with cancer, Brandon Barr passed away in November 2018. He is deeply missed.