Strand of Faith
When the choice is between love and life, how can anyone decide?
A girl and a monk, both with extraordinary mental powers, have compelling reasons not to fall in love. But those from whom they expect support are manipulating them both because their choices will have consequences for the rest of the world.
After a stormy youth, Brother Prospero has found comfort and fulfilment in the monastery. That is, until he discovers something that forces him to reconsider his whole vocation. To follow his heart, he’ll have to face his demons again, outside the security of the monastery. Is it worth the risk? Can he beat them this time? Or will they finally destroy him?
Orphaned and mistreated, Leonie has found sanctuary and safety at the abbey. All she wants is to learn how to manage her unusual abilities so that she is not a danger to those around her. When she comes into contact with Prospero everything threatens to spiral out of her control. Whether she leaves or whether she stays, how can she possibly avoid destroying – yet again – those she has come to care about?
Abbot Gabriel is faced with an impossible choice. He can do nothing and watch the world descend into war. Or he can manipulate events and ensure peace – at the cost of two lives that he is responsible for. He knows what he has to do but is he strong enough to sacrifice those he loves?
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Excerpt taken from chapter 6
Having discovered that student Leon is really
Leonie, Abbot Lord Gabriel has decided to make her his ward. He has sent her, with Brother Prospero, to
meet Brother Edward so that she can be dressed and equipped suitably for the
adopted daughter of a High Lord.
I followed
Brother Prospero through doors, down stairs and along corridors into a large
space that resembled a cavern filled with treasure. He led me across to a room
on the edge of the cavern, lined with racks of fabrics in all the colours of
the rainbow, and well-lit by a wall of windows. Another monk was seated there
at a long work table. My head was spinning with all the new things I had to
think about. The sheer size of the storerooms didn’t help and by the time we
entered the inner room, the spinning felt real, not just figurative. Brother
Prospero introduced me to Brother Edward and I know Brother Edward spoke to me
but it didn’t seem to make sense, and then he seemed to be swaying from side to
side. I heard someone call Prospero’s name urgently as if from a great
distance, and then I was sitting down with a hand gently but firmly holding my
head down by my knees.
“Don’t
move, breath slowly,” I was told – Prospero again – and for once I felt
inclined to do what I was told.
After a
moment he moved his hand from my head and let me sit up, though I realised he
was still holding my wrist. He was squatting down in front of me, so that his
dark eyes were level with mine.
“Better?”
he asked.
I nodded
and regretted it as my head started to spin again.
“You don’t
eat properly, you don’t sleep properly and your life is far too stressful. It’s
no wonder you nearly passed out,” he accused me.
I growled back, “And you know this how?”
“The pup
has spirit,” Edward laughed from somewhere behind Prospero.
I would
have snarled at him, too, but couldn’t find the energy.
Prospero
ignored him to respond to me. “You’re nothing but skin and bone, you’ve got
dark circles under your eyes, and you’ve been living a life of deception for
the last three months at least, if not longer.”
Edward
passed him a mug and he paused to press it in to my free hand. “Drink!” he
commanded.
I did. It
was hot and sweet, and sipping gave me time to compose myself. Truth be told,
it was Prospero himself who was having a major effect on my senses. The man
acted like he was always right, was far too sure of himself, and yet I trusted
him instinctively. His touch made my skin feel like an electric charge was
crawling across it – how could he not feel it? I wanted to bait him, annoy him,
disrupt that calm exterior and make him feel as disorientated as he was making
me feel. I was sure he was connected with whatever I had been seeking, and that
made me feel insatiably curious, because I didn’t know what I had been seeking,
and I was without any way of finding out – and that irritated me too.
I reached
out with my mind – something I should have done much sooner if I’d had my wits
about me – to touch his mind and see what I could find out. No telepath could read
or hear more than the surface thoughts of any non-telepath’s mind – even with
another telepath it was like talking without using your voice – but I thought
it might give me a clue to his actions. I found a blank, a telepathic shield,
and backed off. I hadn’t expected him to be a telepath – in my experience men
rarely were. Then I realised that Lord Gabriel had known my name before
Prospero had had time to tell him out loud; they had to both be telepathic.
Amongst
the Traders, it was the women who were telepaths, like Headwomen Katya. I still
missed Katya deeply. She had taken me in as her apprentice, provided me with
food, a place to sleep and training. Maybe I was an Outsider, but she’d always
treated me well. I could have done with her wisdom to talk over all the things
that were happening now. I pulled myself away from these past memories, aware
that Prospero was still watching me. I realised that I’d finished the drink, so
I passed the mug back to him, and he took it and put it on the table.
“You’ll do
for now,” he said, “though I wish I’d taken the opportunity to take you into
the hospital last night when I had the chance.”
I
shuddered, I did not like hospitals, but before Prospero could comment, Edward
spoke.
“She’ll be
fine here with me. You get off to wherever you are supposed to be right now.”
Prospero
turned to him. “Make sure she gets a decent lunch,” he said and then looked
back to me. “If you don’t eat properly, I’ll know.”
I hoped
that was an empty threat but as he headed towards the door, I felt an
unexpected fear flare up in me. Despite the fact that he unsettled me beyond
measure, Prospero had been the one steady focal point in all that had happened
in the last few hours, and now he was disappearing and leaving me in an unknown
and potentially dangerous situation. I wasn’t aware that I’d said anything but
he turned back and squatted down again so our eyes were on a level.
“Don’t
worry; you’ll be safe with Edward,” he said quietly. “I’ll be back for you in a
couple of hours.”
Author Bio
Rachel J Bonner is the author of the four book Choices and Consequences series, the first of which, Strand of Faith, is due out in November 2018.
Getting a degree in engineering, followed by a career in accountancy is probably not a conventional path to becoming an author, particularly in paranormal romance. Rachel says that, although accountancy isn’t anything like as boring as everyone thinks, writing is a lot more fun. When not writing, she can be found walking in the beautiful countryside near where she lives, which has influenced much of the scenery in her books, or shooting things with her local archery club. Target shooting only, honest. Nothing to worry about.
She also enjoys swimming, eating chocolate chip cookies and growing aromatic herbs, especially thyme and rosemary. It’s no coincidence that her heroine likes the same things.
You can find out more about her books and sign up for Rachel’s newsletters at www.racheljbonner.co.uk.
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