Blurb:FLIGHTPURSUITCATASTROPHYALYSE DEJUNE FLED Caldon to avoid becoming a pawn in her matriarch’s attempt to have the Dejunes remain a powerful First Family among their noblesse allies. She intends to seek refuge at her uncle’s legionary camp deep within the forest-covered wilderness of The Marches while he tries to patch things up between her and their matriarch. But even the best of plans can go awry, and Alyse’s does when she is captured by brigands. She believes they intend to hold her for ransom but soon learns they have a worse fate in store for her.RILL LARKIN FINALLY achieved his lifelong goal of becoming a mage even though he alienated his family and his best friend in the process. Now a mage serving the powerful Estati Family, he is part of a search party that intends to find Alyse and bring her back to Caldon—by force, if necessary. But Rill didn’t anticipate having to deal with a band of brigands who vastly outnumber his small group of pursuers or with a brigand leader who loathes the Dejunes. Those miscalculation have horrible, life-threatening consequences for Rill.
A
mage cast a spell at them, but Troy countered it.
And
then the brigands were too close for spell casting or arrows.
Rill
backed into the space between the piles, dropping his longbow and drawing his
sword with one hand and his dagger with the other.
Troy’s
shout sounded behind him. “Here they come, Freya!
Yells
and the clanging of steel on steel rose from beyond the charging brigands as
Kate, Yall, Jade, and Magnus desperately fought a huge pack of bandits.
Rill
didn’t hold out much hope for them, or for Troy, Freya, and himself. But an
unexpected peace settled over him. As long as Alyse and Livia made it to
safety, his death would be a small price to pay for keeping them alive.
And
then Rill’s inner peace shattered when the outlaws arrived and surrounded the
woodpiles.
A
woman thrust a spear at him.
Rill
banged it away with the flat of his blade, then thrust his sword into her
belly.
Another
brigand pressed in, stepping on the dead woman’s chest.
Rill
cut him down too.
An
angry voice rose above the shouts and clangs of steel on steel. “Alive! I want
them all alive!”
The
remaining bandits backed away from the entrance. Some disappeared, but many
stood at either opening, weapons in hand, making it impossible for Rill, Troy,
and Freya to escape.
Rill
exchanged puzzled looks with Troy and Freya.
Suddenly
wood from the split kindling pile toppled into the passageway. Rill jumped
backward, mumbling a profanity. The brigands were shoving the kindling into the
opening between the two piles. This was something Rill hadn’t anticipated. He
traded anxious looks with Troy and Freya. “We gotta get outta here!”
More
split logs landed between Troy and Freya. Troy slashed at an exposed arm. The
blade cut all the way through. The victim screamed, “We’re hemmed in.”
More
and more firewood came tumbling down while Rill slashed at exposed hands and
arms that were shoving the kindling.
“Push
from the middle!” a voice cried. “We’ll bury ’em under the wood.”
“Idiot!”
another voice shouted. “Didn’t ya hear Palquo say he wants ’em alive? Push from
the top and flush ’em out.”
Rill
stepped back as several pieces of firewood fell on the spot he’d been
occupying. He traded desperate looks with Troy and Freya. “We gotta make a run
for it!”
Troy
stepped back from a hail of kindling, almost tripping on wood scattered behind
him. “How? We’re trapped in here.”
“We
ain’t got no choice.”
“Running
is suicide.”
“So
is stayin’.”
Just
then a voice said, “Are you sure he said we can do it?”
“Yeah,”
another voice responded. “Palquo said he doesn’t care now if they’re half dead.
He’ll still get his revenge.”
Hoots
and hollers followed the words.
“Now,”
the voice yelled, “all together . . . heave!”
Horror
overwhelmed Rill. It was too late to run. And he was going to die.
Wood all along the pile began toppling over.
Charm Wars by Dan Lutts
“Welcome to Caldon, a land of mages and magic, where the noblesse possess massive political and magical power and destroy anyone who threatens the noblesse way of life—especially the commoners.”
Links:
- Goodreads
- Bookbub
- Amazon
- B&N
- Kobo
- Apple
- Indiebound
- Tolino
- Vivlio
There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of A Light in the Window. Three winners each win a $25 gift card to either Amazon or B&N (winner’s choice). US Only.
For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.