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Well, I'm back. Sorta. Really, I'm just dropping in to tell you that Storm Kings, the last book in Song of the Aura, is now out! You can buy it for Kindle here and Barnes and Noble here.
In other news, I may actually be getting to work on print versions of my books soon.
In other, other news, I have a Facebook event that gets you free copies of any of my SOTA ebooks you want! Check it out here...
In other, other, other news, here's an excerpt from the novel:
Cal fought for his life. Whenever soldiers approached, he used his gift. He took two out with a slamming fist of earth, and another few with twisting vine-spears he fashioned with his mind from the Grove’s trees. But each attack took a toll on his strength, and Cal knew he couldn’t last much longer. He was, after all, just a boy.
No. Not any longer. I’m more than a boy… I’m a Strider. He had to honor his gift. He had to honor the Aura!
But he was so, so tired. Stumbling up a small incline, Cal dropped to his knees in the soft grass, letting his wood-gift stave fall to the ground. This was one of the few untainted spots. The rest of the Grove was under constant siege from Golden Nation soldiers. Trees burned and grass withered. Rocks were shivered and hills torn apart. For the moment he was safe, listening to the sounds of rumbling and shouting in the distance… but it couldn’t last long.
Occasionally, the Brown Aura would appear to him, and ask him to give a message to this or that leader, somewhere in the defense of the Grove. Cal had gradually become something of the Brown Aura’s unofficial mouthpiece. It was now widely known among the survivors that Wanderwillow spoke directly only to him.
Cal did not think that in an emergency the Aura would neglect to speak openly… but he knew his friend and master oversaw the defense of the entire grove, and that was responsibility enough for even one so powerful as Wanderwillow. The Grove was more than just protection… it was a living weapon. The forest and sloping mountain attacked any enemies stupid enough to anger them… which meant almost every Coalskin there was.
Cal was unexpectedly jolted out of his reverie by two things. One, Wanderwillow’s voice boomed in his head louder than he had ever heard before… and Two, a black and red-robed Pit Strider suddenly lurched out from the trees at the bottom of the small hill.
THE HALANYAD HAS COME, Wanderwillow said.
“I’ll tear out your veins and string my neck with them, boy!” the Pit Strider said. He snapped his fingers and fireballs blossomed in his hands.
“Blast…” Cal said, and felt just a bit proud. It was exactly what that hero boy Gribly would’ve said.
Before either of them could make a move, a thundering rumble drew Cal’s gaze to the northern horizon. His mouth dropped open, and what he saw must have surprised the Pit Strider, too, for he stood where he was, staring.
The sea had risen above the cliffs, rushing forward and spilling down the incline in a single, powerful wave. It was like a wall of luminous blue-green crystal, surging forward in an unstoppable mass. Tsunamis had hit the Grymclaw before, Cal knew… but nothing like this.
Then he saw the four dark smudges perched on the wave’s crest, riding the titanic swell. As the wave rushed closer, frighteningly fast, he could make out their shape.
Ships… and men atop them… Cal gasped. There was a woman standing in the prow of the foremost vessel, glowing with blue light as her arms, raised to heaven, controlled the flow of the water. As he watched, she seemed to tire for a moment, letting her arms fall a little: the water instantly slowed. She raised them again, and the deathly surge flowed onward with ever more vigorous speed.
Cal had heard the legends of the Ocean Queen. The ones the nymphs called the Halanyad. But until now… it had just not seemed real.
“Oh… no…” he breathed, backing up. How could any of those in the Grove- friend or foe- survive that?
