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Good late and slow afternoon everyone!!! No really, this afternoon is moving like my three kids at 7am trying to catch the bus. "Get your backpack. No, your backpack. What are you doing- don't take off your coat. Put your backpack on, with your coat."
Anyway......
I wanted to celebrate a little bit (actually a lot bit, but you know, technicalities) over the release of my new fantasy novel The Keeper's Light.
Ladies, gentlemen and minions of all kinds....I give you The Prologue to The Keeper's Light. Enjoy.
Prologue
They had to move quickly. Smoke and ash
were already falling outside their dusted window, but there was no rushing
Aldric’s wife, Everlyn. She treaded the fur rug near the fireplace, stopping
occasionally to strangle the mantle. Her pains had increased with her
movements, which was progress, just not at the speed they needed.
Aldric’s heart ached
watching his wife hold her blossomed belly over her dressing gown. The joy he
should be experiencing was replaced with unease. Palms damp, he clenched his
fists seeing another pain take his wife.
“Aldric!”
she cried, biting her already tender lip.
“I am here love.” He
cloaked her in his arms within two steps. She cinched the lapels of his
overcoat, her white knuckles fought against another arduous strain.
“How much time do we
have?” Her teeth chattered.
“Not much. Come lie
down, let the physician look at you,” he whispered mildly in her ear.
Having her settled,
the physician fastened his fingers around her wrist and palmed her swollen
abdomen. Aldric returned to his outlook, watching his land burn in a tempest of
hatred. The pulse in his heart raged with heat as the danger drew nearer and he
knew his wife could feel it too. Their sacred rite was coming to an end. The
joy he desperately wanted to feel for his growing family was marred by a
definitive end the birth would bring.
The move of the
generations old boundary, only a year prior, made it vulnerable to strikes and
tears from the darkness infesting their lands. Everlyn’s condition prevented
them from strengthening the growing shreds and so, the invasion became fixed.
Their hope, thin as
it may be, was in the baby. Once delivered, the power that seared through his
wife would be drawn back into protecting her wholly, no longer divided in
strength for the baby's sake. If Everlyn could regain her power in its
entirety, they could draw the boundary closer, making it stronger before the
transfer would need to occur.
“It is time,” the
physician drawled, drawing a blanket over his wife’s knees.
“The baby is coming?”
Aldric’s voice pitched openly.
“The crowning has
begun.”
“Banco!” Aldric
shouted for his dearest friend, who was just outside the door.
Expectantly, the
door swung open. “Aye my Lord, I am here,” Banco’s gruff voice boomed.
“Send for the
Ravuune brothers and Maxwell and his son, quickly,” he instructed.
“I will your majesty.”
He was gone before the door clicked home.
“Darling...” Aldric
walked over to his wife’s shaking form and gripped her hand.
“I know Aldric, I am
ready,” she sobbed.
“I love you, so
mu—.” His voice caught but he forced himself to finish. “I am sorry I could not
provide you with safety. I need you to know how much having you by my side has
helped me stand through all of this.” He wiped his eyes aggressively, battling
the emotion that threatened.
“I know my love, I
would not change my choices at all, and I would be by your side even if these
events were known. You are my choice. Every day you are my choice. I love you
Aldric.” She spoke clearly and Aldric loved her more for it.
A pain struck and
she gripped his hand tightly, her fingernails burrowing into his skin. He
positioned himself to support her weight while the labor took her energy. He
breathed steadily in her ear, reminding her to calm her own breaths. In deeply,
out slowly.
“The baby is
coming,” she cried over the destruction stirring outside.
The howls and yells
of the darkened ones at their outer doors drowned out the strong new cries of
their daughter, Elizabeth.
The moment
tarnished.
***
Everlyn kissed her daughter softly, who
slept peacefully in her arms. She felt her strength and power rage again, fully
through her veins. She knew the Light was ready— it appeared to be calling for
the change. But she couldn’t let go of her child quite yet, brushing soft
kisses against her new, sweet skin. One more moment, one more kiss.
A knock sounded at their
door and her husband answered it reluctantly, knowing the time had come. Three
men and a young boy entered. The boy’s eyes widened in awe and Everlyn tried to
smother a sob. She imagined her daughter's face with the same look of wonder
and the loss of never seeing it became unbearable. She let the sobs take her,
wetting the top of the baby’s head with her tears.
“Cedric, Maurice, Eldon,
thank you for being here.” Everlyn watched with blurred vision as her husband
greeted their guests, their dear friends.
Aldric took the boy
by the shoulders. “Nicolas, I know you are young, but I have a charge for you
that no other can do.”
Gently, Everlyn
wiped her tears and adjusted her baby allowing young Nicolas to see her face.
He smiled up at her and instinctively lifted his hand to touch her cheek. His
shoulders lowered, letting go a subtle sigh.
“Protect her
Nicolas. Watch over her, take her hand when needed and help her climb. Be by
her side and lift her up. Never leave her. Can you do that?” Everlyn watched Nicolas
straighten at her husband’s words.
“Yes, your highness,
I will do that,” the sweet boy said with conviction.
“Good—good. Thank
you.” Everlyn leaned into her husband's form as he composed himself, both trembling.
“Eldon, you will help him?” her husband continued.
“I will, unwavering,
your highness.” Lord Eldon Maxwell bent to his knee.
A reverent silence
descended the room and Everlyn knew the time had come. She knew Aldric would
not take her baby from her, and so with as much courage she could call upon,
she lifted her little one towards Cedric and Maurice Ravuune. Maurice
hesitated, but she nodded encouragingly. Gently, Maurice wrapped his large,
solid arms around the small form, cradling her head in the crook of his elbow.
The tenderness surprised Everlyn slightly, her breath catching.
Maurice was the Captain of the Guard and was
known for his rough and harsh demeanor. He was deadly but loyal, and combined
with his scholar brother, she and Aldric knew they both would provide the
structure and security their Elizabeth would need to fight the waiting war.
“Maurice, Cedric, we
ask that you raise our daughter. Lord Maxwell has a ship waiting to take you
away from this island. Please raise her far from here. Love her as your own.”
Everlyn’s voice faltered and she allowed her husband to continue. Her throat
ached against the sob resting there, wanting freedom.
“She will carry the
Light so you must make sure Kaleb never finds her. Not until it is time. She
has many battles ahead. Please give her a peaceful childhood, but prepare her
as well as you can for her purpose.” Everlyn clenched his hand as he spoke. The
Light coursed through them, scorching their skin in embracing warmth.
“She will carry the Light
of Wills in its entirety?” Cedric blanched.
She and her husband
had spoken of the precedent the transfer would set. It had never been done,
always transferring into two souls, two hearts. But they felt with the purity
of their child's heart, she would be able to carry it on her own for some time.
Cedric would consider it risky, but he would know what to look for to keep her
safe. He would know if the weight ever became too heavy for their Elizabeth.
“Her heart is pure,
the Light will accept her. We also know it will be harder for Kaleb to find
her. He does not know of her existence. When we are gone he will look for two
souls the Light would have transferred to, not one. It is our only option. Do
you accept this charge Lord Ravuune?”
Maurice did not
hesitate as he bounced his newly acquired bundle. “With every fiber of my being
I will protect this lass here.”
Everlyn smiled at
the sight of such a large, broad man caring for her joy. “Thank you Maurice,”
she whispered, her voice lost.
“I will do
everything in my power to take care of the princess— everything your
majesties.” Cedric bowed his head. When he rose again, Everlyn caught the
glistening behind his spectacles.
They knew what was
coming and the chaos taking place outside of their walls could not penetrate
the reverence that encircled them. Pulling her husband’s hand, she allowed him
to help her to her feet. The refined stonework floor felt weak under her
emotion. Emotions that begged for one more moment, one more kiss.
With the strength
they had left, they let the Light of Wills take over their forms. It coursed
through their veins making their skin take on a delicate glow. The boundary
outside their home sprang to life, feasting on the power that now surged
through them. With one thought, they directed the boundary's movements. It left
them even more vulnerable without it, but with its newly acquired strength, it
would allow there to be a safe place for their child to return to Beldom—someday.
It wasn’t enough,
but it was all they had left to give her.
With their last deed
done as keepers, they took hold of their child once more. Lightning erupted
around them and in a blink of brightness, The Light of Wills left their hearts
and found home in their newborn, their joy— their peace.
Aldric kissed their
daughter one last time before their company took her and escaped the impending
invasion through the servants’ entrance. Everlyn watched, tearfully and weak
before she fell to her knees. Aldric knelt before her and took her face in his
hands.
With urgency he
kissed her –parting her lips gently. She returned the kiss with all the love she
had. She knew and he knew it would be their last in this life.
And it was.
This one surprised me. It wasn't at all what I expected. 
