Word Fire

Allyn Ransom

Description

In Earth Fire, Zheann Sevem learns the price of hate as she is called on to prevent rebels from finding and gaining the aid of the dragons, known as Athenque, in freeing her people, the Rys from their Med rulers. On the way, she discovers that the dragons are also rebels who have been imprisoned for centuries. She is joined in her quest by two loyal Athenque, and Estaen teaches her about the magic she thought she understood, warning her that it would be needed in her fight against the dragons.

They reach the dragon’s prison too late to stop the rebels from freeing them and setting off a chain reaction that Zheann realizes may destroy her world. She races to a mountain pass where she hopes to take a stand against the forces of nature, and watches helplessly as refugees swarm to three passes hoping to save their lives while others sabotage the effort. It all comes down to a contest between Rys magic and the forces of nature.

In Soul Fire, the Med and Rys who fled to the central pass begin to pull their lives together, and Zheann learns the price of love. Their world has been saved but is no longer safe. Ash falls from the sky, clouds hide the sun, and the dragons have built a rival city north of the pass. Zheann finds enemies on every side, and when she is hexed, and her daughter is abducted, she learns the price of love.

Now, in Word Fire, it turns personal. Zheann rides away from all she’s been trying to build in search of her daughter, the king’s mother, and a legendary trove of books that may hold the key to stopping the dragons. On the way, she struggles to master the hex that gives her great power, but power from which she longs to be free. On the way, she makes new friends and enemies but also discovers that one of the dragons, Venkis, has been busy. They reach Jitrodek, where Zheann learns the price of freedom.

Sujets

• Fiction
• Fantasy

Informations

• Publié par: Outskirts Press
• Date de parution: 02 décembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781977260260
• Langue: English

Extrait

-->

Word Fire Legacies of the Dragon, Book 3 All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2023 Allyn Ransom v5.0
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.
This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Outskirts Press, Inc. http://www.outskirtspress.com
ISBN: 978-1-9772-6026-0
Cover Photo © 2023 www.gettyimages.com . All rights reserved - used with permission.
Outskirts Press and the "OP" logo are trademarks belonging to Outskirts Press, Inc.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
I dedicate this book to:
John Decker, who let me use his name for my dekers, Ron Franklin, Scott Taylor, and Linda Pavkov who love the Word and are what dekers should be. And the Erie County Public Library, my jideker done right.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Author’s Afterword
Glossary
About the Author
Chapter One
Tarewo, 28 Enoate 153, Gray Palace
Zheann’s mind sucked at her thoughts like a bog, dragging her back to the hut amid trees with leaves like hats. The gray-haired woman shook Dren, and the little girl held her hands out to Zheann. Her mouth closed and opened twice in a silent scream, "Mama!"
I’ll find you, Dren. Zheann stood by the door to what might have been. Days ago, it had been her courtyard garden with ashy soil awaiting her touch. Her mother planned to plant apple trees, tansy, yarrow, and chamomile. But it was for Mistress Jenem, not for her. When she came back with Dren, they would be invited to visit, and Dren would play among the fragrant plants, but it would not be hers. She would have to ask to borrow the books she’d rescued from Jifreb and Jitherick. Mistress Jenem would lend them to her, but she would have to ask.
If we come back. How can a dream of something I never wanted and held for less than three weeks be so hard to release? How can I mourn my paltry dreams while Dren faces a nightmare?
Lightning flashed, illuminating gray ash for the blink of an eye.
Because they’re here and, somehow, my heart can ache over more than one thing. The lesser pain is like a balm. With the other alone, could I keep from going mad? We won. We stopped the ocean in the pass. All it cost us was our homes, countless lives, and everything we held dear.
We won. We defeated the dragons. It cost Foden’s life, Garesherick’s family and career, Esherick and Kathoa’s mother, Fiwal, and Dren. We lost ourselves. Our dignity. We no longer know who or what we are.
Estaen’s words echoed in her mind. "You are no less you than you were the day we met… the Jordyses and Imadons are no less Med and Rys than they were before they were hexed."
The hand touching the dark glass faded so that she could see darkness through it . Bared white teeth and angry gray eyes reflected in the window . Why didn’t they disappear with the rest of me?
She opened her hand, moving it nearer and farther, and turned it over. Not faded. Dark. Like Donezan when she hid in the clearing. I’m not disappearing. How could I? I’m not magic. Think, Zheann. Make sense. I can do more than glow and lure. I can hide. I can lie. Darkness filled the area where her eyes and teeth had been. It could be fun.
Pain lanced through her heart, followed by a weight. Not fun. Useful, once I learn to control it. After I find Dren, and we are safe. Then I can think about fun. And if saving her Dren, I will not stop thinking and saying her name costs the loss of the Med-Rys kingdom to the dragons? If it costs Mama’s life? Fiwal’s? The king’s? Garesherick’s? My own? How much am I willing to sacrifice for Dren? She tightened her hand into a fist . I will not abandon Dren. I will not be what Donezan tells me to be.
Estaen answered in her memory. "It will cost what it costs."
She pulled her plait over her shoulder. It was as black as her skin. Return to your natural colors. Be Zheann.
At the sound of soft footsteps in the corridor, she surveyed the room. Don’t let them catch you like this! They’ll kill you before they identify you. She slipped into the courtyard and sat on her heels in the shadows along the wall. Two Med with faces hidden under cloak hoods stopped at the open door. The shorter walked to the desk and sat while the taller stood guard.
Be calm. I’m a shadow in the shadows. Papa would have loved this. Zheann exhaled into the crook of her elbow to keep her breath from showing in the chilly air. What are they doing? She closed her eyes, worked Far Sight, and stood with them in the office.
The one at the desk leaned to examine something, rose, and followed the other out of the room.
Zheann passed through the blackness of the wall and floated in front of them as they walked toward the main hall.
Deep brown eyes peered out of blackness within the hood of the shorter, as her light gray eyes had peered back at her in the window. Dark hazel eyes looked through her out of the black visage of the taller.
Masks? They aren’t taking any chances, except that someone might catch them in the palace wearing masks. She followed them through the main hall and down the steps. The taller headed west, while the shorter angled more to the south. She followed the shorter Med past the Med barracks and two buildings under construction. It She? jogged through a field and into the forest. And disappeared.
Zheann continued, drawn by something though the cloaked figure was not there.
A shadow moved among the trees. When lightning flashed again, it illuminated the back and tail of a wolf loping away.
Jordys! She opened her eyes in the courtyard and gasped. Shivering, she hurried inside and stood by the hearth. Be careful where you leave your body, Zheann. Freezing to death because you’re Far Seeing is a bad idea.
The papers and books on her desk were as she’d left them. A supply requisition for her journey lay atop a map of the western part of the kingdom as it had been. Next to them were several books on herbs and an unlabeled list of potential Med students of magic . What was she after?
Zheann leaned on her shadowy hands and peered at the courtyard. Did she see me? If she did, she hid it well. How many Med would have strolled out? Was she searching for evidence to accuse me of a crime? Did she realize what the list of Med meant? If so, she would probably see them as traitors. Or she might think they are the list of Med I intend to hex or seduce. She snorted. I’m going to have to be more careful, and I’d better tell the king.
At least it wasn’t Trisheri and her friends, come to vandalize. The damage is done. She gathered the papers and put them in her bag. Look like skin. Look like me. Be me.
She returned to the window and hummed a verse of one of the songs Eunaela had sung at the workcamp. Even her eyes and teeth were hidden, but as she sang, they lightened. By the time she finished the chorus, light golden hair, gray eyes, and ivory skin reflected in the glass. She reached toward the image but jerked her hand back . Oh no, once is enough.

She paused at the door to the main hall. Without the worktables the room seems empty. The dragons could attack any time, but we pretend things are normal.
Ges pointed at something on the king’s table and grinned fiercely at a soldier who nodded and walked away.
It’s an improvement, her mind argued. You used to have a city full of Med who could decide to riot or to take what they wanted as recompense.
Yes, how could so much change in three months?
Easily, when survival and freedom Med freedom demand it.
Stop it .
But nothing has changed.
Not true.
At the other end of the hall, King Esherick climbed the stairs to the residential wing. Each step seemed to take more strength than he possessed. As he turned right, his gaze swept the hall. He straightened, pulled on the cuffs of his gray shirt, and took the next flight with more purpose.
That’s it, Your Majesty, keep up appearances even though your heart is broken, again. She returned to her internal debate as she walked toward the same stairs. No, I’ve changed. He’s changed. We’ll have to wait to find out whether our changes will spread to others, or they will force us back into our patterns of hatred.
She stopped at the king’s table. "Captain Ges?"
The grizzled old soldier furrowed his brows. "What’s wrong?"
"A Med and a Jordys were in the work area office maybe a twelfth ago. They didn’t take anything, but the Jordys looked at what I had on the desk. She’s run off into the woods west of the city. Most of what she saw had to do with my trip, but there was also a list of Med who might want to learn about magic."
The furrow deepened. "And instead of charging out here after them or throwing them into the nearest wall, you followed them?"
By the time your men killed the shadow, they would have been gone.