Description:
Published: September 29th, 2015
In a world shrouded by soot and smoke, young Makarria has literally been forbidden to dream.
Legend has foretold the demise of Emperor Thedric Guderian at the hands of a sorceress with royal blood, and the Emperor has made it his legacy to stamp out all magic from the Sargothian Empire in favor of primitive coal fired smelters and steam powered machines. When Guderian’s minions discover a Dreamwielder on a seaside farmstead, a chain of events forces Guderian’s new threat—the young Makarria—to flee from her home and embark upon an epic journey where her path intertwines with that of Princess Taera, her headstrong brother, Prince Caile, and the northman Siegbjorn, who captains a night-flying airship.
Dogging their every step is the part-wolf, part-raven sorcerer, Wulfram, and Emperor Guderian himself, a man who has the ability to stint magic and a vision to create a world where the laws of nature are beholden to men and machines. Only by learning to control the power she wields can Makarria save her newfound companions and stop the Emperor from irreversibly exterminating both the magic in humans and their bond with nature.
In the shadow of Emperor Guderian’s fallen empire, young Queen Makarria finds her throne—and her life—in grave danger. The Old World Republic has come, demanding that Queen Makarria bring order to the struggling Five Kingdoms by forming a new empire, one she would rule as the Old World’s puppet. When Makarria refuses them, the Old World threatens war and unleashes a nefarious spy to sow discord in her court. Before she knows it, Makarria’s budding romance with Prince Caile has been exploited by the spy, and Makarria finds herself embroiled in a complex game of power and lies in which she can trust no one.
Betrayed and lost, Makarria is forced to shed all pride and discover the true nature of her power as a dreamwielder in order to recreate herself and face the sprawling threat that is the Old World Empire.
EXCERPT
“Hold
on, what do you mean you know what to do?” Caile started to say, but Makarria
ignored him and sprinted off through the tunnel toward the city before the
words were halfway out of his mouth. “Get back here!” Caile yelled, but
Makarria paid him no heed.
Caile
snatched up his weapons with a curse and ran off in the direction of Issborg.
At the edge of the cavern city, he caught sight of Makarria nearly halfway to
the other side—the only movement in the entire city. The Snjaer Firan
were hidden away in their homes and had closed the shutters over every window.
Only the blue daylight protruding through the glacier aboe illuminated the
city. Damn it all, she’s fast, Caile swore inwardly as he chased after
Makarria. When he finally caught up to her at the far end of the city he
grabbed her shoulder and dragged her to a halt, heavily winded.
“Stop.
Wait!”
Makarria
pushed his hand aside and trotted on. “Please don’t try to stop me.”
“I’m
not here to stop you. I’m here to help. Now just slow down for moment and tell
me what it is you think you’re going to do that a sorceresses can’t.”
They
were getting close to the chambers beyond the city now and Makarria slowed to a
brisk walk. “I need to get Kadar into one of the chambers.”
“All
right, that’s a start. What chambers?”
“A few
hundred yards down the corridor on the right, there’s a bunch of caves with
doors.”
“Does
it matter which one we get him into?”
“No.”
“All
right,” he said again. “And what do we do after that?”
“Then I
do my work. Quiet now. We’re getting close.”
Caile
bristled at being shushed. “Slow down then,” he whispered. “We don’t want to
rush headlong into something.”
As if
on cue, a heavy concussion echoed through the cavern.
“I’ve
heard that sound before,” Caile whispered. “That’s sorcerers fighting.” He left
his sword sheathed and instead strung his bow and notched an arrow, remembering
what Talitha had told him about trying to kill sorcerers. Surprise them. Be
unpredictable.
The
sound of concussions and bellowing flames grew louder and more frequent as they
continued on, and before long they could hear voices, although, they could not
make out the words. Talitha’s indecipherable shouts were little more than
guttural moans, while Kadar’s heavily accented words were taunting in their
tone. Suddenly, dark figures appeared before them, and Caile almost let loose
his arrow but luckily held it back at the last moment, realizing it was the Snjaer
Firan warriors who had accompanied Talitha. There were only four of them,
and they all huddled close to the wall at their right.
“We’re
here to help,” Makarria whispered when one of them turned back to see her and
Caile approaching. “Where’s Kadar?”
“Up
there,” the man said with effort, and Makarria and Caile saw that he was badly
burned on one side of his face. “Talitha is trapped on the far side, below the
glacier.”
“Where’s
the rest of your men?” Caile asked. “I thought there were twelve of you?”
“There
were.”
Caile
pursed his lips and pushed his way forward past the four men to peer farther
down the corridor. A torrent of flames spat forward in the distance, and for a
brief moment Caile could make out Talitha’s form huddled behind a stalagmite
twenty yards ahead and Kadar a little farther beyond her. Then the flames were
gone and he saw only shadows again. Caile stepped back safely out of sight.
“He’s got her cornered, and he’s too far away for me to get a clean look at
him,” he whispered to Makarria. “How is it you think we’re going to get him
into one of those caves?”
“I’ll
get him into the open,” Makarria said. “When I yell, start shooting.”
“I
don’t see how—” Caile started to say, but before he could get the rest of the
sentence out Makarria strode forward into the middle of the corridor.
“Kadar!”
Makarria yelled. “Kadar! It’s me, Makarria. Stop, please.”
“Makarria,
no, get back,” Talitha’s voice rang out.
Makarria
ignored her and walked on, fear in her belly. He won’t risk killing
you—you’re too important to him, she told herself, but now that she was exposed,
she wasn’t so certain.
Kadar
peered out from his hiding spot and began laughing an oily, rodent-like laugh.
“It is all right, Makarria. Yes, come to me. I would not hurt you.”
“Leave
the woman alone,” Makarria said. “And then you can have me.” She stopped
parallel to the first of the caves on the right. She saw in front of her the
smoldering bodies of the slain Snjaer Firan warriors but quickly averted
her eyes and kept her attention solely on Kadar.
“But I
can kill her and still take you,” Kadar said.
“Not if
I’m in the way, you can’t,” Makarria retorted, and she stepped forward to place
herself firmly in the path between the two sorcerers. “Go,” she said, looking
back toward Talitha.
“Are
you mad?” Talitha hissed. “You’ll be killed.”
“Just go,”
Makarria told her. “Trust me.”
In the
distance, Kadar laughed again. “Go on. Let the little girl save you for now.”
“Go,”
Makarria said again.
Talitha
paused for a moment longer, then sprang from behind the stalagmite and scurried
back into the cavern behind Makarria toward the others.
“My end
of the bargain is met now,” Kadar said. “Now it is your turn. Come to me.”
“I’m
right here. Come get me.”
Kadar
stepped forward from his hiding spot, and when he spoke there was menace in his
voice. “What is it you hope to accomplish, girl? Your dream powers are weak and
unhoned still. I could burn you to ash or bring that ice crashing down upon
your head before you even close your eyes, let alone dream.”
“Not if
you want me to kill the Emperor, you can’t.”
Kadar
smiled and his black teeth glimmered as he slowly stepped forward. “You are a
clever girl. Too clever for your own good.”
He was
almost upon her now. She waited one breath longer, then turned and sprinted
away. “Now!” she screamed.
Caile
stepped out into the corridor and loosed his arrow. It whizzed by Makarria’s
ear, and Kadar leapt to the side, just narrowly dodging the projectile. He
raised his hands to strike back, but Makarria had changed her course to run
right for Caile, blocking Kadar’s line of sight. Caile fired another arrow over
the top of Makarria, and this time Kadar had no choice but to jump for cover in
the nearest of the chambers.
“He’s
in!” Caile yelled, notching another arrow.
Makarria
skidded to a halt and plopped down on her butt, facing back toward the chamber.
“Keep him in there,” she said breathlessly and closed her eyes.
“I only
have four arrows left—move fast,” Caile yelled, but Makarria was already
halfway in her trance...
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About the author:
Garrett Calcaterra is author of the epic fantasy novel DREAMWIELDER, available from Diversion Books. In addition, he is author of the horror collection UMBRAL VISIONS, and co-author of the mosaic fantasy novel THE ROADS TO BALDAIRN MOTTE.His humor titles include CODE BROWN and A GOOD BREW IS HARD TO FIND. When not writing, Garrett enjoys hiking with his two dogs and quaffing good beer.
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