My Sweet
Saturday Sample is a morsel from my latest release, an epic fantasy romance, Lost Volumes: Enchanted
Bookstore Legend Three. This is the third of a 5-part series.
Available at Amazon.
In this scene, Lyra and Cullen are in the dense forest of Silva Caliga, filled with talking trees and tree keepers. The Lady of the Forest, Ysmena, is a guide for the couple. They are there in search of a path through the portal at the top of the great master World Tree, leading into the foreign land of Aria. They've heard rumors that one of the missing Books of Dragonspeir is there. Those ancient books contain magic which the Alliance needs to overthrow the Dark Realm.
As the lantern
light of the Lady of the Forest fell on surrounding trees, they lifted their
roots and crept a few yards away.
Ysmena bowed her
head, then lifted her staff high. “Blessed World Tree, I respectfully request
your counsel.” Her light shimmered along his bare branches, dotted with swollen
leaf buds.
He remained
still, but the Lady of the Forest didn’t waver.
Birds and
chipmunks darted in all directions on limbs of nearby trees, but none perched
in the World Tree. Their chattering escalated to a frenzy.
Despite the
chaos, Ysmena resembled a statue. The features of her face formed hard angles
as though they were chiseled. The hems of her gowns never quivered.
Following her
example, Lyra stood as still as possible. Although Cullen’s forearm brushed
against her shoulder, she didn’t dare extend her aura out of her body to
communicate with him.
He kept a tight
grip on his wizard’s staff and his gaze fixed on the World Tree.
Trying to
understand what was happening around her, Lyra’s clairvoyant power pulsed under
her skin, and much more ebbed just below. She sensed frequencies given off by
hundreds of lesser magicals. She felt the humming of early spring
wildflowers—trout lilies, hepatica, and trilliums.
Movement at the
ground attracted Lyra to roll her eyes down. A patch of wake-robin trilliums
rotated their triplets of petals like miniature pinwheels.
She glanced back
to the World Tree, but saw no change.
Cocooned
caterpillars sent waves of energy. Lyra sensed their eagerness to break free
and flutter as butterflies around Ysmena’s lantern that called to them.
Without motion,
Lyra’s others senses became more keen. The rich, damp smell of organic debris
tickled her nose, and she repeatedly fought back sneezes.
After what
seemed like ten minutes, she detected electric vibrations of fluid moving
upward inside the World Tree. It seeped into his branches bathed in Ysmena’s
aura. Slowly, his twigs began to wave, clench and release. “Lady of the Forest,
you wish to consult with me?”
Ysmena relaxed
her shoulders. She lowered her staff and planted its stumpy wooden base into
the soft loam.
Lyra’s breath,
which she hadn’t been aware she was holding, came out with a soft whoosh.
Ysmena arched
her neck and upper back. She looked high on his trunk where furrows of bark
formed thick, close brows. “These two friends seek information about Aria.
They’re needing to find a missing Book of
Dragonspeir. Can your knowledge help them?”
The brows of
bark rose, allowing deeply set eye sockets to project outward and rotate onto
the couple. Fissures comprising his lips undulated up and down, and his sap
flowed upward more quickly.
Lyra clamped her
hands together to keep herself from addressing him.
“Friends of
Silva Caliga to be sure, but why should I help? Who are the two of you?” the
World Tree asked in a gruff voice.
Lost Volumes: Enchanted Bookstore Legend Three
About the series~
Lost Volumes: Enchanted Bookstore Legend Three
When Lyra McCauley learns residents of Dragonspeir’s
Alliance are suffering with a deadly plague, she doesn’t heed the warnings of
her fiancé, wizard Cullen Drake, to remain safe in her human world. After all,
she’s the present Scribe—one of five strong women in her ancestry who possessed
unique magic, each destined to protect the Alliance against the evil Black
Dragon of the Dark Realm. With Cullen dependent upon Alliance power to maintain
his immortality, the stakes are doubled for Lyra.
She leaves her college teaching and puts herself at risk for
the community afflicted by black magic. To find a cure, she and Cullen travel
into the vile, lawless underworld of Terza to strike a bargain with an expert.
Their efforts further enrage the Black Dragon, vowing to decimate the Alliance
and avenge the murder of his heir.
Lyra must secure the three lost volumes of the Book of Dragonspeir. Written by the
three earliest Scribes, each book contains energy. Possession of the entire set
will enable overthrow of the Dark Realm. Following clues into dangerous lands,
Lyra and Cullen seek those volumes. His assistants, Kenzo the tiger owl and
Noba the pseudodragon, prove invaluable aids. Only if they succeed, will the
Alliance be safe and Lyra reach closer to the immortality she needs to live a
life with Cullen.
About the series~
The Enchanted Bookstore Legends
are about Lyra McCauley, a woman destined to become one of five strong women in
her family who possess unique magical abilities and serve as Scribes in
Dragonspeir. The Scribes span a long history, dating from 1200 to present day.
Each Scribe is expected to journey through Dragonspeir, both the good and evil
factions, then draft a written account. Each book contains magic with vast
implications.
Lyra was first introduced to
Dragonspeir as a young girl, when she met the high sorcerer, Cullen Drake,
through a gift of one of those enchanted books. Using its magic, he escorted
her into the parallel world of Dragonspeir. Years later, she lost that volume
and forgot the world and Cullen. These legends begin where he finds her again—she
is thirty-five, standing in his enchanted bookstore, and Dragonspeir needs her.
When Lyra reopens that enchanted
book, she confronts a series of quests where she is expected to save the good
Alliance from destruction by the evil Black Dragon. While learning
about her role, Lyra and Cullen fall in love. He is 220 years old and kept
alive by Dragonspeir magic. Cullen will die if Dragonspeir is taken over by the
evil faction…Lyra becomes the Scribe.
I'm
looking forward to seeing what sweets some of my fellow authors on this hop
will serve. Be sure to check them out on the main blog page for Sweet Saturday
Samples.
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