Blurb:
When elite assassin Jeda
received his assignment to kill a witch and deliver her twin daughters to the
Countess of Berkshire, he had no idea it would be his last. The witch stuns him
with an elemental blast, but not before he's able to throw his knife. When Jeda
regains consciousness, the dying witch is performing a compulsion spell between
him and her daughters.
Now bonded to the girls, Jeda's old life is forfeit. His only thought is to
take the girls and run as far away as he can. He has no idea that the twins are
the ones spoken of in the long-lost prophecy of The Witch Stone. Forces are
gathering: the white witches want to teach them; the black witches want to use
them; the Countess wants her grandchildren back, and the guild has sent their best
assassin to bring them back. Jeda must use all of his skills to stay one step
ahead of them all, but will it be enough to save himself and keep the children
of prophecy alive?
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Assassins-Curse-Witch-Stone-Prophecy-ebook/dp/B006T3HN2A
Excerpt:
PROLOGUE:
The
boy stood in the middle of the room staring blankly at the wall.
Choose well
was all he remembered.
The
room was about sixty paces long and probably half as wide. It was two stories’ high with numerous
oil lamps set along the upper walls that provided more than adequate lighting
for the entire room. A balcony ran
along three of the four walls and provided a means to observe any event
happening below. There was one
door leading in and out of the room, but it was blocked by a large,
well-muscled man dressed completely in black. His eyes were deadpan, like those of a cold-blooded
killer.
The
air was relatively cool, but the young boy felt a drip of sweat run down his
back. He tried to hide his
nervousness beneath a façade of serenity while staring at the wall, but he
could feel the butterflies roiling in his stomach, threatening to unman him.
The
wall the boy stared at contained all conceivable manner of weapons, from short
throwing knives to elegantly curved swords to long-handled halberds with
wickedly curved barbs and spikes.
The boy had to choose something soon or forfeit his chance to test again
for another year. He would not let
this opportunity pass, because this was the day he had trained long and hard
for, the day he had anticipated for the last three years, and the day when he
would finally prove himself worthy.
Today he would test to become an apprentice in the guild of assassins.
The
rules of the test were simple: choose your weapon and fight. Any novice who aspired to test for
apprenticeship had twenty short minutes to fight and draw blood from their
opponent. Whatever weapon a novice
chose to test with would be the school in which they would be apprenticed if
they passed. There were five
schools: Sword, Knife, Axe, Staff, and Bow. The tests were short, brutal, and bloody,
designed to ensure that no one advanced who did not rightly deserve to. Their opponents were fully trained
brothers of the guild who gave no quarter or latitude to the would-be
contenders. Many tested for the
honor, but few passed their first time, and some even lost their lives in the
attempt.
Jeda
had decided many months ago to choose a pair of fighting knives as his weapon
of choice. He was good with
knives, both in hand-to-hand combat and throwing, and liked the way they felt
perfectly balanced in his hands.
He had been steadfast in his weapon of choice until the moment he
entered the room and saw Brother Mave waiting for him. A slight grimace passed over his face,
but he quickly composed himself.
The last thing he wanted was for Mave to see he was scared. Mave was dressed in the traditional,
assassin color of black, but also wore a distinguishable symbol of red, crossed
swords on the bandana holding back his hair. That symbol marked him as a preeminent sword expert within
the guild, second only to the masters in the School of Swords. Knives were excellent, close-in
fighting weapons, but Jeda was not good enough with them to draw blood from a
sword expert like Mave. Now he
stood immobilized, staring at the weapons wall, furiously trying to think of
what he should do next. He knew he
would have to choose wisely if he was to survive this day.
Damn, of all the brothers in this guild, how could I
be so lucky as to get Mave? Jeda
thought sarcastically. He stepped
forward and reached for the weapon he thought he would have the most luck with.
No sense in changing now.
***
Mave
saw the boy look his way and inwardly smiled. He knew the boy was scared, and rightly so. It was not chance that brought him here
today, but a carefully orchestrated scheme to make sure he tested the boy. He felt Jeda was no more than a
third-year upstart who did not deserve the opportunity to test for
apprenticeship. Most novices
trained for five or six years before petitioning to test. Mave was going to make sure that the
boy did not pass. That was as it
should be, for it was Mave who had brought Jeda to the guild in the first
place. He should be the one to put
the boy in his place and teach him humility.
Jeda
finally reached up and took a pair of fighting knives off the wall.
Mave
shook his head at the boy’s choice.
I knew it. The boy may know how to fight, but he
knows nothing of winning.
“Begin,”
said the dispassionate voice of the master-in-attendance judging the test.
Mave
strode forward, closing the distance and eliminating the only advantage knives
would give the boy. Without the
distance to throw them, they were completely useless against swords.
The
boy stood stock-still, visibly trembling as Mave approached. His frozen fear was pathetic and almost
embarrassing. Mave would cut him
slightly with his first blade and knock him out with the handle of his second,
putting a quick end to this charade of a test. Twirling his swords in a deadly dance, Mave felt no sympathy
for the boy. Today’s failure would
set Jeda back at least a year and give him more time to learn proper respect
and modesty, traits Mave felt he was sorely lacking.
The young fool doesn’t know what he’s in for.
As
Mave swung the first blade to catch the boy across the cheek, something
unexpected happened. Jeda dove
forward, under the first blade, and whipped one of his knives at Mave’s exposed
side. Mave deflected the throw
with his second sword. If he had
not been such an excellent swordsman, the throw would have a scored a hit.
Maybe not quite the fool I took him for. Mave spun around swinging the sword in a deadly arc to face the boy as
Jeda jumped to his feet. The swing
cut the boy high on the arm and he cried out in shock and pain. The cut was deep and bleeding heavily,
rendering the arm useless. The boy
went down on one knee, but Mave moved cautiously forward. He would not be caught off-guard a
second time by the boy’s cleverness.
When Mave came within a sword’s reach of him, the boy jumped forward
into a diving roll and threw his second, remaining knife. Mave anticipated the move and easily
deflected the throw, shaking his head at the boy’s stupidity in throwing away
his last means of defense. As he
turned to face Jeda, he realized his mistake. He felt a blade slice through his trousers, burning and
drawing a bright-crimson line along his leg. Jeda had used the second throw to distract Mave from his
true objective: the first blade that Mave had deflected. The boy had used his diving roll to
reach that first blade, left forgotten on the floor.
How did he get that knife so quickly and throw it so
precisely? Mave wondered, looking
down at his bleeding leg.
“Enough. Blood has been drawn by Novice Jeda,”
said the master’s voice from the balcony.
“He is elevated to the rank of apprentice.”
Mave
studied Jeda with a smoldering anger.
He was a good fifteen feet away and was wobbling on his feet from loss
of blood. It didn’t seem possible
that he could have thrown that knife in his condition. Mave knew the boy must have somehow
cheated.
This is not over; no one makes a fool of me.
Reviewer’s Comments:
5 stars: "There were a
few twists in the book that I didn't see coming--which is always a plus. If
you're a fan of fantasy, or just plain ol' good storytelling...grab this one.
It's a keeper!" Amazon customer
5 stars: "Fans of epic
fantasy or good, old-fashioned, high-quality storytelling will all love this
book - highly recommended!!" Amazon Customer
5 stars: "This is an
amazing book. I could hardly put it down once I started. The story is
well-written and engaging, really pulling you into this world that David and
Debra have created...I would highly recommend this read to anyone who loves an
exciting read. Geat job!" Amazon customer
