Since I got back from Realm Makers in July, I’ve been working on book two of The Victor’s Blade trilogy. I thought it’d be particularly daunting, but it’s been quite the surprising experience.
For one, moments I thought would be difficult to write have actually come relatively easily (as long as I stay focused… more on that at a later date, I’m sure). Whereas some scenes I thought would be easy, well… haven’t been!
The characters are, as always, keeping me on my toes. And there’s so much happennnning, you guys! I can’t wait for you to read it.
Well… maybe a couple sneak peeks won’t hurt. đ
This particular excerpt has a concept I’ve already revealed in an excerpt I posted a while ago. See if you can spot the part I mean!
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Photo by swapnil vithaldas on Unsplash
âWhat do you mean, heâs the only one who can stop the Dark?â Isalaina snarled.
Zaelor sighed, running his hands through his hair. They didnât have time for this!
Ignoring her for the moment, he stooped, dusting his fingers along the ground. But not even his fatherâs or Hawkeâs training could get this rocky earth to talk.
So he turned to the bodies of the fallen Scourge, ever wary of Isalainaâs eyes piercing the back of his head. âWe need to figure out where theyâre headed.â
Isalaina growled in disgust but made no further protest. Even with all her questions, she had to agree this was the priority.
âSurely they must return to their leader,â Emarella suggested.
Zaelor glanced up from his work with a sigh. Time or not, the girls werenât going to let this go. Heâd have to track and talk at the same time. âTo Maddokar the Dark,â he corrected.
Emarella wrinkled her nose at this reply. âBut how could he survive? Hundreds of years of ZelmĂ©on history state Maddokar was assassinated by a ZelmĂ©on, a hero of the war!â
Zaelor hesitated. âEver heard of Arin of Ănari?â
Her tilted head and confused look said no.
âArin was son of the man who forged the Victorâs Blade, Lexirous. Jaraninâs ancestors,â Zaelor explained while examining blade wounds in the Scourge and blood spatters on the ground. âHe reported fighting Maddokar the Dark some fifty to sixty years after your assassin had allegedly killed him.â
Emarella scoffed. âSo one faulty report makes my peopleâs history a lie?â
âSo you have time to talk about ancient history but not to answer my questions,â Isalaina grumbled immediately after.
Zaelor waved his hand, frustration quickly rising alongside his fear. âGive me a minute to explain, both of you!â He snapped.
He traced his fingers along the trail of a few streaked bloodstains. Theyâd been scuffed by footfalls: someone backpedaling.
Resting his hands on his knees, he glanced back up at Emarella. âIt wouldnât make sense for your assassin to lie. The truth would have come out immediately; Maddokar wouldnât have wanted his troops to think he was dead. You said yourself, the results of the assassination were palpable: the VĂĄdigĂłns fell into a state of chaos; it turned the tide of the war.
âIf anything, the VĂĄdigĂłns wouldâve spread word that Maddokar had survived. But they didnât. Everyone believed Maddokar was dead.
âBut Arin had no reason to lie, either. This wasnât revealed in some public proclamation, with hopes heâd become some legend. It was in private correspondence to a trusted friend. No one was mourning Ănariâs loss; at least not publicly. People considered the place punished by Adonai, even back then.â
âSo neither man had reason to lie,â Emarella nodded, âbut both could not be right. So Arin made a mistake; he killed the wrong person.â
âI donât think so.â Zaelor traced his finger along the ground, following the trail. The blood was getting fainter. âThink about your people, Emarella. Think about the abilities they have.â
She was getting just as exasperated as him. âWhat does that have to do withââ
âNow think about the VĂĄdigĂłns, Maddokar and his people.â Zaelor stopped in his tracks, tapping the ground. âTheyâre no unique race; just corruptions of your people, right?â
He knew he was. âDo they have abilities like yours?â
At last he seemed to be getting through; or at least getting her to think. Emarella considered his questionâor her response to itâfor a moment. âThey have⊠abilitiesâŠâ she finally conceded, âBut theyâre nothing like our own. VĂĄdigĂłns are practitioners of dark magic, forbidden by Adonai. It grants them great powers of many forms: one of the reasons our war against them has gone on so long.â
Zaelor rose, waving Emarella and Isalaina over to the place where heâd stopped, the ground inexplicably clear of dead bodies. âThen doesnât it stand to reason Maddokar has an ability too? That, perhaps, he can raise himself from the very dead?â
âBut how could heâ?â
âI donât know how,â Zaelor replied, âBut itâs probably the same way one of our Scourge friends up and disappeared into thin air, just like Elun said.â
He stepped back, giving the girls a clear look at his discovery: a circle burned into the ground, a perfectly round ring that looked blacker than the darkest ash heâd ever seen. It was warm to the touch and still gave off thin wisps of smoke, and it stank: pungent like sulfur.
The girls stared at the ring. Isalaina still looked unsure, confused. But Emarellaâs eyes widened with shock and then squinted in disgust.
It was all he needed to confirm his suspicions.
âAnd if Maddokar can bring himself back to life,â he finished, âthen the only way to kill him for good is to follow Lexirousâs legendary words, his so-called âprophecy.ââ
Isalainaâs eyes sparked with realization. âJaraninâs favorite story⊠The one where Lexirous said a great evil would come, and that⊠thatâŠâ
âThat âonly by moi blood shall thâ Dark be slain,ââ Elun muttered behind them. He winced, gingerly tapping the bump on his head.
Emarella turned to him and pressed her hand against his temple, her hands glowing green as she worked to heal his injury.
âHe didnât mean we had to use his blood though,â Isalaina murmured.
âHe meant his lineage,â Zaelor nodded. âAnd that creates a very big problem.
âJaranin is the last one alive in that lineage. Maddokarâs exterminated them all.â
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[Excerpt from The Victor’s Blade: The Blade; modified to avoid spoilers. All content subject to change.]
From Him, To Him
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