 |
Home | Extracts | Blog | Contact | MuseItUp |  |
|
Extract from Book One Released: 2nd September 2011 Hunted by assassins, haunted by ghosts, homesick for a planet light-years away, Caleath’s quest is to survive and escape.
Around him, floating debris stood testament to the death throes of The Albatross and her battle with Nature’s spite. “Balls of a hairy goat!” The oath came with a surge of elation. Salvation lay beyond a final line of breakers. Caleath’s determination returned when he saw the fractured spar of the mizzen mast dumped on a narrow beach. He renewed his hold on a waterlogged barrel and struggled against the storm’s spent fury. He gulped air before the next wave struck. The crashing foam tore the barrel from his grasp. Without support, the weight of his companion’s body dragged him underwater. After keeping the blacksmith alive for so long, Caleath refused to lose him within sight of land. Panic drove adrenaline through pulsing veins and gave him the strength to heave his burden to the surface. Despite salt water trying to fill his lungs, he remained afloat until the maelstrom dumped him onto solid ground. Slumped on a beach beneath driving rain, he could not relax. With each successive wave, he lugged his companion’s body higher onto the shore. A greedy undertow dissolved the sand beneath his feet, but Caleath held ground against Nature’s fickle temper. Dragging air into tortured lungs, he waited for the next incoming surge. Having survived the shipwreck, he hoped saving the life of his companion might serve toward providing redemption for the dark morass of his past. A tumble of rocks offered protection from the wind. In their care, Caleath examined his shipmate. He cleaned a calloused finger, gritty with sand, and searched for a pulse or the telltale warmth of living flesh. Life pumped beneath clammy skin, and the smith still breathed in ragged spurts. With a sigh of satisfaction, Caleath relaxed. Eyes closed. Fatigue plagued every cell of his body. To succumb to dreams before dawn meant facing the ghosts that haunted his nights. Instead, he mulled over the task ahead, concentrating on how he would escape this accursed planet. Only then could he focus on revenge. With a curse, he vowed to punish the man who abducted him and left him stranded on this world where sorcerers and slavery existed. Anger warmed his blood while he contemplated how Ephraim would die. * * * * *******************************************************************************
I don't want to spoil the story, so I will refrain from putting extracts from the continuing story of Exiled. The four books are all part of the same gripping tale.
If you would like to read more
of Exiled:Autumn's Peril |
||
 |
 |
CHAPTER
ONE
Scene One