As you may or may not know, I've been writing the rough draft of my second book in the Defenders of Light series, Shadow's Light for quite a long time (if you don't believe me, just look at the post before last. Yup, that's right, it was written in 2012 and brags about me getting my first book published). This journey has been a strange one, filled with fear on my part. You wouldn't think I'd be afraid, having already written one book (aside from The Scroll, which I still need to edit and try to get published with a traditional publisher), but I am. You see, I've only heard good things from people who read Hunter's Quarry, and I've been afraid that I would let them down and myself as well. So what probably should have been a one-year process turned into two. Well, the time for fear is over! I have completed my rough draft of Defenders of Light: Shadow's Light!
For those of you who follow my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ParmleyBooks), you know I promised that I would post the third chapter of Shadow's Light once I completed the rough draft. Without further ado, here it is, warts and all:
Chapter 3: The Darkened Soul
Derth
watched Keplar throw another log on the fire.
The bright flames warmed the cabin they were camping out in. He could have gotten up to help, but he
didn’t. There was no purpose in
anything. He had no purpose.
The door
slammed open, and Broggen entered, carrying two dead rabbits by their hind
legs. “I hate winter,” he muttered,
tossing off his gloves and coat. His
lank black hair only partially covered the scar that ran across his
forehead. “There’s never enough game.”
“Not like
you’re one to know anything about hunting animals anyway,” Keplar said
wryly. He threw another log on the
fire. “They’re too cunning for you.”
“Shut up,”
Broggen snapped. He threw the rabbits
down on the table next to Derth. “It’s
your turn to skin them.”
Derth
continued staring at the fire. The
dancing flames entranced him. He
followed their movements carefully as they lulled his mind towards the abyss. He’d stopped paying attention to Broggen long
ago—ever since his encounter with the girl.
Now he knew Broggen was inconsequential, just as he was. There was no point in pandering to his
wishes.
“Hey!”
yelled Broggen. He slammed his hand on
the table. Derth didn’t flinch. “Don’t ignore me when I give you an order!”
“Just clean
the rabbits, Broggen,” said Keplar in a bored tone. “Leave the kid alone.”
Broggen
whirled on Keplar. “I will not leave
that whelp alone. We’re starving and out
of work and money, thanks to him. If he
hadn’t become mental at the last moment, our assignment would be done and we’d
be on to find our next client. Instead,
we’re stuck squatting in this hole, hunting rabbits to survive. We should kill him and throw his body to the
wolves.”
Derth’s
cold grey eyes flashed up and caught Broggen in their stare. He stood, turning the full force of his power
on Broggen. Let him feel fear. Let him cower
in my presence. Broggen’s face
paled, and he fought against Derth’s power.
But as Derth stepped forward, Broggen stumbled back into the wall where
he stood trembling. “That is not a wise
choice of words,” Derth said in a low voice.
“Do not think that I am powerless or that I would hesitate to kill you
if you even started to raise your hand against me.”
Derth let his power radiate towards
Broggen, forcing the intense fear onto Broggen with even greater strength. “In fact,” he whispered, “I think it might
give me pleasure.”
“Derth!” Keplar barked.
Derth’s concentration broke, and
his power evaporated. Broggen slumped to
the ground, breathing heavily. Derth
tilted his head towards Keplar.
“Broggen’s right,” Keplar admitted
grudgingly. “With winter upon us and
this assignment hanging over our heads, we’re out of luck and money. Unless you happen to know something that will
change our luck, we’re stuck here until spring.
So, do those echoes of yours have any good information?”
Derth’s stomach clenched at the
mention of the echoes. Sometime,
somehow, Derth had become connected to that girl Kristine—their target. And, though Derth hated to admit it,
something about the girl intrigued him, made him feel things he’d never felt
before and question the unquestionable.
Somehow, she felt…precious to him.
The thought of doing something to endanger her—it sickened him. But that was irrational. She was the target. She was what the client wanted. And Derth had made a contract to bring her to
the client.
The echoes whispered to him,
fragments of thoughts and conversations Kristine was having. Derth closed his eyes, focusing on the
whispers, making sense out of chaos.
“Elwenarien,” he said.
“Elwenarien?” Keplar said,
disappointed. “That’s a pretty big
place, an entire country, and it’s crawling with Elves.”
“Anduniae,” said Derth. He opened his eyes.
“Anduniae?” Broggen said. He stood.
“I’ve heard rumors, something that can help us. Plus, we might be able to make a little money
on the side. Anduniae, we can work
with.”
