Weekend Reads: The Demon King (Lauricia)

 Greetings, all!

I hope all is well with you and yours! As I type, I'm enjoying a much-needed rain, the third-ish in a chain that recently broke a months-long drought with consistently record highs. Most of the trees, bushes, and grasses have been dry brown for most of the summer. Now, thanks to three days of afternoon showers, they have green tops! It's kind-of bizarre. Needless to say, I have avoided the scorching dryness by staying inside my air-conditioned home and reading. My most recently discovered treasure is this weekend's recommended reading: The Demon King (Seven Realms Book One) by Cinda Williams Chima.

Within the Seven Realms, the Queendom of the Fells is divided between the wizards, the Spirit Clans, and the Fellisians. Each group has scorned and despised the others for over a century, since the Breaking. Antagonized by the economic and political strains that accompany the civil war in other realms, tempers in the Queendom flare among the groups, ratcheting tensions to the breaking point. Raisa ana'Marianna, daughter of the clans and thirty-seventh descendant of the warrior queen Hanalea, longs to unify the peoples of the Queendom, but all of her efforts are blocked by Lord Gavan Bayar, the High Wizard of the Wizard Council who seems to be scandalously more than her mother the Queen's advisor.

Han Allister is a reformed Streetlord known for his silver cuffs, wide bracelets worth a fortune if he could only remove them. In order to stay off the streets, Han spends most of his time among the Spirit Clans, hunting for game and herbs he can sell in the Fells. It's a modest living, but it works well enough until wizards come to the Clan's lands, where they are forbidden. Han's encounter with Micah Bayar, son of the most powerful wizard in the Queendom, incites a series of events that go from bad to worse and cause Han to wonder if he wouldn't have been better off on the streets.

The Demon King is the first book in a four book series that is a refreshingly different story about trust and love in the face of insurmountable odds. This series takes place in an original cultural setting that blends the usual medieval trappings with tribal elements of cultures like the Indigenous Americans. Raisa is a strong female lead who is unique in her lack of reactivity. Instead of believing what she's told and reacting to unfounded revelations, she consistently insists that accusers provide evidence for their claims and only proceeds when she knows the facts of a situation, which I found very satisfying. The story is also masterfully woven across the entire series. I normally take small breaks between the books in a series, but I devoured all four of these books back-to-back. You will, too, so make sure you have all four books before you start.

If you read any of this series, I'd love to know what you think. Leave a comment or connect with me on Facebook or Instagram.

Until next time, happy reading!

The City Between Series by W.R. Gingell | Weekend Reads (Lauricia Matuska)

 Pet lives alone in the house where her parents were murdered.

Of course, “Pet” is not her real name. It’s more of a job title, really. But when the knowledge of someone’s real name can grant power over that person, it’s better to keep that name to yourself. Especially when dealing with arrogant fey, eternally adolescent vampires, and the other denizens of the realms Behind and Between.

Four years after her parents were killed, Pet discovers another body hanging, horribly mutilated, outside her bedroom window. While she tries to avoid discovery inside her house, two fey and a vampire begin investigating the murder outside. This leads to them buying Pet’s house without knowing that she still lives inside and is exactly how she becomes the human pet of three other-worldly detectives.

Greetings and happy New Year’s Eve! I’m not one for resolutions -- I try to make improvements on an as-needed basis and for me they are, alas, regularly needed. However, I can agree that one thing I resolve to do every year is read good books. So, as we celebrate another transition from old to new, I’m thrilled to recommend that your first read for the new year be The City Between Series by W. R. Gingell. This series is a collection of urban fantasy detective stories set in Australia. The entire series consists of ten novels and two novellas that tell the story of a snarky mostly eighteen-year-old who is thrust into the politics of the worlds Behind and Between as she tries to make sense of and resolve the murders of her parents. You don’t have to read the companion novellas in order to understand the books that follow them, but I recommend that you do because the events that occur in them are referenced frequently in the subsequent stories. (Read Cloudy With a Chance of Dropbears after Book 5 and read All the Different Shades of Blue after Book 6.)

These stories drew me in because Pet is so delightfully snarky. She is also relatable in many ways, and, while naive about much, she is very capable. Her interactions with the other characters in the series are witty and droll enough that I laughed out loud several times. While the series is extensive, the story lines are masterfully woven together at a pace that kept me engaged throughout the series. I even thought I’d take a bit of a break between the books so that I didn’t become bored, but I found myself jumping into them one right after the other, instead.

If you enjoy paranormal / urban fantasy with a hint of mystery and a bit of snark, then I highly recommend you begin your reading for 2022 here. I’d also love to hear your new year reading recommendations, along with other questions, observations, and remarks about all things related or relatable to Lands Uncharted, in the comments below.

As ever, it has been a delight to be among the authors who blog here. We hope you have a wonderful 2022 filled with grace, love, and peace. From all of us here to all of you, happy reading!

Story Snippets: Guardian Prince by Lauricia Matuska (Lauricia)

Greetings, all and happy fall. Only THE best season of the year. I adore the way the light takes on a richer tone and the air takes on a mysterious smell, and the mist... having grown up in a land-locked, semi-arid desert, I can't tell you enough how I adore misty mornings. I hope that you're finding this time of year just as enchanting.

Here's a snippet of my most recent release, Guardian Prince (book two in the Ceryn Roh series), for you to enjoy during these magical autumn days. When you've finished, I'd love to know what your favorite season is and why. Tell me in the comments below! 

        Sabine expected to walk into complete blackness. Instead, she found the cave faintly illuminated by a multitude of green luminescent specks draped like a canopy across the cave ceiling. At first, she compared them to stars—although she knew she was now inside the cliff and could not see the sky, she could think of no better way to describe them. Upon closer inspection, however, she noticed the lights were moving, squirming over one another, like—
         “Glow worms,” Koen stated, his head craned back to study the ceiling. “Gaoth will be beside himself when he learns of this.”
         “He eats them?” Sabine guessed.
         Koen chuckled dryly. “He can’t resist them though they make him very ill. His droppings glow for days.”
         Sabine grinned. Ahead of her, Gaelan snorted.
         A thought of Bree twinged Sabine’s heart. She wondered how the dog was doing without her, then reminded herself that Bree had Gaoth for company. Besides, Sabine would only be gone for a few sennites. The dog would be fine.
         For some reason she couldn’t explain, Sabine had expected the labyrinth to be constructed of carved stone, so the ruggedness of the path they now stood on surprised her. The glow worms were so numerous that they provided enough light to see by, but only just. Even so, everyone agreed it would be best to not use additional light, yet, in case it alerted the Rüddan to their presence. Because of this, Sabine stumbled several times as her toes got caught in shadow-concealed holes.
         Sabine checked the cuff often, worried that she would misjudge the distance between the twists and turns of the path. Fortunately, the glow on the armband seemed to fade behind them as they followed the trail, indicating where they were as they moved. Sabine was grateful for this, because the strain of peering through the gloom was making her head throb and her eyes ache so that when they came upon the first turn, she almost walked right past it.
         “Turn here,” she called, directing the others off the main path.
         “Are you sure?” Gaelan furrowed his brow. “We’ve already passed two branches just like this.”
         Sabine nodded. Displaying the armband, she explained how the path was fading as they followed it.
         “We’re here,” she pointed a fingernail to the spot where the black path behind them met with the red glow before them and turned right. “And we go there.”
         Gaelan nodded but said nothing before stepping into the new tunnel.
         Sabine led them like this for a while, constantly checking the armband and indicating turns as they came upon them. The others followed without much comment.
         Then the path ended.
         “What now?” Gaelan asked as they faced a wall that blocked any forward movement on the path.
         “The cuff says to turn right again,” Sabine said, looking from the cuff to the wall and back again.
         “I’d love to,” Gaelan remarked. “Would you like to tell me how?”
         “Look around,” Koen said. “Labyrinths are full of concealed paths. You just have to find them.”
Sabine’s face burned, the heat of embarrassment scalding her cheeks. What would she do if she had led them to a dead end? Could she have misread the armband, maybe misunderstood how it worked? She scanned the wall in front of her desperately, so focused that she almost missed the clue that revealed the hidden path Koen had suggested they find.
         It was the breath of cold air that caught her attention. She had stumbled yet again as she moved to inspect a new section of the wall and had paused to massage her ankle when the wisp of cold passed her face.
         “Did you feel that?” she called softly to the others.
         “Feel what?” Koen said as he drew near.
         “A small wind, as if from outside.”
         “Wind?” Gaelan’s voice carried across the path. “In a cave?”
         “Maybe a cross tunnel,” Aodhan countered.
         Sabine surveyed the wall doubtfully.
         “Don’t expect it to be obvious,” Koen cautioned. “The easy paths are often the deadly ones.”
Sabine nodded, not really sure what she was looking for until she felt another puff of cold air. Following the direction it came from, she examined the shadowy crannies and nooks until she found an opening that turned out to be much wider than it had initially appeared.
         “Over here,” she called to the others. “This crack is wider than it looks. If we go single-file, we can fit through it easily.”
         “The glow worms stop here, so we’ll need a light,” Aodhan said as he peered over her shoulder. “A dim one, though. The Rüddan will discover our presence soon enough without our announcing it.”
A moment later an orb of light blossomed in the darkness. Hovering near Koen’s shoulder, it was just bright enough to illuminate the path clearly. Sabine was glad for this since the new tunnel was just as rugged as the one they were leaving.
         The air grew colder as they walked. At first, Sabine welcomed it. The chill refreshed her as it cut through the still, dank cave air. Soon, however, it grew chilly. Not long after that, it became uncomfortable enough for Sabine to draw her cloak around her. Unfortunately, everything she wore was still damp, so the chill soon sank into her core.
         “Human, does that map of yours indicate any new turns?” Gaelan asked, apparently unfazed by the drop in temperature.
         Sabine checked the armband. “Not for a while yet.”
         “Then that gate is going to be a problem.”
         Squinting into the gloom ahead, Sabine envied her companions’ superior eyesight. She continued forward, reluctant to admit she saw nothing. “There’s no mark on the cuff to indicate any sort of barrier, but that’s not necessarily significant. It could be the map only marks distance and direction.”
        “Let’s hope so.”
         Just then, Sabine spied the gate, as tall and as wide as her former home in Khapor. Small black mounds dotted the ground before it, splayed randomly in a half-circle array. Yes, she agreed silently, wrinkling her nose as she caught a whiff of a charred, acrid smell. Let’s hope so, indeed.

Story Snippets: Guardian Prince (Lauricia)

Greetings once again, all!

I hope you are well and well-read. We are getting A LOT of rain where I live, but my house is high and dry, so I'm not too worried. Plus, it's great reading weather, and school's almost out for the summer, which means A LOT of reading time for me!

Today I'm sharing a snippet from my recent release, Guardian Prince (book two in the Ceryn Roh Saga). As you know, I'm a huge fan of fantasy, but it always vexed me that a deity-based magic system could be ultimately controlled by mortals. I always that thought that if mortals received magical ability from a deity, that deity should have the authority to decide when and if the mortals get to use it, or else why was he/she the deity? In Guardian Prince, I chose to explore what a deity-based magic system would look like if the deity whose power is being used not only could but did say, "No." This excerpt is one of Sabine's introductions to that kind of magic system. I hope you enjoy!

    Sabine followed a dry stream bed until she came upon a large stone jutting out into the path. Water marks stained the lower half, revealing the gradual recession of the river that had once flowed around the rock. The top was relatively smooth and flat, so Sabine sat upon it, settling into the safe, familiar comfort of being alone in the woods.

    She had not been there very long when she heard the snap of a twig. Sabine tensed, suddenly alert, but the noises of the animals around her continued unchanged, so whatever had moved nearby was not unfamiliar to the surrounding animals. Since this meant it was not an Aethel, she relaxed.

    “You have good instincts,” Koen said as he emerged from behind a nearby tree, “but you dropped your guard too soon. Although the forest knows me, that doesn't mean I'm safe for you.”

    “Koen,” Sabine greeted the Dryht tersely. Frustration flared within her, stirred to new life by his intrusion. “What are you doing here?”

    One corner of the Dryht's mouth curved wryly. “Communing with the forest. It's what Dryht do. Mind if I join you?”

    Before Sabine could say no, he sat beside her on the rock.

    “How soon do you expect to hear from Gaoth,” Sabine asked, her tone more terse than she intended. 

    “The bird is fast, but he gets distracted. A juicy berry here or a lovely she-raven there, and business is a lost priority. I don't expect him until morning.”

Sabine nodded, but grimaced inwardly. So much for that topic. “So...you knew my friend Mariel?” 

    Koen nodded. “She did much to fight for the freedom of your people. She was not strong in her use of magic, but she was diligent. She worked hard to master her ability.”

    Sabine shook her head. “I never would have thought it.”

    “That was rather the point,” the Dryht countered. “What about you? Your mentor believed you held even more potential than your friend. Shall we find out?”

    “What, now?”

    Koen glanced around, exaggerating the action as if to make a point. “You have pressing business elsewhere?”

    “All right,” Sabine consented. She truly wanted to say no, but it was clear the Dryht was not going away. “How do we begin?”

    "Technique,” Koen stated simply. “The last time we spoke of this, we discussed how all magic comes from one of two sources: the will of Torian or of Nymhon, depending on whom you serve. So. Now you learn how to tap into that power.”

    “Let me guess,” Sabine said when she recognized the Dryht's silence as a prompt. “A prayer? A chant? An incantation?”

    “All of those are options,” the Dryht conceded, his tone reluctant, “but each of them is time consuming. It's really just a simple matter of the will. You focus on what you want to happen, will it to occur, and it happens.”

    “As long as Torian allows it,” Sabine amended, recalling the night of Aodhan’s rescue. She had certainly wanted the arrowhead out of his shoulder, but nothing had come of it.

    “Yes, there is that. Still, calling on your will is much faster than any other option and is preferable in any number of situations.”

    Sabine was about to ask for an example, but she remembered when she had first used magic to rescue Danelle's baby from being still-born and kept quiet. As she considered it further, she could imagine many instances in healing when time made all the difference. “I suppose this method is the easiest to learn as well?”

    “Actually, no. The benefit to prayers, chants, and the like is that they help you narrow your focus and pinpoint your will. It takes much discipline to focus your will without them, because you can be easily distracted by everything around you. You must be able to block everything else out.”

    That shouldn't be a problem, Sabine mused, since she had been blocking out distractions all her life: her mother's criticism and negativity, her sister's snide comments. Blocking things came easily to her. 

    “Sabine,” Koen prompted. “Are you still listening?”

    “Yes,” she replied, chagrined at the way she had let her thoughts wander. So much for focus.

    “Then watch.” The Dryht held out his hand. A moment later a butterfly rested in his palm, opening   and closing its wings a few times before fluttering away.

    "Did you make that?"

    Koen chuckled and pointed to the opposite bank of the dry riverbed. “No. Creation of something from nothing is reserved only for Torian and the Creator God. I simply moved it from that flower over there.”

Weekend Reads: Melanie Dickerson and the Importance of Jellybeans (Mary)

 Pretty much everyone who knows me knows I love the Medieval era. Those who know me beyond passing acquaintance know that I'm slightly obsessed with it.

Those who know me very, very well, know that during our teens, my best friend and I actually kept journals of "our lives" that we wrote as though we were living in the Medieval era. That's how deep my obsession goes. Granted, we were wildly inaccurate historically speaking, creating instead some kind of weird, mostly fictional, Medieval/Renaissance/sheer fantasy alternate universe in which the drama ran outrageously high and we both spent the majority of our time either being kidnapped or proposed to--sometimes both, for good measure.

We spent hours every week--sometimes hours per day--pouring our dramatic little souls onto the pages of those journals, and looked forward with giddy excitement to seeing each other every Friday, when we could exchange journals, read each other's adventures and exploits from the previous week, and add to them our own adventures for the next week.

Looking back at those journals now I think "Oh my goodness, I want to die..." but at the same time, there is still an appeal to living in that world, as much as I blush to admit it. The castles and knights and gorgeous clothes and pageantry and coats of arms and tournaments...but with enough fantasy thrown in to break the historical rules whenever I need or want to, to conform to the story I'm telling.

I think that's why I love the work of Melanie Dickerson so much.

(My most recent Melanie Dickerson read)

Melanie Dickerson's books are a relaxed blend of Medieval historical fiction and fairy tale/fantasy, but in my opinion they don't fit neatly into either category. There are too many anachronisms to really call it historical, but they are too historical to really qualify as full-fledged fantasy, either.

And I think that's part of what appeals to me. Dickerson's books are fun, relaxing, easy reading, and don't require a lot of thought to follow--the kind of books that I like to call "jellybean reading."

You can't live a healthy lifestyle if all you ever eat is jellybeans--they aren't going to power you through a 5k or boost your immune system or keep you satisfied all day at work--and in the same way I don't believe that you can have a balanced, well-rounded literary diet if all you ever read is Melanie Dickerson.

But boy, jellybeans sure taste good.

 If you want a little something sweet and enjoyable (and let's be honest, jellybeans are just cute to look at), if you want something with a variety of flavors but the same basic form and format, if you're feeling down and need a sweet, colorful little pick-me-up, nothing quite hits the spot like jellybeans.

I know people who won't touch a sugary snack like jellybeans, and I know people who won't read books like Melanie Dickerson because they're "fluff." But I would argue that, just as jellybeans can have an important cheering-up effect, "fluffy" reads can be an important part of a literary diet.

Sometimes I'm just too tired to read nonfiction or heavy, "serious" literature. Sometimes I'm sad and don't want to read anything emotional or that deals with super heavy topics. And, I'll be honest, sometimes I get nostalgic about living in a Medieval fantasy world with my best friend, and just want something to remind me of that.

Literature doesn't exist only to educate and challenge us. Literature also exists to comfort, to console, to be a friend, to help us relax, to just have fun. Different books and different authors fulfill different purposes with their work, and who's to say that the jellybeans you use to cheer up and have some fun aren't as important to a balanced, varied diet and lifestyle as an 8-ounce steak or a spinach salad you use to build up your muscle and get some serious work done?

Weekend Reads: The Near Witch by V. E. Schwab (Lauricia)

Greetings, all!

As I’m writing to you this month, Texas is emerging like a burrowing mammal from our great Icepocolypse. The sun is finally shining in a clear sky, and the temperature is finally scheduled to rise above freezing. Those of you in the north may scoff, but we southerners are simply not prepared for this type of weather. As a meme I saw phrased it, “I love that no one in Texas owns actual snow clothes. It’ll snow and you’ll see everyone outside in mismatched pajamas and a hoodie.” Not to mention four layers of socks on our hands for gloves. It just doesn’t make sense to own clothing for weather that usually occurs only once in a decade or so!

But enough of the weather. We’re here to talk about books you need to read. For this weekend, I recommend The Near Witch by V. E. Schwab.

In the village of Near, the winds on the moors sing a haunting song. It’s best not to listen too closely, though, because bad things happen to those who do. Like the boy Jack, whose mysterious death led to the mob hunt and murder of the Near witch two generations ago.

Lexi knows the story, but still the wind calls, its haunting tune trying to tell her something if only she would listen just a little closer. She can’t let the wind distract her, though, because the children of Near are disappearing, whisked away from their beds during the night. Lexi has to find out why, or her little sister could be next.

The Near Witch is one of those stories that contains everything I love about the fantasy genre: mystery, magic, a touch of romance, and an able heroine I can relate to. It’s a “quiet and strange” story, in the author’s words. Quiet and strange in the style of Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones and Neverwhere and Stardust by Neil Gaiman. Quiet and strange in the way that I am most drawn to in a story.

I don’t remember how I found this book, but I am supremely glad that I did, and that I bought the hardback version because it’s going to have a long life on my shelf of treasures. I hope you adore it just as much.

Until next time, happy reading!

Story Snippets: Guardian Prince (Lauricia)

Welcome back to Lands Uncharted and another installment of our Story Snippets posts. We hope you are enjoying this new addition to our blog as much as we are enjoying bringing them to you.

I am glad to present another excerpt from my upcoming release, Guardian Prince, and to announce exciting news:

 

Guardian Prince will be released on Amazon in only nine days, on September 24, 2020!

 If you’re an ebook reader, the digital version is already available for pre-order on Kindle, and the paperback will be available soon. Until then, I hope you enjoy this preview of the sequel to The Healer’s Rune.

 

Writing Snippets: A Deleted Scene (Lauricia)

Greetings and welcome back to Lands Uncharted. I am thrilled to be able to introduce you to one of our new topic categories: Writing Snippets. Here you will find odds and ends from the works of the authors who blog with Lands Uncharted.

For those who don’t know me, my debut novel is The Healer’s Rune. It is the first book in a trilogy and was published long enough ago that the second book is due soon! The Healer’s Rune is a story about Sabine Rhyonselle, a Human who is tired of her people living as slaves to the fey Rüddan in everything but name. But the ban on magic use keeps Humanity indebted to the Rüddan, whose superior strength is the only thing that once protected them from being annihilated by the Aethel. At least, that’s what Sabine has always believed. When she learns otherwise, she must overcome centuries of prejudice and lies, forge an alliance between two enemy races, and find the location of a powerful talisman in order to break the chains that bind Humanity to the Rüddan. Along the way she learns a dangerous secret about herself that could get her killed.

The Writing Snippet that I have for you today is a deleted scene from the second book in the series, titled Guardian Prince. There is so much about this scene that I love, but it just didn't work for the direction of the chapter I had it in. This is why I'm thrilled to share it here with you. And while I don’t  have a release date yet, I do have a cover! The excerpt begins after the cover pic. I hope you enjoy this taste of book two. I'd love to hear your comments below!

By the time Sabine woke the next morning, the sounds of busy activity filled the camp. Rubbing the sleep from her face, Sabine rose from her pallet, stretched, and stepped out of her tent...

...into the hustled activity of a camp being torn down at a rapid pace.

“Sabine,” Tayte said, his manner brusque as he handed her a hunk of cheese and a blush-pink apple, then began pulling up the stakes of her tent. “Eat quickly. It’s time to go.”

Glancing around for Bree, Sabine polished the apple against her cloak. “What's happened?”

“The Dryht's raven has brought a message.”  Tayte finished with the stakes and began winding the cables that had held the tent taut, meticulous about the details despite his obvious haste. “The portal gate has fallen.”

Sabine gaped, the apple half-raised to her mouth. “When?”

“During the eighth watch. They sent the bird back as soon as the portal was breached.”

Sabine bit into the firm apple, its juicy tartness registering dimly as she chewed and observed the activity of the camp. Sabine's tent, the last one standing, would be down soon.  To the left of the camp Gaelan and Kyarr were saddling and loading the horses while Koen brushed the ground with a fallen limb, stirring up the forest undergrowth with the branch's twiggy limb and obscuring the more obvious signs of the group's overnight stay. Unable to discern any way she could help, Sabine did as Tayte had suggested and ate her food.

They mounted and rode out a few moments after Sabine finished, Gaelan and Aodhan in the lead and Kyarr and Koen bringing up the rear. They rode as briskly as they could along the narrow path, and Sabine worried for Bree, but Gaoth stayed close to the dog, as if guarding her. Sabine wondered what the bird could actually do if Bree got lost, but figured that, since Gaoth always found Koen, the two animals would find a way to make do.

Half a watch after they broke camp, it began to rain. Light and patchy at first, it soon collected into an icy downpour. Sabine raised her hood, even though she expected the rain to soak through her cloak quickly, but noted that the cloth was not actually absorbing any of the water. Rather, the droplets beaded up and rolled off as they hit the soft red fabric, as if the cloak were magically water-repellant. Curious about how that worked, Sabine reasoned it must be something all the races except hers knew about, for everyone else seemed to be benefiting from the water-repellant cloaks, as well.

Still, Sabine's forearms and lower legs were uncovered and the water was cold. She draped her cloak as best she could but only succeeded in covering more of her mount than herself. Still, the horse didn't seem to mind. It even sighed subtly, as if grateful for the small amount of relief.

A short while later the rain intensified and changed directions, blowing directly into Sabine’s face. The horse seemed to have had enough, for it turned its head and pulled sharply against the reins. The movement startled Sabine, but she tugged instinctively against the animal, correcting its course.

The horse complied briefly but soon yanked against the reins again. Sabine was more alert this time, so her reaction was well timed, but as she resisted the horse's attempts to turn away from the rain, she noticed Tayte correcting his mount, as well. He looked in her direction and smiled grimly, glanced down at his horse, then shrugged.

Sabine wondered how Diera would manage if her mount responded to the rain in the same way. As if to answer her question, Diera's horse pulled to the left, away from Amala's. The princess's handmaiden grabbed for Diera's reins, but Diera motioned her away. Instead of pulling against the horse, she allowed it to turn into the direction it was already pulling toward. Rather than stopping halfway, however, Diera continued to turn the horse until it faced forward once again.

“We're not going to get very far this way,” Tayte yelled over the rain.

Sabine nodded her agreement, but Tayte could not have seen her, for he had urged his horse forward until he caught up with Aodhan and Gaelan. The three halted and huddled in a conference.

“We can't stop,” Gaelan said as she and the other two ladies caught up to them. “I don't like pushing the horses, and I certainly don't enjoy being out in a storm like this, but we don't have any choice. Now that the Rüddan Emissary has broken through the portal, she won't be that far behind. This storm is mild compared to the blizzards she grew up with in the north—it's not going to slow her down.”

Sabine shifted her leg, trying to avoid being mashed as her horse pressed into the huddle. Amala tugged her mount away but had nowhere else to go, since she was blocked on the other side by Diera.

Koen and Kyarr caught up to them. Kyarr joined Gaelan and Tayte in the discussion of possible options, but Koen only peered around the rim of his cloak's hood, examining the dense wood around them.

“Perhaps I can help,” he said to no one in particular  Dismounting, he walked to the largest tree beside the path, a towering maple that soared so high its crown was obscured among the branches of the other trees. Gently, almost as if asking permission, he place both hands flat on the rough trunk and bent his head, as if listening.

Sabine cold not tell what the Dryht was doing, but a short while later the tree's branches began to stir. The tree looked as if it were swaying in a stiff wind, but the direction and intensity of the rain did not change. The limbs of the maple brushed against those of the other trees to its left. Soon, those trees began to sway, as well. They, in turn, reached to the trees on their left, as well as those across the path from them.

As the third ripple of trees began to sway, Koen removed his hands from the maple and returned to his horse. The stately tree leaned after him, as if it would follow, until its limbs arched over Sabine and the rest of the group.

The relief from the rain was almost instant. Although a fine smattering of drops still found their way through the branches now arched over the path, the intensity of the downpour was greatly diminished. Sabine stared in wonder as the trees along the path cascaded in a slow, graceful wave, bending to form a leafy tunnel.

“They will cover us,” Koen said as he remounted, “but we should not tarry. Although they bend, it is a great effort.”

“Tarrying was not something I had in mind,” Gaelan said, staring at the limbs of a cedar that trembled subtly over his head. Backing his horse out of the huddle, he turned it around and resumed his position at the head of the group.

Sabine fell into place with the others, awed by the Dryht's magical display. Although the rest of the group seemed to take it for granted, Sabine felt as if she had just witnessed something sacred. She knew it was silly, but she wished she could thank the trees.

Once everyone had ridden a few steps farther along the trail, Sabine turned in her saddle to look again at the maple Koen had touched. She saw it rising gracefully back to its upright position, limbs quivering softly as it settled into place once more.

*     *     *