Thursday, March 8, 2018

Berserker (Rise of the Papilion, Book 3) by Dyane Forde

Release date: March 8, 2018
Subgenre: Epic fantasy

About Berserker

 

“Love…can destroy, it can build, or it can do both at once…”

With the Papilion’s whereabouts unknown, the Shadow pursues its plan for Marathana’s destruction. In control of the Northern tribes and strengthened by allies in the Deep Southernlands, the Shadow prepares to unleash its ultimate weapon, the berserker.

Jeru’s sudden reappearance reveals the presence of a powerful, new will at work. Blessed by the Lightbearer and supported by a ragtag group of survivors and unexpected allies, Jeru prepares to lead the small army into enemy territory.

As war breaks, Kelen and Jeru clash one last time. One brother seeks to destroy, the other to save. The strongest will prevail, sealing Marathana’s ultimate fate.

Excerpt:


 “Shut up!” Gareth commanded. He’d lifted his hand to smack his friend, but something in the sky caught his attention. A falling star? There weren’t many stars out yet. But what else could be moving across the sky like that, and so fast?
“Bolo, have you seen anything like that before?”
“It’s a falling star, nothing else. And how are you thinking of that when—"
“Because I am trying not to think about my broken foot and getting eaten by nocturnals—or ghouls! —while you’re carrying on like a girl! Find something to brace the foot! I want to get a better view of what’s going on. In any case, we can’t stay out here in the open.”
“What you need is to get home! And no, dammit, there’s nothing around here but snow!”
Strangely, the more Bolo complained the more Gareth’s resolve to stay grew. “I came all this way to see the ruins and by the gods, that’s what I will see! Just…check my pack. I might have some cloth that can be shredded into strips. You can bind the foot to stabilize it and then I can lean on you. We’ll be fine.”
“You’re crazy.”
“We came all this way…”
“What then? After you’ve seen what you came to see, what do we do?”
“Then you can leave me to my fate. Tell my father what I did and maybe they’ll see past my disobedience to the bravery that drove it.”
Bolo shook his head, but a smile curved his mouth. “I doubt that. You’ll always be considered nothing but a coddled thirdson, troublemaking pest.”
“Depends on what we find. But I can still hope. Let’s go.”
Bolo sighed and after a moment or two of struggling, did what Gareth asked and finally, the two managed to stand with Gareth leaning heavily on him. They took a few staggering steps, each one drawing groans from Gareth. Bolo finally let him down a few minutes later to scour the area for sticks or anything to better brace the foot with, but the plain was raked clean of anything useful. Panting and sweating, Gareth signaled for Bolo to come back to help him up. Bolo jogged back over and bent down to him.  
The boys screamed when the ground began to shake. At first, the vibrations were slight, like the little quakes that sometimes rumbled through the north when sleeping volcanoes stirred with life, but they quickly intensified into tremors that nearly knocked Bolo off his feet. The clouds above pinked and deepened to purple, swirling in the moonlit sky like wraiths driven by a livid wind and, oddly, the sky began to brighten. A vortex of wind swooped down towards them, yanking at their clothes and whipping their hair.
“What—?”
Bolo pointed to the sky. The falling star changed course and dropped like a rock, hitting the ground with a thud, compressed air spewing gravel and dirt. Gareth wiped his face clean, his skin smarting from the unexpected assault. The boys hugged each other, praying to the Ice-gods for protection. Tears poured from their eyes. Gareth could barely see. 
The dust finally cleared, drifting to the ground. Outlined in the strange purple light, a bare-chested man stood with his back to them. Long, black hair waved in the air above his shoulders, as though teased and lifted by invisible fingers. The man breathed hard, gasping from exertion. A thin, white mist coated his body, rising into the air like tongues of white fire and crackles of what looked like lightning crisscrossed his body before dissipating.
“Did he…did he just fall out of the…sky?” Bolo whispered.
The man stiffened and half-turned towards them. The boys gasped.
“His eyes…” Gareth choked out, gripping Bolo’s arm in a death grip.
The eyes, indeed. 


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About the Rise of the Papilion trilogy:

 


About Dyane Ford:

Forde's love of writing began with an early interest in reading and of words in general. She was amazed at how linking words together in different ways had unexpected and pleasing results on others. This sparked a life-long desire to write all types of things, from short stories, novels, flash fiction, poetry. To Forde, every story or book represents new challenges. Berserker, book 3 of the Rise of the Papilion trilogy, is Forde's third published book. The Purple Morrow and Wolf's Bane, books 1 and 2 respectively, are available on Kindle and CreateSpace.

 

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