Curse of Kin: Changling | Ari Harper
Expected October 30th from Lycaon Press
Sully has been struggling to find
his place in the group while Nera and Bones fight to keep him safe from those that
are hunting him as they did his forefather before him, the last Irish wolf.
When they discover who it is, the race is on to allow him to change but protect
him at all costs.
To complicate matters, a new family move in next door to Nera and she fears the worst. As they introduce them to the locals, Bones and Nera try to work out why they seem different.
In the meantime, Bones is invited
for dinner and her mother falls under his charm and tries to match make, a
situation Nera wants to avoid at all costs. With the battle to save Sully
foremost in her mind, the constant niggling from her mother is the last thing
she needs.
About the author:
Ari Harper never wanted to grow up. To offset the limitations of aging
ungracefully, she created her own set of unique worlds where she can be and do
whatever she wants.
Gods, witches and demons surround Ari while she spins her magic, doing mainly what they tell her to do. Given a chance, she prefers to work amongst chaos, which is good because she is constantly surrounded by children, all clamoring for attention. Some of them end up in her stories, some of them even get to die grisly deaths or be cast away to another realm.
Read on for an excerpt from Changling!
I lunged first. Bones stepped forward to
meet my cut and blocked me, twisting my sword down toward the ground, his eyes
taunting me. We retreated and came at each other again. This time it was Bones
that struck first, the power of his strike running down my arms. I thrust him
away and lunged at him again. For what seemed like an eternity to me, we
battled each other. Neither of us was willing to finish until we drew blood.
I had blocked my mind to Bones before we
started with the swords. I refused to give him the advantage of getting at me
that way. This time it was by the blade and I knew I was getting better. I was
damned good if I was any judge.
I drew back with a gasp as something flew
past my eyes. The tip of Bones sword was too close to my face for comfort. I
should have been taking more notice and not thinking about other things. I
forced him back again and attacked him with more spirit.
His quick rush of breath made me start. I
hear the thud of feet as Jasper ran over, calling out.
"Bones, Bones. Are you hurt
badly?"
"No, Jasper. Merely a flesh
wound," he said, gritting his teeth and holding onto his shoulder. The
blood was running freely from a deep gash down his arm. It ran through clenched
fingers before dripping onto the grass. His face had paled at the blow and I
was mentally kicking myself for not taking more notice of what was going on.
Bones hadn't been concentrating and I had been fighting by instinct alone and
blocking off everything around me.
I looked over at his face. He had gone
white as a sheet and was starting to tremble. His dark eyes were huge as he
stared at me. "I am so sorry, Bones. I didn't mean it," I whispered.
"It was my fault. I should have been
concentrating more than I was." He winced as Jasper poked around at the
wound.
"I think you need some stitches in
this, Bones," Jasper said frowning.
"No. You can deal with it here. It's
nothing to fuss about, you'll scare the children."
"Fine. Into the kitchen with
you." Jasper pushed him toward the house. "Nera, can you come too
please. Sully, Brie, would you take the children into the library while I clean
this up, then we will bring in some tea? I think we'll all be ready for it by
then."
"Sure, Jasper. If that's what you want."
Sully took Nat and Roman by the hand and led them inside with Brie and Peter
watching as they went.
"Nera, Nera, snap out of it,"
Jasper said. "This is nothing we haven't had to deal with before. Come on
inside and give me a hand will you."
I picked up the swords and followed them
into the kitchen where Jasper pushed Bones into a chair at the table and went
to the pantry to gather his medical supplies. I lay the swords on the counter
and sat opposite Bones.
"It was my own fault, Nera,"
Bones said.
I sat still, my eyes fixed on his arm. I
grimaced as Jasper poured iodine over the cut. It was deep and still bleeding
profusely.
"I know better. I should have been
more careful and not let my concentration lapse. A lesson well learned, I
think." He winced as the iodine bubbled.
"No. It was my fault, I wanted to hurt
you," I said. My voice caught and a shot of heat rose on my cheeks as I
confessed to him. "I really did and now all I can think of is that I was
wielding the sword and I've actually drawn blood with it. I keep seeing your
face the last time you were hurt."
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