Dreamwielder by Garrett Calcaterra
(The Dreamwielder Chronicles, #1)
Published by: Diversion Books
Publication date: September 29th 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
(The Dreamwielder Chronicles, #1)
Published by: Diversion Books
Publication date: September 29th 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Synopsis:
In a world shrouded by soot and smoke, young Makarria has literally been forbidden to dream.
Legend has foretold the demise of Emperor Thedric Guderian at the hands of a sorceress with royal blood, and the Emperor has made it his legacy to stamp out all magic from the Sargothian Empire in favor of primitive coal fired smelters and steam powered machines. When Guderian’s minions discover a Dreamwielder on a seaside farmstead, a chain of events forces Guderian’s new threat—the young Makarria—to flee from her home and embark upon an epic journey where her path intertwines with that of Princess Taera, her headstrong brother, Prince Caile, and the northman Siegbjorn, who captains a night-flying airship.
Dogging their every step is the part-wolf, part-raven sorcerer, Wulfram, and Emperor Guderian himself, a man who has the ability to stint magic and a vision to create a world where the laws of nature are beholden to men and machines. Only by learning to control the power she wields can Makarria save her newfound companions and stop the Emperor from irreversibly exterminating both the magic in humans and their bond with nature.
DREAMWIELDER will be available in eBook and print editions on SEPTEMBER 29, 2015.
Excerpt from Book 1, Dreamwielder
“Hold on, what do you mean you
know what to do?” Caile started to say, but Makarria ignored him and sprinted
off through the tunnel toward the city before the words were halfway out of his
mouth. “Get back here!” Caile yelled, but Makarria paid him no heed.
Caile snatched up his weapons
with a curse and ran off in the direction of Issborg. At the edge of the cavern
city, he caught sight of Makarria nearly halfway to the other side—the only
movement in the entire city. The Snjaer Firan were hidden away in their
homes and had closed the shutters over every window. Only the blue daylight
protruding through the glacier aboe illuminated the city. Damn it all, she’s
fast, Caile swore inwardly as he chased after Makarria. When he finally
caught up to her at the far end of the city he grabbed her shoulder and dragged
her to a halt, heavily winded.
“Stop. Wait!”
Makarria pushed his hand aside
and trotted on. “Please don’t try to stop me.”
“I’m not here to stop you. I’m
here to help. Now just slow down for moment and tell me what it is you think
you’re going to do that a sorceresses can’t.”
They were getting close to the
chambers beyond the city now and Makarria slowed to a brisk walk. “I need to
get Kadar into one of the chambers.”
“All right, that’s a start. What
chambers?”
“A few hundred yards down the
corridor on the right, there’s a bunch of caves with doors.”
“Does it matter which one we get
him into?”
“No.”
“All right,” he said again. “And
what do we do after that?”
“Then I do my work. Quiet now.
We’re getting close.”
Caile bristled at being shushed.
“Slow down then,” he whispered. “We don’t want to rush headlong into
something.”
As if on cue, a heavy concussion
echoed through the cavern.
“I’ve heard that sound before,”
Caile whispered. “That’s sorcerers fighting.” He left his sword sheathed and
instead strung his bow and notched an arrow, remembering what Talitha had told
him about trying to kill sorcerers. Surprise them. Be unpredictable.
The sound of concussions and
bellowing flames grew louder and more frequent as they continued on, and before
long they could hear voices, although, they could not make out the words.
Talitha’s indecipherable shouts were little more than guttural moans, while
Kadar’s heavily accented words were taunting in their tone. Suddenly, dark
figures appeared before them, and Caile almost let loose his arrow but luckily
held it back at the last moment, realizing it was the Snjaer Firan
warriors who had accompanied Talitha. There were only four of them, and they
all huddled close to the wall at their right.
“We’re here to help,” Makarria
whispered when one of them turned back to see her and Caile approaching.
“Where’s Kadar?”
“Up there,” the man said with
effort, and Makarria and Caile saw that he was badly burned on one side of his
face. “Talitha is trapped on the far side, below the glacier.”
“Where’s the rest of your men?”
Caile asked. “I thought there were twelve of you?”
“There were.”
Caile pursed his lips and pushed
his way forward past the four men to peer farther down the corridor. A torrent
of flames spat forward in the distance, and for a brief moment Caile could make
out Talitha’s form huddled behind a stalagmite twenty yards ahead and Kadar a
little farther beyond her. Then the flames were gone and he saw only shadows
again. Caile stepped back safely out of sight. “He’s got her cornered, and he’s
too far away for me to get a clean look at him,” he whispered to Makarria. “How
is it you think we’re going to get him into one of those caves?”
“I’ll get him into the open,”
Makarria said. “When I yell, start shooting.”
“I don’t see how—” Caile started
to say, but before he could get the rest of the sentence out Makarria strode
forward into the middle of the corridor.
“Kadar!” Makarria yelled. “Kadar!
It’s me, Makarria. Stop, please.”
“Makarria, no, get back,”
Talitha’s voice rang out.
Makarria ignored her and walked
on, fear in her belly. He won’t risk killing you—you’re too important to
him, she told herself, but now that she was exposed, she wasn’t so certain.
Kadar peered out from his hiding
spot and began laughing an oily, rodent-like laugh. “It is all right, Makarria.
Yes, come to me. I would not hurt you.”
“Leave the woman alone,” Makarria
said. “And then you can have me.” She stopped parallel to the first of the
caves on the right. She saw in front of her the smoldering bodies of the slain Snjaer
Firan warriors but quickly averted her eyes and kept her attention solely
on Kadar.
“But I can kill her and still
take you,” Kadar said.
“Not if I’m in the way, you
can’t,” Makarria retorted, and she stepped forward to place herself firmly in
the path between the two sorcerers. “Go,” she said, looking back toward
Talitha.
“Are you mad?” Talitha hissed.
“You’ll be killed.”
“Just go,” Makarria told her.
“Trust me.”
In the distance, Kadar laughed
again. “Go on. Let the little girl save you for now.”
“Go,” Makarria said again.
Talitha paused for a moment
longer, then sprang from behind the stalagmite and scurried back into the cavern
behind Makarria toward the others.
“My end of the bargain is met
now,” Kadar said. “Now it is your turn. Come to me.”
“I’m right here. Come get me.”
Kadar stepped forward from his
hiding spot, and when he spoke there was menace in his voice. “What is it you
hope to accomplish, girl? Your dream powers are weak and unhoned still. I could
burn you to ash or bring that ice crashing down upon your head before you even
close your eyes, let alone dream.”
“Not if you want me to kill the
Emperor, you can’t.”
Kadar smiled and his black teeth
glimmered as he slowly stepped forward. “You are a clever girl. Too clever for
your own good.”
He was almost upon her now. She
waited one breath longer, then turned and sprinted away. “Now!” she screamed.
Caile stepped out into the
corridor and loosed his arrow. It whizzed by Makarria’s ear, and Kadar leapt to
the side, just narrowly dodging the projectile. He raised his hands to strike
back, but Makarria had changed her course to run right for Caile, blocking
Kadar’s line of sight. Caile fired another arrow over the top of Makarria, and
this time Kadar had no choice but to jump for cover in the nearest of the
chambers.
“He’s in!” Caile yelled, notching
another arrow.
Makarria skidded to a halt and
plopped down on her butt, facing back toward the chamber. “Keep him in there,”
she said breathlessly and closed her eyes.
“I only have four arrows
left—move fast,” Caile yelled, but Makarria was already halfway in her
trance...
AUTHOR BIO:
Garrett Calcaterra is author of the epic fantasy novel DREAMWIELDER, available from Diversion Books. In addition, he is author of the horror collection UMBRAL VISIONS, and co-author of the mosaic fantasy novel THE ROADS TO BALDAIRN MOTTE. His humor titles include CODE BROWN and A GOOD BREW IS HARD TO FIND. When not writing, Garrett enjoys hiking with his two dogs and quaffing good beer. Learn more at www.garrettcalcaterra.com
Author links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Author links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
That cover is just gorgeous!!
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