When Alain Adair dies, it is a brutal death for a brutal man. The townsfolk know who killed him, but they don’t know how. They suspect magic, though no one has the courage to speak the words aloud.
Alain’s young wife, Kora, murdered her husband, although she has no idea how she did so. Suspected of using magic, she flees and seeks refuge in an ancient forest. Unconscious, feverish, and at the threshold of death, her life takes a strange turn; when she wakes she is tethered to Draeon, a rebellious dragon prince. Kora struggles to understand who and what she is while surrounded by creatures known as Fae in a world filled with magic. She and Draeon become intertwined with the nefarious goals of an over-ambitious dragon, Fedelmid, who seeks to gain power at the sacrifice of all.
With an aging dragon historian, two elves, and two dwarves, Kora and Draeon become the unlikely chosen people to venture to the human world to ensure the scheming, power-hungry Fedelmid faces justice. The fate of the Fae, as well as the human race, depends upon their success in stopping him. Their bond and its physical limitations could prove to be an overwhelming challenge to accomplishing this goal.
When Alain Adair dies, it is a brutal death for a brutal man. The townsfolk know who killed him, but they don’t know how. They suspect magic, though no one has the courage to speak the words aloud.
Alain’s young wife, Kora, murdered her husband, although she has no idea how she did so. Suspected of using magic, she flees and seeks refuge in an ancient forest. Unconscious, feverish, and at the threshold of death, her life takes a strange turn; when she wakes she is tethered to Draeon, a rebellious dragon prince. Kora struggles to understand who and what she is while surrounded by creatures known as Fae in a world filled with magic. She and Draeon become intertwined with the nefarious goals of an over-ambitious dragon, Fedelmid, who seeks to gain power at the sacrifice of all.
With an aging dragon historian, two elves, and two dwarves, Kora and Draeon become the unlikely chosen people to venture to the human world to ensure the scheming, power-hungry Fedelmid faces justice. The fate of the Fae, as well as the human race, depends upon their success in stopping him. Their bond and its physical limitations could prove to be an overwhelming challenge to accomplishing this goal.
eBook
Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
Related collections and offers
Overview
When Alain Adair dies, it is a brutal death for a brutal man. The townsfolk know who killed him, but they don’t know how. They suspect magic, though no one has the courage to speak the words aloud.
Alain’s young wife, Kora, murdered her husband, although she has no idea how she did so. Suspected of using magic, she flees and seeks refuge in an ancient forest. Unconscious, feverish, and at the threshold of death, her life takes a strange turn; when she wakes she is tethered to Draeon, a rebellious dragon prince. Kora struggles to understand who and what she is while surrounded by creatures known as Fae in a world filled with magic. She and Draeon become intertwined with the nefarious goals of an over-ambitious dragon, Fedelmid, who seeks to gain power at the sacrifice of all.
With an aging dragon historian, two elves, and two dwarves, Kora and Draeon become the unlikely chosen people to venture to the human world to ensure the scheming, power-hungry Fedelmid faces justice. The fate of the Fae, as well as the human race, depends upon their success in stopping him. Their bond and its physical limitations could prove to be an overwhelming challenge to accomplishing this goal.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781458205476 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Abbott Press |
| Publication date: | 08/17/2012 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 276 |
| File size: | 425 KB |
Read an Excerpt
Soulbound
By Robin Cowan-Daniel
Abbott Press
Copyright © 2012 Robin Cowan-DanielAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4582-0548-3
Chapter One
The man's death was not so horrible a thing. This was the general consensus among the townsfolk. Soft whispers were heard throughout the crowd like the hissing of many snakes. The opinions varied as to the cause of death. Some spoke of an illness, others suggested poison. A few imagined the bully ingesting acid, eating him alive from the inside out. None dared to speak of another suspicion, the suspicion of magic. Those who were unfortunate enough to view the body were now dotted around the yard, hunched over and vomiting. A foulness enveloped the entire village, permeating everything with the stench of decaying flesh. Though the man had only been dead a few hours, whatever the toxin used, it had decayed his body rapidly, causing his corpse to bloat like a yellow slug. The effect matched his personality in life, which was foul indeed.While there were several theories about what artifice had actually killed the man, everyone knew who had killed him. In unspoken accusations, the eyes of the villagers turned to the young woman standing just outside her front door, holding a small child in her arms. Two other young children clung to her dirty skirt. She was tall for a woman and as slender as a willow branch. There was a gracefulness about her that likened her movements to those of a cat. Her long golden hair, which once shone with the radiant kisses of the sun and moon, now seemed dirty and dull. Her vibrant violet eyes had changed to a sorrowful grey-blue. Her plump vermilion lips, once so full of happiness and laughter, had tightened into a permanent frown. Melancholy should be her name, for she wore it like a mantle. This once beautiful woman, haggard decades before her time, was the dead man's wife.
The greatest crime, all agreed, was the crime the dead man had committed against this poor, unfortunate girl. He had taken a delicate flower and crushed it in his fists, bent each petal to his will and created an ugly thing, a weed. From the core of that weed, resentment bloomed, and soon the seeds of hate were sown. It was generally accepted that the wife had taken enough from her abusive husband and put an end to her misery. The weed she had become grew strong in the bitter soil and had finally broken through the stones of her prison to gain her freedom.
Defiantly, Kora glared back at the gossiping villagers. Holding a crying child on her hip, she struggled to keep her wits about her. I suppose I should cry, she thought, but what is the use in false tears. All know I will not morn him. All know I would kill him again and again if I could. The girl holding onto her skirt was not crying either. She stared blankly at her brother, who had grown tired of standing and had begun to play in the dirt.
"When will Orlia return?" she asked.
Kora looked down at the child. "She has gone for a walk, Kelia. She will not return for some time." Maybe never, Kora thought. She envied the girl's freedom. If there were nothing to keep her tied to this miserable place, she would simply walk away too. Despite her stepmother's explanation, Kelia kept scanning the crowd, looking for her older sister. This was a strange night indeed, one that she would come to remember for the rest of her life.
A large woman left the tangled mass of onlookers and walked toward Kora. Her yellow dress glowed like a beacon of hope, and her round face favored Kora with a wry smile.
"Well, this is a bad lot, Kora. Where's the girl?" Rose asked, none too patiently.
"She went for a walk some time ago," Kora replied in barely a whisper.
"Went for a walk? Humph! Ran away more likely." Frustrated, Rose, who was the sister of the dead man's first wife, took Kelia's hand. "Well, let's get you out of this mess then and get you some rest." With her other hand, she grabbed the boy's arm, lifting him up off the ground, and added, "Let's get you and the children cleaned up and get you something to eat. You can stay with me tonight."
Kora obediently followed Rose to her house, which was small but comfortable. The earthy scent of dried herbs desperately tried to mask the foul air. Rose gathered up the children and directed them to a wash basin, and then took the youngest child from Kora's arms. Kora stood motionless, waiting for orders, as was her custom since coming to live in the village of Amber.
Rose began getting bowls of stew on the table while the smallest child clung to her skirts. Once the children were washed and seated, Rose told Kora to do the same, and she did as she was told. The coolness of the water startled her. She looked down and saw ribbons of blood flowing from her hands, filling the bowl. Kora gasped and squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them, the water was clear again. She realized in that moment that her hands would never be clean again. She had killed someone. Though not aware of how she killed her husband, she knew it was her act that had done the deed.
Rose led Kora from the wash basin to the table and sat her down across from Alain. The boy looked so much like his father. Little Alain was watching the steam rise up from the stew bowl, admiring the many shapes that curled before him. Kora smiled at his innocence as Rose called them all to begin eating. And they did so, in silence.
Later, once the children were asleep, Rose began the conversation that she had been dreading. Seated in front of the gray stone fireplace, Rose studied Kora for a moment before asking her the question.
"Was it you that killed him, or was it the girl?"
Kora looked down at her hands and saw a flash of scarlet upon them. "It was I, Rose," she whispered.
"Now Kora, are you sure it was you that done it? If it was the girl, no one would blame her for it. He was a brutal man in his own house. Those of us that knew him best knew that. If you're covering for the girl, tell me now and let us settle this matter at once." Rose looked at the younger woman with sympathy.
Kora stood then and looked at Rose. "No, it was I that killed him. I do not recall how, but I know I was the one that ended his life." Kora turned then, intending to walk to the door. Suddenly, the room had grown too hot, and she felt suffocated and afraid. But then, she felt Rose's hand slide into her own and pull her back to her chair.
Rose looked at Kora intently and said, "Okay, let's get all of this out now. He is dead and can harm us no more. I know how he treated you, girl. I know he grew tired of you fast once the child he married grew into a young woman. I know too that he had been hounding Orlia for months now."
Kora looked up quickly, trying to judge if she had heard correctly what the plump woman was telling her. Rose's deep, warm laugh filled the room.
"Child, I have known Alain Adair longer than you have been alive. He was so charming to my sister until she got into their wedding bed. Then his charm slid away like oil and the snake he really was came forth. I suspect he even had a hand in her death. I've been keeping my eye on Orlia for some time. As you may recall, I told Alain that she should apprentice with me in herblore. And as you recall, he scoffed at me. Laughed in my face. 'Orlia is too pretty to be a herbswoman,' he said. 'Her future will be better than that, and a good marriage will come of her beauty.' "
"It was my fault," Kora proclaimed in a harsh, bitter whisper. "I was not a good wife to him. I hated his voice, his smell, even his footfalls as he walked. I hated his touch most of all. I always felt so unclean after his touch was upon me." Kora shuddered at the memory, but said nothing more.
Rose waited a few moments for the girl to collect herself and then asked, "How did you kill him, Kora? Did you use poison or acid? I have seen the workings of many herbs, but nothing to do the damage you did to that man."
Slowly, Kora looked up, and she looked frightened. "I don't know, Rose. I just got angry and it happened. I saw him hurting Orlia and I felt a surge of energy, like the way the air feels during a lightning storm, and it flew out of me. Orlia screamed and then Alain began swelling up like a water sack. This ... this awful smell came from his skin, a smell like rotting flesh." Kora closed her eyes, shuddered at the memory, and then continued. "Orlia said I was glowing as if a light shined only on me, and that the rest of the room seemed to go dark. I felt his life leave his body. I felt him die."
Rose stood abruptly, a look of shock and horror on her face. She looked at Kora as though she were a viper poised to strike. Magic, she thought. It is forbidden by penalty of death, and a painful death at that. The murder of this man is no crime in comparison to the use of magic. Only the foulest of races used the magic. No human could manipulate the power of sorcery. She looked down at Kora, studying her long slender fingers, her almond shaped eyes, and the slight point at the tips of her ears. She is a half breed of some sort, Rose thought, by the gods, the fool brought a demon spawn to our village and was too stupid to realize his folly.
Kora looked up at Rose, who was backing away from her, and asked softly, "Why are you frightened of me now, Rose? I would never hurt you. You have only ever been kind to me." She reached out that too slender hand to Rose, but Rose recoiled.
"You need to leave my house now. The children will stay with me, as they are not yours anyway. Just get out now and I will give you until morning before I report you. That should give you time to get out of reach from the mobs. I am only doing this because you saved my sister's children from a life of misery with that man. And out of my own hatred for him, I am repaying you for doing something I have longed to do myself." Rose then pointed toward the door.
Though Kora was still confused and scared, she left the warmth and comfort of Rose's modest cottage and walked swiftly across the lane to her own larger home. As soon as she entered the now empty house, she gagged from the lingering smell from Alain's bloated body, and then moved quickly to the loose floorboards where her dead husband had kept his precious coin. Once she had gathered the coins, she frantically packed a sack of supplies and hurried back to Rose's cottage, where she dropped several coins at the front door, enough to secure the children a good life. She then turned and ran toward her independence as the sun began to tease the night from the sky.
* * *
Kora had been traveling for hours, and the sun now bore directly down on her. Though the air was cool with the first touch of autumn, the sun was brutal in its assault. The cobblestone paths of the village lasted only a quarter of a mile beyond its borders and were far behind her now. The road was dirt and very dusty from the lack of rain. Kora vaguely considered the possibility of creatures surrounding her, from a docile rabbit to fierce wolves, or the horrible goblins of legend. She felt totally and utterly alone. She wondered if Orlia had walked this same path the night before, or if she had taken a different route toward her own freedom. She tried not to think of the dangers the girl faced alone in the world because she too was now alone. Instead, she thought of her family, of the parents and brother that she would never see again. She could not imagine their horror in discovering that she was a murderer. At the thought, Kora shuttered once more, recalling Alain's brutal death.
The slight breeze rustled the leaves in the trees beside her. Despite the season, they held onto their green. The breeze felt so wonderful to her sun-battered skin. It carried the varied scents of nature with it, a wholesome and rich scent. Nothing of the village of Amber could be seen now, only the ancient forest of Silvanti surrounded her. She had heard legends of this mythical and mammoth place, legends of strange creatures, of ghosts who sap the living of their lives, and echoes of sprits from wars fought eons ago. Kora understood the fear this dark forest evoked as it loomed over her, and as she approached a fork in the road, she also understood either path represented its own dangers. She stopped and debated her situation. She weighed the odds of her choices: to stay the course on the main road or take a path through the forest. Foolish choice it might seem to a young woman traveling alone, but oddly, she felt some protection in the forest. She had no real fear of what could be lurking in its depths, only the childish fear of superstitious tales and legends. She no longer had any real fear of death. She looked down at the blood-stains that only she could see upon her hands and realized that maybe death would be her beginning. She had no will to live. She had lost her life long ago when her father shook Alain's hand in agreement to their marriage.
Kora decided on the forest path, and as she entered the tree line, she looked back for one fleeting moment and said a silent goodbye to the world that had abandoned her, to Rose, and to the children. Then, she turned and began walking into the canopied depths of the unknown.
The path was barely visible beneath the brush and overgrowth. She stumbled more than walked as she looked in vain for a clearing. She needed to find water. It had been nearly a full day since she'd had a drink, and her mouth felt as if it was filled with cotton. Her old dress, now soiled from the road, had begun to tatter along the bottom. She chuckled at the notion of her wraith-like appearance and stopped long enough to braid her hair, but wisps fell along her face almost as soon as the braiding was completed. Soon the path disappeared altogether and she found herself wrestling with briars and thick foliage. Now, her hands truly were blood-stained, and she stopped to pull several thorns from her palms. There was not a sound, not a bird, not an insect, but she did not notice the quiet. She never once stopped to consider the unnatural stillness of the forest. She focused only on putting one foot in front of the other and the laborious job of moving branches.
Monolithic trees turned day into night as the forest grew denser. Although not pitch in its darkness, during the daylight hours, the ancient trees of Silvanti kept the forest in an eerie sort of twilight. Even though it was still hours before nightfall, Kora was near exhaustion, and she decided to take refuge in a tree. Her search for water would have to wait. She found a tree with good low climbing branches and began to ascend. Only until she felt she was safely off the ground did she notice the stillness around her. It was a strange stillness, as though all of the life had simply vanished from the forest. The only sound was of a slight breeze rustling the leaves in the canopy of the trees. Kora, not being familiar with the wilderness, did not know what it meant, but she instinctively knew something was not right. And then she saw it.
The shape was enormous. It looked like a painted black bowl turned upside down. She first thought it must be a giant tortoise, but she had never heard of one so big. Against all her natural reasoning, as if she were being pulled by some unnatural curiosity, she moved as quiet as she could to investigate. Climbing higher, she slowly crossed the limb until she was out as far as she could go without it breaking. But the bowl-shaped creature sank into the brush and was gone before she could get a better look. Her heart leapt in her throat, and for the first time, she was truly afraid. She climbed back down to her perch and suddenly the forest came alive at once. Birds, insects, even the scattering of small creatures on the forest floor could be heard. Kora knew the mysterious creature had gone. She tried to sleep, but the forest sounds now seemed thunderous around her, and her growing thirst robbed her of rest. To take her mind off of her surroundings, Kora began to reflect on her life and family.
* * *
How happy she had been as a child. Her father spoiled her and her mother praised her. Darian, her brother, adored her, and she him in return. As a child, she was confident and strong-willed, demanding and selfish, and spoiled—all the things a rich merchant's daughter should be and more. But her curse, which for so long she had thought a gift, was her beauty. It would bring about her downfall.
She had been told all of her life that she was a beautiful child, and once the moon had given her the gift of womanhood, she was called a beautiful woman. More than a few of her brother's friends adored her. She could not help but smile at the irony. What a different life that was and what a different person she had become.
Her thoughts turned bitter at the memory of when Alain first came to her house. He was such a handsome man, well spoken and well respected by the other merchants. He was a good business man, and all who traded with him grew in bounty. Kora's father was a rich merchant and head of the guild in their village. His counterpart in Amber was Alain Adair. He was the connection that her father wanted. Several other merchants were courting Alain, and Kora's father could not allow that.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Soulbound by Robin Cowan-Daniel Copyright © 2012 by Robin Cowan-Daniel. Excerpted by permission of Abbott Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.