by Sharon Hinck
He picked up my hand and outlined a circle in my palm. Then his hands traveled to my face and he stroked back strands of my lank hair.
I probably looked terrible with the shapeless, rough-woven tunic that someone in Lyric had given me, skin sallow from weeks of imprisonment, not to mention the new scar on my face.
I pulled away. “I need a bath.”
He frowned. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
“And I’m hungry. Are there any microwave dinners left? That spaghetti smelled good.”
He held my chin. “All right. I’ll heat up some supper for you and let you get changed. But make it quick, okay?”
Warmth curled up under my heart and purred.
In the shower, I used some of Karen’s best conditioner. I would have preferred to soak for an hour in a froth of bubbles, but I didn’t like being away from Mark for long either. After I blissfully slipped into my favorite jeans and T-shirt and wolfed down two servings of spaghetti, Mark and I snuggled on the couch. He filled me in on his difficulties during the past few days. He’d nursed broken ribs, fended off my mom’s questions about why I hadn’t returned her calls, and told Harvey that Jake couldn’t come in to work.
I rested my face against Mark’s shoulder. “You’re taking Jake’s news pretty well.”
He shrugged and my cheek rose and fell. “You’re here. I’m concentrating on that. Do you know how scared I was that you’d never come back?” His voice sounded thick, and his chest moved unevenly. “I prayed for you every minute.”
A shudder ran through me as I remembered the bleak room in Rhus. “I needed it.” I reached up to twirl one of Mark’s curls around my finger. “So how long should we wait before we check on Jake?”
He batted my hand away and grabbed my face for a quick kiss. “I don’t want you going back there.”
I leaned back a few inches. “But if you can’t go through the portal anymore, I’ll have to. Unless Jake comes back himself. And if he doesn’t, I’ll have to go find out what’s happening.”
Mark sighed. “All right, I do have a few thoughts about that. Maybe I can reprogram the portal stones so they’ll work for me again.”
I grabbed a throw pillow and slammed it into the top of his head. “Are you nuts?”
Mark plucked the pillow from my grip and tossed it across the room. He smiled into my indignation and melted it. “I’m just saying we might have some options.” Then he sobered. “Besides, I’m not letting you go back there alone.” His fingers stroked the side of my face and burrowed into my still-damp hair.
I let him draw me close, smelling the faint touch of Ivory soap on his skin. My fingertips brushed over the afternoon stubble on his jaw. “How about if we agree to try the portal in one month. That could be years over there. Or minutes. But we should at least check.”
“It’s a deal.” He settled deeper into the couch. “It’s funny.”
“Hmmm?”
“Jake’s eighteen.”
I wasn’t sure what he was getting at. “Um-hum?”
Mark stared out the living room window. “That’s how old I was when I came here. And it turned out pretty well for me.” He turned his crooked grin in my direction.
I stared into his blue-grey eyes and savored the feeling of being loved—loved enough to leave a whole world behind. Then my eyes drifted past him. I could just see the corner of the dining room from this angle.
“Mark!” I jumped to my feet and scampered to the doorway, then looked back at him in shock.
He lounged back on the couch and gave me a lazy smile.
He’d repaired the smashed doors of the china cabinet earlier in the summer, but the bare shelves had been a reminder of everything that had been broken. We’d existed in a storm of tension since Cameron and Medea’s invasion and never made time to rebuild our collection of teacups.
Now one delft cup perched on a blue and white saucer.
Mark hefted himself off the couch and came to put an arm around me. “It’s just a start. I found it online. I needed to do something while I was waiting. There should be some good yard sales next weekend. We can find some more together.”
Tears stung my eyes and I couldn’t speak.
“Do you like it?” His voice turned worried.
We’d collected antique teacups, and a lot more, in our twenty years together. I wondered what new things we’d discover in the next twenty.
“I love it,” I said softly and buried myself into his arms.
The Sword of Lyric Series
Check out the next book in the Sword of Lyric series.
The Deliverer
Learn more about the book:
http://www.enclavepublishing.com/books/the-deliverer/
Reader’s Guide
Jake is eighteen and preparing to leave for college. How does his stage of life affect his response to the idea of being a Restorer? How does his initial reaction differ from Susan’s or Kieran’s? Do you identify with any of his traits?
In The Restorer, Susan’s role was loosely inspired by the Old Testament character of Deborah. In The Restorer’s Son, Kieran’s story had some parallels to Gideon, as well as to Jacob and even Jonah. What Old Testament imagery did you notice in this story? In Jake as the youthful songwriter/leader? In Susan leading out captives? Other threads?
Jake is eager to heed the One’s call to follow, until he confronts betrayal, confusion, and his own failures. Then he decides to quit and go home. What incidents in your life have shaken your faith and your determination to follow the One? How does Jake change as the story progresses?
Susan has a dark journey in this story. What do you think the Rhusicans might symbolize? Are there any circumstances in your life that remind you of the bare room where Susan is imprisoned?
What impact do you think Susan has in Rhus? Was she powerless? Did you see hints of purpose that the One might have had for her time there: for the other captives? For the Rhusicans? For Susan herself?
In The Restorer’s Journey, we met several new characters who played prominent roles. What did you think of Nicco? Ian? Arland? What were their goals, desires, and drives? Did they change during the course of the story?
What key themes did you unwrap in this story? Were any similar to the themes from the first two books? Different? How?
Did you agree with Jake’s decision at the end of the book? Why or why not? What do you think will happen to his family in our world? What problems will Jake face among the People of the Verses?
Glossary
caradoc: Docile herd animal with soft, shedding coat that is used for creating cloth.
clans: The People of the Verses comprise twelve original clans: Lyric, Braide Wood, Rendor, Shamgar, Corros Fields, Blue Knoll, Ferntwine, Terramin, Sandor, Taborn, and the returned “lost clans” of Kalem and Radella.
clavo: Spicy tea with a rich flavor and near-healing properties; favorite hot beverage of the clans; usually brewed in a wide wooden bowl over a heat trivet and ladled into mugs.
clay fields: Flat, deserted lands near Shamgar, with treacherous pits of bubbling liquid concrete that have been known to trap and swallow animals and humans who stumble into them.
conservatory: The building where Rhusicans house their captives and practice their skills of delving into and manipulating minds and shaping realities.
Council: Governing body of the People of the Verses, comprising chosen representatives from each tribe; meets in Lyric and makes decisions that affect all the tribes.
first-years: Men and women in the first year of guardian training; usually about eighteen years old.
ground-crawlers: Ten times the size of a North American earthworm, these burrowers come out only at night. Their skin is toxic to anything they touch, causing acidic burns to animals and humans.
guar
dian: Member of any clan who trains for military/protector role, which includes serving the Council and the people, training for and engaging in battle, and patrolling the borders.
Hazor: Nation across the mountain border of the People’s clans. Hazorites worship the hill-gods and have been known to sacrifice their children to those gods, though the practice is currently forbidden, due to the efforts of a Restorer who promised to serve the people of Hazor in exchange for the safety of the clans. Their king, Zarek, rules from the capital, Sidian.
healer: A person skilled in treating illness and injuries with electronic diagnostic devices as well as herbal remedies. Most villages have their own healers, but near Braide Wood there is a lodge where especially difficult cases from all the clans are handled.
heat trivet: Flat panels or tiles that glow with heat or light. Various sizes are used to provide surfaces for cooking and illumination. They are a smaller version of the technology used to create the light walls common in homes.
house protector: One who takes a formal vow to defend another’s person and family (household) with his or her life.
Kahlarea: Nation across the river that borders one side of the People’s lands. Kahlareans are pale with bulbous eyes, and their assassins are feared everywhere for their stealth and ability to hide and appear from nowhere.
king’s guard: After Cameron took control of the clans and disbanded the Council, he changed the elite Council Guard into his own private cadre.
lehkan: Animals used for riding. They look similar to elk, with fierce antlers and soft llama-like fur. They are ridden under saddle and guided by leg commands.
light cube: Small handheld incandescent light source that can be set to overload and disintegrate everything it touches; has been used to cremate bodies.
Lyric: Central city of the tribes. The Lyric tower is the place where the One meets with the People in an especially tangible way. Lyric’s walls are white and form a scalloped pattern as they encircle the city.
magchip: Renewable energy source for a variety of technologies.
messenger: Because the clans and the surrounding nations don’t have a written language, messengers memorize information to take from place to place. Messengers are typically young, agile, and fast.
Morsal Plains: Farmland near Braide Wood; site of a major battle with Hazor during the time of Susan the Restorer.
People of the Verses: The collection of tribes who worship the One. They pass down the Verses to their children through daily recitations.
portal stones: Fist-sized round, smooth objects with hidden technology. When three are aligned correctly and activated, they create a portal between the world of the People of the Verses and our world.
Records: A sacred recording of the Verses in their original form, spoken by the One. Each clan has one, which the clan’s eldest songkeeper plays on end-of-season Feast days.
Restorer: A leader, traditionally a guardian, sent by the One to save His people. Once called by the One for this role, the Restorer develops heightened senses and gifts of various kinds and heals rapidly from most injuries.
Rhusican: A person from Rhus, a nearby nation; usually attractive, with reddish-gold hair and vibrant aqua or green eyes. Rhusicans have the ability to read and affect minds and to plant poison in people’s thoughts that can influence their behavior and even cause death.
rizzid: Venomous, lizard-shaped creature muddy red in color and covered with fur; climbs walls and has rows of sharp teeth.
scrambler: A device used to deactivate magnetic locks.
season: The time it takes grain to go through one full cycle of planting, growth, and harvesting; there are six seasons each year.
Sidian: The capital city of Hazor. A center of commerce and home to Zarek’s palace, the prisons, and the location of the primary hill-god shrine.
songkeeper: A person who leads worship, composes songs, encourages people, and promotes the faith life of the People.
syncbeam: Long-range, focused energy beam used as a weapon.
transtech: A person skilled in designing and repairing the wide variety of technology used by the clans.
transport: Automated vehicles of various sizes that follow programmed routes between and within cities; long, sleek, silver, with curved doors that slide up into the roof.
venblade: Small dagger used by Kahlarean assassins; reservoir in the handle injects poison into the blade to cause paralysis in the victim.
Verses: Holy account of the People’s history, laws, and promises about Restorers and the coming Deliverer, given directly by the One. The Records contain an audible version of the original directives from the One; however, the Verses are still a living tradition, and the One guides each generation of songkeepers in adding the next section of history. These additional sections of the Verses are not in the Records but are equally unchanging and sacred and passed down by vigilant oral tradition.
worship tower: Sometimes referred to as “the tower”; the tallest, most central tower in Lyric, made of white stone. Large arched entries face outward in eight directions. The entire roof is formed of skylights, and a platform in the middle of the tower rises and rotates during worship gatherings.
About the Author
Sharon Hinck is a wife and mom who has enjoyed many adventures on her road with God, although none have involved an alternate universe (thus far). She writes “stories for the hero in all of us,” about ordinary people experiencing God’s grace in unexpected ways. Known for their authenticity, emotional range, and spiritual depth, her novels include contemporary fiction as well as fantasy and have been recognized with three Carol awards and a Christy finalist medal. She has also contributed non-fiction articles to dozens of book compilations and magazines and has written devotions for Mornings with Jesus for many years.
With an undergrad degree in education, she earned an M.A. in Communication from Regent University. She spent ten years as the artistic director of a Christian performing arts group, has been a church youth worker, a ballet teacher, an organist, a freelance editor as well as a writer. When she isn’t wrestling with words, Sharon enjoys speaking to conferences, retreats, and church groups. She and her family make their home in the Midwest, and she welcomes visitors to her online home at sharonhinck.com.
Acknowledgments
My precious family – Ted, Joel, Kaeti, Josh, Jenni, Jennelle, Kyrie, Mom and Carl – you each inspire me daily. Your love and support make my writing possible.
I’m deeply grateful to the prayer team members who have joined this project with their intercessions over the years, to the Book Buddies, to critique partners, to various writing groups, to the Church Ladies, and to my other patient and encouraging friends.
Huge appreciation goes to my agent Steve Laube, who has always been a champion for these stories, and to my editors Jeff Gerke and Reagen Reed who made them better. Thank you to everyone at the marvelous Enclave Publishing who have made these current editions possible.
Most of all, thank you to the One who has loved me enough to pursue me.
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