The Curse Giver

by Dora Machado

  What a simple line for such momentous casting; what a strange, bold, blatant and desperate solution; what an understated way of roping oneself onto another being and jumping into the great abyss in forcible tandem.

  Maybe she should have accepted Lusielle’s invitation for dinner.

  Not in this realm.

  She drew back to the basin and traveled the water in order to return to her lair, where she was safe from kindness, cordiality and compassion. Brrrr. Those emotions were capable of chilling even the most passionate of hearts. One could only be exposed to that kind of peril a little at a time.

  Arriving home, she reclaimed her human appearance. She had one last bit of work to complete. It had taken her some time, but she was close to finishing the new protective spell to replace the one that Edmund had stolen from her. She grabbed her lute and sat at her desk, finding comfort in the way her body fit so familiarly in her chair. Peace. Silence. The advantages of a fitting lair.

  She wondered about what Lusielle had said. Would she ever be able to share her life with someone else? Who in his right mind would want to risk that? He would have to be a rare creature, someone evil like her, a traveler of the realms maybe. Not a lot of options.

  The only one who came to mind was the soul chaser. He wasn’t as striking as the Lord of Laonia, but he was wicked enough. He was even more elusive than she was, quick, surly and mysterious. He would be hard to find and dangerous to capture. Still, he got a lot of his business from her, and they had all of those cursed souls in common ….

  She strummed the lute’s strings, playing the new melody she had composed, while at the same time writing down the words that fit her music, the last verse of her new curse giver’s song:

  I sing the songs that make your world fail

  I say the words that end all joy.

  In pain I thrive, without regret

  Without time’s eternal constraints

  For I am the curse giver and you … you will always be my prey.

  The End

  About the author

  Dora Machado is the award winning author of the Stonewiser series. She is one of the few Hispanic women exploring her heritage and her world through the epic fantasy genre today. She holds a master’s degree in business administration and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in history from Georgetown University. She was born in Michigan and grew up in the Dominican Republic, where she developed a bilingual fascination for writing, a preference for history, and a taste for Merengue. After a lifetime of straddling such compelling but different worlds, fantasy is a natural fit to her stories. She enjoys long and winding walks, traveling, and connecting with the remarkable readers who share in her mind’s adventures. She is currently working on her next novel, The Misery Glutton. She lives in Florida with her indulging husband and three very opinionated cats.

  To learn more about Dora Machado and her award winning novels, visit her website at http://www.doramachado.com. You can also email her at Dora@doramachado.com, find her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DoraMachado101, or follow her on Twitter @DoraMachado.

  Glossary

  People, Gods, Places and Things

  People

  Aponte Rummins: Lusielle’s former husband is a greedy trader who repudiated and betrayed her.

  Arnulf: Highborn ruler of the free territory of Konia, grandfather to Irina, Caryna and Konia’s heir, little Marcus.

  Bausto: Highborn ruler of the free territory of Barahone, married to the Lady Ernilda.

  Bren, Brennus: The highborn Lord of Laonia is the fourth and youngest son of Edmund of Laonia and the last surviving heir of the house of Uras. He is afflicted by a mysterious curse that has ruined his house and killed his father and brothers.

  Carfu: Lusielle’s odd friend hails from the Wilds and, together with his twin brother Elfu, was Lusielle’s mother’s faithful servant before she died.

  Caryna: Bren’s goddaughter, grandchild of Arnulf lord of Konia, second daughter of Marcus, Bren’s deceased best friend.

  Cirillo: Highborn warrior pledged to serve Bren as part of the Twenty.

  Clio: The youngest of Bren’s Twenty, Clio is the latest recruit.

  Edmund: Bren’s father, Lord of Laonia for over thirty years, scion of the House of Uras, killed by a mysterious curse. He had four sons, Ethan, Robert, Harald and Brennus.

  Eleanor: Highborn lady, ruler of the free territory of Tolone, shrewd player of politics. She has a high stake in Bren’s and Laonia’s plight.

  Elfu: Lusielle’s odd friend hails from the Wilds and together with his twin brother Carfu, was Lusielle’s mother’s faithful servant before she died.

  Eligious: The Pious of the Thirteenth Temple of the Lesser Gods is a high priest of Teos who rules one of the most important temples in the kingdom.

  Ernilda: Highborn lady, married to Bausto lord of Barahone, old friend of Khalia who is a Chosen of Teos.

  Ethan: Bren’s oldest brother, Edmund’s firstborn, died one year after his father.

  Godivina: The woman who haunts Bren’s nightmares died a terrible death.

  Harald: Bren’s handsome brother was Edmund’s third son who died six years after his father.

  Hato: Laonia’s highborn warden and Chamber Lord since the time of Edmund’s rule is now Bren’s steadfast counselor and plays a mysterious part in the curse’s evil.

  Hillisel: Laonian spy stalking the Thirteenth Temple, she works for Hato trying to defeat the curse and has more than one identity.

  Irina: Bren’s goddaughter is the grandchild of Arnulf lord of Konia, first daughter of Marcus, Bren’s deceased best friend.

  Khalia: A Chosen of Teos, she hails from Laonia but became a powerful air inhaler, deserted Laonia, and joined Teos.

  Louis Lambage: The Laonian spy stalking Barahone’s decaying archives works for Hato.

  Lusielle: A baseborn remedy mixer married to a greedy trader, she is suddenly accused and condemned to die for a crime she didn’t commit.

  Marcus: Little Marcus is Bren’s godson, the grandchild and heir of Arnulf lord of Konia, only son of Marcus, Bren’s deceased best friend.

  Nelia: The mysterious old woman attacks Bren for reasons Lusielle can’t understand.

  Orell: King Riva’s champion hails from Laonia and has a long history of rivalry with Bren.

  Petrus: Old Petrus is the oldest of Bren’s faithful Twenty.

  Riva: King Riva hails from the lesser highborn house of Estes, but has managed to conquer or annex many of the Free Territories and rules a large kingdom west of the Nerpes.

  Robert: Bren’s brother was Edmund’s second son and died three years after his father.

  Severo: The best scout of Bren’s Twenty, Severo is a highborn warrior.

  Sheshana: The mysterious writer of an ancient manuscript who never completed her work.

  Tatyene: The Lady of Tolone’s bodyguard watches and protects Eleanor.

  Tristan: Lusielle’s younger brother escaped to the Sea Port Cities years ago.

  Vestor, Vestorio: The bastard of a highborn lady is a healer at the thirteenth temple and is often called the Half-holy.

  Gods

  The Triad: The three main gods, Suriek, Onisious and Ronerus.

  Suriek: The fierce goddess is the mother of all, who traveled three layers through the underworld and ascended to this world through the ice mountain. Her tears of joy formed Laonia’s vast lake, originated the mighty river Nerpes, and spawned all of the gifting creatures. Once she finished perfecting the world, she called on her beloveds, Onisious and Ronerus, who raced to her voice and became her husband and lover respectively.

  Onisious: The noble god was strong and powerful. He reached Suriek first when the goddess called and became her husband. His sweat fueled the Nerpes’s currents and salted the soil. Onisious and Suriek had two children, The Twins, who spawned twenty-eight children, the founders of the twenty-eight original highborn lines.

  Ronerus: The exuberant god was amusing and joyful. He reached S
uriek second when the goddess called and thus became her lover. His fertile seed quickened the waters, fertilized the crops and produced nine hundred and ninety eight children who in turn spawned the baseborn.

  Some of The Thousand Gods Include:

  Greada: God of healing.

  Izar: Goddess of nature and remedies.

  Jalenia: One of Suriek’s favorite daughters, she was gifted at music and sewing. She sewed a cloth capable of dressing both her high and lowborn siblings, but her brothers and sisters rejected it and threw her out of the divine realm.

  Liliaveth: Goddess of suffering.

  Odalis: Goddess of the womb, life sparker.

  Puernicious: God of the odds.

  The Twins: Suriek’s children with her husband Onisious, spawned twenty-eight children who founded the highborn lines.

  Places

  Anean: A town on the east bank of the Nerpes located in southern Konia.

  Asuari: A trading town on the kingdom’s west bank of the Nerpes specializing in slave trading, where the king purchases slaves for his whorehouses.

  Barahone: A free territory located on the Nerpes’s east bank, bordering on the north with Konia.

  Belitania: A town on the kingdom’s west bank of the Nerpes, close to the Dismal Bog.

  Bovair: A town on the kingdom’s west bank of the Nerpes, close to the Dismal Bog where Aponte Rummins, Lusielle’s former husband, keeps a warehouse.

  The Crooked Mountains: The tall and craggy peaks that stand on Laonia’s east border.

  The Dismal Bog: A dangerous swamp located on the kingdom’s northwest bank of the Nerpes.

  The Free Territories: Independent provinces traditionally ruled by highborn lords, only the east bank territories have escaped Riva’s advances, including Laonia, Tolone, Konia and Barahone.

  The High Steppes: High grassy plains that dominate the Laonian territory on the Nerpes’s east bank.

  Konia: The free territory is located on the Nerpes’s east bank between Tolone and Barahone.

  The Lake Basin: The southern shores of the Lake of Tears are located on the Nerpes’s northeast bank.

  The Lake of Tears: The legendary source of the Nerpes is an expansive lake north of Laonia.

  Laonia: The northernmost free territory straddles the Nerpes south of the Lake of Tears, sharing a southern border with Tolone and the kingdom.

  The Narrows: The Nerpes’s narrowest point provides the river’s easiest crossing in the north between Laonia and the kingdom.

  The Nerpes: The mighty river originates in the Lake of Tears and ends at the Southern Sea, receiving the waters of many rivers along the way, including the Black River and the Little River.

  The Thirteenth Temple of the Lesser Gods: Located on the west side of the Dismal Bog, it’s one of the kingdom’s most important temples.

  The Quercus Forests: Located on the west bank of the lake of Tears, these forests provide valuable wood to Laonia.

  The Reed Beds: Located in Barahone on the Nerpes’s east bank, these reed beds are actively harvested.

  The Sea Port Cities: The consortium of free cities at the mouth of the Nerpes provides some of the best ports in the land.

  Teos: The sacred island is located at the confluence of the Nerpes, the Little Nerpes and the Black River, north of the Sea Port Cities and south of the kingdom and most of the territories.

  Tolone: The free territory is located on the Nerpes’s east bank between Laonia and Konia.

  The Wilds: Distant and mysterious land far to the west of the kingdom.

  Things

  Ascended: Priests and priestesses of Teos who serve in temples and on the sacred island.

  Baseborn: A person born of Ronerus’s line.

  Chosen: Highest authority of Teos.

  Curse Giver: A mysterious creature of unknown nature who exists by virtue of cursing others.

  Crimson Tide: The seasonal migration of millions of yearlings from the sea to the Lake of Tears.

  Fallen God: A god who has been banished from the divine realm.

  Highborn: A person born of Onisious line.

  House of Uras: Ruling house of Laonia.

  Inhaler of Airs: A chosen of Teos skilled in using dangerous scents for the purpose of divination and for determining the truth.

  Odd Arts: The outlawed practices associated with the mysterious Odd God.

  Pious: A representative of Teos who rules a temple.

  Seed House: The manor, castle or place of residence of each of the Free Territories’ highborn rulers.

  Strength: A special fusion of knowledge, reason and awareness, a gift from the Odd God that adds confidence and effectiveness to the practitioner of the odd arts.

  Soul Chaser: A creature who hunts the souls of the cursed.

  The Tale: The original narration of the beginning of the world and the strife of the gods.

  The Twenty: The group of warriors who accompany Brennus, Lord of Laonia in his quest.

  White Tide: The seasonal migration of millions of yearlings from the Lake of Tears to the sea.

  Witching Fire: The fire that releases the divination properties of an inhaler’s airs or scents.

  Yearling: A tiny, voracious, river-dwelling creature whose seasonal migration ensures the land’s fertility.

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