by Jeff Altabef
Another flash of light and another boom.
Wilky stood on a hill, charred wood and thrashed buildings spread before him—a ruined village. Flags waved: the bloody wolf and red raven before him; and behind him the jeweled sword, the hunter drawing his bow, and the tree of life.
The air smelled rank, acidic from blood and sour from the foul stench of fear and waste and death. The dead littered the ground around him. He tried not to breathe.
A horn blast carried into the field and was followed by a wild war cry.
Time moved erratically, punctuated by jutting spear points and the whistle of arrows. Steel axes collided with wooden shields as men cried out, cursed, prayed, screamed.
He looked frantically for Aaliss and spotted her in the distance.
She swirled, flashing steel in a tornado of death as bodies fell all about her.
Another flash of lightning illuminated a giant with a multi-colored beard that dropped from his chin like daggers. He stalked toward Aaliss, the ends of his beard glittering whenever lightning lit the sky.
Not him.
Wilky wanted to scream, but he had no voice here. The mud churned with blood under his feet. Death more than hovered over the field. He could see black-winged shades, their leathery skin stretched tight and their eyes nothing but black pools without end, swoop across the small hill. They dragged souls from those who had fallen.
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Wilky pulled his eyes away, sat up in his bed, and breathed. The air came fast and hot. He should have been braver, and lasted longer to see more of the vision, but he couldn’t watch anymore.
If only the images were part of a dream, he could try to forget them, but he knew better. He didn’t sleep much these days and this nightmare was no dream; it was a vision that revealed flashes of the future.
Is that future set?
He hoped not. He hoped he could alter it, and thought he could, but he wasn’t sure how yet.
He glanced at the bed next to him and saw his sister sleeping, curled around a wool blanket. He wanted to spare Aaliss this future, but that would only happen if he tried harder and found another way. Until then, all he could do was shudder.
A future with light was the most important thing. Some sacrifices would be necessary for that future... and that light.
He strolled to the window. The first rays of dawn had not yet brightened the horizon.
Soon he would have to see the whole story. Soon he’d have to find the courage to know who would win the war, and how he would lead them to the light.
Soon, but not today.
He sighed and glanced back at his sister.
I must find a way. Some sacrifices are too much. I can’t let death take her. Piers was enough.
More from Jeff Altabef
For lovers of young adult fantasy thrillers with a Native American twist, this series is suitable for readers 13 and up:
CHOSEN
Book 1: Wind Catcher
Book 2: Brink of Dawn
Book 3: Scorched Souls
By Jeff Altabef and Erynn Altabef
The multiple award-winning Chosen series of young adult fantasy thrillers features a slice of American Indian culture, blended into fantasy/sci-fi/thriller stories. For more information on this series, please visit the Evolved Publishing website.
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WIND CATC HER:
Lies. Betrayal. Destiny. A choice that changes everything.
My name is Juliet Wildfire Stone, and I am special. I see visions and hear voices, and I have no idea what they mean.
When someone murders medicine men in my sleepy Arizona town, I can’t help but worry my crazy grandfather is involved. He’s a medicine man and more than a just a little eccentric. He likes to tell me stories about the Great Wind Spirit and Coyote, but none of it makes any sense. I thought I knew the truth, but in order to clear his name I dive into his alien world and uncover an ancient secret society formed over two hundred years ago to keep me safe—me! And I can’t help but to start to wonder whether there’s some truth to those old stories my grandfather has been telling me.
I just want to be an average sixteen-year-old girl, but apparently I’ve never been average. Could never be average. I didn’t know it before, but I’m a Chosen, and those voices I’ve been hearing... well, they’re not just “voices.” I’ve started to develop abilities, but they might not be enough. A powerful entity called a Seeker is hunting me and he’s close—really close.
I thought I knew the answers but truth is, I don’t. Betrayed by those I love, I must choose to run or risk everything in order to fulfill my destiny. I hope I make the right choice. Don’t you?
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BRINK OF DAWN:
The second book in the Chosen series picks up where the multiple-award-winning Wind Catcher left off, but it can also be read as a stand-alone novel.
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They walk among us as if they’re gods.
Only we know what they are.
Only we know to fear them.
And only we can defeat them.
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My name is Juliet Wildfire Stone, and I barely escaped my sleepy Arizona town alive. A Seeker almost murdered me. Lucky for me, I killed him first. I thought that was my test—that was my destiny—but it seems as though fate isn’t done with me yet.
I’m a Chosen, a human-alien hybrid. There are three others like me, each with different abilities. I have to find them, and all I have to go on is a weird symbol, and a location—New York City. Hopefully my best friend Troy and I can figure out the rest once we get there.
An alien race is plotting to enslave the world, and only the Chosen can stop them. We’ll have to kill their leader before he kills us. We’ll all be tested, our flaws exposed. Each one of us will learn what, or who, we really care about, and we’ll have to decide whether to fulfill our destiny... or run.
Those helping us have told me I’m the Alpha and only I can lead the others, but how can I trust these people I’ve never met? I don’t know much about my powers or my potential, buy I do know one thing—I’ll do anything to stop these aliens. I will not give up. Even if I die trying.
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SCORCHED SOULS:
Fate and destiny clash in the explosive, heart-pounding conclusion to the award-winning Chosen series.
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Survival is not enough: alliances will be formed; loyalties tested; a choice made.
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Juliet Wildfire Stone is not just a Chosen, she’s the Alpha. The fate of Earth may well rest in her hands, but when she meets the Prime Elector at last, the mortal enemy at the center of her new destiny, he proves not to be what she expected.
Plunged into a conflict between two ancient foes, one that threatens to rip Earth apart, Juliet must navigate her new path, form unlikely alliances, and solve ancient mysteries. She needs to set aside her fears, make the tough choices set before her, and become the Alpha Chosen once and for all.
The cost to Juliet does not matter; too much depends on her. She cannot allow Earth to be cast into a darkness from which it might never escape.
Yet she cannot do it alone. Will the other Chosen follow her? Or will the people of Earth be enslaved for all time?
For lovers of suspense thrillers that blend together many different elements, suitable for readers 16 and older:
SHATTER POINT
By Jeff Altabef
This multiple award-winning suspense thriller is now available. For more information on this book, please visit the Evolved Publishing website.
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When her 19-year-old son Jack miraculously recovers from a serious head trauma, Maggie is sure her luck has changed. But when she’s abducted by a shadow from her past - a phantom with dangerous sapphire eyes - it’s up to Jack and his younger brother Tom to unravel the mystery and save their mom from a deadly psychological battle.
The brothers seek help from their colorful great aunt, who exposes them
to a world of nefarious family secrets, explosive government conspiracies, and a series of horrific murders. Together they must navigate a dark underworld full of political subterfuge and class warfare.
Yet as they search for their mother, Jack changes—he’s raked by skull splitting headaches and weird visions. How exactly did he recover from his coma, and how does this tie into the psychopath who’s abducted their mother?
Will Jack and Tom save Maggie before Cooper reaches his shatter point? Does Jack have enough time left?
More from Evolved Publishing
We hope you loved Red Death, and all of Jeff Altabef’s great books. If so, you’re sure to enjoy these fantastic books, too:
For lovers of dystopian science fiction, this series is suitable for readers 13 and older:
THE SEEKERS
By David Litwack
Book 1 – The Children of Darkness
Book 2 – The Stuff of Stars
Book 3 – The Light of Reason
This dystopian sci-fi series offers a post-apocalyptic look at the battle between religion and reason, offering not just extraordinary settings and circumstances, but memorable characters. For more information on these books, please visit the Evolved Publishing website.
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THE CHILDREN OF DARKNESS:
“But what are we without dreams?”
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A thousand years ago the Darkness came—a terrible time of violence, fear, and social collapse when technology ran rampant. But the vicars of the Temple of Light brought peace, ushering in an era of blessed simplicity. For ten centuries they have kept the madness at bay with “temple magic,” and by eliminating forever the rush of progress that nearly caused the destruction of everything.
Childhood friends, Orah and Nathaniel, have always lived in the tiny village of Little Pond, longing for more from life but unwilling to challenge the rigid status quo. When their friend Thomas returns from the Temple after his “teaching”—the secret coming-of-age ritual that binds young men and women eternally to the Light—they barely recognize the broken and brooding young man the boy has become. Then when Orah is summoned as well, Nathaniel follows in a foolhardy attempt to save her.
In the prisons of Temple City, they discover a terrible secret that launches the three on a journey to find the forbidden keep, placing their lives in jeopardy, for a truth from the past awaits that threatens the foundation of the Temple. If they reveal that truth, they might once again release the potential of their people.
Yet they would also incur the Temple’s wrath as it is written: “If there comes among you a prophet saying, ‘Let us return to the darkness,’ you shall stone him, because he has sought to thrust you away from the Light.”
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Praise for The Children of Darkness:
“A tightly executed first fantasy installment that champions the exploratory spirit.” – Kirkus Reviews
“The plot unfolds easily, swiftly, and never lets the readers' attention wane.... After reading this one, it will be a real hardship to have to wait to see what happens next.” – Feathered Quill Book Reviews
“The quality of its intelligence, imagination, and prose raises The Children of Darkness to the level of literature.” – Awesome Indies
“...a fantastic tale of a world that seeks a utopian existence, well ordered, safe and fair for everyone... also an adventure, a coming-of-age story of three young people as they become the seekers, travelers in search of a hidden treasure—in this case, a treasure of knowledge and answers. A tale of futuristic probabilities... on a par with Huxley's Brave New World.” – Emily-Jane Hills Orford, Readers’ Favorite Book Awards
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THE STUFF OF STARS:
“But what are we without dreams?”
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Against all odds, Orah and Nathaniel have found the keep and revealed the truth about the darkness, initiating what they hope will be a new age of enlightenment. Yet the people are more set in their ways than anticipated, and a faction of vicars whispers in their ears, urging a return to traditional ways.
Desperate to keep their movement alive, Orah and Nathaniel cross the ocean to seek the living descendants of the keepmasters’ kin. Those they find on the distant shore are both more and less advanced than expected.
The seekers, caught between the two sides, face the challenge of bringing them together to make a better world. The prize: a chance to bring home miracles, and a more promising future for their people.
If they fail this time, they risk not a stoning, but losing themselves in the twilight of a never-ending dream.
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THE LIGHT OF REASON:
“But what are we without dreams?”
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Orah and Nathaniel return home with miracles from across the sea, hoping to bring a better life for their people. Instead, they find the world they left in chaos.
A new grand vicar, known as the usurper, has taken over the keep and is using its knowledge to reinforce his hold on power.
Despite their good intentions, the seekers find themselves leading an army, and for the first time in a millennium, their world experiences the horror of war.
But the keepmasters’ science is no match for the dreamers, leaving Orah and Nathaniel their cruelest choice—face bloody defeat and the death of their enlightenment, or use the genius of the dreamers to tread the slippery slope back to the darkness.
An award-winning epic fantasy suitable for readers 13 and older:
SHADOW SWARM
By D. Robert Pease
Don’t miss this epic fantasy adventure spanning millennia, set in a world full of magic and dark forces where creatures of legend come alive. For more information on this book, please visit the Evolved Publishing website.
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Mom’s Choice Awards
Gold Medal: Fantasy & Science Fiction
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Aberthol Nauile doesn’t know that he once led legions in a war that had raged since the dawn of time, against an enemy that could not be killed. He doesn’t know that he rode on a dragon with his father, or that his mother died while giving birth to him. He doesn’t know that he once saved his great, great, great grandfather by defeating the black enemy on the slopes of a volcano.
Aberthol doesn’t know that he beheld the creation of the world, as his grandfather eight generations before took the planet, ravaged by a war of the gods, and began anew.
All he knows is that he awoke in a coffin deep within a tomb, and now the whole world thinks he is their savior. All he really wants to know is his name, and why he keeps hearing voices in his head.
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Praise for Shadow Swarm:
“It’s extremely poetic and something I haven’t seen done in any other book that I’ve read.” – Tara Lee
“Shadow Swarm is a new novel that goes beyond touching the surface of fantasy and takes the reader into a whole new level of fiction.” – Lois Ann
“Having read other offerings from this author, I quickly found myself fully immersed in the story, unable to willingly set it aside for anything but short periods of time. The quality of writing was such that, as I tell my students, I was able to “see a movie in my mind”; a key, I tell them, to tell whether or not you’re encountering good writing. The development of the characters made them believable, realistic, and genuine.”— usafe7ret (Reviewer at Amazon)
An epic fantasy suitable for readers 15 and older:
THE SOULBOUND CURSE
The Amüli Chronicles: Soulbound: Book 1
By Kira A. McFadden
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Available in 3 Parts as eBooks (picture above), or as a single paperback edition (pictured below).
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Discover the fantastic world of the Amüli, rich with characters, languages, and world-building. For more information, please visit the Evolved Publishing website. And watch for the second part of The Amüli Chronicles to arrive in 2016 and 2017, with the release of The Soulless King.
The angelic amüli race has spent thousands of years perfecting immortality by binding their souls to human hosts. That tenuous grasp on life is slipping because an increasing number of stillborn amüli infants are born without souls.
When Marik’s daughter is born Unsouled, he strives to find out why. Many amüli believe disease is to blame for the Unsouled births, but Marik believes his half-human cousin Clae may be the real catalyst. The Amüli Republic’s oligarchy refuses to take a public stance on Clae’s involvement, instead instructing Marik to capture him in secrecy. Should Clae’s association with the Unsouled epidemic become public, the amüli would rise against all half-breeds and throw the Republic into chaos.
If Marik captures Clae and proves he is causing the mysterious deaths, the Republic may flourish once more. If he fails, his people will descend into a bitter civil war, destroying everything they have accomplished.
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Praise for The Soulbound Curse – Part 1:
“Not even sure where to begin with this book! I so loved it! The characters are lovable & complex. I got so entangled in it! I cannot wait to get my hands on part 2!”— Kimberly
“The world McFadden has created is so complex and alien and strange that it feels real. More than once I almost believed I might be carrying the soul of an amüli.” ~ Lizard Duck
“Kira’s use of imagery is nothing short of spectacular. She was able to describe an entirely new world for the reader. The characters and story lines were well developed and delightfully entertaining. I am astounded by Kira’s vivid imagination and her ability to create an new world, culture, political structure, and way of life.”— Stephanie
