by Colt, K. J.
Contents
Front page
Legal
- CONCEALED POWER
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHAPTER FOUR
- CHAPTER FIVE
- CHAPTER SIX
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- CHAPTER NINE
- CHAPTER TEN
- CHAPTER ELEVEN
- CHAPTER TWELVE
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN
- CHAPTER FIFTEEN
- CHAPTER SIXTEEN
- CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
- CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
- CHAPTER NINETEEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY
- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
- CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
- CHAPTER THIRTY
- CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
- CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
- BLOOD HEALING PREVIEW
- AFTERWORD
- K. J. COLT BOOKS
- MAGEBORN
- PROLOGUE
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHAPTER FOUR
- CHAPTER FIVE
- CHAPTER SIX
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- CHAPTER NINE
- CHAPTER TEN
- CHAPTER ELEVEN
- CHAPTER TWELVE
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN
- CHAPTER FIFTEEN
- CHAPTER SIXTEEN
- CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
- CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
- CHAPTER NINETEEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY
- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
- THE LINE OF ILLENIEL PREVIEW
- AFTERWORD
- MICHAEL G. MANNING BOOKS
- BALANCED ON THE BLADE'S EDGE
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHAPTER FOUR
- CHAPTER FIVE
- CHAPTER SIX
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- CHAPTER NINE
- CHAPTER TEN
- CHAPTER ELEVEN
- CHAPTER TWELVE
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN
- EPILOGUE
- DEATHMAKER PREVIEW
- AFTERWORD
- LINDSAY BUROKER BOOKS
- REN OF ATIKALA
Blurb
- PROLOGUE
- ACT ONE
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHAPTER FOUR
- CHAPTER FIVE
- CHAPTER SIX
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- ACT TWO
- CHAPTER NINE
- CHAPTER TEN
- CHAPTER ELEVEN
- CHAPTER TWELVE
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN
- CHAPTER FIFTEEN
- CHAPTER SIXTEEN
- ACT THREE
- CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
- CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
- CHAPTER NINETEEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY
- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
- CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
- EPILOGUE
- THE SCARS OF NORTHAVEN PREVIEW
- AFTERWORD
- DAVID ADAMS BOOKS
- MAGIC OF THIEVES
- A BEGINNING
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHAPTER FOUR
- CHAPTER FIVE
- CHAPTER SIX
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- CHAPTER NINE
- CHAPTER TEN
- CHAPTER ELEVEN
- CHAPTER TWELVE
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN
- BETRAYAL OF THIEVES PREVIEW
- AFTERWORD
- C. GREENWOOD BOOKS
- REQUIEM'S SONG
- LAIRA
- RAEM
- LAIRA
- JEID
- RAEM
- TANIN
- ISSARI
- LAIRA
- MAEV
- ANGEL
- JEID
- LAIRA
- SENA
- ISSARI
- JEID
- LAIRA
- ANGEL
- TANIN
- ISSARI
- LAIRA
- ISSARI
- TANIN
- LAIRA
- RAEM
- TANIN
- LAIRA
- TANIN
- ISSARI
- LAIRA
- JEID
- LAIRA
- JEID
- MAEV
- LAIRA
- SENA
- JEID
- ISSARI
- RAEM
- ISSARI, REQUIEM'S HOPE PREVIEW
- AFTERWORD
- DANIEL ARENSON BOOKS
- HIDDEN
- PROLOGUE
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHAPTER FOUR
- CHAPTER FIVE
- CHAPTER SIX
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- CHAPTER NINE
- CHAPTER TEN
- CHAPTER ELEVEN
- CHAPTER TWELVE
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN
- CHAPTER FIFTEEN
- CHAPTER SIXTEEN
- CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
- CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
- CHAPTER NINETEEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY
- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
- CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
- CHAPTER THIRTY
- CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
- CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
- CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
- CHAPTER FORTY
- CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
- CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
- CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
- CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
- CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
- CHAPTER FIFTY
- CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
- CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
- CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
; - CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
- CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
- EPILOGUE
- HUNTED PREVIEW
- AFTERWORD
- MEGG JENSEN BOOKS
- TALON
- PROLOGUE
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHAPTER FOUR
- CHAPTER FIVE
- CHAPTER SIX
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- CHAPTER NINE
- CHAPTER TEN
- CHAPTER ELEVEN
- CHAPTER TWELVE
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN
- CHAPTER FIFTEEN
- CHAPTER SIXTEEN
- CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
- CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
- CHAPTER NINETEEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY
- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
- CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
- SEA QUEEN PREVIEW
- AFTERWORD
- MICHAEL J. PLOOF BOOKS
- RISE OF THE DRAGONS
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHAPTER FOUR
- CHAPTER FIVE
- CHAPTER SIX
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- CHAPTER NINE
- CHAPTER TEN
- CHAPTER ELEVEN
- CHAPTER TWELVE
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN
- CHAPTER FIFTEEN
- CHAPTER SIXTEEN
- CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
- CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
- CHAPTER NINETEEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY
- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
- CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
- CHAPTER THIRTY
- RISE OF THE VALIENT PREVIEW
- AFTERWORD
- MORGAN RICE BOOKS
- A GIFT OF SHADOW
- A GIFT OF SHADOW
- MASKMAKER'S APPRENTICE PREVIEW
- AFTERWORD
- WITCH HUNT
- WITCH HUNT
- AFTERWORD
- ANNIE BELLET BOOKS
- THE BOOK OF DEACON
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHAPTER FOUR
- CHAPTER FIVE
- CHAPTER SIX
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- CHAPTER NINE
- CHAPTER TEN
- CHAPTER ELEVEN
- CHAPTER TWELVE
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN
- CHAPTER FIFTEEN
- CHAPTER SIXTEEN
- CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
- CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
- CHAPTER NINETEEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY
- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
- CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
- CHAPTER THIRTY
- CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
- CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
- THE GREAT CONVERGENCE PREVIEW
- AFTERWORD
- JOSEPH R. LALLO BOOKS
- FORGED IN BLOOD
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHOSEN PREVIEW
- AFTERWORD
- K. F. BREENE BOOKS
- BLACK EARTH
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHAPTER FOUR
- CHAPTER FIVE
- CHAPTER SIX
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- CHAPTER NINE
- CHAPTER TEN
- CHAPTER ELEVEN
- CHAPTER TWELVE
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN
- CHAPTER FIFTEEN
- CHAPTER SIXTEEN
- CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
- CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
- CHAPTER NINETEEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY
- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
- CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
- CHAPTER THIRTY
- CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
- CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
- ENCOUNTER PREVIEW
- AFTERWORD
- M. S. VERISH BOOKS
- THE SORCERY CODE
- PROLOGUE
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHAPTER FOUR
- CHAPTER FIVE
- CHAPTER SIX
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- CHAPTER NINE
- CHAPTER TEN
- CHAPTER ELEVEN
- CHAPTER TWELVE
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN
- CHAPTER FIFTEEN
- CHAPTER SIXTEEN
- CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
- CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
- CHAPTER NINETEEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY
- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
- CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
- CHAPTER THIRTY
- CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
- CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
- CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
- CHAPTER FORTY
- CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
- CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
- CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
- CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
- THE SPELL REALM PREVIEW
- AFTERWORD
- DIMA ZALES & ANNA ZAIRES BOOKS
LEGENDS
Fifteen Tales of Sword and Sorcery
K. J. Colt
Michael G. Manning
Lindsay Buroker
David Adams
C. Greenwood
Daniel Arenson
Megg Jensen
Michael J. Ploof
Morgan Rice
Nick Webb
Annie Bellet
Joseph R. Lallo
K. F. Breene
M. S. Verish
Dima Zales & Anna Zaires
The following books were published herein with the express permission of the authors. All rights are reserved by the relevant authors.
Formatting by David Adams.
CONCEALED POWER
The Healers of Meligna Series, Book #1
by
K. J. Colt
CHAPTER ONE
THIS EVENING, MY PARENTS PREPARED a last meal of rice and pork before they took my uncle’s best horse and cart south for merchant trading. I asked if I could go with them.
‘Sorry, Sweetbread, the world outside is no place for a girl of ten,’ Mama had said. ‘It’s not safe.’
Mid-spring signalled the gathering of merchants across my country, South Senya, for the Bivinian markets in Old Bow. At that time of year, I worried about my affliction most.
Frothy soap dripped from my wet fingers as I tried to scrub them clean. They were red and sore, yet I still believed the cracks and lines in my palms hid traces of my disease.
‘That’s enough washing, Adenine. Come to me,’ Papa said.
The dim light made me so mad because I couldn’t see the details of my skin. Being the last carrier of the Death Plague, I had to be extra careful that none of the impurities passed to Mama and Papa’s clothes. Unlike them, the outside people weren’t immune to my disease.
I dropped the soap on the side of the wash dish, wiped my hands on my dress, and walked over to where Papa and Uncle Garrad stood. All three of us waited for Mama to finish her flustered search for the provisions they would need on the trip. My hands still felt dirty, and I scratched at them with my fingernails.
Mrs. Moferbury, my tutor, had told me that the Death Plague had led to a civil war. Our country’s turmoil made the Bivinians see us as a cursed land, which was why my parents had to travel so far to retrieve their exotic merchandise. In order for a Bivinian to accept a trade from a Senyan merchant, the Senyan must be dressed in a tunic as white as snow and as clean as the coat of a prized mare to demonstrate purification of our Senyan filth. Mama called them imperious imps.
‘Now, you be a good girl, Adenine,’ Papa said, ‘and keep your old, fat uncle entertained.’ When he leaned down to touch my face, I felt all warm and cosy inside.
‘Yes, Papa,’ I replied.
‘Don’t be mocking my age, little brother, or I’ll guzzle that there prized ale of yours,’ Uncle Garrad said from behind me. He placed a hand on my shoulder. ‘I’ll keep her out of mischief.’
‘Hah,’ Papa said, narrowing his eyes.
Uncle Garrad was a decade older than my papa but twice as fun, mostly because he bent my parents’ rules.
The only light in the room came from two small lamps—my uncle held one of them—and the fire in the hearth. As my uncle moved to pass Papa his sword, the lantern swung and cast long shadows across Papa’s face. When Uncle Garrad turned back to me, his long beard brushed against my face.
‘Ugh,’ I said, and swatted it away.
Papa laughed and straightened his spotless tunic. ‘I suppose my casks will be drained before I return.’
‘Are you calling me a drunkard? Least I don’t kiss the arse of the weak-willed Bivinians.’
‘Without my bottom kissing, you wouldn’t have access to my brew, now, would you?’
Uncle Garrad laughed and stroked his beard. ‘True enough.’
Their jousting didn’t change the empty feeling that filled my gut knowing Papa and Mama would be gone soon. They’d be away for a month, but it would feel like forever. My heart fluttered a little. Soon, Papa would open the great oak and iron barricade of the door that separated our home’s second story from our shop below, Mystoria, a door that kept me in and other people out.
