by DM Fike
Armed with this information, Guntram filled the others in on my role in Rafe’s rampage of terror. Bedridden in the lodge, I couldn’t escape Darby’s heart-wrenching wails of grief at learning of Tabitha’s death. She cursed my birth, my name, my very life. She wished she’d left me dead on Mt. Hood.
And I didn’t blame her. Not one single bit.
It was only a matter of time before I’d be bound, although the shepherds had other pressing issues before that could happen. Besides, the process would be pointless. I couldn’t feel any pith stir anywhere in my body. I tried once or twice to pull some out of the air but got nothing. Absorbing all that golem pith and then the magma at the end had done a great job of sealing my magical abilities up tighter than a bank vault.
I decided to save everyone the effort. I found my legs could bear weight after a few days but kept that knowledge hidden. I maintained the appearance of staying in bed but would secretly walk around to build up my strength. After a week, I decided I could make the long hike to the nearest highway and hitchhike away from the homestead.
So, that’s what I did. There were no goodbyes, no notes, no words. I simply waited until Guntram and his birds settled down for the night, and then I left. There was only one tricky moment where Fechin flew overhead in the branches surrounding the homestead. I thought for sure he’d spot me, since he passed so close. But no, he didn’t even glance my way, too intent on more important duties.
For all intents and purposes, I no longer had any ties to Nasci.
WANT MORE INA?
If you enjoyed this Magic of Nasci book, read the next in the series:
SOARING IN AIR
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DM Fike worked in the video game industry for over a decade, starting out as a project manager and eventually becoming a story writer for characters, plots, and missions. Born in Idaho’s Magic Valley (you can’t make this stuff up), DM Fike lived in Japan teaching English before calling Oregon home. She loves family, fantasy, and food (mostly in that order) and is on the constant look out for new co-op board games to play.
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MAGIC OF NASCI SERIES
Ina is a rookie nature wizard, learning the ropes of elemental magic—fire, air, earth, and water. She can also wield lightning, setting her apart from the other shepherds of Nasci. This action-packed urban fantasy series takes you on Ina’s adventure to prove herself, deep within the heart of the Pacific Northwest forests, where true power still thrives.
BOOK 1: CHASING LIGHTNING
BOOK 2: BREATHING WATER
BOOK 3: RUNNING INTO FIRE
BOOK 4: SHATTERING EARTH
BOOK 5: SOARING IN AIR
APPENDIX: NAMES AND TERMS
This section contains a glossary of Nasci-specific terms and characters with pronunciations, presented in alphabetical order.
Afanc (aw-FAHNK): A beaver vaettur with crocodile features.
Augur (AW-ger): The second highest mastery in the shepherd hierarchy. Augurs have complete control over one element, have a special link to their kidama species, and can train eyas-level shepherds.
Azar (uh-ZAHR): A talented fire shepherd.
Banish (BAN-ish): To send a vaettur back to Letum using magical means.
Baot (bout): A water shepherd who spends most of his time in the Pacific Ocean.
Bitai Wilds (bee-TAHY wahylds): The ecological region of desert encompassing the American West and Mexico that is overseen by a specific sect of shepherds.
Boobrie (BOOB-ree): A giant camouflaging bird vaettur.
Bound (bound): To seal a shepherd’s pithways so that they can no longer access their magic.
Breach (breech): The interdimensional portal vaetturs create to travel from Letum to our world.
Charm (chahrm): An object that stores pith or recreates the properties of a sigil.
Cleft (kleft): An opening in the earth where vitae spills.
Cockatrice (KAH-kuh-tris): A dragon and rooster hybrid vaettur with a Medusa gaze.
Darby (DAHR-bee): A rookie shepherd with a talent for earth magic.
Dryant (DRAHY-ant): An animal with magical powers that guards others of its kind or territory. A dryant used to be a normal animal until it was blessed with Nasci’s essence.
Etching (ECH-ing): A symbol that is marked on a specific object to give it pith or the properties of a sigil.
Eyas (AHY-uhs): A rookie (and the lowest level) shepherd.
Fechin (FE-chin): Guntram’s favorite raven kidama.
Forger (FORJ-er): A follower of Nasci who can sense the four elements (earth, fire, air, and water) and redirect them into objects.
Golem (GOH-luhm): A creature made of pure pith.
Guntram (GOON-trahm): Ina’s mentor and master air augur. Ina sometimes calls him Jichan (JEE-chahn), which means “Gramps” in Japanese.
Gyascutus (gee-uh-SKOO-tuhs): A wild boar vaettur with one side of its legs longer than the other to walk on hills.
Haggard (HAG-erd): A derogatory term for a shepherd that began training after puberty.
Homestead (HOHM-sted): A secret base with farms and other resources that shepherds visit to rejuvenate themselves and gather supplies.
Ina (EE-nah): A rookie shepherd with mysterious lightning powers. Her real name is Imogene Nakamori (IM-uh-jeen Nah-KAH-moh-ree).
Jortur (JOR-ter): One of Tabitha’s favorite black-tailed deer kidama.
Kam (kam): Sipho’s female, dark-coated mountain lion who’s active at night.
Kappa (KAHP-pah): An aquatic humanoid frog vaettur.
Kembar stones (KEM-bahr stohns): Two stones that are linked like wisp channels.
Ken (ken): Magical sight granted by Nasci that allows a person to sense pith and see vaetturs and dryants.
Khalkotauroi (kal-koh-TOU-roi): A fiery bull vaettur.
Kidama (kee-DAH-mah): A species of animals that augurs can communicate with telepathically and give orders to.
Letum (LE-tuhm): The realm where the vaetturs originate.
Mishipeshu (mi-shee-PE-shoo): An aquatic feline vaettur with mysterious powers.
Nasci (NAHS-kee): The goddess that lives in the center of the Earth who grants elemental powers to her followers.
Nur (ner): Sipho’s male, light-coated mountain lion who’s active during the day.
Onyara Wilds (ohn-YAHR-ah wahylds): The ecological region of temperate deciduous forests of the Eastern United States that is overseen by a specific sect of shepherds.
Oracle (OR-uh-kuhl): The highest level of shepherd who leads all shepherds within a Wilds territory.
Pith (pith): The essence of fire, earth, air, or water that can be converted into magical energy.
Pithways (PITH-weys): A magical system that shepherds have inside their bodies to redirect and store pith.
Rafe (reyf): A mysterious stranger who shows up in the woods.
Ronan (ROH-nuhn): An antlered harbor seal dryant that lives on the Oregon coast.
Shepherd (SHEP-erd): A follower of Nasci who can store the four elements (earth, fire, air, and water) in their bodies and cast them using sigils. Also the third highest mastery of shepherd, just above an eyas.
Shepherd Trial (SHEP-erd TRAY-uhl): A rite of passage an eyas takes before becoming a full-fledged shepherd.
Sigil (SIJ-il): A symbol drawn in the air by shepherds to convert their pith into a specific magical spell.
Sipho (SI-foh): The forger of the southern Talol Wilds homestead.
Sova (SOH
-vah): A northern spotted owl dryant with metallic mauve streaks in her wings.
Tabitha (TAB-i-thuh): Darby’s mentor and master earth augur.
Talol Wilds (tah-LOL wahylds): The ecological region of temperate rainforests stretching from British Columbia to northern California that is overseen by a specific sect of shepherds.
Vaettur (VEY-ter): A predatory creature from Letum that enters our world to devour pith via animals and dryants.
Vincent Garcia (VIN-suhnt gahr-SEE-uh): A game warden for the Oregon State Police.
Vitae (VEE-tahy): The lifeblood of Nasci used to create new dryants.
Wisp channel (wisp CHAN-el): Glowing lights that shepherds use to teleport large distances.
Yoi (YOH-ee): The Oracle of the Talol Wilds.
Zibel (ZAHY-bel): A shepherd who spends most of his time in the Oregon Dunes.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Writing a book is one thing, getting it out to the world is another. I'd like to thank those who read early versions of this story, including Jennifer Marshall and Sandra Schiller. You helped shape Ina into the awesome shepherd she has become.
Many talented people gave this book the professional care it deserved. I found my editor Lori Diederich through the 20Booksto50K Facebook group, an invaluable resource for new writers. Sara Smestad modeled for Danan Rolfe so we had plenty of great photos to choose for the cover.
A few final shout-outs. One to my first fan, Samantha Marshall, who believed before anyone else. The last goes to Jacob Fike, who lends both his time and skills to making each of my books better. I couldn’t do this without him.
