Keeper of the Reign
Books written in blood. Most are lost, their Keepers with them. A curse that befell a people. A Kingdom with no King. Life couldn’t get more harrowing for the Elfies, a blend of Elves and Fairies. Or for sixteen-year-old Jules Blaze. Or could it? For Jules, the heir of a Keeper, no less, suspects his family hides a forgotten secret. It was bad enough that his people, the Elfies of Reign, triggered a curse which reduced the entire inhabitants to a mere inch centuries ago. All because of one Keeper who failed his purpose. Even the King’s Ancient Books, did not help ward off that anathema. Now, Gehzurolle, the evil lord, and his armies of Scorpents, seem bent on destroying Jules and his family. Why? Gehzurolle’s agents hunt for Jules as he journeys into enemy land to find the truth. Truth that could save him and his family, and possibly even reverse the age-long curse. Provided Jules doesn't get himself killed first.
Excerpt:
2
- TWO WEEKS LATER
WHEN JULES BLAZE peered out his living room window, the
sky was still dotted with a million stars. He craned his neck out farther and
stared at the branches that cast dark shadows upon each other like black bones
crisscrossing. Out of the corner of his eye a shadow passed, but it swooped so
fast he couldn’t say what it was.
He’d
planned this too carefully to let anything spoil it. He couldn’t believe
Grandpa had died. Just like that. Swept away, some Elfie neighbors had said. Or
maybe they were on the Handover bank. Surely a sixteen-year-old could go to
Handover to seek answers?
But
should he leave his mother and his younger siblings? Like this? Without him
could they fend for themselves? Especially with the rumors he’d heard? But he
wouldn’t go for long, he promised himself.
Between
the foliage, tearing the darkness, a bright line whizzed in the inky sky. It
was as if someone had drawn a silver line across the expanse.
Was
it lightning?
But
when he strained to hear the rumble of thunder that should follow only the
whispers of the forest came. Jules blinked several times and rubbed his eyes
with the back of his hands. Had drowsiness made him see things?
Without
another thought he whisked his cloak off the peg by the front entryway, grabbed
his pouch of jeweled stones by his feet and headed for the outdoors. Before he
crossed the threshold he glanced at the closed door to his mother’s room. What
would she say when she found him missing? Ralston would have to take charge, at
least until he got back.
Jules
was about to step off the porch when the whole sky lit up and a golden glow
brightened the deep forest. And then everything darkened again, as if nothing
extraordinary had happened.
What
was that? Jules’s heart quickened, and he steadied his breathing as he sprinted
down the pebbled path away from his home, one hand clutching the pouch of
stones over his shoulders. When he rounded the corner of the last spruce, the
one that had burned into a charred stump and marked the beginning of the
meadow, crunching footsteps stopped him in his tracks. Who was awake this late?
Following him?
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Thanks for sharing this book. I'll have to look into it. :)
ReplyDeleteYour welcome and thanks for stopping by Gina!
DeleteYour welcome and thanks for stopping by Eva!
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