Darkblade Avenger, page 125
part #1 of Hero of Darkness Series
But Fern's obsession with Emetana had blinded her to those who truly mattered. Dayle had saved her life after her expulsion from the Temple of Derelana. He had dragged her to The Sanctuary and insisted on treatment when Fern wanted to die. And how had she repaid him? She'd left him living in that pitiful shelter, ignored his worsening illness.
I should have insisted that he come to The Sanctuary for healing. I should have bought more food, blankets, and warm clothing for him, rather than wasting it on Emetana. After all he'd done for her, she should have done more for him.
She could never go back, never regain the time she'd squandered on her fruitless quest for vengeance. She wouldn't have a chance to thank Dayle for pulling her back from the brink. He had seen past the burned, crippled girl. If only she'd been able to.
The path of vengeance had proven futile. Emetana's death didn't restore strength to her arm or heal her leg. The scars remained—those twisting her face and staining her heart. But she couldn't permit her need for retribution to continue consuming her life. Her past must not destroy her future.
What would she do now? She'd dedicated her life to Derelana: first as a Warrior Priest, then for her own revenge on Emetana. Without that, who was she? She'd become a healer to earn a living, but she had no passion for the Bright Lady's priesthood.
Right now, none of that mattered. She had to dress Dayle's body for the undertaker and minister to those who came to The Sanctuary. She'd have plenty of time to figure out what came next for her.
Sorrow panged in her chest as she rose, took a washcloth from the bowl beside the bed, and set about cleaning the blood from Dayle's face.
A familiar sobbing sounded behind her. Fern turned and found Lourda ushering Udela to a nearby bed. Tears streamed down the little girl's face and she cradled her right arm against her chest.
Anger surged within Fern, pushing back the fatigue. She waved Ministrant Opal away and hobbled toward Udela.
"Udela, Lourda." Fern winced at the dark bruises around Lourda's eye and the blood trickling from a cut in her cheek.
"F-Fern." Lourda paled. "Her shoulder, it's—"
"Dislocated." Fern examined the limb. "Let me guess, she fell from another tree."
Lourda dropped her eyes, cheeks flushing.
Udela's wailing intensified in volume as Fern removed her shirt. Bone bulged beneath her skin.
Fern glanced at Lourda. "It must be relocated. I'll get something to help with the pain."
The woman nodded, tears in her eyes. "Thank you."
Cold fury burned away the last of Fern's numbness as she hobbled toward the cupboard where Ministrant Opal kept the pain-relieving draughts. No one—man, woman, or child—deserved to suffer as she had, but she was not alone in her misery. Voramis was filled with people condemned to lives as miserable as hers. Perhaps she could do something about it.
Her quest for retribution against Emetana had shown her the futility of revenge. Yet the Warrior Priests of Derelana served as the Goddess’ champions around the world of Einan, carrying out the Lady's vengeance against the unjust.
Therein lay the secret: she couldn't seek vengeance for what was done to her, but perhaps for another. No will of her own, but the Goddess working through her.
She could serve Derelana after all. Udela's father would be the first to taste the Goddess’ wrath; he would not be the last.
More Books by Andy Peloquin
Queen of Thieves
Book 1: Child of the Night Guild
Book 2: Thief of the Night Guild
Book 3: Queen of the Night Guild
Traitors’ Fate (Queen of Thieves/Hero of Darkness Crossover)
Hero of Darkness
Book 1: Darkblade Assassin
Book 2: Darkblade Outcast
Book 3: Darkblade Protector
Book 4: Darkblade Seeker
Book 5: Darkblade Slayer
Book 6: Darkblade Savior
Book 7: Darkblade Justice
Heirs of Destiny:
Book 1: Trial of Stone
Book 2: Crucible of Fortune
Book 3: Storm of Chaos
Book 4: Secrets of Blood
Book 5: Ascension of Death
Book 6: The Renegade Apprentice (Evren Prequel Novella)
Different, Not Damaged: A Short Story Collection
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About the Author
I am, first and foremost, a storyteller and an artist--words are my palette. Fantasy is my genre of choice, and I love to explore the darker side of human nature through the filter of fantasy heroes, villains, and everything in between. I'm also a freelance writer, a book lover, and a guy who just loves to meet new people and spend hours talking about my fascination for the worlds I encounter in the pages of fantasy novels.
Fantasy provides us with an escape, a way to forget about our mundane problems and step into worlds where anything is possible. It transcends age, gender, religion, race, or lifestyle--it is our way of believing what cannot be, delving into the unknowable, and discovering hidden truths about ourselves and our world in a brand new way. Fiction at its very best!
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Other Authors Worth Reading
I hope you don’t mind a suggestion from one avid fantasy reader to another! These are books that have kept me reading for hours, and I hope they bring you as many happy hours of enjoyment as they’ve brought me:
The Rogue Elf of Urlas (Half-Elf Chronicles Box Set #1) by J.T. Williams
Darkness descends upon the elven realm and a secret kept from one half-elf may threaten all the souls across the lands.
With his father gone to war...
...and his mother in hiding...
...Kealin must make a decision: Should he stay and train to defend their Elven land, like his father asked, or head out into the icy waters to try to change fate?
Kealin's choice will set him on a path like none other. Upon the icy seas with his three siblings, he discovers a power within himself that is not elven at all. It is older, darker, and is a danger to all the realms.
Everything he has been told has been a lie.
From adventures across the frozen North, to enslavement, gladiatorial combat, and a battle for the future of the elves of the West, a journey like no other awaits. Kealin will gain allies such as skilled thieves, wizards, an elven rebel warlord, and even a narwhal companion. But there is something greater hidden within Kealin's journey and that truth might destroy him and everyone he cares about.
This boxset is the complete Songs of Shadow trilogy, the first great arc of a six-book series, and a trilogy that has earned hundreds of fives star reviews on the individual books.
Get it now and embrace the adventures readers have compared to R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt Do'Urden and the Forgotten Realms world!
The Jigsaw Blade (The Bizarre Blades Book 1) by Stevie Collier
He always dreamed of becoming a Champion. But finding a mythical sword could cut his life short…
Finn Featherstone longs to trade in his paintbrush for a legendary Bizarre Blade. One day, after heroically rescuing a young girl and coming face-to-face with his sword-fighting idol, he is shocked to learn he is being drafted as a foot soldier. A few days later the army caravan he marches with is attacked by a pack of saber-toothed tigers. While trying to survive, Finn finds himself crashing through the ice where he mistakenly discovers a magical Blade of his very own.
Introduced to a world of Champions jealous of his random find, Finn struggles to master his sword’s sludge-spitting bad attitude. Surrounded by dubious allies, he must somehow find the courage to battle the vicious meat-eating dinosaurs that roam the land as well as trying to survive the freezing elements. And when a traitor takes down Finn’s fellow Champions, the former painter must tame his angsty weapon in a hurry if he has any hope of winning the fight of his life.
Can Finn command his deranged Blade before his dreams of glory come to a bloody end?
The Jigsaw Blade is the first book in the refreshingly unique Bizarre Blades sword and sorcery fantasy series. If you like plucky heroes, wacky humor, and ferocious dinosaurs, then you’ll love Stevie Collier’s swashbuckling tale.
Glossary
The City of Voramis
Gods of Einan
Kiro, the Master: God of virtue and nobility
Deralana, Lady of Vengeance: Goddess of warriors and vengeance
Garridos, the Apprentice: God of ventures and enterprise
The Maiden: Goddess of purity, devotion, and festivities
The Illusionist: God of coin, success, and madness
The Bright Lady: Goddess of healing
The Swordsman: God of war, heroism, and metal-smithing
The Mistress: Goddess of trysts, secrets, and whispered truths
The Bloody Minstrel: God of sickness, plague, and horrible music
The Watcher: God of the night, god of justice and vengeance. Thieves and criminals know him as “the Watcher in the Dark”.
The Lonely Goddess: Goddess of orphans and broken hearts
The Beggar God: God of outcasts, the destitute, and the needy
The Long Keeper: God of death.
Darkblade Assassin Characters
(in order of appearance)
Primary Characters:
The Hunter of Voramis: legendary assassin, half-demon, wielder of Soulhunger (Chapter 1)
Lord Harrenth Anglion: a nobleman of Praamis, one of the Hunter’s disguises (Chapter 6)
Danther: tailor of Voramis, one of the Hunter’s disguises (Chapter 13)
Farida: Child saved by the Hunter (in Life for a Life), lives in the House of Need with the Beggar Priests, sells flowers from a wooden cart (Chapter 5)
Lord Dannaros: Nobleman of Voramis, the Hunter’s target (Chapter 4)
Lady Dannaros: Wife to Lord Dannaros, daughter of a Voramian Duke (Chapter 6)
Lord Damuria: Nobleman of Voramis (Chapter 1)
Lady Damuria: Wife to Lord Damuria, the Hunter’s lover (always when he is in the disguise of Lord Anglion) (Chapter 6)
Brother Securus: Beggar Priest, Cambionari, victim (Chapter 14)
Father Reverentus: Beggar Priest, Cambionari, convinces the Hunter to eliminate the demons (Chapter 22)
Graeme: Alchemist, member of the Hidden Circle, valuable source of information, one of the Hunter’s few friends (Chapter 27)
Enemies of the Hunter:
The First/Lord Jahel: Leader of the Bloody Hand and Commander of the Dark Heresy, demon in disguise
Lord Cyrannius: reclusive nobleman who contracts the Hunter to kill Brother Securus, First/Lord Jahel in disguise (Chapter 11)
The Second: Lieutenant of the Bloody Hand, sadist and torturer (Chapter 15)
The Third/Tane: Third of the Bloody Hand, demon in disguise (Chapter 11)
Celicia: (true name: Kiara) Fourth of the Bloody Hand (Chapter 3)
The Fifth: Last Bloody Hand leader, former thief, messenger for the First (Chapter 6)
Secondary/Tertiary Characters:
Emon, Eld, and Rifter: Three drunks that stumble across the Hunter in disguise (Chapter 1)
Old Nan, Jak the Thumb, Twelve-Fingers Karrl: beggars that share the Hunter’s home (Chapter 2)
Ellinor and Arrlo: teenaged mother and infant son that share the Hunter’s home (Chapter 2)
Garlin: drunk at The Iron Arms (Chapter 3)
Sor and Yim: Bloody Hand thugs guarding the port (Chapter 4)
Master Aramon: Owner of The Golden Sunrise, the premium inn and tavern in Upper Voramis (Chapter 5)
Count Eilenn: Go-between for Lord Jahel to hire the Hunter in secret (Chapter 9)
Balgos: Courier delivering Lord Cyrannius’ missive to the Hunter (Chapter 10)
Brutus: Thug serving the Bloody Hand (Chapter 15)
Captain Erellos: Heresiarch captain, arrests the Hunter (Chapter 17)
Barchai: Servant to Lady Damuria (Chapter 21)
Brother Contritus and Brother Mendicatus: Beggar Priests (Chapter 24/25)
Fillip, Reder, Binnty and Plarno: Thugs in service to the Bloody Hand (Chapter 29)
Sergeant Alum: Heresiarch captain on the take with the Bloody Hand (Chapter 29)
Dariel: Pimp in service to the Bloody Hand (Chapter 29)
Pristo, Lord Manchego, Arkadis: Nobles of Voramis gambling in The Arms of Heaven (Chapter 30)
Mistress Croquembouche: Madame at The Arms of Heaven (Chapter 30)
Carac, Galette, and Mille-Feuille: Courtesans at The Arms of Heaven (Chapter 30)
Corporal Anders, Frollin, Paytr, and Derrin: Heresiarchs in service to Lord Jahel and the Dark Heresy (Chapter 30)
Grom and Alden: Bloody Hand strong-arms (Chapter 31)
Handel, Kelnon, Arris, Prios, Balddin: the highest-ranked members of the Bloody Hand outside of the Five Fingers (Chapter 31)
Kad: Bouncer, giant (Chapter 31)
Fraid, Oden: Thugs guarding the Second of the Bloody Hand (Chapter 32)
McCreedy: Pickpocket who leads the Hunter through the tunnels beneath Voramis to the First and the Third (Chapter 33)
Darkblade Outcast Characters
(in order of appearance/mention)
Primary Characters:
The Hunter of Voramis: legendary assassin, half-demon, wielder of Soulhunger (Part 1, Chapter 1)
Jak, Old Nan, Karrl, Ellinor: beggars who shared the Hunter’s home in Voramis, slain by the Demon of Voramis (Part 1, Chapter 1—see Darkblade Assassin)
Demon of Voramis/Lord Cyrannius/Lord Jahel/The First of the Bloody Hand: Abiarazi (demon), villain, murderer, slain by the Hunter (Part 1, Chapter 1—see Darkblade Assassin)
Brother Securus: priest of the Beggar God in Voramis, Cambionari sworn to hunt down the half-demon Bucelarii, slain by the Hunter (Part 1, Chapter 1—see Darkblade Assassin)
Graeme: alchemist, lover of erotic poems and romances, member of the information-collecting Hidden Circle, the Hunter’s only “friend” in Voramis (Part 1, Chapter 2—see Darkblade Assassin)
Farida: child rescued as an infant by the Hunter (in Life for a Life), cared for by the Beggar Priests, slain by the Demon of Voramis (Part 1, Chapter 2—see Darkblade Assassin)
Sir Danna Esgrimon: Knight of the Order of Piety in service to the Beggar God in Malandria, redhead, Cambionari priest (Part 1, Chapter 4)
Visibos: Sir Danna’s knight apprentice, in service to the Beggar God in Malandria, scholar, lover of soft beds, Cambionari priest (Part 1, Chapter 4)
Arric: Bandit, thug, side-stabbing bastard, slain by the Hunter (Part 1, Chapter 5)
Hardwell: the Hunter’s alias, former soldier of Praamis, current sellsword and adventurer (Part 1, Chapter 6)
Elivast: chestnut-colored horse, friendly, very wet nose (first appearance Part 1, Chapter 2, first named in Part 1, Chapter 8)
Pathfinder: Sir Danna’s black warhorse, loves treats (first appearance Part 1, Chapter 2, first named in Part 1, Chapter 9)
Father Reverentus: high priest of the Beggar God in Voramis, old, member of the Cambionari, not the Hunter’s biggest fan (Part 1, Chapter 10—see Darkblade Assassin)
Celicia: Fourth of the Bloody Hand, enemy turned ally, helped the Hunter defeat the Demon of Voramis, really named Kiara (Part 1, Chapter 10—see Darkblade Assassin)
Bardin: former Illusionist Cleric, current homeless madman, very bald, believes the Hunter is named “Rell”, slain by the demon Toramin (Part 2, Chapter 2)
Brother Supplicatus: Beggar Priest in the House of Need in Malandria, skeptical of the Hunter’s existence (Part 2, Chapter 5)
Orrin and Grinder: thugs, bullies, thieves, general menaces to society, slain by the Hunter (Part 2, Chapter 7)
Lord Apus: merchant noble of Malandria, lives in the tallest tower in the city, member of the Order of Midas (first mention in Part 2, Chapter 12, first appearance in Part 3, Chapter 14)
Karannos Taivoro: mad playwright, famous for his works of erotic poetry and romance, original Illusionist Cleric, savant and lover of ciphers (Part 2, Chapter 15)
The Savage Three: Gratius, Roccus, and Kalia, fierce fighters, serving the Order of Midas, terrible at choosing fearsome names (Part 2, Chapter 17)
Toramin: merchant noble of Malandria, leader of the Order of Midas, demon in human flesh, murderer, slain by the Hunter (Part 3, Chapter 4)
Eredon: merchant noble of Malandria, member of the Order of Midas, fat and greedy (Part 3, Chapter 4)
Arette: merchant noble of Malandria, member of the Order of Midas, slain by Toramin (Part 3, Chapter 5)
Lord Knight Moradiss: knight in service to the Beggar Priests, commander of the Cambionari of Malandria, wielder of Ildaris, slain by the Hunter (Part 3, Chapter 14)
Father Pietus: High Beggar Priest in Malandria, very old, slain by the Hunter (Part 3, Chapter 15)
Hailen: child cared for by the Beggar Priests, innocent to an extreme (Part 3, Chapter 15)
