As Clay and Lally adapt to life in Orosturbe, Lored and his companions find themselves trapped on a desert island.
Freya Pickard’s style is fresh and lively, rhythmic and cadenced, in step with the development of the story, with the dialogues and the peculiar traits of the characters. Her imagery is decidedly rich and vivid, capable of taking the reader on a tangible, real journey. C Messelodi
When Nilo rescues Lored and his friends, he has no idea he will shortly be facing imminent death.
If the four companions can’t find a way to heal Nilo of the poison in his body, they will never be able to leave his island.
Can Lored and the others discover the right antidote before Nilo dies and leaves them stranded just a few days sailing from Jargoiden?
This is a fantasy quest unlike all others. If you enjoy contemporary fantasy writers such as D Wallace Peach, Elizabeth Baxter and Chris R Sendrowski, you’ll love Freya Pickard’s dark fantasy series, The Kaerling!
Excerpt
Derri obediently seated himself as instructed, turning awkwardly to face the back of the creature's head. Jas sat in front of the boy and reached into his cloak pocket for several lengths of material. He handed one to Derri.
“Wrap this around your face,†he ordered. “The sharresh-idenru reach flight height extremely quickly and we don't want you passing out or getting dust in your eyes. Have you secured the straps?â€
Derri hadn't and fumbled with the leather harness until his thighs and waist were secure. Then he took the thin scarf from Jas' hand and wrapped it around his face, knotting it beneath his chin. He tapped the man on the shoulder.
“Why doesn't this beast have a rider, like the green one?â€
“The sharresh-idenru know where to go. Any one of us can control it, though, for this journey it'll be Dia who's in charge.â€
That wasn't a surprise, Derri thought to himself.
“But Fularhan needs a rider in order to make sure the luggage and servants reach Orosturbe safely.â€
The sharresh-idenru beneath them tensed and Derri felt the forelegs bend.
“Brace yourself!†Jas shouted.
With a sudden upward movement, the monster sprang into the air. Derri felt as though he'd left his stomach down on the ground and his heart rate doubled. He was inhaling and couldn't exhale. Up, up they surged, the long, leathery wings sweeping up and down in short, successive beats. The air was cold and Derri couldn't see anything as the scarf covered his eyes. He felt the muscles of the beast flex and release and flex again before they suddenly levelled out and glided effortlessly.
He became aware of a prickling all over his skin as he discovered his stomach was where it always had been and his heart rate slowed. Power was being used somewhere close by. Why would one of the kaerlings be using their gift? Then he remembered his lessons in Orosturbe; the sharresh-idenru used their life force to keep their vast bulk airborne.
“You can uncover your eyes now,†Jas shouted above the roaring wind.
Derri fumbled at the cloth and gazed down.
The sharresh-idenru flew above a shadowed country. The low sun lit the sky to his right with a pink glow. Below them the land spread out; mountains, valleys, lakes, rivers, high hills and ravines. Derri felt his jaw drop and hurriedly closed his mouth, not liking the taste of the scarf.
He hadn't realised the world was so beautiful. Spread out like a giant map, forests passed beneath him as the sun rose higher, filling the landscape with colour. The jet black and red-orange rocks of Jargoiden looked beautiful from this vantage point, not oppressive as they did when one stood beneath them.
Derri felt dampness moisten the material that covered his face. Tears of despair and joy flowed and he felt odd, disorientated, as though he were a bridge that linked one land to another. The strange feeling vanished and he rested his head against Jas' back, exhaustion taking over from emotions he didn’t understand. He was aware of the bone hard spine pressing into his chest as sleep took him swiftly.
