Release Date: October 9, 2014
Subgenre: Heroic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, Magical Realsim
Subgenre: Heroic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, Magical Realsim
ABOUT Wizard of Ends Book 2:
The Queen of Ends has been cursed into a rabid creature of darkness. Only Lashlor’s old flame, Rune Arcana, might be able to remove the curse. Lashlor believes he can find Rune in the Mountains of Eclador. The only trouble is – Rune now despises him, and, in all of recorded history, no one has ever returned from these mountains. Fearing the Wizard of Ends will not be able to bring help, the king goes against Lashlor’s advice by enlisting the aid of other magic users.
Excerpt:
King Lanaran watched as the two cat-men took positions on either side of the table near the beyeni’s head. Radlor undid the sleeping spell on Queen Narraki, and the beyeni’s glowing orange eyes snapped open. It snarled and tried to leap up, but the cat-men placed their hands – claws retracted, to Lanaran’s approval – on the dark creature’s torso, holding it down with apparent ease.
The druid stepped forward, his hands weaving intricate patterns in the air above the queen. Any moment now, if it worked, the beyeni would see Assassa instead of Nyssayth.
The druid said, “Be calm, and let those gathered here do what they will. I command it.”
The beyeni spat at him and increased its struggles. Nyssayth sighed, then weaved more patterns in the air. The dark creature’s eyes fixed on him, then the anger left them and a sense of awe filled the Great Library, as if all within its walls saw whatever it was the beyeni did. Nyssayth moved to her tail end, still weaving his illusion. His eyes rolled back, displaying the whites, and the beyeni calmed, to Lanaran’s relief.
The cat-men removed their hands from the queen at Violet’s command, but remained at Narraki’s side.
Radlor administered the potion. Some of it trickled from the beyeni’s lips, but the wizard paid no attention. Perhaps it did not matter that some was lost.
It’s too easy, Lanaran thought, an ominous feeling settling over him.
Temdin raised the magical staff and pointed it at the beyeni, then he and Radlor began chanting. “A curse upon an innocent has been cast. We call upon the Great Beyond, to make this curse the past.”
The beyeni snarled and thrashed, foaming at the mouth. The cat-men stepped forward to restrain her. Nyssayth’s eyes glowed, and the beyeni relaxed somewhat.
The wizards continued the chant. “The rabid bitch before us will exist no more. Our queen we will see once more. This creature of darkness is a mythical carcass.”
The library darkened.
The wizards cast each other worried glances.
The witch should have stayed to help, Lanaran thought. She was the expert spell caster among them. Why in all the lands had he allowed her to leave? Because she said she couldn’t do it, he reminded himself.
“As this rod strikes, come to us, oh Snykes.”
Lanaran shuddered at the mention of the Snykes – ancient gods believed to have once protected humans, before they had been angered by all the evil humans perpetuated.
“Free the queen from this curse. Let her be no more perverse.”
Temdin struck the rod on the table three times, once on either side of the beyeni, and once at the head of the table, opposite where Nyssayth stood.
A gust of unnatural wind swept through the library.
The wall torches flickered and went out, plunging the room into darkness.
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Vanessa Finaughty is an author of many genres who now focuses on fantasy and science fiction. She’s published 15 books, of which 6 are fantasy. Vanessa grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, and still lives there with her husband of fifteen years, her baby daughter and plenty of furry, four-legged ‘children’.
Vanessa has always been passionate about books, and knew from a young age that she wanted to write them one day. She loves animals, coffee and the smell of wet grass, and hates liars, sweltering weather and long queues. Her interests include reading, photography, the supernatural, mythology, aliens and outer space, ancient history, life’s mysteries and martial arts, of which she has five years’ experience.
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