Malarat by Jessica Rydill (Book Three of the Shaman series)

Release date: February 28, 2019

Sub-genre: Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy

About Malarat:

The Duc de Malarat wants to conquer the Kingdom of Lefranu. In his army ride the ruthless and fanatical Domini Canes, warrior monks of the Inquisition who have forged a secret weapon to cripple the power of the shamans.
But when Malarat’s eldest son challenges a stranger to a duel, he sets in motion a terrifying train of events. For the stranger is Malchik Vasilyevich, now a man; and his sister Annat stands with her allies and the Railway People as a fully-trained shaman, prepared to defend the city of Yonar from Malarat’s army. 
But Malchik and Annat will face foes much worse than the Duc de Malarat, even as the struggle that began in Lefranu spreads to the spirit world and beyond.

Excerpt:

Huldis felt trapped in this train: a box on wheels that walled her in like a coffin. She laid her hand on the window glass to steady herself, and shut her eyes. The light she had seen was closer, and she could distinguish the emptiness at the core of it. No shaman possessed such a signature. Huldis wondered whether she should go on, or wait until Yuda and Annat joined her. She did not know what had happened to them; she might be the only one fit to face this and find out what it was. Gathering her skirt in her hand, she moved into the final carriage, the one before the luggage van and the caboose.
   Someone was standing half-way down the corridor with his back turned. He wore the blue robe and high-crowned hat of a Doxan priest, and he was standing motionless, too still for a living man. Huldis felt her mouth turn dry. To reach out in her mind would be madness. She could sense a power akin to that of a shaman, but greater than anything she had ever experienced. Instead of the light or shadow of a durmat, the figure seemed to radiate emptiness.
   He turned to face her. She glimpsed his features, the thick beard and brown skin; his mouth was open as if in a scream, but inside was a hole, and his eyes were pits of fire. Huldis threw up her hands in a gesture of warding, as Yuda had taught her. The figure seemed to rush upon her without moving, seeking to engulf her in the circles of its mouth and eyes.
   The wall she had made would not hold. The being she confronted was inconceivably strong, as if a volcano had taken human form. She watched the barrier tremble and fail. Raising her hands, she threw bolts of lightning using her full strength, which she would not have turned on any human. She saw the light arcing from her palms. The threads fused together and touched the man’s form, but shrivelled and fell apart before they singed his garments.
   Huldis dared not stop. However weak she was, she must fight. She wondered if the entity would draw power from her, feeding until she was sucked dry. She fired again, but the blast rebounded, burning her hands and hurling her against the carriage door. She felt the impact on her spine and cried out. She fell, twisted on her side, and found she could not move.

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About Jessica Rydill:

Jessica Rydill writes fantasy and collects Asian Ball Jointed Dolls, or BJD. Many are based on characters from her books. In her spare time she haunts National Trust properties and visits English parish churches in search of Green Men, Shelagh na Gigs and Misericords, and any traces of mediaeval art or sculpture.

Jessica’s novels inhabit a parallel world known as Mir, where shamans have formidable powers, and magic is a part of everyday life. Steam trains and Norman knights live in the same country, and Goddesses appear in person.

Kristell Ink Publishing, part of BFS Award-winning Grimbold Books, have reissued Jessica’s first two books, Children of the Shaman, The Glass Mountain and Malarat. The fourth, never-before-published Winterbloom debuted on February 28th. All four books have cover art by artist Daniele Serra.

Visit Jessica’s web-site at http://www.shamansland.com to learn more about Mir, the shamanworld.

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