Frozen Prospects Read online

  Seeing his opponent stumble, the furred mage smiled and raised his hand once again to strike Va'del down, only to blink in amazement as I'rone's knife came spinning through the air to embed itself in his throat.

  The blow wasn't one that killed instantly, and for a second Va'del was worried he'd be consumed by flame before the other man could die, but the mage seemed unable to wield his power through the pain.

  Shivering from exhaustion and coughing up blood, Va'del limped around the cavern, desperate to find Jain. He found her on the far end of the cavern floor, bound and gagged, but alive and sobbing with joy.

  Va'del just managed to cut through Jain's bonds with his sword and tell her that Cindi was outside somewhere, exhausted and in danger of freezing, and then he collapsed into unconsciousness.

  ##

  Once again Va'del found himself in darkness, a friendly blackness that drew him down further and further inside himself. After a time though, the darkness gradually turned cold and hard, pushing him back to consciousness and life.

  Jain started crying when she saw he was awake. The cuts and bruises Va'del had missed seeing in his exhaustion the night before were very much evident on her face now, and the teenager realized that she and Cindi must have used all of their healing on him, leaving none to speed her recovery from whatever the bandits had done to her.

  "I thought you were dead. All that snow, it was terrible. And then you were here, and I could feel Cindi working the power."

  Va'del stroked Jain's hair. "It's ok. You should have known she could augment me enough to face off those bandits."

  "No, it wasn't enough. I kept waiting for the working to stop because they'd cut you down. Then it did stop. Only I reached out, and you were there."

  Cindi tottered into view. For once she didn't seem disapproving of their clasped hands, or the fact that Jain crying into Va'del's chest.

  It was several minutes before Jain calmed down enough to finish telling her story. "It was the worked stones he wanted. He was a mage, but apparently the lowland mages don't know how to work gemstones. Somehow he learned of our ability and set out to steal the knowledge of making them from the People."

  Cindi patted Jain on the arm and nodded. "It looks like he recruited someone from lands further north who knew enough to keep most of his men alive in the cold and snow, but once he secured some worked stones he wasn't skilled enough to decipher the means of their construction."

  Jain wiped away her tears and picked up where the Guadel had left off. "So he set out to capture a Guadel. Only he got me, who couldn't really tell him how to do it. Luckily he didn't figure that out or he would have just killed me."

  Cindi rose to her feet and turned to walk away. "You're a good man Va'del. You have a capacity for violence and darkness I don't think you're fully aware of. That scares me more than you could possibly understand, but you're a good man all the same, and I'm in a better position to know that than most. I'll do what I can for you when we get back to the Capital."

  Va'del found that his voice worked with only a little more than usual effort. "Will we get back?"

  Jain nodded, "There are plenty of supplies, and even a couple of captured gurra. We can stay here until you've healed, and then make the trip back."

  Cindi smiled, "Who would have thought we'd not only kill off all of those beasts, but also survive to return home?"

  Va'del found himself returning the smile, for the first time feeling no hatred towards Cindi. "It was because of you. I never would have believed I could do something like that; you really are powerful."

  Cindi shook her head, seemingly disturbed by something. "No, I did my part, but you've got far more potential than you know."

  The Guadel turned to Jain and wagged her finger in admonition. "I know that the two of you have a bond now that goes beyond the friendship you might have had before, but please spare an old woman's blushes and remember that you're not wedded yet."

  Va'del had a split second to wonder what Cindi meant about a bond, before he remembered that Jain had been inside his mind while she was augmenting him at the very end of the battle.

  The sudden fear that she would be repulsed by what she had seen was so powerful as to nearly sweep away Va'del's ability to think, until he looked up at her and saw the tender concern that hadn't left her eyes from the moment he'd awoke.

  She knows. She knows exactly who I am and loves me anyway.

  The contentment that filled Va'del was as strong as his fears from a moment before.

  --THE END--

  Continue reading for an excerpt from Thawed Fortunes, the exciting sequel to Frozen Prospects.

  Acknowledgments:

  Thanks needs to go out to a number of people who've served as advanced readers for this book. Cassy, Monika, Mark, Matthew, Natalie, and Larry. Additional thanks to Nate, Vaughn and Brian for reasons they'll understand.

  Finally thanks to my wife, Katie, who is my most dependable reader, and who puts up with me being locked away behind my keyboard more than is healthy.

  If you enjoyed Frozen Prospects please help spread the word. Forums, reviews-either on the big sites like Amazon and Barnes and Noble or on your blog, all help. The question of how many of the stories currently rattling around in my head get written in the next few years depends in no small part on my fans, and the way in which they spread the word about my writing.

  About the Author:

  Dean started reading seriously in the second grade due to a competition and has spent most of the subsequent three decades lost in other people's worlds. After reading several local libraries more or less dry of sci-fi and fantasy, he started spending more time wandering around worlds of his own creation to avoid the boredom of the 'real' world.

  Things worsened, or improved depending on your point of view, when he first started experimenting with writing while finishing up his accounting degree. These days Dean has a wonderful wife and daughter to keep him rather more grounded, but the idea of bringing others along with him as he meets interesting new people in universes nobody else has ever seen tends to drag him back to his computer on a fairly regular basis.

  Keep up to speed on Dean's latest projects at http://www.deansonlinefiction.com/ or follow me on Twitter @Writer_Dean

  Thawed Fortunes Excerpt

  Chapter 1

  Va'del kept expecting the cold to stop bothering him, but if anything the closer they got to the Capital, the more it bit at his extremities. He'd come to realize that truly untiring viciousness could only be found in nature.

  The teenager slowed for a moment and looked back to make sure Jain and Cindi were still following him. Jain's face was hidden by the elongated hood of her coat, but Va'del had learned to read more into her posture over the last two weeks than he would have thought possible.

  While Va'del was watching, Jain went from a state of obvious exhaustion to walking with the perky little bounce she used when trying to convince him that she'd be fine. Va'del shook his head in amazement. Physically Jain had been through more than he and Cindi put together, but she hadn't complained even once.

  Satisfied that Jain was exhausted but not on the verge of collapse, Va'del's gaze strayed to Cindi. If the trip had been the hardest physically for Jain, Cindi had been the one to suffer the most emotionally.

  The older woman had been a member of the Guadel, the elite group responsible for protecting the People and serving as a court of last resort, for more years than the younger pair had been alive. She was one of the most stubborn, opinionated people he knew, but all those years of service still deserved better than she'd received.

  Losing a spouse to an avalanche, being forced to leave their body buried under tons of snow was about the worst way to lose them. Cindi hadn't complained, not really, but Va'del had noticed that Jain practically had to force the older woman to eat. Va'del hadn't stopped worrying about Cindi any more than he'd stopped worrying about Jain, but he'd finally decided there was nothing to be done but get her home. Hopefully her fri
ends would be able to do more for her than he or Jain had managed so far.

  When Va'del had first met Cindi, he would have flatly refused to believe he'd ever feel anything but hatred and resentment for the older woman. He'd had his heart set on becoming a candidate, and then eventually a full Guadel. Cindi had been determined to ensure that neither event ever happened, and done her best to build a case for why he couldn't ever be allowed to achieve that dream.

  When Jain's life had been on the line Cindi had come through despite Va'del's doubts. Rather than insisting that she and Va'del return to the nearest village, she'd helped him follow the bandits back to their cave. She'd then proceeded to augment Va'del enough for him to fight his way in and rescue Jain.

  The ability to use magic to strengthen their husbands beyond the limits imposed on normal men, was a key part of what allowed a woman to become a Guadel. Similarly, being able to trust someone enough not to fight the mental invasion augmentation required, was necessary for a man to become a member of that privileged group.

  For all that the ability to augment or be augmented was a vital requirement, it wasn't the only one, and the Guadel seemed to operate under many rules that Va'del didn't know about in addition to the ones he had figured out.

  One of the chief laws seemed to be that the link, and the augmentation that flowed from it, was only to be shared between husband and wives. There were occasional exceptions allowed for those women who had chosen to sponsor a young man as a candidate, but even that was rare.

  Worry over what kind of punishment might be awaiting them once they returned to the Capital had resulted in several fitful nights, but he'd been unable to get a straight response from Cindi. Each time he'd attempted to talk to her, she'd looked at him with pain-filled eyes, and he'd choked the words back down.

  The woolly pack gurra behind Va'del, bumped him with its head as the wind picked back up, reminding him they needed to get moving again. Gently tugging on the pack animal's lead rope, Va'del set off down the winding trail.

  The little party traveled for another color cycle before the dark smudge on the horizon grew enough to be identifiable as one of the two main entrances to the Capital.

  Jain and Cindy, obviously on the last dregs of their strength, stumbled into the cave entrance and Va'del followed with a sigh of relief. This had been the worst trip he'd been on yet. Hunger had played a factor as the provisions they'd taken from the bandits had been less than expected, but he suspected it had more to do with the fact that he'd been in charge on this trip.

  He'd always known that constantly battling the environment took a lot out of a person, but adding in the recurring worry that some mishap was going to result in one of them being seriously injured had been more depleting than he'd expected. Making it to the Capital meant he'd finally be able to wake up and not still be hungry and exhausted from the day before.

  The guards, who emerged from the near darkness at the first bend in the tunnel, weren't the smiling, friendly pair Va'del expected. Instead, there were no less than five heavily-armed men, all of whom looked like they expected a dozen bandits to come swarming into the caves at any moment.

  Va'del felt himself tense up until he remembered that nobody at the Capital knew the trio had destroyed the bandit threat. Increased security was just a side effect of the attacks and not anything for Va'del or the others to worry about.

  The teenager continued to think that until Alir, a guardsman trainee who'd never liked Va'del, realized who was approaching.

  "Sir, that's trainee Va'del."

  The large, stocky guardsman who seemed to be in command of the contingent wasn't anyone Va'del recognized, but the older man had his weapon out and pointed towards Va'del almost before the teenager knew what was going on.

  "Please keep your hands away from your weapons, trainee. Under the authority of the Council, I hereby place you under arrest until the council members can question you regarding the events reported by Guadel Cindi."

  Va'del felt a lifetime of respect for authority war against the habit of command he'd picked up over the last few days, and the inherent injustice of what was happening. With both Jain and Cindi between him and the guards, there was nothing they could do to stop him from drawing his weapons, but challenging five to one odds when he was unaugmented was nothing less than suicide.

  Cindi broke the monetary standoff, shaking herself as if to force her mind back from somewhere distant. "You will ignore that arrest order. There have been further developments since my last written report to the Council. You'll treat this young man with all due respect until I get things straightened out."

  Alir laughed before his commander could respond. "On whose authority?"

  The commander shot his impetuous trainee a look that said words would be exchanged later, but let the comment stand.

  Cindi seemed momentarily confuse. "On my authority as a Guadel, obviously."

  The guards all shook their heads. "No disrespect intended mistress, but I know all the Guadel by sight, and you aren't one of them. You're most assuredly not Guadel Cindi as you tried to imply. In fact I can't think of a Guadel that you look less like. Even if you were who you claim to be, the orders couldn't be overridden by anyone less than someone from the Council."

  Cindi looked back at Va'del, obviously unable to believe what was going on, and then the same realization flashed in her eyes that had just occurred to him. The woman who'd left the Capital nearly a month ago had looked very little like the woman standing before the guardsmen now. She'd lost so much weight that her clothes hung around a frame that was only slightly more than half as big as it'd been previously. Even more drastic was the way she'd aged since Oh'scir had died. Try as he might, Va'del couldn’t blame the captain for not recognizing her.

  Something changed in Cindi's expression, and for the first time since they'd saved Jain, some of her old fire was back. "Fine, send one of your men for a Councilor and we'll clear the record right now."

  The Captain shook his head again, and movement behind him revealed the presence of newly-arrived guards with crossbows. His expression seemed to say that he wasn't going to back down, and he was even less likely to send for one of the Guadel to come running like some kind of errand boy. Not based on nothing more than the say so of an old woman and a couple of kids.

  Va'del placed a hand on Cindi's arm and shrugged as she looked at him. "We aren't getting anywhere. There isn't anything left but to let them take me while you get everything straightened out."

  Jain's sharp intake of breath eloquently stated how she felt about the idea, but after meeting Va'del's gaze for several seconds, Cindi finally nodded. "I'll get you out of there as quickly as I'm able."

  As the guards roughly disarmed Va'del and then closed ranks around him, Cindi shot the Captain a look that should have frozen his blood. "Treat him with as much respect as your orders allow, or by the Powers you'll be sorry before I'm done with you. My word on it as a Guadel."

  There was a small chance the threat would be enough to encourage the guardsmen to be gentler than they otherwise would, but Alir's spiteful gaze seemed to indicate otherwise.

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Thawed Fortunes Excerpt

 

 

 
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