(The Small Gods #1)
Published:October 2013
Genre: Fantasy
The Blurb
A hundred
times a hundred seasons have turned since the Goddess banished the Small Gods
to the sky, leaving the land to mankind alone.
For Prince
Teryk, life behind the castle walls is boring and uneventful until he stumbles
upon an arcane scroll in a long-forgotten chamber. The parchment speaks of
Small Gods, the fall of man, and the kingdom's savior—the firstborn child of
the rightful king. It's his opportunity to prove himself to his father, the
king, and assure his place in history. All he needs to do is find the man from
across the sea—a man who can't possibly exist—and save mankind.
But ancient
magic has been put in motion by a mysterious cult determined to see the Small Gods
reborn. Powerful forces clash, uncaring for the lives of mortals in their
struggle to prevent the return of the banished ones, or aid in their rebirth.
Named in a
prophecy or not, what chance does a cocky prince who barely understands the
task laid before him stand in a battle with the gods?
About The Author
Bruce Blake lives
on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. When pressing issues like
shovelling snow and building igloos don't take up his spare time, Bruce can be
found taking the dog sled to the nearest coffee shop to work on his short
stories and novels.
Actually,
Victoria, B.C. is only a couple hours north of Seattle, Wash., where more rain
is seen than snow. Since snow isn't really a pressing issue, Bruce spends more
time trying to remember to leave the "u" out of words like
"colour" and "neighbour" than he does shovelling (and watch
out for those pesky double l's). The father of two, Bruce is also the trophy
husband of a burlesque diva.
Bruce's first
short story, "Another Man's Shoes" was published in the Winter 2008
edition of Cemetery Moon. Another short, "Yardwork," was made into a
podcast in Oct., 2011 by Pseudopod. Bruce's first Icarus Fell novel, "On
Unfaithful Wings", was published in Dec., 2011 while the follow up,
"All Who Wander Are Lost", came out in July, 2012. The third in the
series, "Secrets of the Hanged Man", came out in July, 2013. The
first part of his Khirro's Journey epic fantasy trilogy, "Blood of the
King", was released Sept., 2012, book 2, "Spirit of the King,"
in Dec., 2012, and book 3, "Heart of the King," in Feb., 2013.
The two books in the Small Gods series, "When Shadows Fall"
and "The Darkness Comes", were released in 2013, after which Bruce
took a year out to concentrate on his family and career. Book three in the
Small Gods series is Bruce Blake's current project.
Excerpt
Prologue
Balls
of flame fell from the sky, shattering homes and skulls alike, burning gardens
and turning forests to ash, setting alight both farmers’ fields and farmers’
lives with disregard. Much later, it would be said the Goddess banished them
for their wicked ways, but on that day, the Small Gods were naught but men and
women afraid for their lives. In the eyes of history and legend, the width of
the line between banishment and flight is thin.
***
“Watch
out!” the priestess Rak’bana shouted, ducking behind Love—one of the granite
Pillars of Life.
A
ball of flame hammered into the earth with a spray of dirt and the stench of
burnt grass. She covered her head, waiting for the ground to cease shaking
before she peeked out from behind her arm to find her twin brother. Ine’vesi
peered back at her from around the corner of the next column in the row of
nine—Trust.
“Are
you alright?” he asked.
The
crackle of flames all but kept his voice from her ears, but they were well
enough connected she knew what he’d ask without needing to hear. She nodded in
response and he crept out from behind the column, the roll of parchment in his
hand.
“Time
is short, Vesi,” she said. “The Goddess is angry.”
Ine’vesi
made no effort to hide the sneer upon his lips as he hurried across the ruined
garden to her side. Before he opened his mouth to spill out the blaspheme
imprinted on his brow, she raised her hand and gestured with her fingers. A
thick stream of water the height of five men rose from the river and flowed
across the air. It splashed into the newly lit fire with a hiss of doused
flames and white steam billowing toward the sky. Another ball of fire crashed into
the top edge of the nearest wall, sending chunks of stone tumbling to the
ground. The twin siblings ducked their heads.
“We
have to go,” she urged.
“Out
of the city.” Ine’vesi brandished the roll of parchment. “Once we have
inscribed the scroll, it will not be safe here. The wrong hands will find it.”
A
fiery ball crashed into the base of a towering pine, its flames leaping up the
trunk, spreading through its branches, jumping to the next tree like a playful
squirrel, then skipping to the next. Rak’bana raised her hand again, intending
to call the river and extinguish the fire to save her garden, but Ine’vesi
caught her by the wrist.
“Let
it burn, Bana. Let it be a testament to the unjust wrath of a jealous Goddess.”
The
priestess’ eyes widened and she shook her head, unable to comprehend why he’d
speak such blasphemous words. She pulled her hand free of his grip and faltered
back a step toward the river.
“You
are a priest, Vesi. You know as well as I that we have brought this on
ourselves. Righteous anger falls from the sky, not jealousy. The Goddess gives
what is deserved.”
“The--”
Another
ball slammed into the pine. The great tree leaned with a creak of wood, bending
slowly at first, then the trunk split with a crack louder than thunder, and the
tree that had grown in the courtyard for a dozen hundred seasons toppled,
spilling flame across the dry grass. The fire raced toward the siblings, fueled
by a swirling fireball, then another. A third pelted the ground, the closest
yet, and the impact threw Ine’vesi into his sister, his momentum carrying them
both into the river.
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