Taking Vengeance by +M. K. Theodoratus
Historical Fantasy Fiction
Furious,
Mariah and Ashton, seek vengeance for brutal attack on their daughter
by vicious Sea Raiders.In a tale older than time itself, Taking Vengeance tells a story about the strength and conviction of a mother's love against those who would harm her family. After witnessing centuries of fighting and chaos against her people and her own bickering with Linden, the ruler of the Far Isles Half-Elven, Mariah has withdrawn from politics to seek a peaceful life as a healer.
But Mariah's peace is short lived when Sea Raiders attack her daughter's family, leaving her at death's door. The act of bigoted cruelty plunges Mariah into despair. Her grief is sensed by Ashton, her partner who is far away spying on their southern enemies, and he uses his elven magic to rush to her side. The couple's rage boils over at the outrage. Ashton urges Mariah to belt on her sword and seek vengeance against their daughter's attackers.
Mariah discovers the Sea Raiders wield a strange new magic that threatens all they hold dear. But can she convince Linden that their country is in danger before it's too late?
Taking Vengeance is a tale set in the world of the Far Isles
Half-Elven, who constantly fight among themselves even though they’re beset by
enemies on all sides.
Mariah lifted her arms over her head, stretching to feel the full
impact of the retreating gale. If only Ashton and I could sail away from
our troubles with our daughter!
Tired from a day of mediating petty disputes for her holding and
helping at the healer's hall, Mariah stood on a promontory over-looking the
churning eastern sea. The wind whipped her loose chestnut hair around her head.
The gusts tempted her to ride the buffeting air currents, not keeping her
pointed ears politely tacked to her head out of sight under her hair. The
illusion of freedom teased the weight of time and sorrow from her thoughts.
For a moment she thought of removing her shirt to feel the wind against
her unbound breasts but changed her mind. Flight held no allure without Ashton
next to her. When alone, they often sailed the air currents, making love, their
souls merging until their bodies glowed and sparked with their commingled
power.
Her mind reached out to caress the tether of woven energy between them.
Ashton was angry. Her lips tightened, but she couldn’t help him. They had
agreed to live apart to ease Linden's complaints that they picked at him, two
against one.
:Mother, where are you?
Her daughter’s silent cry riveted Mariah’s attention. Norerah and her
family should be far at sea by now. Unexpected pain invaded her mind as she
sought out her daughter, only to catch a dim glimpse of her own hall far to the
west.
:Ambush.
The thought was a bare whisper before the connection between them went
dark. Mariah transferred home across the leagues without thinking and found her
daughter bleeding on the floor of her own hall. A harpoon pierced the babe in
her carrypack and opened a gaping wound across Norerah’s back until it embedded
in her shoulder. Her daughter's reddish-brown warrior’s braid fell across the
blood-soaked rag rug the two had stitched together during the long winter
nights.
Kneeling by the expanding stain, Mariah struggled to remain calm. She
took a deep breath as her fingers traced the path of the harpoon barb under the
skin. Using the magic that made her a skilled healer, she mentally probed the
broken ribs and lacerated flesh as she sought the source of pulsing blood. She
needed to stop the flow; Norie had already lost too much.
Mariah took deep breaths to stay calm. The aftermath of battles always
crippled her thinking. She forced the mocking memory of her elder son, sprawled
on a battlefield pierced by arrows, from her mind. The healer had no time to
soothe that wound to her heart. Only a thread tied her daughter’s life to this
world.
Twisting her hair into a knot with bloody hands, Mariah bit her lip. I
refuse to give her up to the Fates! The Summerlands can’t have her. One child
is enough to give up too early.
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Comics first hooked M. K. Theodoratus on fantasy. When she discovered
L. Frank Baum's first Oz books, the strong female characters drew her into the
possibilities of alternate worlds. Then, she stared writing in grade school
when a teacher assigned a short story lesson. The assignment was incomplete at
25 pages, but she finished the book by the next summer. The Children’s
Librarian, the only other person who’s read it, thought it well-done.
Theodoratus has enjoyed at least four writing careers, including non-fiction.
Now she writes fantasy ... mostly because it amuses her. Theodoratus writes in
the world of her grumpy Far Isles Half-Elven, often featuring Mariah del Oesti
or Renna of Ren Creek. She also explores other magical worlds of ghosts,
gargoyles, and Fae. Most of her newer stories are set in Andor where demons
prey on humans. You can read more about her fantasy at http://www.mktheodoratus.com
Website: http://www.mktheodoratus.com
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/PCGy87
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kaytheod
