Title:
The Prophecy Chronicles: Prophecy Foretold
Author:
Ron Hartman
Email: ron_hartman@mchsi.com
Excerpt
Heat Level: 1
Book
Heat Level: 1 (Graphic Violence)
Genre:
Fantasy
Buy
at: www.roguephoenixpress.com
These are dark days for Naphthali. The king
has been murdered, the land invaded by the Imperial Army. It will absorb
Naphthali into an Empire that stretches across all of Enialé at any cost. The
ravaged people cling to an ancient promise, an assurance that a prophesied
savior will come to set them free.
Daniel Martin is trapped in a life that
hasn’t gone as expected. His pharmacy is struggling and he is losing all hope
of making a difference in his patients’ lives. His family is the one shining
light in his disenchanted life, but he is torn from them when an accident draws
him to Naphthali. The people need him, but Daniel is driven by his need to
return to the family he loves. Is he the Prophesied One? Only time will tell as
both the Empire and the Resistance battle for Daniel while the fate of Naphthali
hangs in the balance…
EXCERPT
"Is there another way out?" Soren
asked. Alaric grimly shook his head. The captain rested his hand on the door
knob and looked back. "We move quickly. Away from the house, back to the
other district…we'll lose them in the streets." He glanced at Daniel and
snapped, "Get your hood up!" When Daniel complied, he glanced around
once more. "Ready?" He threw the door open and launched himself down
the steps, everyone racing behind him.
Daniel glanced to the side at a bloody stain
on the wall, the headless body of Dalen lying on the ground beneath it. Soren
took one step and froze when a man emerged from the shadows across the street.
Daniel froze also, his legs nearly unhinging and dropping him to the ground. He
recognized the red robes and his heart skipped a beat before he even saw
Malthion's face. Without a word, the sorcerer raised his arms and crossed them,
making an "X" with his
little fingers and thumbs extended. He lowered his head for a split second
until a pulsing ball of light grew before him. He threw his chin up and arms
out simultaneously, and the light launched toward Daniel, moving almost too
fast to follow.
Daniel closed his eyes and cringed, but just
before impact, he was pushed from behind as Regnar vaulted in front of him. The
light hit the carpenter in the chest and he was instantly engulfed in flames.
He never cried out as the intense flames seared away flesh and melted bone.
Regnar managed two steps before falling face-first to the cobblestones. Daniel
froze as he stared in horror at his friend's corpse. "No!"
Navy-clad troops streamed onto the street as
Soren all but carried Daniel up the stairs, slamming the door behind them. His
eyes were wild as he looked around the foyer before shouting, "Up!" They
raced up the stairs two at a time. There was a large window on the second story
landing which Soren shattered with his A-blade before leaning out and looking
up. He'd just climbed back in and taken off his pack when a concussive blast
rocked the front of the house. The building shook and all the windows on its
front exploded, engulfing the interior in flames.
Soren didn't even look up as the heat wave
washed over them. Flames roared out of the study and Alaric moaned, "My
books!"
Soren stood with a grapple and rope in hand
and yelled, "Forget them!" Alaric groaned as the captain leaned out
the window and threw the grapple to the roof. When it was secure, he sent Clem
up before turning to Alaric and forcing him to turn from the destruction. The
man gave a final groan as he grabbed the rope and climbed nimbly to the roof.
Soren hugged Daniel to him with his left arm and used his right hand and feet
to pull them to the roof, followed by Thosten.
The roof's front edge was fully engulfed by
that time, sections falling away to oblivion. They ran along the back of the
house to the edge and looked to the next building. Space was limited within
Namtrah's walls and even in the wealthiest district the buildings were closely
packed. The gap between Alaric's roof and his neighbor's was no more than three
feet, and everyone safely jumped across. They continued over three more roofs,
the heat at their backs blistering as each house caught fire in turn. When they
reached the last house in the district, they pulled up short. Daniel's heart
would have dropped if it wasn't pounding so hard.
The wall that separated the districts rose
twenty feet above their heads. Only then did they realize they left Soren's
grapple on Alaric's roof. Soren cast around wildly and spied a skylight off to
one side. Without hesitating he jumped feet-first through the heavy glass. He
rolled to absorb the impact before bouncing to his feet and motioning the
others to follow. When Daniel jumped he slipped on broken glass and fell sideways,
landing on his right arm and sending pain exploding through his body. He surely
would have blacked out then if not for Regnar. He kept the image of his
immolated body at the fore of his mind and forced himself to his feet.
They dashed through the empty house to the
front door. Soren cracked it open and looked out on chaos. Namtrah's elite
milled around the boulevard, looking more like beggars with their faces and
expensive nightclothes stained with soot. They looked on with wide eyes as
their estates burned, sending thick clouds of dark smoke billowing down the
street. Imperial troops picked their way through the crowd, intent on getting
down to the remains of Alaric's home. They were in such a mad rush that they
didn't bother guarding that end of the street.
Soren led them out the door and made for the
gatehouse that jutted from the wall. He motioned for them to wait as he darted
to the gate itself, but came back within seconds. The gate was closed. There
was no escape. Daniel moaned and allowed despair to overwhelm him. No words
came from his smoke-ravaged throat, but inside he was screaming his love for
his family. He missed and needed them so much, but he was going to die alone in
a smoky ruin. He didn't hear Alaric speak, or even realize they were moving
again until Soren grabbed his left arm and shook him. "Move!"
Daniel turned dull eyes on the captain. What's the use? When Soren gave his arm
another rough shake, he shrugged. He followed Alaric as they crept down a
narrow alley that ran between the last house's foundation and the wall. At the
very back of the alley there was an iron-bound door.
Alaric armed soot from his face and walked up
to the door, knocking a complex combination of rapid and interspersed taps.
When he finished, a bolt was thrown on the other side and the portal swung
open. A guard stepped out and started in surprise when he saw who stood there.
He spun back toward safety, but only managed one step before Alaric's saber
lanced through his throat.
"Come, quickly!" They rushed
through the door and Thosten pulled it shut, throwing the bolt in place as he
brought up the rear. Alaric led them through many dark tunnels that ran along
the base of the city walls. Finally, they came to another iron-bound door where
he paused before carefully unlocking it. He peaked through the crack and
whispered, "Let's go."
They
left the wall and darted into a stable. Alaric said, "Get horses,"
before taking Thosten with him out the stable's front doors. They gathered
horses and waited nervously until Alaric threw open the doors a few minutes
later. "Let's go!" he shouted as he and Thosten ran to their mounts.
The five galloped out of the stable and under a portcullis that they'd raised
just high enough for them to escape. Smoke rolled from the upper class district
as they fled the burning city. They raced to the west, putting many miles
behind them before finally slowing to rest their horses. The five survivors had
escaped Malthion's trap, but at a price they could scarcely believe.
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