Skywatcher E-Book

Donna Maree Hanson

• Herausgeber: Donna Maree Hanson
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Deliciously Dark Fantasy!"Shatterwing has all the fantasy ingredients I love: tormented heroes, a truly twisted villain - and a brand new take on dragons!" Glenda Larke, (award winning author of The Stormlord Trilogy)"Dark and compelling, with strong characters and a sense of grim inevitability that pulls you along with the story." Craig Cormick, (award-winning author of the Shadow Master Series.)Salinda recovers in the subterranean city of Barrahiem and learns more about the mysterious Hiem creature, Nils of Barr, and his vast store of pre-Shatterwing technology and knowledge. Meanwhile, Garan, Laidan, Danton and Brill flee from the Inspector only to have him pursue with his rebel army. Imbued with pure dragon essence, he also wants Laidan’s power!Salinda must gather them together to defend the observatory so Margra has a chance to survive final moon fall…

Leseprobe

About Donna Maree Hanson

Donna Maree Hanson is a traditionally and independently published author of fantasy, science fiction and horror. She also writes paranormal romance under the pseudonym of Dani Kristoff. Her dark fantasy series (which some reviewers have called ‘grim dark’), Dragon Wine, was published by Momentum Books (Pan Macmillan digital imprint) in 2014. Shatterwing: Part One and Skywatcher: Part Two are now re-published independently in digital and print on demand.

In April 2015, Donna was awarded the A. Bertram Chandler Award for ‘Outstanding Achievement in Australian Science Fiction’ for her work in running science fiction conventions, publishing and broader SF community contribution. Donna also writes science fiction romance, with Rayessa and the Space Pirates and Rae and Essa’s Space Adventures out with Escape Publishing. Opi Battles the Space Pirates was published independently in 2017. In 2016, Donna commenced her PhD candidature researching Feminism in Popular Romance at the University of Canberra. Also, available is her epic fantasy series the Silverlands, Argenterra, Oathbound and Ungiven Land. Donna lives in Canberra with her partner and fellow writer Matthew Farrer.

You can contact Donna at her blog http://donnamareehanson.com

Or sign up to her newsletter Wing Dust.

Or on Twitter @DonnaMHanson and www.facebook.com/donnamareehanson

Other Titles by Donna Maree Hanson

The Silverlands

Argenterra, The Silverlands Book One

Oathbound, The Silverlands Book Two

Ungiven Land, The Silverlands Book Three

Dragon Wine Series (Dark Fantasy)

Shatterwing, Dragon Wine Part One

Skywatcher, Dragon Wine Part Two

Deathwings, Dragon Wine Part Three

Bloodstorm, Dragon Wine Part Four

Love and Space Pirates

Rayessa and the Space Pirates

Rae and Essa Space Adventures

Opi Battles the Space Pirates

Skywatcher

Dragon Wine Part 2

By

Donna Maree Hanson

Copyright Information

First published by Momentum Books in 2014

This edition published by Donna Maree Hanson 2017

Copyright © Donna Maree Hanson 2014 and 2017.

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organizations, in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the author.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

ISBN 978-0-6480415-5-9 (ebook)

ISBN 978-0-6480415-7-3 (Print on Demand)

Cover design by www.crocodesigns.com

To report a typographical error, please email [email protected]

Contents

Map

Prologue

PART 1

Chapter One

Welcome to Barrahiem

Chapter Two

A Rebel’s Trail

Chapter Three

The Breaking of the World

Chapter Four

The Inspector’s Wrath

Chapter Five

Flee!

Chapter Six

To Observe is to Know

Chapter Seven

The Way is Dark

Chapter Eight

Trithorn Peak

Chapter Nine

Venture

Chapter Ten

A Time to Stand

PART 2

Chapter Eleven

To Be Home Again

Chapter Twelve

Laidan’s Dilemma

Chapter Thirteen

The Power Within

Chapter Fourteen

Love and Betrayal

Chapter Fifteen

In the Shadows and Between the Walls

Chapter Sixteen

Testing the Foe

Chapter Seventeen

The Bravest Heart

Chapter Eighteen

In Defense of Home

Chapter Nineteen

A Reckoning

Acknowledgements

Preview of Dragon Wine Part 3 Deathwings

Dedication

To hope

Prologue

The light of Belle moon burnished the surface of the planet to mauve, gently caressing hills, a valley, a filthy river. Above, the air seethed with heat as the meteor cut through the atmosphere. The city below trembled as death fell from the sky. A shaft of power burst from a scope only to miss its target. A Skywatcher failed and wept.

PART 1

Even a sober man must drink his fill of dragon wine

Chapter One

Welcome to Barrahiem

Fingers of cold air stroked Salinda to consciousness. There was no pain. The cadre within her glowed with satisfaction, its essence like sipping sweet nectar. Eyes closed, she inhaled the pristine air: no odor of dust or sulphur or vine leaves or even the stink of sweat. Free air, she thought as she held her breath and then let it slide out of her slowly.

Recollections of torture, of pain, of overwhelming humiliation flashed like lightning across her mind. She shuddered and knew those memories would forever haunt her. But in this place of quiet and safety she was able to master them and put them aside. Her task now was to deal with them and move on.

Like a welcome friend, the cadre pulsed silently, feeling like a part of her—less obtrusive and more malleable than it had been before. For a second, she doubted what she was feeling; the peace and serenity within her were strange. Was she dead? In that moment of panic, she snapped open her eyes and stared.

Overhead lay cream-colored vaulted ceilings, with veins of brown threading through the pale stone. Decorated in swirls and hollows, the ceilings merged with the walls and ran into murals carved out of the rock. The murals depicted people in flowing robes performing rituals Salinda could never hope to fathom. Each of the five walls had arched doorways, as if this room was a nexus. The ambient light was not bright, though sufficient enough for her to see her immediate surroundings. High up and in the distance shadows draped the corners of the room and the unseen corridors beyond.

Salinda was awed by what she was seeing. No tales, no histories, few as they were, told of such a place as this or mentioned the people described in the scenes surrounding her. The cadre throbbed excitedly the more Salinda looked around her. It ate up the sight of the murals, the ceilings and corridors as if it had hungered a thousand years for such a feast. She wondered how it could recognize the significance of this place. Was the cadre that old? Salinda’s brow creased in puzzlement. Surely it could not be, and yet…