Synopsis
Truth Seeker Kuntza faces challenges above and below the sea’s surface, fighting deadly misinformation as well as a bizarre and complicated plot to wipe out most of the Sky Fairy Tribe. Under his instruction, lightning machines are constructed to overcome a terrible snowstorm. But what of the grave threat from the Water Fairy Tribe—Kuntza’s tribe—to the surface tribes?
Admiral Constance Kimberlite and Prince Cambrian Bijou and the young Historian Rolf Warner accompany the Seeker beneath the waves to assist him in his efforts to overcome his tribe’s fears of an impending invasion. Meanwhile Amber Bullierd, daughter and heir of the rebellious Count Bullierd, threatens to block their success through intrigue and a terrifying coup attempt. With the fate of Fairydom hanging in the balance, there is no room for error.
Excerpt
As Prince Oliver followed his father from Arnold Mosley’s elegant hotel suite, he saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of one eye. The long hallway was lined with statues and ornate paintings, and dotted with recessed doorways that lead to other suites. Curiousity getting the better of him, Oliver signaled for the marine behind him to continue flying forward no matter what. When they reached the next doorway, Oliver slid into it. Careful to stay hidden, Oliver turned back towards Mosley’s suite and sank soundlessly into the plush carpet between the beautifully carved planks that framed the doorway. Dropping first to his knees, then down to lie flat, he stifled a chuckle at the idea of trying to explain himself to the hotel guest if the door beside him should abruptly open. Carefully, he inched his face towards the edge of the doorframe. The small party that had escorted him and his father to Mosley’s hotel faded away, the sharp click of a window—locking behind them—the last sound he heard. One eye finally clear of the doorframe, Oliver held perfectly still. And waited. The hallway was so still that he thought he could hear the paint on the walls fading in the bright afternoon sunlight.
The motion he saw might have belonged to anyone—a chambermaid, another guest… Oliver was beginning to give in to the feeling of foolishness when a slightly built man-fairy peeked out from behind one of the statues at the far end of the hall. Mosley had dismissed his servants when the king first arrived, which meant the suite should still be empty, Mosley having also gone off to take care of personal business. Oliver’s right eyebrow lifted fractionally when the man-fairy slipped over to Mosley’s door and glanced furtively around before he produced something from the inner folds of his scribe’s robe, and let himself in through the locked door.
More than curious now, Oliver came silently to his feet. Decades of playing hide and seek with his younger siblings contributed to his swift, but soundless flight down the length of the hallway, where he arrived just in time to slip between Mosley’s door and its frame. He quickly dropped to his knees in a shadow before it swung shut behind him. From there, he was able to watch as the scribe began searching single-mindedly for something on Mosley’s desk.
It was all so absurd that Oliver nearly gave in to the urge to laugh at himself. He had just assisted his father in interrogating Mosley—and unless Mosley was an even more masterful manipulator than the Wood Fairy Minister of the Interior, he had been telling the truth when he denied any involvement in the delay of the winter storms. Now he, Oliver Bijou, Crown Prince of the Sky Fairy Tribe, was hiding in the shadows? Sleuthing was the specialty of his younger brother, Prince Cambrian. Still, Oliver could not shake the feeling that something was amiss here. Mosley might have given a scribe a key to his suites, but…scribe! Another piece of the puzzle fell into place, bringing Oliver to his feet precipitously. Cambrian had recently brought evidence to them that a scribe was involved in the conspiracy.
Startled by Oliver’s movement, the scribe jerked to one side. His elbow struck one of the taller stacks, knocking it over in an avalanche of blue, white, and yellow papers that fluttered to the floor. Some fell quite a distance. Others struck the hem of the frozen scribe’s robe and landed about his feet.
“Harold Scroggins,” Oliver casually scooped up a small volume of poetry from the entryway table beside him, “I arrest you in the name of the crown.” As he had expected, Harold flew towards the nearest window. Oliver’s arm came up and snapped forward, hurling the hard-bound book towards Harold’s back. “Well, that is a first,” Oliver murmured to himself as he watched the scribe crumple to the floor, temporarily stunned. “I do not recall ever seeing a book drop a scribe before.”
Tugging the window sashes free, Oliver bound his prisoner securely. As he was about to begin searching the desk himself, Harold stirred. Weak blue eyes stared up through his tousled blue bangs, full of unanswered questions for his assailant.
About the Author
I enjoy reading and writing, but not arithmetic. Which is to say that I love math, but it hates me. So I don’t usually count the days or hours spent reading, writing, or watching television, I just enjoy them. I write because that’s the gift I’ve been given. I read and watch to store up idea seedlings, which sometimes spring, fully-formed, to mind. Sometimes that’s because I loved what I’ve been consuming and other times because I loathed it. Experiencing both (as little as possible of the loathe, of course) helps me define myself as a writer and plays a huge (yet subconscious) role in my work.
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