Kora Porteg meets the Crimson League: Book 1 of the Herezoth trilogy is FREE April 22-24

New Ebook Cover, designed by Brad Covey, http://designer.bradcovey.com/

I rarely post selections from my fiction here, but I wanted to gear people up for next week’s free promotion of “The Crimson League.” Sword and sorcery fantasy, with a blend of an urban touch minus the vampires: what’s not to like?

This passage is very special to me. It’s from the first meeting of protagonist Kora–a teenager from outside the village of Hogarane–with the resistance group that calls itself the Crimson League.

“Who are you people?”

Lanokas pulled an arrow from his quiver. A single, scarlet feather dangled from its end.

“The Crimson League,” said Kora.

The girl said, “You’ve heard of us?”

“The whole kingdom’s heard of you. There’s wanted posters everywhere.”

Lanokas looked over his shoulder. “We’ve company,” he hissed, and dropped the unloaded arrow. He and his male companion aimed their bows, facing the thicket they had left. Next to them, the girl raised her sword. Sedder pushed Kora back against an oak, an arm in front of her. Everyone was silent.

Then two soldiers appeared through the trees. They too had crossbows, which they aimed at the Crimson League. “Drop your weapons,” barked the first. Lanokas held his arm steady, but the man with the hat lowered his bow. “Drop them!”

Without warning, as though by reflex, the second uniform moved his aim to cover Kora and shot.

Sedder grabbed her, to throw her to the ground. Kora crossed her arms before her chest, recoiling from the rushing arrow, and a domed red shell encased not only her but Sedder as well. The arrow hit the shield as they were falling, and Sedder’s side, in the line of fire, was not pierced.

The soldier who had fired was not as lucky; the man with the hat shot him in the chest. On the ground, Kora uncrossed her arms and the red shell disappeared. The remaining soldier glanced from Lanokas to the dark-haired man to the girl, then started, his gaze shifting back. “It’s her,” he cried, before Lanokas’s arrow struck him and he slumped over. The sound of pounding feet crushing leaves, just out of view, broke the silence that descended.

“We missed one,” said Lanokas.

“Someone saw,” said the girl. “From the tree there. We’ll never catch him!”

“We can try,” said the man with the hat, and darted off. He followed the footsteps, which Kora no longer heard, either due to distance or the mental stun she had suffered.

I hope you enjoyed the sneak peek. You won’t have long to wait to snag the book: just until Monday! It’s a great opportunity to start off with book 1 of the Herezoth trilogy before book III, “The King’s Sons,” releases at the end of May.

I’m hoping my brand new cover, designed by Brad Covey, and a bit of promotion through Freebooksy and the World Literary Cafe will help to draw attention to the promo. Please spread the world to your reader friends you feel might enjoy this kind of novel! It will be free for Kindle from April 22-24.