“The book does nothing,” said Chanjask. “But with the book, Ucasta could preserve the body and soul of the king, and with it, I can retrieve the soul you want and place it in the correct vessel. Its original body seems to be out of the question, so would you prefer a gem? A lamp? Another body? It would be a simple matter to sacrifice one of the prisoners—”
Chapter XX: The Temple of the New Gods
While the survivors of Salmacha’s near-disaster argue over how their new government is going to be run, Eske’s attention turns elsewhere: to one of the priests who helped the late king almost achieve immortality. Can this man help Eske on his quest? Or will the price of his evil magic be too high? Find out right now by subscribing to Patreon and reading this chapter! Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until next week.
Happy Labor Day! In honor of workers past and present, I hope you find some rest today.
Because I don’t have enough projects (ignore the stacks of notes and half-finished drafts; those are my emotional support works in progress), I’m starting something new on Instagram (you can also see it on my Facebook page). My friend and collaborator Brooke started a project called #tarotember last year, wherein each day of September is focused on a different tarot card or suit. Last year, she painted the majority of her deck, the Figuratively Speaking Tarot, while I took some moody pictures and made a playlist.
This year’s Tarotember prompts
This year, I am introducing the universe for a new and as-yet-untitled project, a space opera set in a galaxy of warring kingdoms and palace intrigue, psychic pilot-knights and lost alien civilizations, and also queer romance and tarot themes! The first chapter, titled “The Knight of Ships,” will release on October 1, after the challenge concludes (and one day before Bitchcraft Fair Milwaukee!). Eventually, this project will be both a book and an accompanying deck, currently titled the Tarot of the Gates. Brooke has painted a few cards for it already, and while she works on other projects, I’m creating placeholder graphics for the challenge. Each day reveals more about the setting, so follow me on Instagram and/or Facebook for some new sci-fi/fantasy goodness.
Don’t worry, I am not abandoning any of my other projects! A new chapter of Journey to the Water will release tomorrow on Patreon, and the latest chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door will appear here on the blog on Wednesday. Also, in case you missed it, Episode 6 of The Well Below the Valley is available on Patreon as of September 1, and you can read a free preview here.
As a final note, Shepard is six months old today, and just as cute as ever:
A rare moment when she’s sitting still enough for a picture.
I think that’s all for this week! Thanks for being here.
The latest episode, “The Souls of the Heathens,” is now available on Patreon! Our intrepid investigators continue searching for clues around Oxford, meet the late professor’s next of kin, and solve their first puzzle. There’s a free preview below the cut.
In the throne room, the windows were little more than arrow slits; the last line of defense between the king and an invader from the sea. But as the sun filtered through and cast bright lines on the marble floor, the throne stood empty. Salmacha was now without a ruler. Perhaps, I thought, it had been without for a long time before my harpoon finally slew King Sondassan.
The weapon lay quiet across my legs as I sat at the base of the dais, beside Hamilcar and his crew and a good distance from the twin princesses. Having done its duty, it was content, and projected to me a sense of accomplishment. It was pleased with my actions. There would always be more tyrants, more men willing to spend the blood of others on power for themselves, but for the moment, the work was complete.
I’d held an enchanted weapon only once before: the Sword of Heaven, the tool of the god Torr, who had taken my Khalim from me. It, too, had approved of me. I’d used it to slay the great worm as it laid waste to Phyreios, and I had gladly given it up to the custody of Jin and his temple.
I would call my harpoon Storm, I decided, for the thunderclap I had heard as it destroyed King Sondassan. Having spent the early part of my life upon the roof of the world, I had great respect for storms. They could destroy a ship just as easily as they could fill its sails; lay waste to a village as easily as water its crops.
It is as though the fabric of the world is unraveling, and soon it will break free from its moorings like a damaged sail on a ship.
Chapter Twelve
So the good news is that there’s a new chapter up on Patreon, and the bad news is that things are not going well for Berend and Isabel. You can read this chapter right now by becoming a patron, or wait until next week when it makes its way over here to the blog!
Loreena McKennitt, “Ce He Mise le Ulaingt?/The Two Trees” (poem by William Butler Yeats)
Happy Monday! I hope you’re well.
This week, I’ll have a new chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door on Patreon tomorrow, followed by the latest chapter of Journey to the Water here on Wednesday. It looks like Part Two of New Moon Door is going to finish ahead of schedule (to the extent that I even have a schedule), probably before the end of the year. I’ll take a short break after that, and then it will be on to Part Three and the exciting conclusion.
Also, the newest episode of The Well Below the Valley will release on Thursday! If you’ve been thinking of becoming a patron, now’s a good time to do it, since you’ll get access to all five previous episodes as well. Or you could wait until Friday, get all six episodes, and not start getting charged the $3 subscription until October 1 (when you will also receive Episode 7). I won’t tell anyone.
I think that’s it for now. Preparations continue for Bitchcraft Fair on October 2, and I’ll let you know when I have more information about that!
I am officially a Goodreads Author! Shoutout to the Goodreads Librarians for being patient with me and adding my book! If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend or follow my profile, and don’t forget to leave a review of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea.
I love and appreciate you!
ETA: Forgot the link above. Also, this blog is now synced to Goodreads, so you can follow me there and not miss anything!
Isabel falls quiet. There’s a long walk ahead of her, and a longer night after that. She has to conserve her strength. There have been more sleepless nights in the last week than she ever had to endure as an apprentice, and even then, young as she was, she had not endured them happily.
The wind blows cold, and it carries a smell of frost as it crosses dry, brown fields on its way to the sea. Isabel can just make out the shapes of cut rows on either side of the road. Harvest time is well under way, and winter will follow, bringing with it a slight relief from the walking dead. Spirits are no less angry in winter, but bodies without the breath of life cannot keep their limbs from freezing solid, and their decay slows along with their chance of spreading pestilence. Winter, as the old sayings go, is when Sentinels retreat to their cloisters to study the same dusty tomes they studied the year before, and the year before that, going all the way back to the first Sentinel Rainier.
With a sudden ache like a knife to her ribs, Isabel misses the library in Vernay. Her superiors will learn of her failings in a few short days, when Father Pereth’s request for her replacement reaches them. They will turn her away, or worse, allow her in and follow her through the halls with looks of pity and distrust, as though she’s a vagabond relying on their charity.
“And how is it that both these illustrious men perished, and in the same evening?” came a voice from the crowd.
Chapter XIX: The Palace, Still Standing
Eske has survived a harrowing evening, but new dangers about as the island of Salmacha struggles to decide on succession. Besides, Captain Hamilcar says they can’t leave until they get paid. You can read this chapter right now on Patreon!
Not much out of the ordinary happening in my world this week: I’ve got a new chapter of Journey to the Water scheduled to go up on Patreon tomorrow, and the latest chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door will be up on the blog Wednesday. I’m also working on the next episode of The Well Below the Valley, and that should be available September 1st.
I also want to remind you that you can come see me at Bitchcraft Fair Milwaukee on October 2! Tickets are only $12 through the end of the month, and then become $15 through the day of the event. I will have limited-edition bookmarks to hand out and signed books to sell!
Space Whales Press 