Title:
The Crystal Keeper
Author:
Laurisa White Reyes
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Expected
Release Date: February 9th, 2015
Cover Design:
Emma Michaels
SYNOPSIS:
Jayson lives among the shadows of Hestoria, his sole
purpose for staying alive – to protect his half of the Seer’s crystal. Exiled
from his homeland for loving the king’s daughter, Ivanore, Jayson is now
pursued by two opposing factions: the Vatéz (League of Sorcerers) who intend to
use the crystal for their own selfish gain, and the Guilde, the ancient
guardians of the crystal.
Meanwhile, Ivanore flees from her father to Hestoria
in search of Jayson. As the Seer, she is plagued with visions of him being
tortured and is determined to rescue him. When the Vatéz capture her, however,
she unwittingly jeopardizes everything Jayson has vowed to protect. He must now
make a terrible choice: Should he save Ivanore or save the crystal?
Though written for adults, The Crystal
Keeper series is the prequel to Ms. Reyes' fantasy series
for children, The Celestine
Chronicles.
Senior
Editor of Skyrocket Press and Editor-in-Chief of Middle Shelf Magazine, Laurisa
White Reyes is the author of several middle grade and young adult novels,
including The Rock of Ivanore,The Last
Enchanter and Contact. The
Crystal Keeper is her first series for
adults.
Author
Links:
Editor in Chief Middle Shelf Magazine
Publisher Skyrocket Press
Moderator Middle
Grade Mania
Ivanore hunched over the parchment, the tip of her quill
flicking above her hand like a trapped bird desperate for escape. The tallow
candle cast a cramped circle of light across the table, hardly enough to see
by. If only the night would last a little longer. Perhaps then she would have
enough time to write everything she needed to. But alas, time was one thing she
had too little of—that and
light.
An older man with long, gray-streaked hair and
piercing gray eyes, waited beside her. The stone bungalow, their most recent of
many hiding places, boasted the barest of furnishings: the table, stool,
cot—and a plain wooden chest, its key held tight in his
fist.
A sudden thump sounded at the door, startling them
both. A strand of Ivanore’s hair, gold as the candle light, fell across the
page. She quickly tucked it back into place and wrote
faster.
Zyll laid a hand on Ivanore’s shoulder. “They are
here,” he whispered.
Ivanore finished the document and handed it to Zyll
unbound. Turning to the chest, he carefully laid the pages
inside.
“Wait,” said Ivanore. “Will you keep this as well?” A
flat circle of pale green crystal lay in her open
palm.
“But you will need it. I
mustn’t—”
“Please,” she insisted, pressing it into his hand. “I
can’t risk losing this one.”
Zyll reluctantly folded his fingers around the cool
stone. “Of course, milady,” he said. Then, adding the crystal to the parchment,
he laid a plate of thin wood atop them both, sealing the chest’s false bottom.
He closed the lid and locked it.
The pounding at the door grew more insistent. Whoever
stood outside was using his full weight against it in an effort to break
through.
“We must hurry,” said
Zyll.
Ivanore allowed herself a quick glance at the chest,
offering the briefest of prayers that the gods would keep it safe until her
return. Then, taking her by the arm, Zyll ked her through the low archway
dividing the bungalow’s front room from the
back.
A loud crash of splintering wood resounded through
the bungalow. Their visitors had finally broken
in.
“Find her now!” a deep voice
bellowed.
Grateful for the trousers she now wore instead of her
usual cumbersome skirts, Ivanore clambered onto a stool and through a narrow
window, lowering herself as quietly as possible to the ground outside. Once
Zyll had done the same, they stole away across the rocky field. Though the sky
was black as ink, their path was illuminated by the amber glow of volcanic
fissures scoring the area for miles around.
“There she is!” a man’s voice shouted behind them.
The words sent spasms of fear through Ivanore. She glanced behind her and saw
three soldiers emerge from the bungalow, wearing the gold and red cross of her
father’s crest. They had tracked her even here, to the remotest corner of
Imaness. Would Fredric ever let her be?
Ivanore stopped running. She looked at Zyll, her
trusted guardian and ally these past months since she had fled Dokur, and knew
her time with him had come to an
end.
“You’ll watch over them until I return?” she asked,
out of breath. “Keep them safe. Don’t let my father find
them.”
“You have my vow,” Zyll whispered, his voice tight
with emotion.
Ivanore’s eyes welled with tears as she pressed her
lips against the calloused skin of Zyll’s
hand.
“Go,” said Zyll. “Go now before it’s too
late.”
Ivanore released Zyll’s hand and sprinted forward
alone. As she ran, she cupped her hands around her mouth and let out a loud,
sharp call, much like that of a hawk or an eagle. She risked another glance over
her shoulder and watched as Zyll turned to face their pursuers. As the soldiers
neared, their swords glinting in the fireglow, Zyll held up his hands. A
horizontal bolt of cerulean lightning shot out from his palms, striking the
oncoming soldiers. The men recoiled, their bodies instantly singed and
bloody.
Ivanore ran on. In desperation, she repeated her call, and this
time another voice called back. A dark form appeared on the horizon,
silhouetted against the light of the volcanic fractures and growing larger as
it approached with tremendous speed. As it neared, the creature’s massive
feathered wings moved the air around Ivanore in warm, powerful gusts. Ivanore
saw clearly its eagle’s head with a beak large enough to break a man in two,
paired with the muscular, furred body of a lion. As she ran toward it, the
gryphon lowered its head,
waiting.
Behind her, the soldiers reeled in pain, but they did not forget
their duty. One man struggled to his knees, grunting from the effort. Reaching
over his shoulder, he slid a short bow and arrow from his pack and swiftly took
aim.
Ivanore reached the gryphon, and in one smooth motion
hoisted herself onto its back, twisting her arms deep into the feathers on the
creature’s neck. In that same moment, a single arrow found its mark in
Ivanore’s shoulder. Ivanore cried out before her body slumped forward and her
mind went dark. The gryphon took flight then, and in less time than it took to
draw another arrow—or a breath—they had vanished into the
night.
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