{"id":11407,"date":"2017-09-22T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-09-22T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/?p=11407"},"modified":"2017-08-26T16:57:40","modified_gmt":"2017-08-26T21:57:40","slug":"the-sword-keeper-excerpt-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/the-sword-keeper-excerpt-8\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sword Keeper \u2014 excerpt 8"},"content":{"rendered":"

Master Ivanar looked Tamuna in the eye, putting both hands on her trembling shoulders. \u201cWe must go south, to the kingdom of Aramand. You\u2019ll be safer there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what if Araste gives chase?\u201d someone asked.<\/p>\n

Ivanar turned to face the room. \u201cWe\u2019ll split up to confuse him. I\u2019ll travel to the coast and alert the Aramandi people so that they\u2019ll be ready to receive us. In the meantime, we must do all we can to keep the sword bearer from being discovered.\u201d<\/p>\n

The faces around the room were grim, but several of them nodded in approval. Ivanar searched them until his eyes settled on a tall, blond-haired young man. He nodded, and the young man stepped forward, his expression as hard as flint.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlex, I\u2019m entrusting the girl to you. Take her west over the mountains, until you reach the stronghold at Akalika. Wait for me there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Master Ivanar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alex bowed curtly and turned to Tamuna. His arms were strong and muscular, his chest broad. He had a sharp chin and high cheekbones, with deep blue eyes. Even though he was clearly a warrior, he couldn\u2019t have been more than a few years older than her.<\/p>\n

You do realize that you may never come back,<\/span><\/em> said Imeris. <\/span>A<\/span> war is coming, and this village may not be here when\u2014or if\u2014you return. I wish that you had more time to say goodbye, but that is a luxury neither of us can afford.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Tamuna swallowed, and her knees went weak. She glanced at Sopiko, whose face was red with rage. Part of her longed to hug her, but she hesitated, worried that her aunt would nag her for being so sentimental. In that brief moment of indecision, Aunt Sopiko turned and stormed out of the room before she could say goodbye.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere,\u201d said Ivanar, fitting a cloak over her shoulders. \u201cIt\u2019s a bit large, but it will have to do until we can get you a proper one.\u201d He reached into his rucksack and pulled out what looked like a belt, but wider and with broad leather straps. As Tamuna adjusted the cloak, he put on the belt and fastened the scabbard to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis may feel a bit cumbersome, but you\u2019ll soon get used to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alex bent down and pulled the leather straps tight. When he was done, it felt as if she were carrying a bag of rocks on her hip, but the strap across her chest and shoulder offered enough support to make it comfortable.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll grow used to it with time,<\/span><\/em> said Imeris. <\/span>I won\u2019t always be such a burden.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it\u2019s fine,\u201d she said aloud, blushing as she remembered that only she could hear him. But Alex and Master Ivanar were too busy conferring with each other to hear, and most of the others had already left. She glanced at the door, hoping to catch sight of her aunt, and instead saw Nika. Her eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat.<\/p>\n

\u201cNika!\u201d she said, hurrying over to him. \u201cDid you hear what happened? There\u2019s so much to tell you, I\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMistress Leladze,\u201d said Master Ivanar, putting a hand on her shoulder. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, but we have to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nika looked from her to the sword keeper and back again, thoroughly confused. A horrible sinking feeling rose in Tamuna\u2019s stomach, and without thinking she threw her arms around him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to go, Nika,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t know when or if I\u2019ll come back, so\u2026 goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGoodbye?\u201d he said, giving her a stunned look as she drew back. \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. Away, far away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when will you\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGoodbye!\u201d<\/p>\n

She turned her face to hide her tears and followed the sword keeper out into the yard. A rooster crowed as the sun began its descent behind the mountains, while all around her the monks took to their restless horses. She glanced one last time at Aunt Sopiko\u2019s tavern\u2014the only home she\u2019d ever known\u2014before following Alex onto a chestnut mare. He spurred the horse forward, and she held tightly onto him as they galloped southward.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/div>

\r\n\tThe Sword Keeper<\/a>\r\n<\/h2>
$12.99<\/span><\/span>eBook:<\/span> $4.99<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>
\r\n\tAuthor:<\/span> Joe Vasicek<\/a><\/span>
\tSeries:<\/span> The Twelfth Sword Trilogy<\/a>, Book 1<\/span>
\tGenres:<\/span> Epic<\/a>, Fantasy<\/a><\/span>
\tTag:<\/span> 2017 Release<\/a><\/span>
<\/div>
\r\n\t

Tamuna Leladze always dreamed of adventure, but never expected to answer its call. That changes when a wandering knight arrives at her aunt's tavern. He is the keeper of a magic sword that vanished from the pages of history more than a thousand years ago. The sword has a mind and a memory, and it has chosen Tamuna for purpose far greater than she knows.<\/p>\n More info \u2192<\/a><\/div>

$1 off the ebook with coupon code: BUY DIRECT<\/a><\/div>
FREE ebook when you buy the audiobook direct!<\/a><\/div>
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<\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Master Ivanar looked Tamuna in the eye, putting both hands on her trembling shoulders. \u201cWe must go south, to the kingdom of Aramand. You\u2019ll be safer there.\u201d \u201cBut what if Araste gives chase?\u201d someone asked. Ivanar turned to face the room. \u201cWe\u2019ll split up to confuse him. I\u2019ll travel to the coast and alert the… Continue reading The Sword Keeper \u2014 excerpt 8<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[650,932],"tags":[474],"class_list":["post-11407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sk","category-twelfth-sword-trilogy","tag-excerpts","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7iXK-2XZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11407"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11407\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11427,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11407\/revisions\/11427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}