Dark Fate: The Gathering (The Dark Fate Chronicles Book 1)

DARK FATE

The Gathering: Volume One

by

Matt Howerter & Jon Reinke

Copyright © 2013 Idea Forge Publishing, LLC

All Rights Reserved

Cover art, design, map illustration and formatting by

Matt Howerter

Website

AUTHOR’S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic or physical editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

Dedicated to our families,

for putting up with our foolish dreams of staying in our pajamas all day, every day.

Dark Fate: The Gathering

Jacket Blurb

An arranged marriage.

A lost heir to the dwarven throne.

An ancient undead seeks to manipulate four unlikely heroes.

Princess Sloane is to become a queen. Her marriage will unite the last two human kingdoms of Orundal. As it is not a marriage of choice but of necessity, she struggles with the responsibility laid before her, not knowing that the sacrifice she makes for her homeland will be but the first that she must endure.

Her twin sister, Princess Sacha, has been called from her studies at the Monastery to support Sloane in her time of need. Sacha has begun to learn the ways of the arcane and deals with her own troubles concerning the loss of a family that has been taken from her.

The sisters will not face their fates alone as Erik and Kinsey, steadfast companions, become their guides.

Erik seeks only solace for himself and his adopted son, but soon learns that such a wish is impossible to attain as the events around them unfold.

Kinsey, orphaned at birth, wrestles with his newfound rage not realizing that its cause is tied to his unknown heritage.

A tale of adventure filled with dwarves and elves, men and mages, were-beasts and the undead who clash together in a conflict so vast it will consume them all. These four troubled souls will become champions in the struggle for survival, as dark forces gather to destroy them.

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“A
RE
ya sure ya saw what ya saw?” Danin asked, not taking his eyes off the thatched rooftops billowing smoke into the evening sky. “I’ll not be hearin’ no tales, boy.”

“Aye, Danin. It was like nothin’ I ever seen before,” Corwin sputtered. “It was big and moved too fast.” His eyes grew so wide the whites could be seen from a distance, and he shifted his weight from one small foot to the other.

“Calm yerself.” The lines etched in Danin’s aged face deepened as he turned from the firelight. “It’s nothin’ but a wild animal. The mind plays tricks when yer in the heat of it.”

“It wasn’t no animal, Danin. I swear,” Corwin said, his voice rising to a high pitch. “Jon saw it, too. He knows. He saw!”

Jonathan figured it would come down to him to give a fair account. He was older than Corwin and was expected to keep his head on straight. But the fact was, he couldn’t. It wasn’t every day whispered rumors took flesh and rampaged beyond the realm of other men’s whiskey-slurred fears. “Don’t know, Danin. I only saw a glimpse. Duhann’s apprentice was torn real bad, though. There was blood everywhere, and he weren’t movin’.”

Danin scratched the day-old stubble on his chin and looked back toward town. “Well, I guess we need to go down and sort it out.”

The tightness in Jon’s shoulders eased a bit at the older man’s casual confidence. Danin was well respected by the townsfolk, after all, and he had been in the Basinian army for many years before becoming a farmer. Jon had witnessed Danin defend the town from brigands a few years back, dispelling any doubt about the retired soldier’s knowing his way around a weapon. And the way Danin carried the scythe in his hands gave Jon the impression the simple tool would be as effective as any sword.

“I’m not goin’ back down there!” Corwin began to shake and tears rolled down his cheeks.

Danin’s voice was stern, not cruel. “Look, there’s nothing for it. Our families are down there, and ya don’t leave family in a lurch, understand?” He knelt to look Corwin in his swollen eyes. “Ya can’t run, boy. We’ll just go down and sort it out. I’m not too bad with this thing, ya know.” Danin smiled and shook the scythe lightly with one hand, then softly patted Corwin on the shoulder.

“Oh, okay, Danin.” Corwin sniffled. Large, shiny tears still gleamed on his cheeks, but he did his best to wipe them away.

Jon looked down at the burning hamlet with dread. He had seen dead people before, but it was days after they’d perished and nothing so gruesome as this. Thomas had been... shredded. The smithy’s apprentice was a big man. How he had gone down so quickly Jon couldn’t fathom, but Corwin was right. The beast was fast. Jon hadn’t even gotten a good look at the thing, and he had been no more than twenty feet away when it tore Thomas apart.

An eerie howl pierced the silence. Danin turned toward town, and Corwin froze like a shallow stream in the dead of winter.

Jon shivered as a chill ran down his spine. He’d never heard a sound like that before, and being a country boy, he’d heard plenty of strange noises in the hours before dawn. This sound was different. There was a mourning hunger to it that promised terrors he couldn’t bear to imagine.

The horrible wailing faded with the light from the falling sun, summoning thoughts of all things dark and terrible. Jon wrung his hands and looked at Danin. “What kinda animal makes that sound?”

“Don’t know. Reckon we’ll find out.” Danin slowly got to his feet and stood there, looking at their burning homes. A deep frown made its way across Danin’s face. What the older man was thinking, Jon couldn’t say, but when they locked eyes for a brief moment, Jon saw fear.

Danin tightened the grip on his scythe and started walking down the dark hill toward town.

Jon took hold of Corwin, dragging him along. “It’ll be all right. Everything’s gonna be all right,” Jon said, though he didn’t believe a word of it.