Authors: Auston Habershaw
Iron and Blood (26 page)
She let him go and he dropped back onto his sheets like a rag doll. She and Brana left, but not before Brana licked his fingers lightly. He recoiled but didn't say anything. He stared at the ceiling a bit and then called, “Artus, are you awake?”
Artus's head popped in the door a few minutes later. “Yeah? You okay?”
“I'm fine, Artus. Say, do you still have that letter Eddereon gave you?”
Artus straightened. “Yeah . . . why?”
Tyvian sighed. He couldn't believe he was doing this, but he had to admit itâÂhe needed these Âpeople. He was never going to find the Yldd without them, was he?
“Bring it here,” he said. “Let's teach you to read.”
Â
T
his second book, which in my mind really comprises the latter half of a single book begun with
The Iron Ring
, was a unique experience. I expected catharsis at the conclusion of this, my debut. I have, instead, found myself having just begun a much longer journey. Much like Tyvian, I have a long way to go yet before I can rest on my laurels.
My thanks, therefore, are to you, the reader, for having followed Tyvian this far. All those I acknowledged at the end of
The Iron Ring
still deserve my thanks, of course, but without the Âpeople who read the books, an author's thanks don't amount to much. So, I thank you, honestly and sincerely. You Âpeople are the greatest.
Hopefully I'll see you all in Book 3, and we can do it all again.
Â
On the day
AUSTON HABERSHAW
was born, Skylab fell from space. This was a portent of two possible fates: Scifi/Fantasy author or Evil Mastermind. Fortunately he chose the latter, and spends his time imagining the could-Âbe and the never-Âwas rather than disintegrating the moon with his volcano laser. He is a winner of the Writers of the Future Award, and his work has appeared in places such as
Analog
,
Stupefying Stories
, and
The Sword and Laser Anthology
. He lives and works in Boston.
Find him online at www.aahabershaw.wordpress.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/aahabershaw, or follow him on Twitter @AustonHab.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
IRON AND BLOOD. Copyright © 2015 by Auston Habershaw. All rights reserved under International and Pan-ÂAmerican Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-Âbook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, decompiled, reverse-Âengineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperÂCollins e-Âbooks.
EPub Edition JUNE 2015 ISBN: 9780062369178
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