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Mother’s Curse by Thaddeus Nowak
Discover Thaddeus Nowak’s fantasy series, Heirs of Cothel. The first two in the series, Mother’s Curse and Daughter’s Justice, are out now, with the third novel, Daughter’s Revenge, coming soon.
The Heirs of Cothel series is about Stephenie, a young woman, whose father and brother are fighting in a war two countries away. Stuck at home in the castle with her mother, the Queen, Stephenie realizes her mother is plotting something and must to try to escape if she is to save her father and brother.
Born a witch, Stephenie’s powers are believed to be a curse against her mother for sins that were committed against the gods. It is a curse that would fall upon her mother if Stephenie were to die.
Always fearful of discovery and execution by fire, Stephenie has concealed her powers her whole life. However, in order to disrupt her mother’s plans and save her father and brother, she may be forced to learn what she truly is and make use of the powers everyone believes comes from the Demon god, Elrin.
With the help of some soldiers and an unlikely friend, Stephenie sets out on a personal quest that even if successful, could lead to her destruction.
Daughter’s Justice, the second book in the series, resumes the story and deals with the aftermath that is left in the wake of her mother’s plots. With the revelation to the world that she is a witch, she has to find a way to survive, keep her family’s control of the throne, and avoid tearing apart the country in a civil war.
Download Mother’s Curse from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iTunes. Download Daughter’s Justice from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iTunes.The much anticipated Daughter’s Revenge is scheduled to be released before the end of March 2014.
Excerpt from Mother’s Curse
It was dark and Stephenie ached all over. Her arms burned with what felt like hundreds of little cuts and scrapes. Her knees and ankles were throbbing as much as her head. She tried to look around, but there was absolutely no light. She smelled a pungent combination of urine, blood, and oil.
Below her was something cold and somewhat squishy. Slowly she tried to sit up and had to toss off several pieces of wood. As memories of what happened returned, she realized she was laying on top of a dead soldier. Scrambling away from the body, she stumbled over the debris of the walkway that had given out beneath their weight.
“Hello,” she called out and heard her trembling voice echo back to her. Fear of being caught was pushed away by the fear of being trapped alone in the dark forever. “Hello!” she called again much louder.
After several moments, she neither heard, saw, or sensed anything around her. Shivering from fear as much as the chill that had settled into her body, she searched with her hands in all directions to see what was around her. She felt a wall to one side, but nothing on the other sides.
“Damn it. I need light.”
She sighed. Feeling disoriented, she crouched down, uncertain if perhaps she was on a ledge, and taking a step in any direction would lead to her tumbling away into more darkness. After a few moments to build her confidence, she felt further around her immediate area.
Among the remains of the rotten walkway, she felt a sticky substance. Bringing her fingers to her nose, she identified it as lamp oil. “So, no light. Thanks for nothing Elrin.”
She knew the dead soldier was close by. Since she wasn’t wet with urine, it was likely that the soldier had soiled himself when he died. “Unless I happened to land in a waste pit,” she added ruefully.
Carefully, she searched around, hoping to find the dagger she had lost in the fall. She found the broken remains of the lamp, but not the weapon. She also realized the floor was mostly level with mortar joints. “So I won’t be falling off a cliff? Unless this is just the ledge they use to push people to their deaths.” Slowly she expanded her search, but did not find the dagger.
Eventually, apprehension of touching the dead man lost out to the apprehension of being alone in the dark with no weapons. After a brief moment, when she realized she had become disoriented in her prior searching, she found the body of the soldier. She found another dagger and removed it. His sword had become bent when he landed on it and she could not draw it from the scabbard. “Elrin, you really want to play with me before I die.”
To read the rest of Mother’s Curse, download it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iTunes.
To find more from Thaddeus, visit his website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and Google+.