Glamour of the God-Touched (8 page)

Garrick ground his teeth.

“Do all planewalkers enjoy toying with
defenseless people as much as you?”

“What else would you expect from gods?”
Braxidane said.

Then he was gone.

Garrick looped the blade he carried into his
belt.

Standing in the smoking remains of what had
once been the village of Sjesko, he
wanted
to feel shame. He
wanted
to feel guilty. But, the essence of the villagers
filled his body with an energy that could neither hate nor despair.
It could not brook hopelessness. It could not allow for self-pity.
He nearly swooned as the villager’s life force swelled inside him.
A cool nighttime breeze was already working to cleanse the clearing
of his foul deeds. The hair on the back of his hand rose as excess
energy crackled over his fingertips.

Life, as Braxidane had said, is not fair.
The villagers of Sjesko wanted to live.

So, despite himself, Garrick would learn how
to live again. He would learn how use this magic of Braxidane’s. He
would learn how it worked. He would give it to whatever purpose the
villagers’ essence would put it to. In truth, he felt an awkward
optimism rising within him as the moments passed.

But he would do it knowing this was all a
false comfort. He had felt the darkness before. It would come
again. This curse of Braxidane’s was the truest definition of
servitude he could conceive.

Forces greater than you could
understand
, he thought.
Begging for these powers
back.

The absurdity of Braxidane's commentary made
him angry. The notion that Garrick might choose this curse as his
fate of his own free will was farcical. But all he could do now was
grimace at the planewalker’s hubris.

Garrick could not just let this happen,
though. Not if he wanted to live with himself. Life was not as
simple as Braxidane wanted him to believe. Life was messy. It was
complicated. Life
should
be fair, though, and justice
existed. People mattered.

The planewalker’s magic was strong enough
that Garrick didn’t think Dontaria Pel-an would be able to remove
it, but he would still try. And he would need money regardless. So
he would still go to Caledena. He would still take Alistair’s
job.

He needed to break this link more than
ever.

There had to be a way.

Prey can turn to predator, after all.

There was so much he had to learn, though.
So much he had to absorb.

The breeze brought the scent of the woods
around him.
Move,
his life force spoke to him.
It’s time
to move.

Garrick took a last moment to linger over
the devastation before him, then strode into the dense forest.

* * * * *

This is the end of
Glamour of the
God-Touched
, but the story of Garrick, Braxidane, and the
struggle between the orders continues in
Trail of the
Torean
, due to be published in December, 2014!

Available at:

Smashwords

The Saga of the God-Touched Mage
includes:

Glamour of the God-Touched

Trail of the Torean

Target of the Orders

Gathering of the God-Touched

Pawn of the Planewalker

Changing of the Guard

Lord of the Freeborn

Lords of Existence

Image by Ron Collins

The universe of Adruin and All of Existence has
many people to thank for its existence, not the least of which are
Tim Brown, Mike Cox, Ken and Jackie Peters, and my wife, Lisa.

I need to single out a few others for their
efforts beyond all the rest.

My friend, collaborator, and pre-reader John
Bodin’s help was—as always—superlative. I want to thank my
daughter, Brigid, for stepping into the fray when I needed her. And
I want to give thanks to my cover artist, Rachel Carpenter, who was
great fun to work with and who did a fantastic job bringing Garrick
to life.

Thanks to David B. Coe (D. B. Jackson) for
his kind comments on my work, and for his gentle prodding regarding
the story itself. I owe you a dum-dum, David.

Mostly, though, I have to thank Lisa for
everything she’s done for me.
Saga of the God-Touched Mage
has gone through more twists and turns than I could ever have
predicted when the idea first hit, and she’s been with me through
every step. (Don’t worry, honey. It’s really done. Really, I mean
it. It’s done. You don't have to read it for the 111th time!).

Ron Collins is an award-winning author who lives
in Columbus, Indiana, with his wife, Lisa.

Glamour of the God-Touched
is the
first volume in the eight-part
Saga of the God-Touched Mage
.
He published
Five Magics
, a collection of his short fantasy,
in 2012.
Five Magics
includes two tales from
Dragon
Magazine
, a
Marion Zimmer Bradley’s FANTASY MAGAZINE
Cauldron Award winning story, and another tale that was awarded
Honorable Mention in Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling’s “Years Best
Fantasy.”

Ron is the author of two road trip,
alternate-history, fantasy, science fiction baseball novels, the
first being
See the PEBA on $25 a Day
(2010), and the sequel
being
Chasing the Setting Sun
(2014).

He has contributed numerous short stories to
professional science fiction publications including
Analog
,
Asimov’s
, and
Nature
. His writing has received a
Writers of the Future
prize, and a CompuServe HOMer Award.
He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering, and worked developing
avionics systems, electronics, and information technology before
spending a decade in Human Resource management.

Discover other work by Ron Collins at:

Amazon
Profile

Smashwords
Profile

Search at
Kobo

Search at Barnes & Noble

The Saga of the God-Touched Mage
includes:

Glamour of the God-Touched

Trail of the Torean

Target of the Orders

Gathering of the God-Touched

Pawn of the Planewalker

Changing of the Guard

Lord of the Freeborn

Lords of Existence