King Callie: Callie's Saga, Book One (43 page)

He recognized the word - his Ariaci was cobwebbed, and caked with dust, but it was simple enough to recall. “Summer fires?” he asked, in Barrish.

“Haven’t seen ‘em in ages. I was up in Kersik for the past four years; the only fires they had were torches and lamps, and trees struck by lightning… it’s a good omen, I think.”

He remembered something like them from his youth; when lightning would strike the nearby savannah, and it’d be engulfed in flames. He’d never thought them as a welcome portent, though. “How so?”

“You’re starting over, aren’t you?” she said. “That’s the same. A new beginning.”

“It seems too destructive to me,” Royth said. “And it ignores the past.”

“Of course,” Sage said. “Burns everything to ash. But that’ll make it easier for new trees to grow. Just like us. We cut down the big and the old, to make way for the new.”

“We also cut down the new, to keep the big and old in power,” Royth said, with a glare. “Fire burns both ways.”

Sage shrugged. “True,” she said. “And we burn for money. I don’t think fire was ever so mercenary, do you?”

“No, but sometimes, I wish it was,” he said.

It was then that a connection had formed in his mind; an odd one. When he’d seen the future, where Valric was king, it was filled with death and fire. Caliandra’s was a place of peace and strength. Such things were part of a cycle; fire begat death, and death begat birth. And the Peacebringer - it picked the best king for the age.

But did it always,
he wondered?
Or did the axe pick simply who was next in line, who would have been king afterwards... who would have been the best king for that time, and that purpose?

A new and sickening thought occurred to him. Perhaps Caliandra was not the best king for the time; perhaps she was the best king to follow Valric. Valric’s age would’ve been suited to his vicious temperament… not Caliandra’s. Which meant Royth had extinguished the cleansing fire, before it had the chance to burn - and that whatever it would have burned,
needed
to be brought to ashes for Caliandra’s age to have a chance. And in his haste, he had robbed her of it; stolen it without a thought, thinking himself a martyr for her cause.

He had set up a builder to lead a kingdom that needed a warrior. “Kembo is cruel,” Royth said to himself, cursing his luck, cursing his rashness, cursing every bit of love in his heart for the Feors. He’d saved them from nothing; he’d only made it worse. “Very cruel, indeed.”

It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a slightly larger village to make a book, no matter what the front of it tells you.

First and foremost in my mind, heart, and thanks are my parents, Raymond and Corinne Lynch, and my dear sister, Lauren, who supported and encouraged me through the lengthy process of writing this book. Without driven, accomplished women like my mother and my sister helping to shape my life, I wouldn’t have had the inspiration, the passion, or the grounding to see it through. And without my father passing on his love of reading, I wouldn’t have had a place to start.

Secondary thanks also go to my sister: Thank you for being my cheerleader, my beta reader, for re-naming the resident hunk, and in ways both great and small, for contributing to Callie herself. So much about this book is owed to you, it’s not even funny. Thank you, for helping me contribute to making the world suck less.

Major thanks to Carol Gyzander, and Liz Flood, whose collective suggestions and support in great part helped to ensure that this book kicked ass - to Liz, for her valuable perspectives on art, passion, and creativity, her editorial insights, and general inappropriateness; to Carol, for her persistence, excellent suggestions, and camaraderie in the word mines. More major thanks to Sue Engelke and Tiffany Walsh, for being my first big non-family member fans, and to Jessie Kalick, for encouraging me to give Callie some friends.

Thanks to my friends, who supported me and kept me sane; Branson Belchie II, Jeff Williams, Rajiv Miller, Asia Hoe, Ciara Taylor, Janice Lai (for additional naming help, all hail King Crutchlow - I mean, Rionn), Sidney Montoya, Ben Kahan, Patrick Perry, Bree Rubin, Colin Chapin, Ami Bogin, Andi Wrede, Jesahel Cantarell, Megan Mascrenhas, Matthew Parente, Brad Olalde, Carol Gyzander, Christine Dietzl, Hannah Courtright, Jim Foley, Jessica Leigh, Rachel Stowers-Coleman, Tom Fulgione, Jared Skolnick, Lauren DiGiovine, and Deck Hurley (the Josske before there was a Josske).

To my Beta readers: You guys kick ass. Brian Lam, Nicole Benkert, Uncle Bruce, Cousin Lacey, and Caitlin Kriner - thanks so much for the gift of your time. Getting a shout-out back here isn’t enough.

Last but not least, special shout outs to the cover artist Sina Kazra, who so perfectly visualized Caliandra and made her real (to me, at least); to Kam Imam, who consistently pushed me to do better with kick-ass edits and suggestions; to Ari Pramagioulis, for the awesome cover design; to my home base, Cool Beans in Oradell, NJ, and the Tuesday night Cool Beans Crew; and to the /r/FantasyWriters community.

It may take a large village to make a book, but it only takes one person to read it. Thank you greatly for the gift of your time; I hope it’s been well spent.

(Even if you pirated it.)

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