Arthur and Kai have escaped the threat of Emrys but now must face life on the surface world, and all the fearsome creatures that dwell there. But just as they assemble the beginnings of a fighting force, they discover a vital component to their safety has been compromised. This means a return to Avalon, where Arthur has an unexpected encounter with the untrustworthy Merlin. The magician’s orders are clear: Arthur must find the sword to save the surface-dwellers and Avalon. There is no alternative.

Kiri Ung, leader of the Nestines and ultimate controller of the Terran slaves on the surface, needs Arthur in order to ensure the continuance of his species. With the Nestine Queen dying, failure means ultimate extinction. Wherever Arthur goes, so goes Kiri Ung.

Whoever finds the sword first gains control over all humanity. But simply gaining possession of this powerful artifact is not enough to wield its power. Let the battle commence.

Coming in 2014 from Kristell Ink

About the author

C.N. Lesley is the pen name of author Elizabeth Hull, who lives in central Alberta, Canada with her husband and cats. Her family lives close by. As well as writing, Elizabeth also likes to read, paint watercolors, and is a keen gardener, despite the very short summers, and now has a mature shade garden. Once a worker in the communications sector, mostly concentrating on local news and events, she now writes full time.

Elizabeth’s first book,
Darkspire Reaches
, was published in March 2013 and is an Amazon bestseller. For more information, check out her website at cnlesley.com

Acknowledgements

Thank you so much to Sammy H.K Smith, Zoë Harris and Ken Dawson from Kristell Ink. Thank you also to Evelinn Enoksen for a wonderful cover.

Many thanks to a wonderful bunch of friends who helped make this book what it is now. In alphabetical order: Treize Aramistedian, Lindsay B, Corrie Conwell, Carlos J. Cortes, Jeanette Cottrell, Susan Elizabeth Curnow, Jennifer Dawson, Linda Dicmanis, Crash Froelich, Rhonda S.Garcia, Giacomo Giammatteo, Ilona Gordon, Zoë Harris. Lisa Hartjes Jeanne Haskins, Kendra Highley, Elissa Hunt, May Iversen, Victoria Kerrigan, Raven Matthews, Lisa Smeaton, Sammy H.K Smith, Linda Steel, Dena Landon Stoll, P.J Thompson, Stelios Touchtidis Sylvia Volk, and Ursular Warneke

Other Titles from Kristell Ink

Strange Tales from the Scriptorian Vaults

A Collection of Steampunk Stories edited by Sammy HK Smith

All profits go to the charity First Story.

Published October 2012

Non-Compliance: The Sector by Paige Daniels

I used to matter . . . but now I’m just a girl in a ghetto, a statistic of the Non-Compliance Sector.

Shea Kelly had a brilliant career in technology, but after refusing to implant an invasive government device in her body she was sent to a modern day reservation: a Non-Compliance Sector, a lawless community run by thugs and organized crime. She’s made a life for herself as a resourceful barkeep, and hacks for goods on the black market with her best friend Wynne, a computer genius and part-time stripper. Life is pretty quiet under the reigning Boss, apart from run-ins with his right hand man, the mighty Quinn: until Danny Rose threatens to take over the sector. Pushed to the edge, Shea decides to fight back . . .

Published November 2012

Healer’s Touch by Deb E. Howell

A girl who has not only the power to heal through taking life fights for her freedom.

Llew has a gift. Her body heals itself, even from death, but at the cost of those nearby. In a country fearful of magic, freeing yourself from the hangman’s noose by wielding forbidden power brings its own dangers. After dying and coming back to life, Llew drops from the gallows into the hands of Jonas: the man carrying a knife with the power to kill her.

Published February 2013

Darkspire Reaches by C.N. Lesley

The wyvern has hunted for the young outcast all her life; a day will come when she must at last face him.

Abandoned as a sacrifice to the wyvern, a young girl is raised to fear the beast her adoptive clan believes meant to kill her. When the Emperor outlaws all magic, Raven is forced to flee from her home with her foster mother, for both are judged as witches. Now an outcast, she lives at the mercy of others, forever pursued by the wyvern as she searches for her rightful place in the world. Soon her life will change forever as she discovers the truth about herself.

A unique and unsettling romantic adventure about rejection and belonging.

Published March 2013

Guardians of Evion, Volume 1: Destiny by Evelinn Enoksen

Numak believes his destiny is to be a Rider; but he learns that he is far more important.

A strange and compelling narrative which encompasses philosophy, adventure and romance within a richly imagined world, embellished with the author’s own extraordinary art.

Published April 2013

Space Games by Dean Lombardo

The cameras are on and the gloves are off in this battle of the sexes on the new International Space Station.

Say hello to Robin and Joe—contestants in 2034’s “Space Games,” a new, high-stakes reality TV show from Hollywood producer Sheldon J. Zimmer . . .

Space Games is a compelling story and a biting satire about reality television: those who make and participate in it – and those who watch it.

Published May 2013

The Art of Forgetting: Rider by Joanne Hall

A young boy leaves his village to become a cavalryman with the famous King’s Third regiment; in doing so he discovers both his past and his destiny.

Gifted and cursed with a unique memory, the foundling son of a notorious traitor, Rhodri joins an elite cavalry unit stationed in the harbour town of Northpoint. His training reveals his talents and brings him friendship, love and loss, and sexual awakening; struggling with his memories of his father who once ruled there, he begins to discover a sense of belonging. That is, until a face from the past reveals a secret that will change not only Rhodri’s life but the fate of a nation. Then, on his first campaign, he is forced to face the extremes of war and his own nature.

This, the first part of
The Art of Forgetting
, is a gripping story about belonging and identity, set in a superbly imagined and complex world that is both harsh and beautiful.

Published June 2013

The Reluctant Prophet by Gillian O’Rourke

There’s none so blind as she who can see . . .

Esther is blessed, and cursed, with a rare gift: the ability to see the fates of those around her. But when she escapes her peasant upbringing to become a priestess of the Order, she begins to realise how valuable her ability is among the power-hungry nobility, and what they are willing to do to possess it.

Haunted by the dark man of her father's warnings, and unable to see her own destiny, Esther is betrayed by those sworn to protect her. With eyes newly open to the harsh realities of her world, she embarks on a path that diverges from the plan the Gods have laid out. Now she must choose between sacrificing her own heart’s blood, and risking a future that will turn the lands against each other in bloody war.

The Reluctant Prophet is the story of one woman who holds the fate of the world in her hands, when all she wishes for is a glimpse of her own happiness.

Published August 2013

Non-Compliance: The Transition by Paige Daniels

Three months have passed since Shea Kelly and the rest of Boss’s crew eliminated Danny Rose from the Non-Compliance Sector, but their troubles are far from over. A new, more dangerous opponent has emerged, causing those once considered enemies to strike a tenuous truce. Secrets about the vaccine, the chip, and the past threaten Shea’s budding romance and even the very existence of the crew.

All titles in print and as e-books.