A Rule of Queens (Book #13 in the Sorcerer's Ring)
Read A Rule of Queens (Book #13 in the Sorcerer's Ring) Online
Authors: Morgan Rice
A
r
u l e
O F
q u e e n s
(Book #13 in the Sorcerer’s Ring)
Morgan Rice
About Morgan Rice
Morgan
Rice is the #1 bestselling author of THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS, a young adult series
comprising eleven books (and counting); the #1 bestselling series THE SURVIVAL
TRILOGY, a post-apocalyptic thriller comprising two books (and counting); and
the #1 bestselling epic fantasy series THE SORCERER’S RING, comprising thirteen
books (and counting).
Morgan’s
books are available in audio and print editions, and translations of the books
are available in German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portugese, Japanese,
Chinese, Swedish, Dutch, Turkish, Hungarian, Czech and Slovak (with more
languages forthcoming).
TURNED
(Book #1 in the
Vampire Journals) and
A QUEST OF
HEROES
(Book #1 in the Sorcerer’s Ring) are each available as a free download on
Amazon!
Morgan
loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit
www.morganricebooks.com
to join the
email list, receive a free book, receive free giveaways, download the free app,
get the latest exclusive news, connect on Facebook and Twitter, and stay in
touch!
Select Acclaim
for Morgan Rice
“THE
SORCERER’S RING has all the ingredients for an instant success: plots,
counterplots, mystery, valiant knights, and blossoming relationships replete
with broken hearts, deception and betrayal. It will keep you entertained for
hours, and will satisfy all ages. Recommended for the permanent library of all
fantasy readers.”
--
Books
and Movie Reviews
, Roberto Mattos
“Rice
does a great job of pulling you into the story from the beginning, utilizing a
great descriptive quality that transcends the mere painting of the
setting….Nicely written and an extremely fast read.”
--Black
Lagoon Reviews (regarding
Turned
)
“An
ideal story for young readers. Morgan Rice did a good job spinning an
interesting twist…Refreshing and unique. The series focuses around one girl…one
extraordinary girl!...Easy to read but extremely fast-paced... Rated PG.”
--The
Romance Reviews (regarding
Turned
)
“Grabbed
my attention from the beginning and did not let go….This story is an amazing
adventure that is fast paced and action packed from the very beginning. There
is not a dull moment to be found.”
--Paranormal
Romance Guild (regarding
Turned
)
“Jam
packed with action, romance, adventure, and suspense. Get your hands on this
one and fall in love all over again.”
--vampirebooksite.com
(regarding
Turned
)
“A
great plot, and this especially was the kind of book you will have trouble
putting down at night. The ending was a cliffhanger that was so spectacular
that you will immediately want to buy the next book, just to see what happens.”
--The
Dallas Examiner (regarding
Loved
)
“A
book to rival TWILIGHT and VAMPIRE DIARIES, and one that will have you wanting
to keep reading until the very last page! If you are into adventure, love and
vampires this book is the one for you!”
--Vampirebooksite.com
(regarding
Turned
)
“Morgan
Rice proves herself again to be an extremely talented storyteller….This would
appeal to a wide range of audiences, including younger fans of the
vampire/fantasy genre. It ended with an unexpected cliffhanger that leaves you
shocked.”
--The
Romance Reviews (regarding
Loved
)
Books by Morgan Rice
THE SORCERER’S RING
A
QUEST OF HEROES (Book #1)
A MARCH OF KINGS (Book #2)
A FATE OF DRAGONS (Book #3)
A CRY OF HONOR (Book #4)
A VOW OF GLORY (Book #5)
A CHARGE OF VALOR (Book #6)
A RITE OF SWORDS (Book #7)
A GRANT OF ARMS (Book #8)
A SKY OF SPELLS (Book #9)
A SEA OF SHIELDS (Book #10)
A REIGN OF STEEL (Book #11)
A LAND OF FIRE (Book #12)
A RULE OF QUEENS (Book #13)
THE SURVIVAL TRILOGY
ARENA ONE: SLAVERSUNNERS (Book #1)
ARENA TWO (Book #2)
THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS
TURNED (Book #1)
LOVED (Book #2)
BETRAYED (Book #3)
DESTINED (Book #4)
DESIRED (Book #5)
BETROTHED (Book #6)
VOWED (Book #7)
FOUND (Book #8)
RESURRECTED (Book #9)
CRAVED (Book #10)
FATED (Book #11)
Copyright
© 2014 by Morgan Rice
All
rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no
part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any
form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the
prior permission of the author.
This
ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be
re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book
with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If
you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for
your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for
respecting the hard work of this author.
This
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places,
events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are
used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is
entirely coincidental.
Jacket
image Copyright Slava Gerj, used under license from Shutterstock.com.
CONTENTS
Thorgrin’s head slammed against rock and mud as
he tumbled down the mountainside in free-fall, tumbling hundreds of feet as the
mountain collapsed. His world spun end over end, and he tried to stop it, to
orient himself, but he could not. Out of the corner of his eye he glimpsed his
brothers tumbling, too, flipping end over end, all of them, like Thor, grasping
desperately at roots, at rocks—at anything—trying to slow the fall.
Thor realized, with each passing moment, that
he was getting farther and farther away from the peak of the volcano, from Guwayne.
He thought of those savages up there, preparing to sacrifice his baby, and he burned
with fury. He clawed at the mud, shrieking, desperate to get back up there.
But try as he did, there was little he could
do. Thor could barely see or breathe, much less shield himself from the blows,
as a mountain of dirt thundered down upon him. It felt as if the weight of the entire
universe were on his shoulders.
It was all happening so fast, too fast for Thor
to even process it, and as he caught a glimpse down below, he saw a field of
jagged rocks. He knew that once they hit them, they would all be dead.
Thor closed his eyes and tried to recall his
training, Argon’s teachings, his mother’s words, tried to find calm within the
storm, to summon the warrior power within him. As he did, he felt his life
flashing before his eyes. Was this, he wondered, his final test?
Please, God,
Thor prayed,
if you exist, save me. Do
not allow me to die like this. Allow me to summon my power. Allow me to save my
son.
As he thought the words, Thor felt that he was
being tested, being forced to draw upon his faith, to summon a stronger faith
than he’d ever had. As his mother had warned, he was a warrior now, and he was
being put to a warrior’s test.
As Thor closed his eyes, the world began to
slow, and to his amazement, he began to feel a calm, a sense of peace, within
the storm. He began to feel a heat rising within him, coursing through his
veins, through his palms. He began to feel bigger than his body.
Thor felt himself outside of his body, looking
down, saw himself tumbling down the mountainside. He realized in that moment
that he was not his body. He was something greater.
Thor suddenly snapped back into his body, and
as he did, he raised his palms high overhead, and watched as a shining white
light emanated from them. He directed the light and created a bubble around himself
and his brothers, and as he did, suddenly the mudslide stopped in its tracks, a
wall of dirt bouncing off the shield and not coming at them any further.
They continued to slide, but now at a much
slower rate, easing their way to a gradual stop on a small plateau near the
base of the mountain. Thor looked down and saw he had come to a stop in shallow
water, and as he stood, he saw it was up to his knees.
Thor looked around in amazement. He looked up
the mountain, saw the wall of dirt frozen, hanging there in mid-air, as if
ready to come back down at any second, still blocked by his bubble of light. He
took it all in, amazed that he had done that.
“Anybody dead?” O’Connor called out.
Thor saw Reece, O’Connor, Conven, Matus, Elden,
and Indra, all of them bruised and shaken, getting to their feet, but all
miraculously alive, and none with major injuries. They rubbed their faces,
covered in black dirt, all of them looking as if they’d crawled through a mine.
Thor could see how grateful they were to be alive, and he could see in their eyes
that they credited him with saving their lives.
Thor, remembering, turned and immediately looked
up at the top of the mountain with only one thing on his mind: his son.
“How are we going to get back up—” Matus began.
But before he could finish his words, Thor suddenly
felt something wrap around his ankles. He looked down, startled, and saw a
thick, slimy, muscular creature, wrapping around his ankles and up his shins,
again and again. He saw in horror that it was a long, eel-like creature, with
two small heads, hissing with its long tongues as it looked up at him and wrapped
its tentacles around him. Its skin began to burn Thor’s legs.
Thor’s reflexes kicked in, and he drew his
sword and slashed, as did the others, also being attacked all around him. Thor
tried to slash carefully so as not to slice his own leg, and as he chopped one
off, the eel loosened and the horrific pain in his ankles subsided. The eel slithered
back into the water, hissing.
O’Connor fumbled for his bow, firing down at
them and missing, while Elden shrieked as three eels came upon him at once.
Thor raced forward and slashed the eel making
its way up O’Connor’s leg, while Indra stepped forward and yelled to Elden:
“Don’t move!”
She raised her bow and fired off three arrows in
quick succession, killing each eel with a perfect shot, and just grazing Elden’s
skin.
He looked up at her, shocked.
“Are you mad?” he cried out. “You almost took out
my leg!”
Indra smiled back.
“But I didn’t, did I?” she replied.
Thor heard more splashing and looked all around
at the water in shock to see dozens more eels rising up. He realized they had
to make a move and get out of there quickly.
Thor felt drained, exhausted, from summoning
his power, and he knew there was little of it left within him; he was not yet
powerful enough, he knew, to summon his power continuously. Still, he knew he
had to draw upon it one last time, whatever the cost. If he did not, he knew
they’d never make it back, they would die here in his pool of eels, and there’d
be no chance left for his son. It might take all his strength, it might leave
him weak for days, but he did not care. He thought of Guwayne, up there,
helpless, at the mercy of those savages, and knew he would do anything.
As another group of eels began to slither
toward him, Thor closed his eyes and raised his palms to the sky.
“In the name of the one and only God,” Thor
said aloud, “I command you, skies, to part! I command you to send us clouds to
lift us up!”
Thor uttered the words in a deep dark voice, no
longer afraid to embrace the Druid he was, and he felt them vibrating in his
chest, in the air. He felt a tremendous heat centering in his chest, and as he
uttered the words, he felt with certainty that they would come to pass.
There came a great roar, and Thor looked up to
see the skies began to change, to morph into a dark purple, the clouds swirling
and frothing. There appeared a round hole, an opening in the sky, and suddenly,
a scarlet light shot down, and it was followed by a funnel cloud, lowering
right down to them.
In moments, Thor and the others found
themselves swept up in a tornado. Thor felt the moisture of the soft clouds
swirling all around him, felt himself immersed in the light, and moments later,
he felt himself hoisted, lifted up into the air, feeling lighter than he’d ever
had. He truly felt as one with the universe.
Thor felt himself rising higher and higher, up
alongside the mountain, past the dirt, past his bubble, all the way to the top
of the mountain. In moments, the cloud took them to the very top of the volcano
and then deposited them gently. It then dissipated just as quickly.
Thor stood there with his brothers, and they
all looked back at him in complete awe, as if he were a god.
But Thor was not thinking of them; he turned
and quickly surveyed the plateau, and there was but one thing on his mind: the
three savages standing before him. And the small bassinet in their arms,
hovering over the edge of the volcano.
Thor let out a battle cry as he rushed forward.
The first savage turned to face him, startled, and as he did, Thor did not
hesitate, but rushed forward and decapitated him.
The other two turned to him with a horrified
expression, and as they did, Thor stabbed one in the heart, then reached around
with the back of his sword and butted the other one in the face, knocking him
backwards, shrieking, over the edge of the volcano.
Thor turned and quickly snatched the bassinet
before they could drop it. He looked down, his heart pounding with gratitude
that he had caught it in time, prepared to lift Guwayne out and hold him in his
arms.
But as Thor looked down into the bassinet, his
entire world fell apart.
It was empty.
Thor’s entire world froze, as he stood there,
numb.
He looked down inside the volcano, and saw far
below, the flames, rising high. And he knew his son was dead.
“NO!” Thor shrieked.
Thor dropped to his knees, shrieking to the
heavens, letting out a tremendous cry that echoed off the mountains, the primal
scream of a man who had lost everything he had to live for.
“GUWAYNE!”
