A World Apart (52 page)

He had debated simply going down and taking the boy, but his orders were to observe, taking action only to prevent Creatos from gaining control over the boy.  Also, the male cleric had demonstrated great power, more power than he had seen before in a cleric, so he was cautious.

In the silence that followed their departure, the figure mulled over what he had seen.  Creatos had been an arrogant fool to think he would have been allowed to keep the boy.  Well, he paid for that arrogance, the figure thought dismissively.  The boy showed surprising power and courage, including his sacrifice in the end.

The figure wished he had been allowed to take the boy.  He was looking forward to the chance to talk with him; his story had to be fascinating.  Soon, he was sure, his Master would move to capture the boy.  After that, he would have plenty of time to find out more about this Jake Thomas.

Turning around, his cloak dragging across the husks of the two Imps which had tried to stop him, he left to report what had happened to his Master.

Here ends Book 1 of the Jake Thomas trilogy.

Jake's fate and journey continues in Book 2 –
Sword of Light

A
BOUT THE
A
UTHOR

Steven Tolle was born in Hanford, California, a farming community in the Central Valley.   After high school, he attended California State University in Sacramento, graduating with a degree in International Relations.

In the 90's, he served on active duty in the US Army, where he was trained as an interrogator and to speak the Lao language.  He worked on the POW-MIA searches in Southeast Asia as member of Joint Task Force-Full Accounting.  After he left active service, he served in a psychological operations unit in the Reserves, deploying to Thailand and Korea to support missions there.

He has served in a variety of positions with the State of California.  In his career, he has been an Executive Fellow, an appointee of the Governor, as well as a civil service analyst and manager.

A long-time fan of fantasy and science fiction,
A World Apart
is his first novel.

He resides in Northern California with his wife, Emily.

The Jake Thomas Trilogy

A World Apart

Sword of Light 
(Spring 2013)

The Eternal Darkness 
(Christmas 2013)