Song of the Fairy Queen (79 page)

They found Dorien amongst the dead, too, his sword in hand, two arrows in him, yet he’d fought there, too. Bodies had been scattered around him.

Kyri missed his imperturbable presence intensely.

Among those here were Patraic’s widow and his heir, his daughter Calandra. It would be the first festival they would celebrate after they’d put aside the black of mourning.

Morgan learned of Jacob’s fate in the days that followed the battle and put the timing together well enough to understand the sacrifice his friend had made, reparation of sorts for the harm that had been done. He grieved for the friend he’d once had.

His wish, however, had been granted and the walls of Remagne had been torn down. The great pediment now stood on the ground beside the road to Remagne as a shrine to those who had suffered and died in the war. Jacob’s name was listed among them.

There were bright spots, too, as Gaia’s infectious laughter rang out. Detrick had taken a dozen wounds as he battled to where she’d fallen, to find her, burned badly and bleeding, among the fallen but still alive.

It had been she Galan had been healing that moment on the plain when Kyri had called down the light. Although he’d done an amazing job, one of her wings had been damaged enough to limit flight. She had consolation, though. Detrick stood at her side, with their son in his arms, firmly keeping the boy from flying off. He wasn’t quite fledged yet but he was trying…mostly Detrick’s patience.

Jordan of Dorset and Gawain indulged in a wrestling match.

Amid music and laughter, people hurried to come see the new baby and Fairy to see their future King.

He would be raised in Caernarvon as well as the glens and so know both, as his people now did.

The Fair had returned even to the Great Central Forest and were busy at work restoring the damage Haerold had done there, occasionally at odds with the folk who lived around it but they were learning to balance need against need.

So, too, the wizards begun to return.

Unfortunately, not all of Haerold’s wizards had been on the plain that day and not all had been within the reach of Kyri’s Tears, as folk had begun to call them. Some still remained and that was a problem they were still resolving.

That was for another time.

King Oryan stood before his throne and clapped his hands, older, wiser, his features marked with a little more experience, his plain and simple crown on his head. At his side, Gawain stood, tall and handsome, a slight smile on his face.

“Welcome,” Oryan said and spread his arms…

#####

As an old favorite author used to say “I’m five foot two, blonde-haired and blue eyed, the rest is subject to change without notice.” Currently Valerie is happily ensconced in the wilds of central Ohio farm country with two dogs, four cats and an African clawed frog for company as she writes. The frog doesn’t say much. You can contact her through her webpages:

www.valeriedouglasbooks.com

www.vjdevereauxbooks.com

Fantasy

The Otherling series:

The Coming Storm
– A Epic Fantasy – in the tradition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s the Lord of the Rings trilogy, comes the epic tale of Elon of Aerilann, Elven swordmaster, his true-friend Colath, the archer Jalila and the wizard Jareth, as they, with the aid of Ailith Heir of Riverford, try to discover why the creatures of the borderlands do battle with them, and why?

A Convocation of Kings
– sequel to The Coming Storm. A shadow has fallen over the Kingdoms and once again Elon, Colath, Jareth and Jalila are called to answer it. One ally is lost but another returns while a terrible tragedy nearly costs them a third. Now a member of the ruling Council, Elon of Aerilann and his companions, Colath, Jareth and Jalila are forced to fight for the Alliance they've given everything to preserve, even as a breath of hope is offered...

Heart of the Gods
– In search of the ancient Tomb of the Djinn, archaeologist Ky Farrar awakens its lethal, and lovely, guardian. Unfortunately, Ky isn’t the only one in search of the tomb and the danger to the world that lies within it.

Servant of the Gods
– Orphaned as a child, Irisi became a mercenary to survive. Captured by the Egyptian army and made the spoils of war, she finds herself drawn to their commander. Though the attraction is mutual even he can't save her from enslavement and she's forced to fight in the ring for entertainment. In a desperate attempt to regain her freedom she throws herself on the mercy of the Gods, only to discover that her fate is written in prophecy...

Romance:

The Millersburg Series

Irish Fling
– Ali was the smart one, but brains didn’t stop her from crashing and burning. A desire to connect with her roots takes her to Ireland, and a chance meeting with internet mogul Aidan O’Connell. Even brilliant Ali with her nearly photographic memory doesn’t see the danger lurking when she sees the wrong thing.

Dirty Politics
– Returning to her hometown, practical Cam Kenyon discovers that teenage crush Noah Denton is running for D.A. When she discovers that his opponent is going to indulge in dirty politics, she throws her support to him, accidentally resurrecting an old enemy.

Director’s Cut
– When bad-boy director Jack Tyler comes to town to rediscover his passion with the local community theater group, teacher and theater geek Molly has to decide whether to take a chance on him. When his past catches up with him and he seems to be returning to his old bad habits, she has to decide whether to fight his demons alongside him.

Two Up
– Sculptor and welder Jesse was always the wild child, her only family her three friends. A chance meeting with novelist Mitch Donovan gives her a chance to make a new life. For Mitch meeting Jesse gives him new inspiration, but that new inspiration comes at a terrifying price.

Lucky Charm
– When private investigator Matt Morrison’s best friend Bill is murdered, all evidence seems to point at his company, but Matt’s every attempt at entry is thwarted. Violently. When pretty Ariel O’Donnell comes unexpectedly to his rescue, he resolves to keep her out of what is clearly a dangerous situation. Unfortunately, it seems Ariel is already involved and the forces set in motion by Bill’s death are closing around her.

As V. J. Devereaux – available from Ellora’s Cave Publishing

Cherry’s Jubilee

Special Delivery

In the Flesh

Demon’s Kiss

Other Fantasy Novels Published by the Alexandria Publishing Group

David M Brown

Fezariu's Epiphany

Short Stories

Short Stories I-IV

Paul Kater

Hilda the Wicked Witch series

Hilda the wicked witch

Hilda - Snow White revisited

Hilda - The Challenge

Hilda and Zelda

Hilda - Cats

Hilda - Lycadea

Hilda - Back to School

Hilda - Dragon Master (coming in Jan. 2012)

Steampunk

Aeroparts factory

Bactine

Lily Marin - three short steampunk stories

Terry C. Simpson

Epic Fantasy

Aegis of the Gods Series

Etchings of Power (Bk1) - Out now

Shade's Forging - Prequel - Coming Soon

Uprising - (Bk 2) - Coming Soon

Urban/Dark Fantasy

Necrosis - Coming Soon