Sorry, been distracted. Bramble Burn is consuming my imagination, so Rowen & Gold is on the back burner. Of course, all those who were clamoring for Haunt will be pleased.
Bramble Burn
by
Autumn Dawn
PUBLISHED BY:
Autumn Dawn on Smashwords
EDITED BY:
Judy Stone
Cover images by: Shutterstock.com
Bramble Burn
Copyright ©
2015 by Autumn Dawn
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under
copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by
any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise)
without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above
publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product
of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges
the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in
this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The
publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or
sponsored by the trademark owners.
***
Bramble Burn
Super-duper book blurb here.
It had been thirty years since the Convergence, when the dimensions
aligned and combined Earth and the world of Gwyllon, known in human mythology
as “Underhill”. Elven castles and random buildings sprouted in vacant lots, on
major highways, sometimes merging with existing buildings, twisting into completely
new structures; the courthouse had merged with an Elven government building.
Roads and rail systems reformed, and after the rioting, starvation and death,
agriculture finally sorted itself and food began to flow. A new government
formed of elves and men had arisen, a society of human tech and elven magic.
Cell phones and frost giants, race cars and elven steeds, dungeons and dragons…
And everywhere, monsters.
Juniper was twenty-three, a child of the new generation of small
farmers. Her grandfather was Tylwyth Teg, an elf of the forest. Her father had
been mostly normal, or pretended to be, but Juniper had her grandfather’s
hunger for growing things. He’d tolerated her visiting his woods as long as he
could, but there could be only one Forest Lord. He’d told her kindly but firmly
to find her own Wood. She could not go back, or he’d kill her.
XXX words
Chapter 1
“You’re a fool, girl.”
Juniper Rose stared at the blasted, twisted wreckage of the
former park and contemplated her mother’s words. She might have a point.
She kicked the dirt with her worn work boot, her sky blue
eyes frowning at the scorched, salted soil. Broken glass glittered in the late
afternoon light and she could smell motor oil and threadbare tires warmed by
the June sun. Trash caught on the burnt skeletons of trees and old cars, and
she could smell something rotten, probably carrion. The local gangs probably
dumped bodies here.
Bramble Park had once been a cute little park in an upscale
neighborhood, five blocks long by two blocks wide. After the Convergence, a
well of wild magic had opened, spawning monsters. The panicked neighbors had
tried to burn it, hoping to stop the critters from eating their children, and
the army had used explosives. The park kept growing, quadrupling, spawning
nightmares. Finally it was quarantined, the once prosperous neighborhood now a
slum. The residents installed bars on windows and doors and invested in guns;
there were no pacifists there.
It had been thirty years since the Convergence, when the
dimensions aligned and combined Earth and the world of Gwyllon, known in human
mythology as “Underhill”. Elven castles and random buildings sprouted in vacant
lots, on major highways, sometimes merging with existing buildings, twisting
into completely new structures; the courthouse had merged with an Elven government
building. Roads and rail systems reformed, and after the rioting, starvation
and death, agriculture finally sorted itself and food began to flow. A new
government formed of elves and men had arisen, a society of human tech and
elven magic. Cell phones and frost giants, race cars and elven steeds, dungeons
and dragons…
And everywhere, monsters.
Juniper was twenty-three, a child of the new generation of
small farmers. Her grandfather was Tylwyth Teg, an elf of the forest. Her
father had been mostly normal, or pretended to be, but Juniper had her
grandfather’s hunger for growing things. He’d tolerated her visiting his woods
as long as he could, but there could be only one Forest Lord. He’d told her
kindly but firmly to find her own Wood. She could not go back, or he’d kill
her.
“Be sure to write, let me know how you’re doing,” he’d
said, and meant it. After all, they were still family.
Her mother paced the farmhouse while Juniper packed. She’d
given Juniper her light brown hair and lanky body, but they couldn’t be more
different. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you! You don’t see your sister or
cousins leaving. Cities are dirty and dangerous, and if you were sensible,
you’d get your head out of the clouds and stay here.” She couldn’t hear the
call of the wild magic, and wouldn’t want to hear about it if she did.
Juniper patted her Black Adder mount, Twix, and fished in
his saddlebags. A mix of horse and Kudu, it had a kudu tail and long spiral
horns, a broad deer’s head, fast horse body and horse hooves. Its bite was
mildly venomous and it liked to dine on hay, bracken and small rodents. He was tireless
and cheaper than a car, because gas was expensive. Convergence caused magic
pulses that played havoc with geology, and magic was needed to reinforce the
mines. The black elves had cornered the market on the technology, and they
weren’t cheap.
A mist rose from the ground, obscuring rusting cars, a
crashed airplane and blackened ground. Parts of it had been salted, as if salt
could contain magical monsters.
Her hand brushed aside the deed to Bramble Park, aka
Bramble Burn. She’d made a deal with the city and gotten it cheap, on the
condition that she stop the expansion. She had a year to do what no one else
had done and no time to waste. She couldn’t afford a hotel if she wanted to buy
supplies, and she wouldn’t survive a night in the open. A group of rough men
were openly watching her, and shadows slinked in the Bramble. Her pistols could
only do so much to protect her.
She pulled out her seed collection and chose an
acorn. Time to move in.
