Half-caste :
The Gifted Series Cale lived in a small hamlet in the mountains, son of a farmer and apprentice to the blacksmith. He wanted only to work hard, marry the beautiful Aldina, the smith's daughter, and raise many strong sons and daughters. He was content with his quiet life in the remote mountain valley.
But before his sixteenth birthday, Cale's life is shattered, his town destroyed, and his future altered forever. He is thrown into a conflict he never sought and did not want. And as the violence rages around him, Cale becomes a weapon that will bring down a kingdom and perhaps destroy him as he saves the world. PART ONE
THE CAPTIVE Chapter One My life is gone. My future is gone. All that is left is pain and fear. Raiders have come from the south, from Crepush. We are hiding, praying they pass through our village on their way north to raid another kingdom, but we are foolish in our hope. They are not passing through. They are here for me. I do not know why, but I am afraid. Fear is a new experience for me.
Raised in our quiet mountain hamlet, called Speriös by my mother's great grandfather when he and others fled a vile king, I knew peace and love. A quiet life. Even after my mother became ill and died, my father and I lived our uneventful lives, content in the simplicity of our days. Apprenticed to the local smith, I expected to marry his daughter, Aldina, and raise my family among the towering pines and hemlock. My future was here. Now I squat in fear inside the smithy, holding Aldina and comforting her younger brother, keeping them quiet while the raiders destroy our homes and crops. The screams of our dying neighbors shatter our hearts and drive fear into the very marrow of our bones. Aldina's father nudges my leg, calling my attention away from Aldina to the noises outside. "Cale, listen," he urges in a gruff whisper. "Galen's son," a rough voice calls. "Come out. We have your worthless father. Come out, or we will gut him like a pig." I stand and open the shutter over the window just a bit, looking around it to the square of dirt that forms the center of our village. The square is filled with raiders, filth disguised as men. Two of them hold my father's arms while the third holds his blade to my father's throat as he kneels in the dirt. "Crepushins," I breathe with disgust. "Come out, boy," the man with the blade calls, moving the steel closer to my father's throat, drawing a trickle of blood. "Do not come, Cale," my father orders as he struggles with his captors. The third man moves the blade again and the trickle increases in strength. "Wait," I yell in panic. I push Aldina's arms away and shove the smith aside from where he blocks the door. I withdraw the heavy timber bar and shoot the two sturdy iron bolts, flinging the door open so hard it rebounds against the thick stone wall of the smithy. "Wait!" I rush through the door and stop, standing in fear on the edge of the dirt square. There are so many of them, all around the square. Dozens more than I could see from the smithy window. Many more than I can defeat. Even with my gifts, I am untrained in fighting. — from Chapter One Half-caste: The Gifted Series purchase now on :
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