Title: Blood Bonds: Ethriel
Author: Joe Walker
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Publisher: Blue Tulip Publishing
Release Date: February 24
Storm clouds gather over the land
of Ethriel.
The Dark Lord, Akvandar, has defeated the
once mighty Kingdom of Sol and now turns his attention upon the men of the
west; a weak and fractured people struggling desperately to repel the advances
of the armies spewing forth from the dreaded Spire.
Meanwhile, in the cold north, there is
trouble afoot. Goblins march from the Mountain of Iron, ravaging the lands
between the Range and the Impassable Peaks; a once peaceful region where the
stench of betrayal is pungent and corruption is rife.
Humankind teeters on the edge of existence
and the forces of good have only one choice. They must forget past grievances
and fight against the evil that plagues their land in a war that will be
decided by the sword and the shield.
From the deepest depths to the highest
peaks, Blood Bonds will take you on a whirlwind adventure following four
unlikely companions who must bind themselves in friendship, overcoming battles,
betrayals and grief as they strive to bring the nations of the realm together.
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Another tiresome hour of jogging and
walking passed by, and gradually shoots of grass began to sprout up from the
hard earth. The air grew slightly cleaner, and, at one point, there was even a
lone tree that stood no bigger than a man. That brought a smile to Van’s face,
for he had never seen a tree before; at least he couldn’t remember having done
so. Then, as though out of nowhere, an endless expanse of twisted dark trees
appeared, creaking and swaying in the wind.
The Old Forest, thought Van, his pace
quickening.
The night was dark, and the colours of the
forest were obscure, but Van could imagine rich greens, earthly browns, golden
yellows, and crisp oranges, a whole array of colours to con- tradict the black
and grey of the land surrounding the Spire.
Tuttos had stopped a few metres ahead and
appeared to be listening to something. “What is it?” asked Van, coming to a
standstill beside his friend.
“Quiet!”
All Van could hear was the trees and the
gentle voice of the wind, nothing more. “ROOOOAAAARRRRRRR!”
Before he knew what was happening, Tuttos
had shoved him to the ground, and the huge form of the Dragon Queen landed
where they had been only moments before. Van rolled over to face the beast,
shuddering as her fiery red eyes found his.
Going somewhere? she inquired, her mouth
never moving, for she had spoken in his head.
Slaves who had actually seen the queen said
that her skin was so dark they thought they would be consumed by the blackness,
but in the pale moonlight she shone a purplish-red.
“Stay back!” Tuttos placed himself between
Van and the creature, an orc sword in his hand, ready to attack.
A strange, earth-rumbling, guttural sound
began to resonate from the Queen of the Skies, and, to his horror, Van realised
she was laughing. She took one big step towards them, readying herself for the
kill, and it was at that moment that an arrow flew from the trees and hit her
in the fleshy joint between her solid shoulder and her wing, forcing her back
in painful disbelief.
“Run, Van!” Tuttos cried, seizing the
opportunity.
Van didn’t need telling twice. He surprised
himself with how quickly he sprang up and limped towards the nearby forest
despite the blisters on his feet and the objections of his mus- cles. Just a
short distance lay between the two men and the trees, but a dragon wasn’t so
easily swayed, and, now that they had a mysterious ally in the trees, she
kept her distance, deciding in- stead to open her great jaws and release a
hellish ball of swirling fire.
Van glanced over his shoulder and screamed,
“Down!” They both dived to the ground, the soft grass cushioning their fall.
The billowing ball of fire whooshed over their heads, missing them by mere
inches, singeing a few hairs on Tuttos’ head before zooming onward and
exploding somewhere deep within the trees ahead.
The Winged Queen resumed her pursuit whilst
Van and Tuttos clambered to their feet and pressed on, desperately trying to
reach the sanctity of the forest that was now so close they could almost touch
it; so close that Van could smell the scent of wet grass and autumn leaves.
So close.
Something hit his legs and sent him flying
to the ground for the third time that night.
So very close. He rolled onto his back and
saw the dragon’s head looming over him. Her breath was hotter than the furnaces
of the Spire.
Now you die. Her jaws opened to reveal the
beginnings of red flame.
Joe Louis Walker was born in West
Yorkshire, UK and it was here that he discovered a love for the genres of
fantasy, historical fiction, sci-fi and horror. The nerd that he was, The Lord
of the Rings, Star Wars, The Forgotten Realms, Halo, Resident Evil, Harry
Potter, anything and everything related to ancient Rome, medieval times and
ancient Greece took over his childhood. It wasn’t until later that he went on
to discover and be mesmerised by the works of David Gemmell, Conn Iggulden,
Eric Nylund, Bernard Cornwell, George R. R. Martin, R. A. Salvatore and,
eventually, a love for writing.
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