Mask of
the Gods
Soul Demons live off the souls of the living.
When Haydan’s home world is invaded by a soul demon
seeking an item shrouded in myth and legend, his father evicts him and sends
him to safety. His chosen one and warrior should provide reassurance and
sanctuary, but neither appears to be working very well. Just when he thinks
matters cannot get any worse his scheming grandmother arrives. She has her own
plans that appear to involve him, none of which bodes well.
Diego feels confident he has the soul demon under
control. Overlooking his devious mother’s involvement, he fails to appreciate
that he is not only storm rider elder, but also an elven prince and certain
debts are about to become due.
Lavinia worries about her grandson, but also who she
left behind in the elven realm a long time ago. Tallin thinks she abandoned him
and he is livid. She has everything under control, including Tallin…at least
that is what she thinks.
They all need to learn afresh who to trust. With a
soul demon on the rampage, an unleashed, angry and betrayed elven king and a
long-forgotten mask surfacing, what could possibly go wrong?
The past is about to catch up with all of them.
Nothing is going to go as planned because the mask and the gods have other
ideas.
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Excerpt:
Having arrived in the elven realm, Lavinia
separates from Haydan and Arianna and heads off to meet with her soulmate,
Tallin. The only problem is she ran away from him a long time ago and she has
no idea how this first meeting is going to go, especially given her reason for
leaving him in the first place…
The evening had settled in by the time the woodland gave way to the outskirts of the city. After numerous hours of circling around and backtracking, hiding in various locations and keeping a low profile, Lavinia had managed to outsmart the tracking teams. It had all been rather pointless given who she was coming to see, but checking she could still outwit the king’s guards had been good fun. His men would be livid at being evaded.
Hopefully the guards hadn’t
split up, with a group tracking Haydan and Arianna. If they had they would
likely catch them up quickly. Haydan was inexperienced when it came to dealing
with fae and the fae were a tricky race to understand. If the king found out
about them being in his realm and powerful, he would take control of the realm
and search out any errant magic wielders. That put them all in immense danger
especially as he didn’t know who Haydan was. Unless Lavinia reached Tallin
soon, death would be their only option if they were captured by the king.
Lavinia refocused on her
destination as a waft of the male she sought filled her nostrils. It was still
as intoxicating as when she had first visited Tallin all those years ago. She
remembered the feel of his arm around her shoulder, the way he studied her
while standing on his balcony, with a look burning in his eyes of total and
utter adoration. She would give anything to see that look in Tallin’s eyes
again, but somehow after leaving him like she had, she doubted she would ever
see that again. Now he would hate her, she would never find her way back to
him. She silently cursed. She loved Diego, but he cost her dearly, now she had
to make Tallin understand why she left and that would never be an easy
task.
Lavinia ran down the nearby
private lane, which snaked around the back of the huge estate in front of her,
searching out the weak spot in the wall. Remembering the last night she spent
with Tallin, she climbed to the top, excitement thrumming in her veins as her
gaze swept out onto his estate. She had missed him so much. The look of delight
on his face when he saw her from afar, had always made her feel like a goddess.
She had only ever wanted the adoration of one man and she hoped he felt the
same way about her, but it had been a long time. Maybe fear kept her away, or
maybe she simply avoided returning to try to prove to herself she could survive
without him. After a while return became harder, now it felt impossible. She
still had no idea what she would say to him, even though she had gone over and
over their next meeting in her mind a thousand times.
Tallin owned a number of
estates in addition to his castle. The home she approached now had always been
his favourite. The royal flag that fluttered in the breeze in the distance
indicated he was in residence. The flag had always fascinated her. Edged in
green fluttering leaves, a wolf prowled in the centre, whilst a large eagle
wheeled about behind the wolf. She always felt watched by the creatures when
she studied it in any great detail. It was just a flag, but it had always
struck her as very aware of its surroundings.
Lavinia stumbled through the
foliage, down into the forest area that led to Tallin’s home. Her mind filled
with apprehension, yet the route was so well known to her, it was like she last
walked it days, not years ago. By the time the mansion came into view, she
still hadn’t reined in her raging emotions. She wanted to fling herself at him,
but doubted he would open his arms to welcome her. He was high fae, part of the
royal family and not known for his understanding or forgiving nature.
Taking a deep breath in, Lavinia
switched slowly into her younger form with long red hair. Now Tallin could
probably sense her close by, he would either repel her or welcome her. Her
apprehension increased as she rounded the side of the house and froze to the
spot unable to move. Power anchored her to the ground, the force so strong she
could no longer overcome it as she had been able to when she was younger. It
took her a moment to process movement ahead of her on the long gravel driveway
leading to his home.
Lavinia looked up to find a
black stallion turning in agitation, gravel scattering and bouncing as its
rider battled to calm the wild creature down. When her gaze clashed with that
of the rider, she knew she was in huge amounts of trouble.
Tallin looked as handsome as Lavinia
remembered, with high cheekbones and dark, curly, wild locks, filled with tiny
plaits and green and gold leaves. Dressed in dark riding attire, he oozed the
style and sophistication she remembered him for. He straightened up, his
shoulders drawing back, his dark stare locked onto hers as the horse continued
to prance and turn. She couldn’t move; he didn’t move and judging by the look
on his face, a mixture of shock and total fury, she had sent his world into
free fall too.
Author
Bio –
Karen
Furk loves fantasy stories. She has done ever since she was a small, lonely
child with an over active imagination. She’s particularly fond of stories that
are crammed full of magic, mayhem and magical creatures.
Karen’s background in
marketing laid the foundations for her writing career which began after a
serious bout of depression. No longer able to contain her over active
imagination, the stories finally flowed onto a page. She aims to surprise and
delight with the characters and worlds she creates.
She lives in the North West
of the UK with her husband, two boys and a hamster called Rufus (Yes, a girl
hamster with a boy’s name. Don’t ask, she just embraces the crazy!).
Visit her
at karenfurk.co.uk or find her on social media and say hello – she’s on
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest under the user name karenfurkauthor.
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