Be warned, if you’re after an exciting new fantasy read, then AB Endacott’s Dark Intent may be for you! But wait there’s more! Thanks to the author, we can give you a little teaser of the upcoming book as we have the first three chapters!
This new fantasy novel is written by Australian author AB Endacott, who has three published novels within the Legends of the Godskissed Continent series—Queendom of Seven Lakes, King of Seven Lakes, and The Ruthless Land.
The latest book, Dark Intent, is set within the same world, but it is the start of a new trilogy series which means it can standalone!
Check out the synopsis:
“You can either live in the world that surrounds you, or you can fight for the world you want.”
Many years after the brutal Kade takeover of the Third Country, Freya Kuch, a healer, has succeeded when many Pious have failed: she is a perfect Kade citizen. However, this life of willing subjugation is torn apart when she is caught in an attack perpetrated by the anarchic followers of the Dark Gods and is assigned to care for Zarech, their captured leader. Contrary to her expectations, he is not a raving madman but charismatic and quite rational.
Over the long months of his treatment she unwillingly becomes close to Zarech and she begins to reconsider everything, especially as he reveals the supernatural abilities bestowed upon those with true piety.
Her obedience to the strict Kade regime is further complicated by her attraction to Ashtyn, a member of the Pious Resistance movement. She tries to ignore her feelings knowing full well the brutal punishments for adultery and dissidence. But soon, she is forced to decide: will she maintain her life of careful safety, or give in to her heart’s dark desires and join the fight against the Kade’s regime?
Intrigued? Then you’re in luck because we have the first three chapters for you to read right here on The Nerd Daily!
Be sure to check out AB Endacott’s other titles, which can be found on Goodreads and are available for purchase on Amazon!
Dark Intent will be available for purchase on December 10th 2018.
CHAPTER ONE
The bells woke her.
As she did each morning, Freya rolled over and nudged Symon awake. He moaned softly in protest at the early awakening and moved further away from her.
“Wake up. We have to get to the square,” she said when it became apparent he wasn’t going to move. He sighed in resignation and after a moment longer, he got out of their bed. With the wordless accordance of long-established habit, they orbited one another as they quickly bathed and dressed.
The first worship of the day was held before the sun rose, so the streets down which they hurried were cool and dark. People walked along with them, the final vestiges of sleep still clinging to their movements.
The square was one of countless others across the city. One only needed to walk a few streets before they came across another square. That meant that worship was possible at any time. Nobody had an excuse to miss a single prayer. As she stood alongside about seventy other people, their breaths collectively rising in the grey predawn, Freya thought for a moment how brutal the sudden clear space was in contrast to the elegant buildings surrounding it. Perhaps her thoughts were tainted by the knowledge that this square had been created only after the takeover. A building had been unceremoniously torn down to make room for it. The reminder of that destruction was present in the ground, which was paved with the same smooth white stone as the city’s streets rather than the more beautifully coloured stones that graced the floors of the city’s older worship squares. The spindly trees which bordered the square were another reminder of the fact that this square only existed to force Pious to live the Kade way of life. They were only a few years old, and nowhere near tall enough to provide the shade that people often enjoyed during moments of non-worship in the grander, older squares.
Wary habit had her observing the people around her, noting the faces of acquaintances, familiar faces, and the faces which she couldn’t place. It was commonly whispered that ununiformed Guardians were in the crowd at nearly every worship in the Pious district, making sure they were worshipping as the laws decreed. It was ironic. As a result of the measures, Pious were the ones who worshipped the Kade gods the most dutifully. She wondered how many Kade across the city had left their beds that morning while it was still dark. Then again, they probably did not have the same incentives as the Pious. The lives of the Pious who didn’t worship enough were inevitably made very difficult. They would suffer frequent checks by Guardians for any and all manner of infringements. If they didn’t improve their behaviour to the satisfaction of the Kade, something inappropriate would be discovered, the punishment for which was a cancelled work licence, a requirement to re-train, or a restriction on movement – whatever was most inconvenient. Sometimes when a Pious was still particularly resistant to demonstrating how completely they had adopted the Kade way of life, the gas pipes that supplied their houses with heat and light would ignite without explanation. The house, and anybody who was unlucky enough not to get out, would be burnt to a charred wreck. And anybody who dared openly speak against such things disappeared. Although, such occurrences almost never happened now. The citizens of Oranis remembered well what had happened to those Pious who had refused to accept the terms of the new regime when the Kade had taken control of the capital six years previously. Those individuals had been dragged through the streets behind wagons whose drivers seemed to delight in the pain they caused. Almost all of the Pious had screamed that they would repent in a desperate bid to stop the torment. But by the time they offered their fealty, it was too late. They died within hours from the wounds inflicted by being dragged along the unrelenting ground. Freya had watched as those people relinquished their beliefs while their skin peeled away, and committed herself vigorously to the edicts of the Kade. The horrific sight was etched into her mind – into the mind of anyone who had been forced to watch. For a second, she could see only the image of Rohana, but she viciously clamped down on the memory, pushing it back into the space in her mind where such thoughts were safely buried.
As the square filled, Freya cleared her mind to commit her attention to the prayer. She’d heard it whispered that the Guardians and the Ordained could tell if you weren’t fully focused on the rituals. Doubt often weighed on her about the truth of the claim; they were only people, after all. That being said, caution guaranteed longevity. So she emptied her mind of any thoughts that could be deemed even vaguely subversive and focused on the incantation. The Ordained moved through the square as they spoke, waving smouldering arax root back and forth. The slightly acrid scent washed over the space, sending everybody into the trance-like state that facilitated focus on a single task or idea. Freya inhaled deeply. Occasionally, those who were perceived to not inhale enough arax root were questioned. She had no desire to give anyone any cause to doubt her loyalty. To be doubted ensured life became difficult. So she sucked in lungfuls of the smoky air. Her thoughts began to slip and slide into what had become a familiar haze. The experience was akin to her memory of being drunk – intoxication was also not looked upon favourably by the Kade, and Freya had been drunk only once in her life, before the takeover when she had been a young girl and had snuck more than the single glass of ale her parents had permitted her. Now, she barely touched any fermented drink for fear of imbibing too much. She wanted neither to loosen her tongue to carelessness, nor to appear in any way counter to the ideals of Kade life.
The Ordained raised their voices in chant. The sound never ceased to be harsh to her ears. She had never been able to find the exact words to explain why. But then again, she had never searched too hard for them. The invocations today were mundane: for peace; for the Kade gods to evermore favour those who worshipped them; that Oranis and the Third Country would continue to enjoy prosperity. Her mind wandered into the familiar dark, cavernous space she had come to in prayer from her earliest memory. Yet this space where her sense of self was contained, where only her awareness of herself existed, while once comforting, was now somewhere she went only with reluctance. She assumed the reason she now found it so alien, so filled with an unfamiliar presence, was because she was here at the law’s requirement rather than of her own desire. The act of praying that once had given her reprieve from her worries, and a sense of peace, now was a duty she undertook with a sense of dull intrusion.
She remained in the space of nothingness, of dark existence within her mind, and the words of prayer to the Kade gods filtered through her awareness. She was dimly aware of the Ordained as they moved through the rows of people in the square. The drone of their voices permeated everything as they spoke the prayers to their gods over and over. It almost felt as though they were trying to press the words into the ears of every person who stood there with that docile obedience procured by the law and the promise of violent reprisal if they did not obey. Finally, the sun touched the rooftops, sending a pink glow down into the square as the buildings’ walls reflected the light. As the effects of the arax root began to wane, the Ordained ascended the raised section at the front of the square and raised their arms. “Behold. They have blessed us with a new day!” Their voices rose as one before they fell silent. The crowd stirred, as though finally awakening. Freya looked to her left, at Symon. He was looking at his feet, his face impassive but for a small frown. She wondered, as she often did, what he was thinking. The crowd waited obediently until the arms of the Ordained fell – the signal of dismissal – before filing out of the square.
Freya and Symon walked back to their house, their feet falling into synchronised steps. It wasn’t unusual for them to walk in silence but today she perceived a difference to the tenor of Symon’s quiet.
“Is everything all right?” she asked.
He reflexively glanced around before answering. “Do you ever think that their incantations are an attempt to control us?”
She glanced back at him, surprised by the boldness of his remark. “Of course,” she replied casually. “Why else would they reinforce that peace and prosperity are achieved thanks to the Kade’s governance?”
Symon dragged his feet, his footfalls tumbling out of step with hers. The susurration grated on Freya’s nerves. She didn’t understand what he could possibly be kicking his feet against. The streets were paved with completely flat slabs of white stone that left no unevenness, save the gutters along their edges.
“Do you think they’re brainwashing us, Freya?” His question came abruptly, uncomfortably.
She considered his question as they moved through the lightening streets. The glow of the rising sun seemed to breathe life into the city; Oranis was suddenly a symphony of tender pink, gold, and soft cream. She was as surprised by the suddenness of his questions as she was that he was sharing his thoughts with her. Symon was a self-contained, cautious man. “I hadn’t really thought about it,” she said, keeping her tone light as she tried to scan the shadows for ears that might overhear their conversation. She liked her house. She didn’t want it burnt down in an ‘accident’. Especially if she was still inside it.
“Think about it, though,” he pressed. “They drug us every morning and evening at the prayers, and while we’re drugged, they tell us how wonderful the Kade is. Surely that’s brainwashing?”
Nervous now at his lack of care, Freya walked faster, practically running to their front door. “Symon, arax root clears the mind. It can’t be used as a brainwashing tool.” She opened the front door and stepped inside the relative safety of their house. She was profoundly glad to remove this particular conversation from the street where anybody could be listening.
“Are you sure?” he challenged as she closed the door firmly behind them.
“I’m a healer. I work in the Main Healing Centre. I have to know the properties of every herb in the Third Country. I would know if arax root could affect people like that.” She desperately hoped the firmness of her tone dispelled whatever had brought on these questions. “What’s brought this on, anyway?”
The motion of his shoulders was a half shrug that could have meant anything. He looked slightly to her left as hereplied, his voice vague. “Just something I overheard in the tailor’s.”
“From a Kade official?” she asked, a sliver or curiosity aroused. Symon’s skill as a tailor meant he made clothes for some of the Third Country’s most powerful people. He often alluded to some of the things he overheard but was normally tight-lipped about the specifics.
He made a noise of affirmation.
“What did they say?” she asked.
“Perhaps I misheard,” he replied.
“What did they say?” she repeated, feeling a lick of irritation at his reticence.
“Honestly, Freya, it’s not that important.”
Before she could enquire further, he walked into another room. The sounds of him readying himself for work told her that the conversation was concluded, and the likelihood that he would raise it once more was small. As far as she was concerned, that was fine. She didn’t want to engage any further in a discussion that could get them both sanctioned. Or worse.
Click here to continue reading the next two chapters of Dark Intent!
