Storm Breakers: Age Of Magic - A Kurtherian Gambit Series (Storms Of Magic Book 3) Read online

  CONTENTS

  Dedication

  Legal

  Map

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Epilogue

  Author Notes - PT Hylton

  Author Notes - Michael Anderle

  Social Links

  Series List

  DEDICATION

  From PT

  To Kim

  From Michael

  To Family, Friends and

  Those Who Love

  To Read.

  May We All Enjoy Grace

  To Live The Life We Are

  Called.

  Storm Breakers Team

  Beta Editor / Readers

  Jonathan Benecke

  Andy Piper

  Kim Hylton

  JIT Beta Readers

  James Caplan

  Kelly ODonnell

  Micky Cocker

  John Findlay

  Kimberly Boyer

  Keith Verret

  Paul Westman

  Thomas Ogden

  Peter Manis

  If I missed anyone, please let me know!

  Editor

  Lynne Stiegler

  STORM BREAKERS (this book) is a work of fiction.

  All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.

  This book Copyright © 2017 PT Hylton, Michael T. Anderle, CM Raymond, LE Barbant

  Cover Design by Damonza https://damonza.com/

  Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing

  LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  LMBPN Publishing

  PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy

  Las Vegas, NV 89109

  First US edition, September 2017

  The Kurtherian Gambit (and what happens within / characters / situations / worlds) are copyright © 2017 by Michael T. Anderle.

  Click to View Full Size Map

  CHAPTER ONE

  Abbey slammed Dahlia down into the chair and leaned in close. “Tell me everything you know about Syd’s brother.”

  Dahlia grimaced, but the slight smile stayed on her face.

  It had only been ten minutes since they’d halted Dahlia’s execution. Abbey had been in attendance to watch the event, but Dahlia had saved her own life by revealing she had information on Elliot, the long-lost stormship sailor who’d once served aboard Thunderclap. Syd had been looking for her older brother for years, and she kept her head shaved as an outward display of her ongoing mission.

  They’d hauled Dahlia to a small room in Liv’s nearby home. Dustin, Abbey, Liv, and Fannar hovered over the seated Storm Caller, who sat with her hands bound in front of her, an uncannily serene expression on her face.

  Abbey clenched her fists, trying to keep from shaking with anger. After everything she’d been through—they’d been through—at Dahlia’s hands, again the woman had avoided death.

  This was a woman who had helped Storm Raiders sack dozens of towns up and down the Kaldfell coast and beyond. She’d orchestrated the Barskall secret invasion of the Kaldfell Peninsula. She’d compelled the Barskall king to force his people into military service and addict them to seiderdrek, the potion that gave them enhanced speed and strength at the cost of increased rage and lack of control.

  And again, the woman was avoiding her rightful fate.

  Not forever, Abbey promised herself. She’d let Dahlia live a little longer out of respect for Syd, but the woman’s lifespan would be measured in days.

  “Like I said before,” Dahlia reminded them, “I’m not going to tell you. But I will show you.”

  “That so?” Abbey asked. “I am not going to tell you what I’m going to do to you with my sword, either. That way we’ll both have a nice surprise.”

  Dustin crossed his arm and sighed. “Look, we can’t sail somewhere if you don’t tell us where we’re going.”

  “And we’ve spared your life,” Fannar added. He held the seax, the dagger-like weapon that he’d intended to use to execute Dahlia, tightly in his hand. “That is a big show of trust. You need to give us something in return.”

  Dahlia stared back at the Barskall for a long moment, then nodded.

  Abbey crossed her arms and waited.

  “This was fifteen years ago,” Dahlia began. “Perhaps a bit more—I lose track. Tor and I were Storm Raiding, but only far away from Kaldfell. We’d struck the Lost Isles a number of times, and we’d also raided in the area the Arcadians foolishly call the Frozen North. As if the mountains and the sea north of their lands were the edge of the world.”

  She shook her head in disgust.

  “Try to keep your revulsion at the Arcadians in check,” Abbey interjected. “What’s any of this have to do with Elliot?”

  Dahlia continued. “It was around that time we first made our way to Barskall. The land was in the midst of a conflict between two warlords. We thought to raid the coastal villages, but we quickly discovered there was little worth taking—most were living in poverty—so I came up with another plan. I approached one of the warlords, a man named Ragnar, and made him an offer. We would help him defeat his rival in return for his promise to send Barskall warriors to Kaldfell in the coming years to help us defeat our enemies.”

  “Did he accept your offer?” Dustin asked.

  Dahlia shook her head. “Afraid not.”

  “I wouldn’t take it personally,” Abbey told her. “He was probably just turned off by your face. Or possibly your personality. Or maybe your weird voice. Who’s to say?”

  Dahlia ignored the comment. “But his enemy Elias did. So, with the help of Undertow and Summer Wind, we harassed Ragnar’s coastal strongholds, burned any villages that supported him, and helped transport Elias’ warriors quickly by sea. It was enough to turn the tide of the war.”

  Fannar grimaced. “And so King Elias was crowned.”

  Dahlia nodded. “The warlord became King. But before that could happen, he had to negotiate a surrender with Ragnar. The man still had his supporters, especially in the villages on the western coast, so Elias wanted to avoid killing him, if possible. It only made sense to build goodwill with those villages if he was going to rule them. Tor and I went with Elias to negotiate the terms of Ragnar’s surrender.”

  “Ragnar ended up leaving Barskall, did he not?” Fannar asked.

  “Yes,” Dahli
a confirmed. “He agreed to exile. He would go west to a place called Gren, a land of ice and forests. A place he could begin a new conquest.”

  Abbey and Dustin exchanged a glance. Abbey had heard tales of Gren, but she hadn’t been sure the place really existed. The storytellers in Holdgate told the children of the giants of Gren, jovial but stupid creatures who were quick to anger. In the stories, stormship sailors always outsmarted them.

  One story in particular stuck in Abbey’s mind. A stormship was trapped in a Gren harbor with an enormous boulder blocking its only path to escape. A giant was on the verge of destroying the ship, but the hero of the story tricked the giant into eating the boulder. The ship sailed to safety as the giant laid on the shore suffering from a stomach ache, moaning.

  Dustin had heard those same stories, and Abbey could see he was wrestling with the same thoughts, wondering if Gren was even real.

  Dahlia continued, “Ragnar had a strange request. He was intrigued with the way we sailed and fought. He demanded that Tor and I give him a few of our stormship sailors so he might use them to train his people.”

  A look of fury appeared on Liv’s face. “You didn’t. Tell me you didn’t sell your own people to a Barskall warlord.”

  “And how many lives were saved because of what I did?” Dahlia asked.

  “Spare me.” Abbey leaned toward Dahlia. “You didn’t care about ending a war. You just wanted a Barskall army of your own.”

  The Storm Caller shrugged. “Does it matter? I helped end a war.”

  “How many did you give them?” Liv growled.

  “We allowed Ragnar to select five of our sailors. Elliot was the one he really cared about. He’d seen Elliot fight. The man was an average sailor, to be honest, but he fought with the sea’s own fury. And Ragnar had taken notice.”

  Abbey imagined what it would be like to be traded to an enemy warlord like livestock and taken to whatever mysterious lands were beyond the sea. “You said Elliot’s still alive. How do you know?”

  Dahlia paused a long moment before answering. “I suppose I can’t be certain.”

  Fannar raised his seax. “So you’re a liar then?” He glanced at the others. “Let me end her now.”

  She held up her bound hands. “But I know Elliot. And I know the regard Ragnar had for him. Elliot was a survivor. For all I know, Ragnar’s army was wiped out by the legendary giants of Gren, but even if it was, I have a feeling Elliot would have found a way to survive.”

  Abbey wanted to object to that line of thinking, but if Elliot was anything like his sister, Dahlia might be correct.

  Liv scratched at her chin. “From what I’ve heard over the years, Gren is a vast land, mostly covered with ice. It would be next to impossible to find him there—if Gren even exists.”

  “Oh, it exists.” Dahlia smiled. “I’ve been there. As part of the terms of surrender, Thunderclap herself transported a portion of Ragnar’s army there. I can show you exactly where we set them down, and I can show you the first town Ragnar attacked. I promise you you’ll never find it without me.”

  Abbey sighed. That was all the information they were going to get out of Dahlia for now. Much like Elliot, Dahlia was a survivor. She’d do everything she could to preserve her own life.

  It was time to tell Syd.

  ****

  “I’m going to fucking kill her.” Syd reached for the twin swords on her back.

  Dustin cocked a thumb at Abbey. “Yeah, that was pretty much her reaction, too.”

  Abbey held up a hand. “I know this is upsetting, but—”

  “Upsetting? That crazy bitch sold my brother into slavery! I’m beyond upset.” Syd took a deep breath and set her hand on the ship’s rail. “I’m not really going to kill her. Not yet. After all this time, we finally have a lead on Elliot.” She cracked a smile. “This is pretty amazing.”

  “I know, right?” Abbey replied.

  They were on the deck of The Foggy Day, Syd’s ship, just Abbey, Dustin, and Syd. The rest of the crew were still on the Farrows celebrating the recent victory over the Barskall fleet.

  The three of them being alone together made Abbey think of the night they’d escaped The Foggy Day in a little sloop just before Captain Tor took possession of the ship. They’d had quite the adventure: sailing south, disappearing into the mountains, defending a village from Barskall Warriors, and finally doubling back to save The Foggy Day from Tor and Dahlia.

  And now it looked like they were going to be setting off on a new adventure.

  “We’re actually going to Gren. Who would have thought?” Abbey shook her head in disbelief.

  “We’ll need a small crew.” Syd talked slowly now as she considered the details of the plan. “Enough to sail The Foggy Day and defend ourselves, but no one we don’t trust completely. I’m thinking thirty people is the ideal number.”

  Abbey nodded her agreement. “We’ll bring Fannar, if he’s willing. Clemens, too. And Olaf.”

  Syd cocked an eyebrow at that last name but didn’t object.

  Abbey continued. “And we’ll want to bring Viktor and some of his Storm Callers. Enough that they can team up with Dustin to create some serious firepower if need be.”

  Syd met Abbey’s eyes. “I’d like your father to accompany us as well.”

  Now it was Abbey’s turn to be surprised.

  “What? The guy can create fireballs and he’s as good with a sword as anyone we have. Why wouldn’t I want to bring him?”

  “Okay,” Abbey said. “I’d like to have him along, too. It just caught me off-guard, was all.” But there was something about the way Syd had said it. She’d seemed a little too excited to invite Benjamin along. “I’m just going to ask straight out. Do you have the hots for my father?”

  “What? No! This isn’t about that!”

  “Okay, whatever. If so, you have my blessing, but I’m not calling you ‘Mom.’”

  “Can we move on?” Syd asked, her face flushed.

  Abbey smiled. Sometimes it was too easy to harass Syd. “Okay, so we’ve got Dustin stormcalling, and a good core team. You sure you don’t mind kicking your old Storm Caller off the ship?”

  Syd laughed. “God, no. He’s fifty percent blind and one hundred percent asshole. I’ll be glad to see him gone.” Her tone was serious when she spoke again. “One more thing, Abbey. I want you as my first mate.”

  Abbey was so surprised that for a moment she didn’t know how to respond. “Listen, thanks and all, but just because we’re friends doesn’t mean—”

  “It doesn’t have jack shit to do with us being friends,” Syd interrupted. “Look at everything you’ve done in the short time since you first set foot on a stormship! You exposed Captain Tor and Dahlia as Storm Raiders, you helped save Holdgate, you rescued the Barskall king’s secret Storm Caller, and you helped destroy his fleet.”

  Abbey smiled. “Dustin may have had a little something to do with that stuff, as did a lot of other people. Besides, how the hell can I be First Mate when I can barely handle being a normal stormship sailor? There’s no way I can run a crew. The terminology alone—”

  Syd held up a hand. “I don’t care about any of that. I can teach you that stuff. You’re a natural-born leader, and that’s what I need at my right hand. I mean, Clemens is the prickliest bastard I’ve ever met, and he’s calling you ‘boss.’ If you could earn his respect, I have no doubt you’ll be able to do the job.”

  Abbey had to admit her friend had a point. Only a few days ago, Clemens had been using the term “boss” sarcastically and challenging her at every turn. Now he truly respected her.

  Still, being First Mate on a stormship—even on a small mission like this—was daunting.

  Most of her leadership had been impromptu. She’d stepped up because lives were on the line and someone needed to lead. It hadn’t been anything but a willingness to do what others wouldn’t, to do anything and everything required to keep her friends and family safe.

  But maybe that was what bei
ng a leader was all about.

  She looked at Dustin. “You okay with all this? You’re the Storm Caller, and it’s your ship, too. You want me as first mate?”

  Dustin nodded slowly. “Yeah, of course. There’s no one I’d rather have watching my back.” His voice sounded distant, like there was something he wasn’t saying.

  Abbey put her hands on her hips. “What are you really thinking?”

  Dustin looked out at the water for a moment, as if deciding whether to continue. Then he turned back toward them. “Look, I know saving Elliot’s important, but are we being idiots here?”

  “How so?” Syd asked. Her voice was even.

  “We went through a lot to capture Dahlia, and now we have her. She’s told us Elliot’s in Gren. Maybe we should proceed with the execution, then head to Gren on our own.”

  Syd took a step toward him. “She says we won’t be able to find him without her. What if she’s telling the truth?”

  Dustin shrugged. “Honestly? We just snuck into a secret stormcalling school on a damn mountaintop guarded by a hundred Barskall warriors, and we lived to tell the tale. I’m not too worried about Gren.”

  Abbey had to admit he had a point. Dahlia wasn’t doing this out of the goodness of her heart. She’d held onto the information about Elliot and guarded it jealously until the time was right. Then she’d played it like a card, using it to save her own life.

  Dahlia would betray them at her first opportunity, of that there was no doubt. Her only goal was to prolong her own life.

  That, and perhaps to learn the secret of Dustin’s ability to stormcall on land.

  Dustin had said there was no secret, that there was nothing for her to steal. The only thing keeping her from being able to do it was her belief that there was a secret knowledge she had to obtain in order to do so.

  If she watched Dustin long enough, perhaps she’d overcome her disbelief and break through her mental wall.

  A Dahlia who could stormcall without seawater was a terrifying prospect, especially now that her fleet had been destroyed and her only army was the Barskall horde hidden somewhere on the Kaldfell Peninsula. They couldn’t let that happen.