Please
give a warm welcome to historical fantasy author, and winner of The Coffee Pot
Award for Historical Fiction 2017, M.T.Magee.
The Rinefield Chronicles Book #2
By M.T.Magee
The
award winning, epic, historical fantasy, saga continues, with book #2
Child
of the Kindred. Enter the realm of
Rinefield, where love, danger, adventure and romance awaits you.
Imagine, the setting a once peaceful beautiful
city, in the time of around the 12th century. A fantastical realm
evocative of Ireland or Scotland in the middle ages. For the last forty-eight
hours your beloved city, known as Gwenlais, has been captured by a madman, and
ransacked and plundered by bloody thirsty mercenaries and criminals. Your King
dead, and your beloved Princess, held captive, her life constantly threatened. You
live in the ransacked city with your family, perhaps you are one of the
merchants whose shop or stall has been burned down by the mercenaries. You have
seen friends maybe even family killed or injured.
Your hope now lies in an enraged and furious
warrior Prince, the husband of your Princess. He brings with him, the vast army
of his father’s kingdom, who are prepared at any cost, to free the beloved of
their Commander and ruler. You wait quietly in your back rooms, holding your
loved ones close. Knowing as the cold grey light of dawn approaches, the army
will advance upon your city. All you think of and pray for is, will we survive?
And if we do, will our city, our kingdom, survive? Will new life rise from the
ruins and misery?
Excerpt from Child of the Kindred Chapter Entitled
The Rescue:
“Wake up, you worthless buggers, wake up!” the
mercenary called out to the others on the wall. “What is that noise? Why would
the savages be playing music?” he asked in a quieter voice, tinged with fear as
they all began to stir and move towards the front of the wall.
Several of them looked over warily, the mist still
present but starting to thin. At first, they
could not quite make out what they were
seeing, but within moments, the eyes of the men on the wall filled with fear.
In front of them, shapes appeared almost like apparitions, marching forward and
holding strange instruments, which made
haunting sounds as if wailing in mourning. They were closely followed by
figures with drums, strapped to their chests, beating out a rhythm that seemed
to beat in time with their own hearts, feeling as if it would crush them. Then
without warning as they appeared almost noiselessly, a vast number of horsemen
began to ride forward, their faces hidden in the hoods of their cloaks, making
it even more surreal and terrifying. The number of riders seemed without end as
they continued to ride forward, at a steady but unhurried gait, nearing ever
closer to the wall. The dreamlike scene continued to unfold in front of them.
The mercenaries stood transfixed, many of
them now moving even closer, becoming morbidly fascinated.
Suddenly, a lone tall hooded figure, walked his horse
in front of the vast company, coming from
in front of the wall, holding up his hand. It fell instantly silent, only the
nickering of horses, their hooves anxiously pawing the ground, could be heard.
The tall figure then began to speak in a loud, clear voice, the language that could not
be understood by the mercenaries, as the words seemed to flow together and follow a distinct rhythm.
“Brothers!
Today we take back, what was taken from us! Today the swine that have taken the
lives of those we hold dear will have
their lives taken from them. Today they will feel the wrath of Heathwin!
Savages! Barbarians! Beasts, they call us. They have yet to see why we are
called thus. They would dare mock us, threaten the life of our Treasure, your
Princess, holding her on the wall, like a meagre
trinket, to toy with us? Are we mere
dogs, to be cowed and subdued, by using my beloved, your future Queen, as a prize, they threaten to withhold from us?!”
the tall figure shouted out to the crowd in front of him. They answered in a
single voice, that shook the very air, “Aon!”
The figure then turned and looked up on the wall, staring for an endless moment, as he
watched the men on the wall gathering and becoming more bewildered and frantic,
as some of them began to cry out, bemoaning their fate.
“Then let it begin. Victory be ours!” the lone figured shouted out, as he unsheathed his sword, raising it
high, again the voices joining him as one.
“Bua a linne!
Bua a linne! Bua a linne!” the voices cried out in unison, followed
by the pounding of the drums, and swords hitting shields in time, the
terrifying battle cry being echoed throughout the city, drifting up to the
castle. Those that could hear the cries from inside
of their homes moved to back rooms,
huddled together, comforting their children, telling them soon it would be
over. The Guards that had mingled together in the group of mercenaries, that
were throughout the city, began to separate from amongst the ruffians. Walking in the still dark corners of the
seemingly sleeping city, to meet in the designated place until it was time to
fight back.
Their
world is changing, and a new era has begun. Princess Laurel finds her kingdom
of Gwenlais, torn and shattered from a bloody siege. Her people now looking to
her to help them rise above the ruin and misery inflicted upon their once
peaceful and sheltered realm. Laurel, and her beloved Prince Caleb, must find a
way to unite their kingdoms as never before. The enemy from a distant land
makes a bold and savage attempt to thwart the unity of the two kingdoms of
Gwenlais and Heathwin. The odds have never been greater against the realms, or
the two lovers that hold the kingdoms together. Will their people and their
love survive all they have lost? Will new life rise from above the ruins?
M.T. Magee
My name is M.T.Magee I write bestselling YA Historical Medieval Fantasy that is beautifully romantic with whispers of Gaelic legend. On Mar. 31st The Treasure of Gwenlais received the 2015 Silver Medal Winner of Ireland's Drunken Druid Award Finalist for IAN Book of the Year Award 2016 for First Novel on Aug. 31st. On Sept.1st 2016 I received the Finalist Award for Readers' Favorite Book Awards Voted #1 On Listopia's Best Fantasy Romance (not urban).
I live in New England on our small farm with my husband and son. We raise an assortment of silly goats, quiet rabbits, far too many ducks and chickens, and a high strung Border Collie cross named Gronk.
Escape to the award winning mystical realm of Rinefield! Can a young reluctant Princess fulfill her destiny to heal the torn Kingdoms and the heart of a battle hardened warrior Prince? Join Laurel on an extraordinary journey, filled with excitement, treachery, danger and finding a love you only dared dream of! A love story that will leave you breathless, and a world like none imagined! An unforgettable fantasy saga with characters you will fall in love with!
