Paperback $20 |
THE SUMMONING OF THE ONE
Andrew Weatherby, a bullied computer nerd from Central Queensland is ripped from his world to lead The Knights of Katesch in their direct attack on Maligor the Destroyer.
In the midst of the battle in Mountain City, he rescues princess Katarin to find he has been betrothed to her since birth. This feisty young lady risks her life to save Andrew. The Knights believe that have finally defeated Maligor after ten thousand years of conflict. In an attempt to escape the fanatic red guards seeking revenge for the death of their god, Agmar accidentally releases a monster army: the Kazdoom. But, have they really defeated the cause of evil in the universe? WHOLESALE: Go to our wholesale Orders page to place your order. Wholesale orders. Or buy from these sites: For sale or return: Australian Books Distributors: Australian Books Distributors - Home (ausbooksdist.org) Ingram Book Company: https://ingramcontent.com/retailers/ordering James Bennett http://www.bennett.com.au eBook available from Amazon, Smashwords and many online retailers. |
Extract from CHAPTER ONE
A huge eagle perched on the windowsill and hungrily watched Andy’s every move. Its black talons dug deep into the timber. The young student tumbled off his bed and crawled quickly towards the open door, his heart beating a loud tattoo in his chest. Suddenly, the bird dived backwards.
The raptor screeched. The clash of steel on talon followed the sound. Against his better judgement, Andy raced to the window. Below, the eagle ripped at the swordsman’s face. The man slashed at the bird in vain. His scimitar carved empty air as the raptor’s wings smashed him into the ground.
A white snake slipped from the man’s chest and slithered quickly towards Andy’s home. The bird broke off the attack, and with a flick of its massive wings pounced on the creature and tore it apart.
The swordsman screamed in pain and disappeared, while the raptor devoured its prey.
The eagle gave a final screech, and then flew to the upper branches of the tree near the road.
Andy slammed the window shut and pulled the curtains closed. He stumbled into the bathroom, as waves of nausea flooded his stomach. A quick shower would relax him. He convinced himself that it was the stress of exams next week that had made think he’d seen an eagle fighting a swordsman, and then eating a snake that came from the man’s chest.
When he passed the mirror, he stopped, shook his head, and went back. The reflection couldn’t be him. Long blond hair fell to his shoulders, and he had a short beard. How could his hair and beard grow like that overnight?
His eyes were blue yesterday, but now they were jade.
Andy ran his fingers through his beard and smiled. ‘It isn’t a bad look,’ he thought. Then he snapped back to reality. He had to be hallucinating. He pinched himself, hoping to wake up from this nightmare. A jab of pain and a red welt showed he wasn’t dreaming.
Instinctively he reached for the razor, but he’d never shaved a full beard. After twenty minutes, he had it down to smooth skin, spotted with half a dozen cuts that bled profusely. He’d seen on television that you could use toilet paper to stop the bleeding, so he tore up strips of tissue and stuck them on the cuts.
By the time he’d stemmed the bleeding, his hair had fallen into his eyes. Something had to be done about it. He didn’t dare cut it himself or he’d become an even bigger laughing stock at school. Opening his cupboard, he pulled out one of his sports joggers. The sole was held together with half a dozen of his mother’s hair elastics. One bunched his hair into a ponytail and the rest stayed on his shoe. It was getting late, so he packed his bag and headed down for breakfast.
Waves of nausea and dizziness sent him tumbling to the wall for support, so he wouldn’t fall down the stairs. It took a few minutes to calm down enough to think about going into the kitchen to ask for help. Normally, he smelt the buttered toast and heard his parents chatting over the paper, but this morning it was deathly quiet.
Andy placed his school bag near the front door and quietly walked into the kitchen – well, where the kitchen had been last night when he went to bed.
The room swayed before him and then came slowly into focus. Where he had eaten a roast dinner with apple tart the previous night, was now a lounge room, strewn with children’s toys.
The entire ground floor had changed. He ducked through an archway into what should have been the lounge room – only now it was a study. An obsidian desk sat against the wall, where last night he’d watched a movie on the family’s home theatre screen.
Then he turned to what had been the family trophy wall. His mother’s composite bow still hung where it had been last night, but now it was surrounded by a deep red aura. He tried to touch the bow, but his hand passed right through it. The rest of the trophies had disappeared.
Andy shivered. Maybe this wasn’t his home. Maybe he had sleep-walked during the night and ended up in someone else’s house. But then he remembered his bedroom was the same, only the rest of the house had changed. He was about to race upstairs to wake his parents, when he heard a man’s voice roll down from above. That definitely wasn’t his father.
Who was the strange man upstairs, and how could the ground floor have changed overnight without waking him?
Fearing he may be accused as a thief, he rushed for the front door and grabbed his bag on the way.
Green lightning cut spider webs across the sky in front of a thunderstorm that rolled over the town, its dark clouds blotting out the sun.
Andy shivered in the icy wind that blew from the storm. He needed a jumper but there was no way he was going back inside the house. There had to be something wrong – even the lightning was weird.
With a deep breath, he swung his bag onto his back and ran for the bus shelter, taking furtive glances over his shoulder at his house, just in case.
Then he heard the eagle screech above him as it circled, watching him. He stopped. No, the eagle wouldn’t attack him. It had actually saved him from the snake. Then he remembered the swordsman. How could that man disappear?
When he heard the school bus approach, he breathed a sigh of relief. He would soon be cocooned in the safety of the tech building away from all this weirdness. His mates on the net would help him.
A huge eagle perched on the windowsill and hungrily watched Andy’s every move. Its black talons dug deep into the timber. The young student tumbled off his bed and crawled quickly towards the open door, his heart beating a loud tattoo in his chest. Suddenly, the bird dived backwards.
The raptor screeched. The clash of steel on talon followed the sound. Against his better judgement, Andy raced to the window. Below, the eagle ripped at the swordsman’s face. The man slashed at the bird in vain. His scimitar carved empty air as the raptor’s wings smashed him into the ground.
A white snake slipped from the man’s chest and slithered quickly towards Andy’s home. The bird broke off the attack, and with a flick of its massive wings pounced on the creature and tore it apart.
The swordsman screamed in pain and disappeared, while the raptor devoured its prey.
The eagle gave a final screech, and then flew to the upper branches of the tree near the road.
Andy slammed the window shut and pulled the curtains closed. He stumbled into the bathroom, as waves of nausea flooded his stomach. A quick shower would relax him. He convinced himself that it was the stress of exams next week that had made think he’d seen an eagle fighting a swordsman, and then eating a snake that came from the man’s chest.
When he passed the mirror, he stopped, shook his head, and went back. The reflection couldn’t be him. Long blond hair fell to his shoulders, and he had a short beard. How could his hair and beard grow like that overnight?
His eyes were blue yesterday, but now they were jade.
Andy ran his fingers through his beard and smiled. ‘It isn’t a bad look,’ he thought. Then he snapped back to reality. He had to be hallucinating. He pinched himself, hoping to wake up from this nightmare. A jab of pain and a red welt showed he wasn’t dreaming.
Instinctively he reached for the razor, but he’d never shaved a full beard. After twenty minutes, he had it down to smooth skin, spotted with half a dozen cuts that bled profusely. He’d seen on television that you could use toilet paper to stop the bleeding, so he tore up strips of tissue and stuck them on the cuts.
By the time he’d stemmed the bleeding, his hair had fallen into his eyes. Something had to be done about it. He didn’t dare cut it himself or he’d become an even bigger laughing stock at school. Opening his cupboard, he pulled out one of his sports joggers. The sole was held together with half a dozen of his mother’s hair elastics. One bunched his hair into a ponytail and the rest stayed on his shoe. It was getting late, so he packed his bag and headed down for breakfast.
Waves of nausea and dizziness sent him tumbling to the wall for support, so he wouldn’t fall down the stairs. It took a few minutes to calm down enough to think about going into the kitchen to ask for help. Normally, he smelt the buttered toast and heard his parents chatting over the paper, but this morning it was deathly quiet.
Andy placed his school bag near the front door and quietly walked into the kitchen – well, where the kitchen had been last night when he went to bed.
The room swayed before him and then came slowly into focus. Where he had eaten a roast dinner with apple tart the previous night, was now a lounge room, strewn with children’s toys.
The entire ground floor had changed. He ducked through an archway into what should have been the lounge room – only now it was a study. An obsidian desk sat against the wall, where last night he’d watched a movie on the family’s home theatre screen.
Then he turned to what had been the family trophy wall. His mother’s composite bow still hung where it had been last night, but now it was surrounded by a deep red aura. He tried to touch the bow, but his hand passed right through it. The rest of the trophies had disappeared.
Andy shivered. Maybe this wasn’t his home. Maybe he had sleep-walked during the night and ended up in someone else’s house. But then he remembered his bedroom was the same, only the rest of the house had changed. He was about to race upstairs to wake his parents, when he heard a man’s voice roll down from above. That definitely wasn’t his father.
Who was the strange man upstairs, and how could the ground floor have changed overnight without waking him?
Fearing he may be accused as a thief, he rushed for the front door and grabbed his bag on the way.
Green lightning cut spider webs across the sky in front of a thunderstorm that rolled over the town, its dark clouds blotting out the sun.
Andy shivered in the icy wind that blew from the storm. He needed a jumper but there was no way he was going back inside the house. There had to be something wrong – even the lightning was weird.
With a deep breath, he swung his bag onto his back and ran for the bus shelter, taking furtive glances over his shoulder at his house, just in case.
Then he heard the eagle screech above him as it circled, watching him. He stopped. No, the eagle wouldn’t attack him. It had actually saved him from the snake. Then he remembered the swordsman. How could that man disappear?
When he heard the school bus approach, he breathed a sigh of relief. He would soon be cocooned in the safety of the tech building away from all this weirdness. His mates on the net would help him.