CBY Book Club: Blog Tour Spotlight & Giveaway - Promise of Magic by Melinda VanLone

Promise of Magic

House of Xannon

Book 3

by Melinda VanLone

Genre: urban fantasy

Word Count: 65k

Cover Artist: bookcovercorner.com

Book Description:

On instinct, Tarian bowed her head in return, shocked. “Dulra. Welcome.” She breathed the words, awed by the presence of creatures she’d only known through legends. What is the Balance Court doing here?

“Tarian A’marie Maitea Xannon, of the House of Xannon, Keeper of the Water Artifact, you are summoned to the Balance Court.”

She’d been summoned, and every particle of her being cried out to answer it.

Despite the advanced stage of her pregnancy, Tarian has some explaining to do. Fulfilling her Agreement with the Carraig was an issue of honor—but it led to complications. The Keeper of the House of Xannon is called to account, and Tarian must embark on a dangerous mission which could cost her the life of her unborn daughter, end in disaster for all planes of existence—or save the world.

Some promises are deadly to keep. Will the promise of magic be one of them?

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Excerpt from Promise of Magic

Tarian pulled a long shuddering breath. Her head erupted into a thousand tiny stars. Her body shook like a junkie going through withdrawal.

“Tari, now!” Calliope’s voice, strained but strong. “Touch.”

Tarian reached toward the Stulos, her fingers stretched out in a desperate attempt to keep her feet where they were so her knees wouldn’t buckle. But she couldn’t quite reach, couldn’t quite get her hand on the Stulos.

She shuffled forward, inch by painful inch. Power increased until the light of it burned so bright everything turned to blinding white shades of nothing. The smell of burnt cloth and hair filled the air. One more step. Just…one…more. Tarian leaned forward, and at last placed her hand against the Stulos.

Time sped up and passed her by, taking with it a rush of air and water energy. They whipped her face with her hair, sent loose stones flying, and drenched them in stagnant, cold pond water. A loud crash reverberated, and the ground shook. The Stulos trembled and groaned. A crack appeared along the side and stretched with a loud clap.

Tarian’s stomach seized as the crack extended. Pain stronger than anything she’d ever known gripped her, and her knees gave way. She fell to the ground hard, one hand holding the Stulos for support, her other hand holding onto Calliope with every ounce of strength she could muster. She willed the pain to stop. Another jolt wracked her as a piece of the rock fell away beneath her hand. She screamed. Felt her sister pull on her arm.

“Don’t…break…I’m…fine.” Too much power. Too much.

The Stulos bulged. Piece after piece broke loose and crashed around them. As the ground shook and pain wracked Tarian's body, something else took hold. A tug, a summons.

Shit, no! Don’t summon me! Daric, don’t. She thought the words, desperate. If he ripped her out of this place, with so much chaos and the overload of power…disaster.

The summons circled her, black mist shrouding everything and threatening to take her away. But something held it back. All the power, the energy in the air, but it wasn’t that. Something in the core of her took in the summons and instead of answering it, pushed it toward the Stulos instead.

The baby.

Tarian gasped at another round of painful cramps from her abdomen. Stop. End. Have…to…finish. She pictured the Stulos breaking, the power flooding out, the summons broken, the baby protected from it all. She had to believe it. Magic formed from intention, and she intended this to end with her child intact.

“Reverse.” Calliope’s voice drifted through the haze.

Tarian forced her eyes open to focus on the rock in front of her. Earth as dense as anything she’d ever seen, more power than she’d ever experienced. The feeling of old that surrounded it. The sense of longing as if the stone itself wanted freedom from the long and arduous task it had been set. She grabbed onto the longing and let the stream of energy pour into it, into the Stulos, then twisted it as she’d done once before. Another twist, and the flow of power into the Stulos reversed. Three streams of colored light became one solid column of white.

A thousand voices sounded in her head. High ones, low ones, her sister’s voice, dolphin cries and emotion, all around and through her. The energy bound them into something greater than mere humans and Ancients. They were timeless. Eternal. It was almost like she felt when she made love with Daric, but…different. More intense and at the same time more encompassing. Less personal. More global. As though the universe spoke through her, and she through it. The awe of it. Tears spilled onto her cheeks.

Another cramp gripped her body and she swayed on her knees, gripping the rock as it crumbled, trying to maintain her balance as the ground shifted and her body twisted. Not now. Too soon. Not now. Too soon. She couldn’t be…the baby couldn’t be…

About the Author

Melinda VanLone writes fantasy and science fiction, freelances as a graphic designer, and dabbles in photography. She currently lives in Rockville, Maryland, with her husband and furbabies. When she's not playing with her imaginary friends you can find her playing World of Warcraft, wandering aimlessly through the streets taking photos, or nursing coffee in Starbucks.

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