Sanctuary

Luana is dead; a rogue spirit who walks between worlds. She finds the highwayman, Elias. They join in the fight against the gathering darkness. Magister control of thrall magic has a stranglehold on the Erthe. Plague takes over the Storm Coast; the dead rise and roam the land. An angel host is defeated and enslaved by thrall magic. Luana's only hope; a daring escape with the pirate captain Ducet, to Echo Island and Sanctuary. To find Angel's Landing and Rafael, the archangel. To turn the tide, to recall the Seven, to breathe life into a lost race of dragons… to bring salvation to the Erthe. A tall order… adventure awaits… hold on to your courage, you're going to need it…

Sanctuary

By

Fergal F. Nally

Copyright © Fergal F. Nally 2014

The moral right of Fergal F. Nally to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act, 1988.

All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Cover image (Poulnabrone Portal Tomb, County Clare, Ireland) copyright © Fergal F Nally 2014

CHAPTER 1

Avalanche

Luana looked up and heard her death.

A deep crump came from the snow slope above. The ground moved under her. She looked around and threw herself towards some boulders on her right.

Blinding white engulfed her. She was rammed deep into a recess between two of the boulders. A wall of snow swept over her and down the mountain. The avalanche took her breath away. The gods were angry again.

Groaning, she opened her eyes. She was caught in a small pocket of air, entombed. Snow lay everywhere; the sky was gone. Darkness was complete. The boulders, by some good fortune had held fast and kept her alive. She moved first one arm, then the other and then tried her legs. Nothing broken.

Disorientated and frightened she fought rising waves of panic within. She remembered something the old timer had told her. She gathered saliva in her mouth and spat. The spittle ran down her chin and told her which way was up. She started burrowing through the layers of snow. She knew she only had minutes to dig herself out, as the snow would become impacted in a short time.

Her fingers became numb and her hands, stiff claws. She kept going and after an age, the snow changed becoming translucent with daylight. Her breathing quickened and with a supreme effort, she broke through the ceiling of her icy prison.