Skye’s eyes flick sharply to Wilde’s. “What does that mean?”
“They spoke of the risk of the Icers too. How now that King Goff has been overthrown they can’t trust the people of ice country either. They said they want to cleanse the lands from the desert to the mountains to the sea.”
“I’ll kill them,” Dazz says, pounding a fist into his hand.
I know right away he’s thinking of his mother and sister.
“We don’t have much of a choice,” Wilde says evenly. “They’re forcing us into a war. The Icers too. We’ll have to stand together.”
“And what of the Stormers and Soakers?” Buff asks.
“They’ve chosen a different path. They’ll wait until they have no choice but to fight,” Wilde says.
“Cowards,” Feve says. “They’ll let us die against a foe that would kill them too.”
Jade stirs in her sleep, but doesn’t awake. “Don’t let her hear you speaking like that,” I say. “She’s fallen for one of the cowards.”
“Don’t be so certain of your judgments,” Wilde says, “somehow I don’t think it’s the last we’ve seen of our friends by the great waters.”
~~~
Another day of walking and talking and occasionally laughing passes by us, borne on the strange wings of fate. It gets hotter as we go, the forest on either side of the wide swathe of grass we’re walking on thinning with each mile. The grass is disappearing too, giving way to hard-packed dirt, and eventually the beginnings of the desert.
I see a prickler, standing alone and resolute like a sentry into fire country. He taunts me as I pass; must be friends with Perry.
Suddenly, Wilde stops us. “I feel blessed by the sun goddess to know all of you,” she says.
“Yer our sister, too,” Skye says.
I nod in agreement.
“Thank you,” she says. “I mean all of you though, the Icers included.” Dazz raises an eyebrow and Buff smiles widely.
“We’re lucky to know you too,” Buff says. “All of you.”
“But I won’t force any of you to fight,” Wilde says. “Hiding is an option, and I won’t stop you if that’s what you choose—there’s no shame in it.”
“Burn that,” Skye says. “I don’t know ’bout anyone else, but I’m fightin’. Our leaders have failed us. Our father, Head Greynote Roan, was selfish and arrogant. Scorch, King Goff was a hysterical madman. And this Admiral Jones guy was the biggest baggard of all, controlling the tribes like pieces on some gameslab. We gotta be better’n they were, unite together to fight fer our homes, our lives, our children and our children’s children. This is our home and we won’t give it up. I won’t give it up.”
“Unity,” Dazz says suddenly.
“Yeah, that’s what I mean,” Skye says. “We’re stronger together’n apart.”
“We’re with you,” Dazz says, speaking for all of us. “We’re all with you.”
“The Unity Alliance,” Wilde says, trying it out. “The Tri-Tribes—the Marked, the Wildes, the Heaters—and now the Icers. Fighting together. Fighting for our lives. If you can convince your people, Dazz, we can convince ours.”
“Consider it done,” Dazz says.
~~~
Although I think we all hate to do it, we split up when we reach the border of ice country. Dazz and Buff will go back to their families—who, according to Wilde, are in better shape’n when we left: Dazz’s mother is still drug-free and his sister is back to being a kid again, while Buff’s father is walking, albeit with the help of a cane—and to update the new ice country leadership on the situation. They’ll get as many able-bodied men and women to fight with us as they can.
I watch Buff and Dazz trudge up the hill with more fondness than I ever woulda thought possible.
Our fire country group splits too. Feve and Circ will take Jade back to the hidden Tri-Tribe village, while Wilde, Skye and me will meet with the spies. Wilde needs to get the latest news, and Skye and me won’t let her go alone.
Leaving Jade again is the hardest thing in the world, but she’ll be safer with them than anybody. “We’ll see you in two days, maybe three,” I say.
“I know,” Jade says, hugging me.
I hug her around the head, careful not to touch her healing back.
When we go I don’t look behind me ’cause I’m afraid I’ll run back.
It’s strange to be back in the desert again, ’specially now that I know there’s so much else out there. And yet: The burnt landscape and dusty hills will always feel like home to me.
As the sun arcs high overhead, I watch the few lazy clouds move like yellow sea ships across the red sky. A hawk soars overhead, just above a rocky outcropping, which casts a long shadow on the desert floor.
Skye walks between Wilde and me, sort of in front, setting the pace, being the leader that she is. We make for the shadow of the boulders, desperate for a break from the relentless heat.
When we get closer, I notice a gap in the boulders. A hole, full of the deepest, darkest black I’ve ever seen. A cave. And sticking out of the cave are—
—I can’t believe my own eyes—
—two pale-faced people, a girl and a guy.
I swear my heart stops for two beats, ’fore pounding faster and harder’n a tug stampede.
T’others see them too, and Skye motions us to the right, out of their direct line of sight, so we can sneak in a little closer, getting into the shadows.
The girl is whiter’n the snow in ice country, her hair falling in long dark waves ’round her face. The guy’s hair is light, like yellow sand, wavy in parts, like the big pond—uh, ocean—in water country. We watch as they kiss each other, squinting and whispering and pointing at the sky.
Skye looks at me, at Wilde, and then clears her throat, stepping out into the light. As Wilde and me step forward along with her, I see the two pale-faced people twitch, their heads jerking to look at us, still squinting in the bright light of day.
They stare at us, frozen, looking us up and down and all around, like they don’t believe their eyes.
Skye says, “In the name of the sun goddess, tell me who you are,” her voice stronger’n and clearer’n I’ve ever heard ’fore.
The girl’s mouth opens like she wants to speak, but it’s the guy who says, “I’m Tristan Nailin, a sun dweller, and this is Adele Rose, a moon dweller. We’ve come from the depths of the earth.”
~*~
Keep reading for an author’s note and a sneak peek of the mind-blowing fourth and final book in The Dwellers Saga, which doubles as the fourth and final book in The Country Saga, The Earth Dwellers, coming September 5, 2013!
A personal note from David…
If you enjoyed this book, please, please, please (don’t make me get down on my knees and beg!) considering leaving a positive review on the major book review sites. Without reviews on the major sites, I wouldn’t be able to write for a living, which is what I love to do! Thanks for all your incredible support and I look forward to reading your reviews.
Acknowledgments
Thank you thank you thank you to the READERS of both the Dwellers Saga and the Country Saga (or both). You and you alone make me want to write forever and ever!
Thanks to the awesomeness who is my wife, Adele, who pushes me to be better, to try harder, to never give up. I’ve stepped through so many important doors in my life because of you.
Another BIG thanks to Rhomy at Black Lion Book Tours, who once again got things kicked off the right way with a fun and amazing blog tour. Your enthusiasm and optimism is contagious!
To Regina Wamba, my cover artist, you absolutely nailed the third cover. The three together are an absolute work of art that represent the series so well.
Thank you to my beta team, most of whom have been around for all six books in the combined series so far. The following people should be recorded in the ship’s annals as being AWESOMESAUCE: Laurie Love, Alexandria Theodosopoulos, Kerri Hughes, Terri Thomas, Lolita Verroen, Rac
hel Schade, Brooke DelVecchio and Anthony Briggs Jr.
And finally, to my street team, you rock! My ARCs couldn’t possibly have a better home than in front of your eyes. If you didn’t get the word out, I’d be poor and homeless (well, more poor and homeless than I already am).
The saga continues in other books by David Estes available through the author’s official website:
http://davidestesbooks.blogspot.com
or through select online retailers including Smashwords.com.
Young-Adult Books by David Estes
The Dwellers Saga:
Book One—The Moon Dwellers
Book Two—The Star Dwellers
Book Three—The Sun Dwellers
Book Four—The Earth Dwellers (Coming September 5, 2013!)
The Country Saga (A Dwellers Saga sister series):
Book One—Fire Country
Book Two—Ice Country
Book Three—Water and Storm Country
Book Four—The Earth Dwellers (Coming September 5, 2013!)
The Witch Wars:
Book One—Brew (Coming December 12, 2013!)
The Evolution Trilogy:
Book One—Angel Evolution
Book Two—Demon Evolution
Book Three—Archangel Evolution
Children’s Books by David Estes
The Adventures of Nikki Powergloves:
Nikki Powergloves—A Hero Is Born
Nikki Powergloves and the Power Council
Nikki Powergloves and the Power Trappers
Nikki Powergloves and the Great Adventure
Nikki Powergloves vs. the Power Outlaws (Coming soon!)
Connect with David Estes Online
David Estes Fans and YA Book Lovers Unite
Facebook
Blog/website
About the Author
David Estes was born in El Paso, Texas but moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was very young. He grew up in Pittsburgh and then went to Penn State for college. Eventually he moved to Sydney, Australia where he met his wife and soul mate, Adele, who he’s now been happily married to for more than two years.
A reader all his life, David began writing novels for the children's and YA markets in 2010, and has completed 15 novels, 13 of which have been published. In June of 2012, David became a fulltime writer and is now travelling the world with Adele while he writes books, and she writes and takes photographs.
David gleans inspiration from all sorts of crazy places, like watching random people do entertaining things, dreams (which he jots copious notes about immediately after waking up), and even from thin air sometimes!
David’s a writer with OCD, a love of dancing and singing (but only when no one is looking or listening), a mad-skilled ping-pong player, an obsessive Goodreads group member, and prefers writing at the swimming pool to writing at a table. He loves responding to e-mails, Facebook messages, Tweets, blog comments, and Goodreads comments from his readers, all of whom he considers to be his friends.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
THE EARTH DWELLERS
BOOK 4 OF BOTH THE DWELLERS SAGA AND THE COUNTRY SAGA
Available anywhere e-books are sold on September 5, 2013!
The Earth Dwellers will cap off an eighteen month journey that has taken me from unknown Indie author to still-mostly-unknown fulltime Indie author. The change is a subtle one for most people, but for me it’s a dream come true. To the hundreds (and now maybe even thousands!) of readers who have come along for the ride with me, either by reading the Dwellers Saga, the Country Saga, or both, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Now down to business. There may be some of you who have only read the three books in the Country Saga, and are now thinking you’ll read The Earth Dwellers, which is supposedly the 4th book in the Country Saga, even if the title sounds a bit funny. Well, that’s awesome! However, I must highly recommend that before reading The Earth Dwellers that you read the three books of the Dwellers Saga: The Moon Dwellers, The Star Dwellers, and The Sun Dwellers. Trust me, doing so will greatly enhance your experience, as The Earth Dwellers will be taking significant characters from both series and crashing them together (yes, like a water country wave) into an action-packed tale of struggle and loss and hope and friendship…and maybe a little love, too ;)
Anyway, that’s my advice, it’s up to you what to do with it. In any case, thanks for being a part of my own adventure, I’m a better person for having written stories for you!
Recommended Reading prior to The Earth Dwellers
Fire Country
Ice Country
Water & Storm Country
The Moon Dwellers
The Star Dwellers
The Sun Dwellers
A SNEAK PEEK
THE EARTH DWELLERS
BOOK 4 OF BOTH THE DWELLERS SAGA AND THE COUNTRY SAGA
Available anywhere e-books are sold September 5th, 2013!
Chapter One
Adele
I blink against the blinding sun and the crimson sky and the birds wheeling overhead, and they’re still there. My mind is spinning, remembering: the long journey with Tristan through the rock-surrounded shaft, the exhilarating walk down the tunnel to end all tunnels, the thrill of stepping out onto the surface of the earth, of kissing Tristan, of breathing the real, real air.
And then the three girls appearing, as if from nowhere. But no, they stepped from the shadow of the very rock looming behind us. The middle one asked a question—something about who we are and a sun goddess, right?—one that’s still hanging in the air, patiently awaiting an answer.
I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out; not a breath, not a word, not a sound.
Thankfully, Tristan answers for the both of us. “I’m Tristan Nailin, a sun dweller, and this is Adele Rose, a moon dweller. We’ve come from the depths of the earth.”
The girls just stare at us for a moment, the two on the sides not smiling, but not frowning either—just staring, like we’re covered in filth. The one in the middle, however, is wearing a thick scowl, her eyebrows bent and threatening to pinch her nose. I want to look away, to avert my eyes under their scrutiny, but I don’t. I stare right back.
They’re wearing very little clothing, just small swatches of material that appears to be some kind of animal skin around their chests and torsos. They’re beautiful and dark and, strangely, remind me of Cole—who I haven’t thought of in a long time—not because of their skin, which is several shades lighter than his shadowy complexion, but because of the undercurrent of energy that seems to surround them, both dangerous and exciting and the kind you want on your side. Especially the middle one, the frowner, who is musclier than I am, her toned, tanned arms hanging loosely at her sides.
And then not.
In a split second she’s managed to whip out a long blade, glinting in the sun.
“Now Skye,” the tall one beside her says, her voice smooth and almost soothing. She reaches out a hand and touches it gently to the middle girl’s arm. Skye, I assume.
“They’re burnin’ Glassy baggards, Wilde,” Skye says, her eyes darting between Tristan and me.
“We don’t know that,” Wilde says, a firmness in her tone.
Shaking off Wilde’s hand on her arm, Skye takes a step forward, spinning her blade casually. “Yer from the Glass City,” she says. Not a question.
“No,” Tristan says.
“Yes,” she says. “Only the Glassies are vomited from the earth.” Welcome to Earth, I think wryly.
“No.” Tristan again, but there’s less conviction in his voice now. This girl’s out of her mind, about two pebbles short of a cave-in. She won’t listen no matter what we say. She’s convinced we’re these “Glassies”. Whoever they are, they must be her enemies.
For the first time, I’m thankful Tristan and I thought to bring our swords to the surface, for protection. Though I prefer to fight with my fists, or a staff, like my father taught me, when facing the sharp-edge of a blade wielded b
y a crazy woman, I’ll take my sword.
Before she can take another step, I reach over my shoulder and slide the sharp steel weapon from the sheath running down my spine. “Back off. We’re not who you think we are.” My voice is a growl, rumbling from my chest.
The girl called Wilde—who, despite her name, seems the calmest and most in control—steps forward, one hand outstretched toward me and the other once more on crazy-girl’s arm. “There’s no need for that,” she says to me.
“Tell that to Short-Fuse over there,” I say, pointing the tip of my sword in Skye’s direction.
In the time it takes me to blink, I’ve got an arrow aimed at my heart, nocked on the bow of the third girl, the skinny one, who I’d almost forgotten about. From my training in archery with the star dwellers, I can tell she knows how to use it. I can’t count on her to miss.
“Whoa, whoa,” Tristan says, extracting his own sword from his belt. “We all need to just calm down.”
“Then tell your Glassy friend to stop pointing her searin’ sword at my sister,” the skinny girl says. So she’s the sister of the crazy one. Let’s hope insanity doesn’t run in their family.
I glance at Tristan and he nods. I lower my sword halfway, but not enough that I can’t defend myself if Skye takes a swipe at me.