The Gatherer
by A.G. Henley
(Brilliant
Darkness, #2.5)
Publication
date: August 21st 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Young
Adult
Synopsis
Alev is
proud to be a Fire Sister, one of a fierce group of women who live on their own
terms in a flaming mountain compound called the Cloister. The Sisters live
without men, so Alev Gathers young girls to replenish their numbers. After she
plucks young Kaiya from the remote village of Koolkuna, the girl’s father
follows them into the wilderness. Alev keeps him at bay, but over time she
suspects that this man, at least, isn’t the monster she was taught all men are.
When
Kaiya’s father manages to reach the Cloister, the Sisters want to put him to
death. Alev can look the other way, or she can heed the growing whispers of her
heart to help the girl and her father escape. But to defy the Fire Sisters is
to revoke the only life and family Alev has ever known—and to face certain
death herself.
THE
GATHERER is an exciting 50-page prequel novella in the bestselling young adult
fantasy Brilliant Darkness series. The first novel, THE SCOURGE, was a finalist
for the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Award. Two novels and two short stories
are currently available, and the final novel in the series, THE FIRE SISTERS,
is coming September 25, 2015.
Recommended
series reading order
THE
FIRE SISTERS (coming
September 25th)
Excerpt
The mist thins suddenly,
enough for me to see the three clearly . . . and for them to see me.
Alarm seizes the two
men’s faces as they scramble for their weapons—a stout club for each. They are
bony, dirty, and in threadbare clothes. One is small enough to be mistaken for
a child. He squints at me as if nearsighted and backs away a few feet. The
taller one shoots a questioning glance at the other but does not budge. His
grip tightens on his club. He is missing the thumb on that hand; it will make
his swing weaker.
The woman shrinks away
from all of us. Her hair—loose and long, brown and bedraggled—droops around her
face. Her pale flesh is a map of bruises.
"What do you
want?" The thumbless man sneers. His teeth are blackened.
"Let the woman
go." I flick the venom-wet tip of my knife toward her, allowing him a good
look at my weapon and how I handle it.
"She's ours,"
he says.
The small man hisses and
tugs on the other’s sleeve. He is ignored.
I hold my blade loosely,
but if my stare were a spear, the thumbless one would be missing his eyes
by now. I tamp down my fury.
"Women do not belong
to men," I say, "any more than the sun belongs to the inferior
moon."
"This one does.” He
steps over and grabs the woman by the hair. As he does, his gaze finally falls
where all men’s eventually do: my body. His tongue snakes out of his
mouth, licking cracked and bleeding lips. "And you will, too,
sweeting."
The small man yanks
desperately on the other man's arm now. Sweat beads on his brow. "Don't
you know that paint and the colored feather, cocklebrain? She's a Fire
Sister."
The other’s eyes fly open
as he takes me in again. His maimed hand twitches uncertainly.
"We didn't know she
was one of yours," the little one says to me, his voice respectful. His
head dips low.
"Weren't worth a
loaf anyway," the tall one mutters.
"She is not my
Sister," I say. "But she is a woman, which makes her more valuable
than both of you together. Now release her and drop your weapons."
The little man complies
instantly. Frowning, his partner follows after a moment. They huddle together,
eyes on me. I move closer.
"What are you gonna
do?" the small one asks breathlessly. His eyes move everywhere except to
my knife.
Let them be afraid for
their worthless lives. Gripping the taller man's shoulder, I bring the blade
to his neck.
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AUTHOR BIO
A.G.
Henley is the author of the BRILLIANT DARKNESS series. The first book in
the series, THE SCOURGE, was a finalist for the 2013
Next Generation Indie Book Award.
A.G. is also
a clinical psychologist, which means people either tell her their life
stories on airplanes, or avoid her at parties when they've had too
much to drink. Neither of which she minds. When she's not writing
fiction or shrinking heads, she can be found herding her children and
their scruffy dog, Guapo, to various activities while trying to remember
whatever she's inevitably forgotten to tell her husband. She lives in
Denver, Colorado. Learn more at aghenley.com.
Author links
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