All is not well in the land of Arconia. War threatens to unravel the peace that has taken root among the races. A mysterious disease is decimating the ranks of the dwarves, and no one seems to know how to stop it. Then the beloved elf king, Geoffrey, is murdered—throwing them into utter turmoil. It all seems like chaos. Or is it part of some kind of master plan instead? One thing is for certain: it’s up to Castin, Katrina, Drestin, Cypris and their companions to root out this spreading evil—or many more will die. What they uncover suggests a sinister plot by a mysterious and power-hungry wizard, who commands vast and growing armies. He’s playing the various factions of once-peaceful Arconia against each other, weakening them until he can make his move and consolidate his own power. To add to their troubles, Castin has been wrongly accused of the king’s murder. The bounty hunter Cypris has lost his mind. And each new clue ends up drawing them further away from each other, until a terrifying confrontation that endangers their lives—and threatens war across Arconia… Can they come together to unite their strengths—and save the land from untold sorrow? The third offering in the Mistress of Beasts saga, Divide & Conquer offers plenty of author R.L. Geerdes’s specialties: incredible action scenes, fantastical adventure, and a vividly drawn, edge-of-your-seat plot.
“Either of you expecting anyone?” she asked playfully, trying to make light of her words. Amy smiled; Petra giggled, but both shook their heads.
Three women in a cabin in the middle of the woods, she thought worriedly. Feeling her tension, the two wolves flanked her as she cracked the door open. “Yes?”
A short, heavily muscled man stood on her small porch. His dirty brown pants and gray shirt increased her doubts, and the cold look in the man’s hazel eyes took her breath away. “My friends and I are traveling through the forest. We saw your cabin and thought you may be willing to share your fire.”
The man’s forced pleasantness fell on wary ears. Glancing over the stranger’s shoulder, Katrina saw Rueben peek out of the small, tree dome. An almost imperceptible shake of her head caused his face to disappear. She held back a sigh of relief when the elf closed the door, shutting himself into the dome with the prone men. Her gaze fixed on the man’s craggy face, knowing the man lied. Castin had placed the cabin deep enough into the woods where it wasn’t noticeable from Squatter’s Road.
She fixed a seductive look on her face and reached for him. “It’s been so long since my sisters and I have had company. Not many find the home of the three witches.” She stepped up to the man and wrapped her arm around his as she tried to draw him into the cabin.
The man’s brows rose, taking in her advance as well as the two wolves sitting inside the door. Katrina hid her smile when she felt the resistance in the man’s stance. “Well,” he stuttered, “it’d be very intrusive of us. Perhaps we’ll just camp in the forest, as we have every other night.”
With a quick tug, the man freed himself from Katrina’s grip. The cold look in his eyes had been replaced by one of panic. He backed down the steps, pivoted on his feet, and fled into the woods. No one would willingly visit a witch, it seems, Katrina reminded herself, for once happy about that fact.
Ω Ω Ω Ω Ω Ω Ω
Three hours later, the pounding of hooves caught her attention. Crossing to the window, Katrina watched four riders gallop through the small clearing. Each carried a torch. Three men threw their torches onto the cabin, and the fourth tossed his on the dome enclosure. Panic welled inside her as she saw the small fire lick the branches of the trees. Suddenly, a small cloud formed over the dome and rain sprinkled on the flames, putting them out.
She let out a sigh. Then Amy grabbed her arm. “What are we going to do?”
Remembering the torches that had been tossed onto her own roof, she grabbed the oriental woman’s hands and said, “Relax. I can fix this. Just let me think.”
Katrian wracked her brain but came up empty. A glance at Petra showed the young woman’s pale face. Cursing her obstinance, she crossed to a cabinet and yanked out a handful of spell scrolls. “If I’d learned these when father was here,” she muttered, searching through them. “Ah,” she said, holding up a scroll. “Here it is.”
She stood in the middle of the room, read through the scroll a couple times, and closed her eyes. Reaching out to the ethereal waves of the fire element, Katrina felt the power flowing around her. She spoke slowly, bending the ether waves to her will. Suddenly, as clear as day, she saw the torches on the cabin’s roof. She took several slow deep breaths and then snuffed the flames out in her mind, and the flames extinguished.
Katrina opened her eyes, which was a mistake. Her head swam, and if Amy and Petra hadn’t grabbed her arms, she would have collapsed. “The torches are out,” she managed to say. Amy brought her a chair from the table, and Petra eased her into it.
“What did you do?” Amy asked.
Still struggling to speak, she couldn’t get words past her throat. Petra answered for her. “Magic. She used a spell to put the torches out.” The young woman shook her head. “You need to practice more.”
The door burst open, saving her from responding. Four men poured into the cabin, and she grabbed a sai from the table. She blocked one man’s attack, the ring of steel echoing through the confines of the small cabin. The man swung again. This time she danced out of his blade’s range and sent her whip flying at his wrist, cutting his arm.
The man glanced at the cut and growled, “You’ll pay for that, missy.”
He attacked again, and due to the fatigue of spell-casting, Katrina moved too slowly. He ducked under her guard and used his body to slam her against the wall. She tried to gasp, but the forearm under her throat choked the air from her lungs. She saw a malicious gleam darken his eyes, and he grinned at her struggling form.
“My brother was afraid of you, but you’re not so tough.”
About R. L. Geerdes
When she is not writing romantic fantasy, R.L. Geerdes enjoys spending time exploring mountain trails on horseback and by four-wheeler with her husband. She lives in West Valley City, Utah.
All is not well in the land of Arconia. War threatens to unravel the peace that has taken root among the races. A mysterious disease is decimating the ranks of the dwarves, and no one seems to know how to stop it. Then the beloved elf king, Geoffrey, is murdered—throwing them into utter turmoil. It all seems like chaos. Or is it part of some kind of master plan instead? One thing is for certain: it’s up to Castin, Katrina, Drestin, Cypris and their companions to root out this spreading evil—or many more will die. What they uncover suggests a sinister plot by a mysterious and power-hungry wizard, who commands vast and growing armies. He’s playing the various factions of once-peaceful Arconia against each other, weakening them until he can make his move and consolidate his own power. To add to their troubles, Castin has been wrongly accused of the king’s murder. The bounty hunter Cypris has lost his mind. And each new clue ends up drawing them further away from each other, until a terrifying confrontation that endangers their lives—and threatens war across Arconia… Can they come together to unite their strengths—and save the land from untold sorrow? The third offering in the Mistress of Beasts saga, Divide & Conquer offers plenty of author R.L. Geerdes’s specialties: incredible action scenes, fantastical adventure, and a vividly drawn, edge-of-your-seat plot.
When she is not writing romantic fantasy, R.L. Geerdes enjoys spending time exploring mountain trails on horseback and by four-wheeler with her husband. She lives in West Valley City, Utah.