THE GATHERER: A BRILLIANT
DARKNESS STORY
By A.G. Henley
Alev is proud to be a Fire
Sister, one of a fierce group of women who live 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 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:
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.
Recommended series reading order:
THE FIRE
SISTERS (coming
September 25th)
Excerpt:
Not long now, the
child will come—the one I will Gather.
Crouched in the living embrace of a greenheart tree,
one arm around the trunk for stability, I stare down at the water hole on which
the girl's village relies, waiting for her. My hair, painted white, hangs
stiffly down my back. My dress, made of fine leather and adorned with a single
colorful feather threaded into the seam at my waist, pulls up my thigh,
revealing the smooth muscles there.
I admire my body the way I would a well-made weapon.
It is strong, efficient, deadly, tightened by years of daily training with
staff and spear. My muscles, my mind, my blade—the tools I use to do what I
must for my people, the Fire Sisters.
Nascent rays of sun sweep the treetops around me at a
sharp angle. They strike the waterfall that feeds the pool, shattering it into
a million shards of blue and white. A rolling ridge of hills cradles both the
water hole and the girl’s village beyond, which I cannot see but know is there.
My nostrils flare. The air is thick with the sharp tang of sap, the decay of
the slick foliage around the water pool, the smoky hints of cooking fires
starting up.
The trees in this remote part of the forest are
crowded and close. Bursting with leaves at full summer, they are simple to move
through without being detected. Over the last few days I have crept among them,
around the village called Koolkuna, observing the people, cataloging their
daughters.
They live well. They have more food than others I've
seen, and they seem peaceable, with well-maintained homes and enough families
to spread out their work. If it weren't for the presence of men, it might be
perfect.
This group must have few enemies, and they do not
seem to fear the wailers. There are no walls or other protective barriers
against the rabid flesh-eating creatures. No adults accompany the children who
collect water in the early mornings. How they are not consumed when the wailers
come, I do not know. Do they have some unknown power or protection? I must
be cautious.
My body stills as the girl meanders into the clearing
from the path to the village, swinging her bucket. I think she sings to
herself; it is hard to know for sure over the crushing noise of the waterfall.
I look her over one last time. She is the right age:
not very young, but not yet old enough to be entirely set in her people's ways.
She seems healthy, and she is built sturdily, the way the Teachers like our
girls to be. I chose her for all of these qualities, but also because she has a
boldness in her posture and movements that promises physical prowess and
athleticism.
She kneels at the edge of the water hole, back to me,
filling the bucket. Her black hair, cut shorter than some of the other girls
her age, sticks out in sleepy tufts from her head.
Quietly, I inch down the trunk of the tree, landing
softly on the ground. I am ready, but I listen and watch a little longer. I am
here by myself. If her people catch me, my life will be forfeit.
The girl is alone. Vulnerable. It is time.
I dip the point of my knife into the small sack of
jewel wasp venom at my waist, and run toward her.
Buy
THE
GATHERER now on Amazon!
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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