Sneak Peek at Mysteries of the Material!

Hello, and welcome to this special “sneak peek” edition of my newsletter. Come on, let’s get right to it.

In case you missed it, I revealed the cover for Mysteries of the Material a few weeks ago. Check out the newsletter or my blog for an overview of what’s included on the cover, as well as the blurb.

The day before Halloween, I received the proof for this book, and it’s stunning! I can’t wait for paperback readers to have this beauty in their hands and on their bookshelves.

The Final Countdown!

We’re less than two weeks away from the release of Mysteries of the Material. This novel picks up almost right where we left off in The Way of the Wielder, but from a different character’s point of view. As you can imagine, he’s quite an important character.

So important, I’ve decided to introduce you to him now!

Hold onto your hats and say a prayer to the Elemental Gods—things heat up real fast.

1

Outrun

Serge knew full well why he was being chased. What he didn’t know was how they found him.

The glass sphere first appeared to him a month ago, and he’d shown it to no one. He had no idea what it was or what it meant for it to just appear to him, so he kept it his little secret. He planned to do the same when he shocked the shit out of himself and awakened a second element, but that didn’t last long.

In fact, it lasted precisely four days.

He’d come back from his morning hunt to find the roof of his stone shanty blazing, the front door kicked in and broken into a dozen pieces. He pulled the flames away from the building and channeled them to his outdoor firepit. Once the fire was under control, he scanned the clearing. Seeing no one, he summoned a Water Sphere to dowse the remaining embers.

Then two men appeared from nowhere and gave chase.

Serge cursed and sprinted east as fast as his legs would go, for once grateful that he lived a dozen miles from nowhere and running was the fastest way to get there.

After a couple of minutes, he glanced over his shoulder. The men were closer now, maybe a hundred feet behind him. The cliffs were less than five hundred feet ahead. Beyond that was a three-hundred-foot drop into Skaramore Bay. He’d always been the adventurous type—there’d been little else do to in the far northern Mirrored Highlands—but diving headfirst into icy tidal waters was a new level of daring.

First time for everything.

Three hundred feet. Without looking, he summoned a Fire Sphere and let it grow as large as his torso before lobbing it over his head. Shouts resonated behind him, then screams from one of the men. He smirked and continued sprinting forward.

When he was within two hundred feet of the cliffs, he saw two other men approaching from the right. At the rate they were going, they’d intercept him fifty feet from the cliffs, and then he’d be surrounded.

Serge bared his teeth. These fuckers are persistent.

He brought his hands together as he ran, quickly contorting his fingers before pulling them apart. A cloud of red and gray formed between his palms, growing larger the more they separated. When his hands were chest-width apart, he rotated them in circles. The cloud started spinning, and Vanhi’s wysps darted in and out as it warbled faster and faster.

A hundred feet to the cliff. Serge ignored the shouts from the men behind him and focused instead on the men to his right. They were fifty feet away from his transect. His legs were tired, but he willed himself to go faster, putting him within twenty feet of the men who thought they had him. But then they saw the cloud in front of him, and their steps faltered.

Serge smirked. Too late.

He hurled the Fire Bomb at the men, and it exploded in their faces. Their screams echoed off the dry, cold air, and he spared only the briefest glance as he ran by. Charred leather and burned skin hissed in the snow. He didn’t want to kill them, but they gave him little choice.

Believers in the One True God never gave him a choice.

“There’s nowhere left to run, Wielder! Come with us or jump to your death.”

Serge stopped five feet from the cliff, and turned to the man who had pursued him for nearly a mile. His black pants and white vest were disheveled from the chase, but Serge noted the disdain and greed in his eyes.

“I think I’ll take my chances.” Serge stepped back to the edge, winked at his pursuer, then jumped backwards.

The man screamed and rushed to the edge, but he could only watch as Serge fell into free fall.

After seeing the shock on the man’s face, Serge focused on creating a Fire Sphere. He absorbed everything he could from the bright sunshine. That, combined with the heat his body created while running… He hoped it would be enough. Come on, Vanhi. Give me everything you’ve got!

The sphere quickly grew. Vanhi’s wysps were zipping within and around it, managing to stay with him despite the speed of the fall. And although its heat couldn’t burn him, he knew this sphere was hotter than most. Just like me.

Serge laughed as he hurled the Fire Sphere at the water. It sizzled through the thin layer of ice just before his feet hit the surface. He wrapped his arms around his head, took a deep breath, and plunged into the icy depths of Skaramore Bay.

It was only a matter of habit that made him take the breath. Now that he was a Water Wielder, he knew he couldn’t drown by simply being in the sea. But if he’d been knocked unconscious… That would have been his death sentence.

Serge plunged for what felt like an eternity. When he opened his eyes, the water was surprisingly clear, and he saw not only the surface above, but also the cliffs to his left. He swam underwater toward the latter, surfacing only once his hands touched the rocks.

A quick scan confirmed no one was nearby or watching from above, so he hauled himself out and splayed on his back against a flat rock in the sun. He absorbed heat from both and let his breathing return to normal, not at all fazed by how restrictive his wet clothes were. They’ll dry out eventually.

It was then he realized he had no plan for what came next. There was no way he could return home. In fact, there was no way he could return to the Mirrored Highlands at all. Being a Wielder there was dangerous enough, but to Wield two elements? That was the stuff of legends and myths. He would be hunted until his death.

I have to get to Esmere, he thought. I’ll have to swim, though. Stick to the cliffs and avoid the beaches near the river mouths. Once I get to Skaramore, I can hitch a ride somewhere safer.

It would be a long journey. Serge was exhausted just thinking about it. But there was no other way. There was likely to be a few caves and crevasses in the rocks where he could make camp along the way, and fortunately, he’d managed to keep his daggers in the fall.

Just a couple days to the border, then another two or three to Skaramore. I can do this.

After a few more minutes of rest, he nodded and slunk back into the waves.

Fortunately, the tide was coming in.

* * *

She stood with her back to him, her dark hair and mantle rippling in the wind. Her hands were out at her sides, palms toward the sky, and manipulating the wysps around her. Water Wysps coalesced in her right hand, forming a Water Sphere that hovered peacefully above her palm. A moment later, Fire Wysps congregated above her other hand, forming a Fire Sphere that spun wildly, but controlled.

She glanced over her shoulder, her vibrant green eyes meeting his in a familiar way. Serge was sure he’d never seen this woman before, but he felt connected to her, nevertheless.

“Find me,” her sweet, broken voice said.

“Where are you?” he heard himself ask.

She smiled then, and it was a thing of such sadness and joy Serge felt his heart break. He had no idea who this woman was, but he needed to find her. He could feel it in his soul.

“Find me. Teach me, and I’ll teach you.”

Then she erupted into flames.

Serge jolted awake, his heart racing and breathing ragged. Four nights in a row he’d dreamed of that woman Wielding Water and Fire. Each time she asked him to find her, but he never knew where to look…until now.

He rolled over and stared out the cave’s mouth. The sun hadn’t quite risen, but the tide was steadily rolling in. He’d made it farther than he expected yesterday. By his judgement, he was maybe half a day’s swim from the border.

The more he thought about that woman and the strange feeling that he was connected to her, the more sure he was. Once I get to Esmere, I’ll trek west through the hills. From there, I’ll continue southwest until I find her.

Serge had never been to Rosehelm, but there was a first time for everything.

Mysteries of the Material will be released on November 26. You can preorder it on Amazon now (Kindle only), or if paperback’s more your style, stay tuned for the official release announcement later this month.

Until then, be well!

~Sarah