Daughter of Discord, Star Mage Saga Book 1

Welcome back to Saturday Snippets! I took a break from posting these every week because I hit a problem. After writing the first few chapters of the first book in my new dark space fantasy series, Star Mage Saga, I knew I would have to go back and rewrite them. I knew they weren’t right, but I had to finish the book before returning to the beginning, hence the long break. Sorry for the absence!

So, here’s the opening of Daughter of Discord, which goes live at Amazon on the 23rd of April. If you read the prequel, Star Mage Exile, you’ll know that the mage Carina Lin left her merc band in the hopes of finding members of her scattered clan. Someone had sent her gifts as a reward for rescuing a young boy, and the pouch contained the ingredients that mages need to create the elixir they use to Cast.

Daughter of Discord catches up with Carina three months later.

Carina Lin was too young to be so drunk. She stared morosely at the rough tabletop, blinking it into focus, drew her dagger from its sheath under her arm, and drove in the tip.

“Hey,” shouted the barkeeper. Carina turned. He was watching her, but he took his objection no further. The tavern was a downmarket place, and the cut Carina’s knife had made only added to the many others that scored the ancient table. Nevertheless, she pulled the dagger out and returned it to its home. Her glass was half full of the strong local liquor and she didn’t want to get thrown out before she’d drunk it.

Stabbing the table hadn’t eased her frustration anyway. A few coins were all that remained of her wages after quitting her merc job three months previously. She needed another source of income, quickly. She was at a crossroads and whichever way she turned the road looked either unsavory or obscure.

Across the tavern, in a corner the dim lighting hardly penetrated, a pair of eyes met hers. It must have been the fifth or sixth time that evening. Carina had lost count as she’d downed more alcohol. They were dark eyes, belonging to a dark, slim, coltish figure.

Carina took another sip of the numbing alcohol and looked away. She had enough problems. A casual hookup would probably add to them, not solve them. A burst of laughter came from behind. Carina grimaced and ignored it. She’d already checked out the mercs who were responsible for the loud merriment.

Their behavior was dissuading her from signing up as a professional soldier again. If time had dimmed her memory of working with mercs, the bunch in the tavern were a great refresher. Scarred, loud-mouthed, and fond of throwing their weight around, the soldiers were almost exactly like her previous troop, the Black Dogs. Only her impression of these wasn’t softened by familiarity.

Could she really become a merc again? She didn’t think so, but there didn’t seem to be any alternative. Bile rose in her throat, and she didn’t know if it was due to the liquor or her train of thought.

Carina’s mind strayed to the pouch in her pocket and the angular edges of the objects inside that pressed into her thigh. Among the objects were precious gemstones. If she sold one, the proceeds would buy her another two or three months in that town, but to what end? If she hadn’t seen any results from her efforts in all the weeks she’d been there, what advantage would more time give?

Her thoughts moved on to the other items in the pouch, and the familiar ache that crushed her returned. A small vial of plain water, a tiny bundle of wood splinters, tied up with thread, a thumb-sized box of metal filings, a minuscule firestone, and a container that held nothing but dust. All inconsequential and worthless, yet when combined they created the base elixir that allowed mages to Cast.

The moment that Carina had received the pouch was burned into her memory forever. After rescuing a kidnapped boy and returning him to his wealthy family, someone had sent her the pouch as a gift. It had been a thank you or a reward, but to Carina, the elixir ingredients meant so much more than the gems. They were a sign that the giver knew what she was, and that perhaps that person was a mage too.

For three months, Carina had clung to that hope.

Yet everything she’d done to try to enter the family’s mansion or meet the sender of her gifts had failed. They were Sherrerrs: members of the clan that controlled that region of the galactic sector, which meant they were powerful, aloof, and unapproachable. Yet somewhere behind the tall imposing walls that enclosed the estate dwelt someone who either knew the closely guarded secret of mages or was a mage and a member of the long-lost, scattered clan to whom Carina also belonged.

What would she do if she were ever introduced to that person? What she would say? She’d never been able to decide. Just meeting someone like her would be enough. She had kept her ability secret most of her life to protect herself from harm, but keeping the secret had isolated her. Always being alone was hard.

The dark eyes flashed again. Carina blinked. How had she happened to be looking in that direction once more? In her drunken state, her gaze had roamed. Her glass had also somehow emptied another quarter.

She took another sip, though by then she was forcing the liquid down. Maybe she should quit while she could still hold onto the contents of her stomach. Finding her way back to her hostel would also be useful. She tried to stand but her legs wouldn’t obey. Pushing the nearly empty glass away, Carina watched the marked tabletop as it shifted and swam in her vision.

The pockmarks and lines seemed to coalesce into a pattern. Carina squinted and tilted her head. The pattern was familiar. It was the Map. The one hundred stars surrounding the birthplace of mages and perhaps of humanity itself. If she could find that set of stars, she would be home. Carina shook her head. It was impossible.

She found that she was resting her head on her arms. If she took a little nap, she might feel better in a while. Not more than a few moments after she closed her eyes, however, a hand grabbed her shoulder and shook her so roughly she almost fell off her stool.

The barkeeper’s face loomed, close and ugly. “Where do you think you are? A hotel? If you’re in no fit state to drink, you’re not welcome here. Get out.”

The man’s words echoed around Carina’s skull. She didn’t have the ability or the will to argue about it. He was right. She should go back to the hostel. If only her legs would do as they were told. She stood up, wobbling.

“Awww, don’t be like that, chief,” yelled a merc. “Let her stay. We’ll look after her. She’s with us. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”

Carina gave the noisy soldier a dirty look, causing his fellows to shout with laughter. She swallowed saliva that heralded an eruption from the grumbling volcano of her stomach and, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, made her way to the door. Her path took her past the mercs’ table. One stood up to intercept her, his arms spread wide. “Let’s have a cuddle, darling. You’ll feel so much better.” Carina side-stepped the man, but as she passed him, he leaned in and planted a sloppy kiss on her cheek. Though she was heavily inebriated, she reacted by reflex. She punched the merc hard on the side of his head.

I hope you enjoyed this snippet of Daughter of Discord. For a snippet from chapter two, go here.