SUMMONER

By

Nicole Delonpre

© copyright August 2006, Nicole Delonpre

Cover art by Eliza Black, © copyright August 2006

ISBN 1-58608-936-6

New Concepts Publishing

Lake Park, GA 31636

This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

Chapter One

The keening cry of a bird of prey, or perhaps a feline echoed eerily through the pass guarded by the dark hulk of Castle Bloodsbane just as a weak sun breached the eastern peaks and spilled blinding streams of light along the valley floor. Muffled by the fog and snow that habitually cloaked the upper slopes of the range of mountains that formed the boundary between Morelock and Avator, bounced from tree to rocky slope and back again, it was impossible to tell whether rage or terror had inspired the cry by the time it raked along the ears of the men on watch on the castle bulwarks, lifting the fine hair along their necks.

It was equally impossible to identify the throat the scream had emerged from with any certainty and visions of horrible, unnatural creatures quickly dispelled the first impression of a less threatening, more mundane beast of natural origins.

The men shifted uneasily. Those close enough to do so exchanged questioning glances to see if the man next to them was as unnerved by the sound as they had been.

That momentary inattentiveness vanished in the next instant, however. They stiffened, tensing even more when Shadowclaw, moving as swiftly and silently as a wraith, abruptly appeared on the bulwarks. The dark cape he’d slung about ...