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KND Freebies: Bestselling epic fantasy THE WIZARD AND THE WARLORD by M.R. Mathias is featured in today’s Free Kindle Nation Shorts excerpt

Kindle Store Fantasy Bestseller
in Magic & Wizards and Fairy Tales…
plus 91 rave reviews!
Get ready for the gripping conclusion of the inspired epic fantasy, The Wardstone Trilogy,
as the “top-rate storytelling”  and appealing characters continue to captivate readers…
4.5 stars – 102 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:

The Wizard and the Warlord is the gripping conclusion to the epic fantasy Wardstone Trilogy that M. R. Mathias wrote in a Texas prison.

This compelling volume brings the elves, dwarves, giants, and the dragons into the story again as our heroes, led by High King Mikahl and the great wizard Hyden Hawk, are forced to fight for the fate of the Kingdoms. This time, they do so against the terrible creature that Gerard Skyler has become, and the legions of demon-beasts that he commands.

5-star praise from Amazon readers:

A rousing finish!
“…M.R. Mathias has done it again, creating a fantastic tale that will stand up proudly next to the classics of Tolkien and Martin…I highly recommend this trilogy of novels.”

Amazing conclusion
“…packed full of fighting and magic….I was sorry to see that last page finally turn, even if it was a fitting end to an amazing series.”

Fantastic!
“…M.R. Mathias is a master at his craft. His characters were off the page real, along with the entire world he created…”

an excerpt from

The Wizard & The Warlord

by M.R. Mathias

 

Copyright © 2013 by M.R. Mathias and published here with his permission

Chapter 4

The light that carried through the sea into the Serpent’s Eye from outside was fading as the tide rose. Phen cast a spell. A small sphere of light the size of an apple appeared in his open palm then slowly rose and hovered at a point about a foot over his head. He looked around the cavern. Oarly was standing with his feet planted. He was weaving slightly to and fro with the slack bow line of the dinghy held loosely in his hand. Most of his bulbous face was buried in his tangled beard.

“Oarly,” Phen said a little loudly. “Tie the line around that stalagmite and let’s make ready.”

The dwarf jumped at the mention of his name, as if he’d been in a daze, but after a snarl he settled back into his standing stupor. Phen huffed with frustration and then bent down and picked up a loose pebble. He threw it rather hard and it bounced off the side of Oarly’s head. The impact sounded like the thump of a ripe melon. Oarly rubbed the spot absently and sneered at Phen. Three heartbeats later the hairy stump took a step back and yelped loudly. “By Doon, lad,” Oarly rubbed his head briskly now. “What was that for?”

“You’re drunk,” Phen returned. “Now tie off the skiff.”

“I’m not even close to drunk, lad,” Oarly boasted as he finally tied the line. When he stood back up he pulled his axe from his back and puffed his wide chest out. “Now where’s this serpent?”

Phen made an expression of pure terror and pointed beyond Oarly into the darkness. “It’s… It’s right behind you.” His voice was trembling with fear.

Oarly looked at him for a long moment and then let out a huff. “Bah! You’ll not get this dwarf that easily.”

Phen smirked and grabbed a burlap sack out of the boat. Oarly glanced back over his shoulder, just in case.

The natural-formed cave looked much the same as it had the last time they’d been in it. The large, rough chamber had two passages leading up and away from the sea pool that took up nearly half of its rocky bottom.

Phen started down the smaller right-hand tunnel. As soon as he was a dozen paces ahead, Oarly pulled a new flask from his boot and took a deep swig. Phen just laughed at him and carried on. A wave made a loud smacking-sucking sound against the rocks as the tide side seal broke in a wave’s valley. Phen laughed because the sound sent Oarly stumbling quickly to catch up with him.

The narrow tunnel was about a hundred paces deep. Phen knelt at the end of it, looking curiously at the ancient skeleton on the floor. It was that of the elf he called Loak, whose ring and journal had helped Phen track down and destroy the Silver Skull of Zorellin.

He thought about all that had led to his being turned into a statue. Only Claret’s powerful magic had prevented him from remaining an immobile monument for eternity. He and the dragon had more or less saved the day at the battle of O’Dakahn. Phen achieved his goal of becoming a hero like Hyden Hawk and King Mikahl, though he hated passionately the name he’d earned for himself. He hadn’t ever intended to be known to the people of the realm as the Marble Boy. Oarly wouldn’t let him forget the title.

Phen couldn’t wait to get his pigment back. He hoped that Claret’s suspicions about the pool in the Giant Mountains were founded. It was a long and treacherous journey to undertake, and there was no certainty it would help, but it was a risk he was willing to chance. He would do anything to rid himself of the stony skin, and the title Marble Boy, and besides that, he just wanted to be plain old Phen again.

“All right, ease back to where we can see the entry chamber,” he said. “Once the serpent slithers out to feed, I’ll put on the ring and go get the emerald. Then I’ll come back here.” He squeezed past Oarly and started back out of the tunnel. “All you have to do is warn me if the serpent returns.”

“I’ll do more than warn ye, lad,” Oarly bragged drunkenly. “I’ll have that sea snake on the fire when you get back.”

“Aye,” Phen laughed. “Fight the beast, if you want to, just be sure and warn me if it returns.”

Back near where the tunnel opened onto the main chamber, Phen dropped the contents of his sack out onto the floor. A small bundle of dried meat, a wheel of cheese, and a cord of dried wood spilled out of it. Oarly snatched up the rations while Phen used a flaming finger spell to start the dwarf a fire. Once he was done, he extinguished his magical light. Unlike the dwarves who had returned from the underground cities to aid in the recent battles, who could see as well in the dark as they could in the sun, Oarly had been among the dwarves who’d stayed on the surface and lived in Xwarda. Without the fire’s light, or Phen’s orb, he wouldn’t be able to see at all.

With the fire lit, Phen stood at the mouth of the tunnel, waiting for the serpent to leave.

“Here,” Oarly handed Phen a long dagger. “Take this, just in case.”

Phen looked at it. It reminded him of the dagger Hyden Hawk had given him before they went into the blue dragon’s lair. He took the weapon with a nod of thanks. If he hadn’t lost Hyden’s dagger on a zard ship, at least a thousand lives could have been saved. He could have run it through the Dragon Queen’s heart before she let loose all those demons into the world.

He made to slip this new knife into his belt, but realized that his clothes, and his belt, were as stony as he was. There were only two things on his person that he could remove: Loak’s ring, and the medallion that held Claret’s dragon tear, and even they looked made from marble.

A scraping sound drew his attention to the other tunnel.

“What is it that I’m supposed to do?” Oarly asked with a blank expression on his face.

Phen turned and looked at him severely. The dwarf grinned devilishly back at him.

Phen shook his head and went through the motions of sucking in a breath. A green phosphorescent glow was wavering at the mouth of the larger tunnel. Soon, the large viper-like head was hovering above the floor as the thing’s bulk slid out of the opening. The room was filled with the strange green-tinted glow. The head darted instantly toward the mouth of the smaller tunnel, where Phen stood. Only the fact that the opening was smaller than the thing’s skull kept it from snatching Phen up and swallowing him. Its milky, pupil-less eyes narrowed peevishly. A forked tongue shot out and flickered across Phen’s face. Oarly was holding his battle axe’s blade up over his face to keep his eyes from settling on the creature.

Phen felt the tingling of the dragon tear medallion around his neck. He could see it in the reflection of the serpent’s eyes, showering out a fountain of prismatic sparkles. The flickering tongue shot out at the dragon’s tear and tasted the air around it. For a long moment the serpent held its head there, as if it were deciding what to do about the intruders. Then it finally eased back. Phen glimpsed the rows of palm-sized suction cups that ran the length of its undulating body as the triangular head moved away. Only when the thing was over the pool did the serpent take its strange gaze off of Phen. When it did, it slithered right into the water and its glow eased quickly out of the cavern and through the now submerged opening. It had to be a hundred paces long from tip to tail. Phen let out the breath he’d been holding and slipped Loak’s ring onto his finger. Immediately, he faded from sight. He glanced at the dagger in his hand to make sure it had vanished too. It had.

        He turned to see Oarly still hunched behind his axe blade. As quietly as he could, Phen crept over to the dwarf’s side and let out a loud yell. He was rewarded with a new fetid stench. He almost gagged and vomited as he laughed his way across the entry chamber and down the other passage to the serpent’s lair. Behind him, Oarly was cursing and swearing, and trying to regain the wits that had been scared out of him.

***

As Phen walked cautiously down the long, winding tunnel, Oarly braved the water of the main chamber and washed out his britches and small clothes. He’d done the exact same thing last time they were here, only then there had been no fire to dry his things with. He wasted no time wringing the filth out of his garments and hurrying back to the safety of the smaller tunnel. He was glad he’d brought that last flask, for he was shivery and cold. After laying his clothes by the fire, he took a deep swig and sat back with his axe. The stone floor was so cold on his arse, though, that he jumped up. The fire was too small and he was getting cold. After another long pull from the flask, he began hopping and pacing around.

***

Phen was finding the major flaw in his plan as he neared the darkened serpent pit. He couldn’t see. If he cast his magical orb of light, it would hover over his invisible head and throw his shadow. He decided that, up until he snatched the jewel off of its pedestal, it didn’t really matter if he was seen. He was immediately thankful for the light. A few more steps would have carried him tumbling down into the shallow pool that ringed the unnaturally formed chamber. He took in the room and felt a deep sense of awe at the beauty of it. Wicked stalactites hung down from the ceiling, dripping water into the pool full of wiggling two- and three-foot miniature serpents. They were identical, save for size, to the one that had just left.

Phen had a theory on why these little serpents stayed so small and guarded the glittery egg-sized emerald, if in fact that was their purpose at all. The water in the moat probably wasn’t sea water, and there wasn’t any food. They only ate what the larger serpent brought back, so they couldn’t grow. He slipped down from the edge of the opening and felt his heavy feet go into the water. He couldn’t tell the temperature of the liquid due to of the condition of his nerve endings. He cupped a handful of it, though, and brought it to his mouth. Tentatively he touched his tongue to the water. It wasn’t salty, and he decided that he needed to investigate if he could still taste. As he waded across the waist-deep pool to the island of coins and jewels, he studied the metal statues. He didn’t notice, when he was there before, the wide, curving swords at their belts, nor the ruby eyes that seemed to follow him. He looked down and saw that the little serpents were furiously snapping and biting at him. If a normal man attempted this, Phen mused, he wouldn’t make it across before he was stripped to the bone. Some of them were attaching themselves with their suction cups. He would have to have Oarly burn them off. He was certain that if they escaped into the salty sea water they would grow to be as big as the other one, and he didn’t want to be responsible for loosing a bunch of serpents along the coast. There were enough stories already of such beasts attacking ships and wrestling them to the bottom of the sea.

Phen’s feet found the base of the mountain of wealth and he started to climb up it. By the time he was standing amid the skeleton guardians, at least a dozen of the little serpents were clinging to him. He took a few calming breaths and decided that the light didn’t matter anymore. If he could see the serpents clinging to his invisible skin, then so could anything else. He could burn them off with a flaming finger but he’d just pick up more of them on his way back across the moat.

So much for planning, he thought as he shook his head. He tried to force the jittery excitement and fear from his mind. He needed another way to keep the skeletons off of him after he grabbed the jewel. Phen’s confidence always seemed to override his better judgment, but even as he realized this he spoke his next spell, stopping at the last word so that he could loose its effect at the desired moment. Then, without another thought, he grabbed the emerald from the pedestal and gave the nearest skeleton a good shove toward the other two. He stepped back across the moat as quickly as he could. There was no doubt the skeletons were now going to come for him. The one he’d toppled had wriggled and tried to gain its balance on its way over.

The great weight of Phen’s body, and the growing number of serpents sucking onto him, was making his crossing slower than he’d hoped. He could hear the coins and jewels sliding into the water as the iron skeletons took up pursuit. Phen felt like he weighed a ton. He was nearly covered with the eel-like things. The added bulk threatened to drag him down, but he pushed himself onward. Finally, just as he felt the thumping tink of one of those curved sword blades across his hardened shoulders, he made it to the other side. He heaved himself up and back-kicked at the cherry-eyed thing. It went sliding back into the moat.

Phen pushed his way into the tunnel floor. Only two of the skeletons were crossing. The other was trying to get its footing on the loose mound of coins. Phen had hoped to have all three of them in the water, but this would have to do.

As the closest skeleton reached up to pull itself into the tunnel, Phen booted it back. He felt the dragon’s tear medallion at his neck tingle as its power flowed into his spell. He’d expected it, but the amount in which it magnified his casting was surprising. Slowly at first, the moat’s water stilled and clouded as the surface iced over. Within moments it was frozen solid. The eels were trapped in place and the two ice-locked skeletons were thrashing their arms and making silent faces as their eyes burned in anger. The other skeleton started across the ice. It kicked and took two steps, then fell hard as its metal feet lost all traction. Phen dropped to his belly and rolled back and forth across the cavern floor, crushing the dozens of flailing little eels that were stuck to him. Most of them let go, but not all. Without bothering with the last few, he tore off down the tunnel. Oarly and his axe were better suited to deal with the remaining skeleton. The sudden thought came to him that it was still several hours until the tide receded, and that the pool wouldn’t stay frozen that whole time. Phen was trying to think, but when he darted into the narrow passage all thoughts left his brain completely. He couldn’t fathom what he saw.

Oarly was standing naked from the waist down, tipping a flask back while swinging his free arm round and round for balance. After he gulped his sip, he started humming and dancing a jig.

Chapter 5

Borg was correct. The whole city of Dreen decided to celebrate the death of the demon that had stormed through. Since the head was far too large to post on a pike outside the castle, Borg jammed it down onto the castle’s highest flag pole. People all over the city came to see it, and the pure-blooded giant that killed it. During the private feast, which was held in one of the castle’s many stableyards, the number of spectators outside the castle walls began to grow. Borg, holding a full-size loaf of fresh baked bread that looked like a dinner roll in his hand, and a wide-necked floor vase full of ale in the other, announced that later he would recount the doing of the deed for them all.

Servants and castle staff spread the word, and by the time the feast was finished there were thousands of people gathered outside the castle. Luckily, General Escott and his troops were at hand to keep the gathering from getting disorderly. Many people were drunk, or trying to get that way, but most were just curious and happy to be hearing something besides the dire news of post-war horrors.

Mikahl made sure the great wolves were fed. Three does, freshly killed by the Royal Huntsmen, were laid out for them. Mikahl didn’t want to hear Borg’s story; he wanted to read the scroll from Hyden. He took a lantern and the rolled parchment out to where the wolves were. It had been several months since he’d been forced to leave his friend, who’d been deathly ill from hellborn scorpion venom. He’d left Hyden in the depths of the Dragon Queen’s dungeon and had thought him dead for a long time.

The oohs, awes, and gasps from the crowd as Borg strode up to the castle’s palisade and leaned his elbows on it drew his attention. The giant’s warm laugh rumbled through the cool evening air. Mikahl smiled, knowing that the citizens of Dreen were about to be entranced by a wonderful tale. Giants were the very best of storytellers. Mikahl wished the people from Westland could be present too, but most of all he wished King Jarrek’s people could hear.

Already the giant’s voice was building the tale. Never had so many people gathered in the streets been so eerily quiet. Only the panting of Oof and Urp at Mikahl’s side could be heard. He gave them each a pat on the neck then reached down and scratched Huffa behind the ears. Huffa shivered and made a circle. Her toothy maw opened wide into a tongue-curling yawn. The grazing pen they were in was well kept. Mikahl found a workbench under an old gnarled oak and sat down. The great wolves gathered around him, as if he were one of them. Even the wolves he didn’t know seemed to accept him as one of the pack.

Once he was comfortable, he broke the seal on the scroll and looked it over. The writing was neat but far from carefully scribed. It made Mikahl laugh. Hyden had grown up in the mountains, illiterate. He was the best archer in the realm, though, and a self-proclaimed master wizard.

Mikahl took a deep breath and began to read:

High King Mikahl Collum,

Mik, I am alive and well, recovering from the poisonous bite of that thing. I am with my people in the mountains, learning from the goddess and preparing for my destiny. I ask that you keep this quiet. A few others will have to be told, as this missive will explain. I know that I can trust you to carry out my requests directly, and efficiently. I will, as soon as I can, return to the kingdoms and grace you with my presence as payment.

Mikahl laughed at that. He knew Hyden wasn’t egotistical in the least. The man thought he was a jester, though. Mikahl couldn’t help but smile as he read on.

Firstly, the long bow Vaegon gave me is still in the dungeon at Lakeside Castle. Please have it retrieved and given into Phen’s care. As you know, it is priceless to me.

Secondly, Talon has found me and I understand the condition he and Phen share. Please inform Phen that I will accompany him into the Giant Mountains to seek the pool Claret told him of. Have Lord Gregory give him directions to my clan’s village, and ask Master Oarly to come as a personal favor to me. At your choosing, a small escort should be sent with them as there are still several stray demons about, not to mention the other hazards of the mountains. A few capable swords, and an archer or two should do. If Phen can bring the bow at that time, I would be grateful.

Thirdly, and most importantly, you must be made aware of some things. The thing that used to be my brother is still loose in the planes of hell. It has grown into an enormous power and has assumed the role of Abbadon, the Master Warlord of the hells. He will relentlessly try to find a way into our world. He saw you dispatch Shaella. I believe he will seek vengeance for the death of his love. You aren’t in any immediate danger, as there are no open gateways in existence that I know of. The goddess of my people has told me of a device that will allow you and me to banish the Abbadon to a deeper, darker place, where he won’t be able to travel the world of man any longer. This artifact lies beyond the Giant Mountains, and after Phen and Talon have been revived in the Leif Repline fountain, we will seek it out. Please choose the party well – no family men, as some of them will not return.

Xwarda must be guarded at all times. The foundation of the city is pure Wardstone, as you know. If the Abbadon, or any of his minions, managed to manipulate that substance, he could breach the barrier between the worlds permanently. This must never be allowed to happen. Queen Willa and General Spyra must be told of the threat as well. Proper defenses must be manned. It may be tomorrow or it may be a dozen years from now, but my brother, the Abbadon, will come. We must be prepared. Below is a list of scrolls and texts I need Phen and Master Oarly to bring to me.

Finally, I do not know what became of the staff Queen Shaella used to communicate with my brother. She held it in her right hand as you took off her head. You must find it and lock it away in a vault, or have Master Amill, or another qualified wizard, spell it powerless. If there is a force that will help the Abbadon find another gateway, or a flaw in the barrier that exists, the Spectral Orb atop that staff is it.

Now all of that is out of the way, I’m happy for you, and pleased that you somehow managed to save Princess Rosa. Tell the Lion Lord that Tylen sends his regards, as do my mother and father. Sadly, my grandfather passed away. Tell Lord Gregory that my Uncle Condlin has assumed the position of Eldest, and that you and your wife are forever welcome here. He asked me to tell you to make sure that the Summer’s Day Festival is crowded next year. My people depend on the trade there. Even you could’ve gotten your name on the Spire this year.

I must close this missive. Borg is growing impatient, and his stinking sack is offending the womenfolk. Once Phen arrives here, I’ll have him contact Dreen’s mage with a sending. Give my respects to Willa, Jarrek, and the dwarves.

Your friend,

Hyden

Mikahl just stared at the parchment for a long while.

General Spyra was now Lord Spyra. The man was trying to reorganize Westland with the help of Lady Able. Master Wizard Amill had been killed fighting alongside the dwarves at the Battle of O’Dakahn. Hyden Hawk must not have heard.

Borg was well into his second tale. He was now telling the story of how his people once killed a rogue dragon without the aid of magic. Mikahl could hear the giant’s booming voice carrying through the otherwise silent night. At his feet the great wolves had fallen asleep, save for Huffa, who kept a watchful eye over the rest. Through all the dire warnings and talk of magical artifacts, Mikahl’s mind kept coming back to the same strange fact. Neither Phen nor Master Oarly were at the feast earlier. As he thought about it more, he decided that he hadn’t seen either of them for a few days. He began to worry about them. He could only imagine what they were up to.

***

Oarly saw a glowing ball and three little serpents dangling as if they were trying to swim through the air to get at it. He stopped his advance and looked at the flask in his hand, then back at the scene. Phen’s voice startled him so badly that he dropped the container into the fire. When the flames flared from the alcohol he stepped back.

“Oarly,” Phen yelled in a panic. “Get your clothes on. No, forget it, get your axe. There’s a skeleton coming, and two more back at—”

Oarly’s eyes went wide and locked onto something behind what he now realized was the invisible Phen. The boy whirled around and Oarly saw a shiny sword come sinking down at Phen’s chest. It hit Phen with a clank and it appeared that the hardness of the boy’s condition startled the thing wielding it. Suddenly the skeleton went stumbling backward, the result of an invisible fist, Oarly assumed.

Oarly came charging out of the tunnel with a yelp and bounced off of Phen. The half-naked dwarf went careening off at an odd angle with his axe held high. His battle cry faded into a cry of dismay. It looked as if the axe were too heavy for him and he was having to run to stay under it. He righted himself as Phen pulled Loak’s ring off of his finger and became visible again.

***

Phen didn’t know whether to laugh or cringe at the sight of the hairy naked dwarf. The skeleton stepped heavily into a swing of its silvery blade. Oarly met the blow with his axe and cleaved the thing’s sword arm completely from its body. Phen felt the wave of relief wash over him. When the skeleton bent down to try to get the sword with its other hand, he strode up to it and kicked it with a heavy marble boot. The skeleton’s legs crumbled, and it half fell into the pool. For a long time it thrashed about menacingly, but it was obviously no longer a threat.

“Where are your clothes?” Phen asked.

Oarly looked down and realized that he was naked from the waist down. “Bah!” he growled and stalked off toward the narrow passage.

“There are two more of those skeletons back there,” Phen said. “We’d better hurry, before the ice I put them in melts.”

“Aye, lad,” Oarly said. “If ya hadn’t scared me shitless, I wouldn’t be needing to get my clothes back on now, would I?”

Phen took a step back. He didn’t think he’d ever seen Oarly so mad before. He had to fight to hold in his mirth.

“Look,” he said, holding up the egg-sized emerald for the dwarf to see.

Oarly looked at it, gave a nod, then continued his tirade. “We got buckets full of jewels left over from that blasted dragon’s lair. I got scars from getting that treasure. What good is one more jewel, lad? I just don’t understand.”

“This one is magic. You played like you were dying in that lair, Oarly. You made me cry when I thought you’d died.” Phen turned toward the larger tunnel. He could hear the skeletons’ loud, scraping approach. “If I made you shit yer britches a dozen times, we still wouldn’t be even.”

Oarly’s anger vanished. He even barked out a laugh. He knew he’d made the boy cry like a babe. He pulled his boots on and grabbed the flask he’d dropped. Most of it had indeed spilled onto the fire. He still drained the last few drops.

“All right, lad, let’s see what you’ve stirred up, then.”

Together they charged off into the larger cavern. One of the skeletons had pulled itself in two, and the torso was trying to drag itself along the floor by its arms. Seeing that, Oarly gave it a wide berth. Phen took a long stride and planted his heavy foot on its rib cage. The thing rattled and then grew still. Phen leaned down for a closer look at its jeweled eyes. The rubies looked like onyx pebbles now that the power in them had been extinguished.

“You don’t even need me, Marble Boy,” Oarly chuckled. “That blade that slashed across your body didn’t even scratch your robe.”

“Stop calling me Marble Boy,” Phen yelled. He hated that. He hated that he sounded like a little child in a play yard over it, too. “I won’t be Marble Boy for long, Oarly. You can wager on that.”

“Awww, lad, you just don’t know,” the dwarf replied, pointing down at the serpent-covered third skeleton lying still at the bottom of the moat. Somehow the little eel-like creatures had survived the freeze. They wiggled and squirmed through the melting slush as if nothing had happened. “You will be Marble Boy forever.” Oarly laughed heartily and clasped Phen around the waist in a brotherly hug. “As long as you live, you’re doomed to be remembered as the boy made of marble who rode the red dragon and saved us at the Battle of O’Dakahn. Only if you somehow manage to magic yourself into a king, or a god, can you shake such a nickname.”

Just then a loud splash erupted from behind them in the entry cavern. Both of them turned and started quickly back toward it. If it was the serpent then they were possibly trapped between it and all the little ones in the pool. As they ran, Phen gave the emerald to Oarly and fumbled for Loak’s ring. It was hard to get it back off of the medallion chain and onto his finger while holding the dagger. He almost dropped it. Finally he put the dagger between his teeth and slipped on the ring.

The opening of the big tunnel wasn’t blocked off yet, but they could see that the entry cavern was filled with the slithering green glow of the serpent.

“I’ll look,” Phen said.

“Extinguish your light, fool,” Oarly hissed. “It’ll see you, if it hasn’t already.”

“Oh.” Phen had forgotten about the light spell entirely.

Suddenly the place went dark save for the continuously moving glow that radiated off of the serpent. Phen eased down to the big cavern and looked. The serpent was in front of the smaller tunnel, intently flicking its tongue as far as it could reach. Phen felt the jewel on the medallion around his neck begin to tingle and knew instantly that the serpent would sense it.

“Out of the tunnel now, Oarly,” he yelled. “Stay against the wall. We can’t let it trap us inside.”

The great head of the serpent lunged at Phen’s fountaining jewel, its huge, toothy maw opening wide as it came. Phen realized then that being invisible before this sinuous monster did absolutely no good, but by the time the thought finished in his head, he was covered in a cloud of fresh fishy smell, and the serpent’s mouth was closing down over him.

“For Doooon!” he heard Oarly scream, but Phen was yanked off his feet and the world turned into a dark, spinning frenzy.

… Continued…

Download the entire book now to continue reading on Kindle!

(The Wardstone Trilogy, Book Three)
by M. R. Mathias
4.5 stars – 102 reviews!
Kindle Price: $4.99

Kindle Nation Daily eBook of The Day: Today We Feature The Gripping Conclusion to The Epic 5-Star Fantasy Wardstone Trilogy That M. R. Mathias Wrote in a Texas prison: The Wizard and the Warlord

4.5 stars – 99 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:

**The Wizard and the Warlord – The Wardstone Trilogy-Book III** is the gripping conclusion to the epic fantasy trilogy that M. R. Mathias wrote in a Texas prison. This compelling volume brings the elves, dwarves, giants, and the dragons into the story again as our heroes, led by High King Mikahl and the great wizard Hyden Hawk, are forced to fight for the fate of the Kingdoms. This time, they do so against the terrible creature that Gerard Skyler has become, and the legions of demon-beasts that he commands.

From M.R. Mathias,

This is the CONCLUSION to The Wardstone Trilogy. It has taken me several years and a lot of sleepless nights to complete this grand work. When I decided to become a writer I gave it my all, from the moment I put the inkpen to paper in prison, to the new epic I am halfway through writing now. I hope you like reading Wardstone as much as I enjoyed writing it and bringing it to fruition.

You may see some of these characters and locals again, but the story of Claret and mighty Ironspike comes to its magnificent end here.

Enjoy the journey, M.R.

5-Star Amazon Review

 

“Simply amazing. In the gripping conclusion of the Wardstone Trilogy, Mathias delivers the rapid fire action he’s known for, but also manages to weave in a bit of humor while he’s at it as well. The story moves across a number of different locations and even into other dimensions, and is packed full of fighting and magic. The level of detail included really brings this book to the top as well. I was sorry to see that last page finally turn, even if it was a fitting end to an amazing series.”
About The Author

 

 

M.R. Mathias rose from unknown to award-winning, best-selling author at a pace most authors can only dream about. He is a prolific writer of epic fantasy novels, novellas, and short stories. Despite his busy writing, publishing, and promotional schedule Mathias continues to aid his fellow indie authors by posting about their books at Twitter and Facebook etc.
He shared his considerable knowledge of self-promotion in publishing The First Ten Steps. The book has become an important indie guide for navigating the often murky waters of using social media sites to get your eBook in front of avid readers.
Mathias has taken cross promotion to a new level in his “Indie Kindy” giveaways where he gives away a FREE Kindle Touch and or Kindle Fire loaded with independently published books. These events create a great deal of interest for the authors involved and to independently published books as a whole.
It is a pleasure working with M.R. Mathias and watching his amazing run at the top of the Amazon best seller lists.
William R. Potter
Indie author
Founder of the Independent Author Network

And here, in the comfort of your own browser, is your free sample of The Wizard and the Warlord by M. R. Mathias: