Everwinter
Chronicles of Naelyra book 1
Everwinter
Cover by Misty Polish
Editing by Genevieve Scholl & Misty Polish
Formatting by Colleen Nye
Author photo by Colleen Nye
Published by: Digital Quill Services
Copyright © 2020 Digital Quill Services & R.J. Lloyd
Printed in the United States of America
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by fines and federal imprisonment.
This is a work of fiction. All characters and situations appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or personal situations is purely coincidental.
To the roleplayers of the world and the magical worlds you all create.
Especially my Sam
Chapters
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Acknowledgements
About the Author
More books by R.J. Lloyd
Chapter
One
Eldercairn
I locked up the bookstore and headed home after a long day. Nora’s Book Nook, named after my mother, Nora Carter, had been my passion for a number of reasons. And each location ended up being the second home to its employees and many of its customers. Something that made me feel like my mother would have been proud.
That particular day had been a rough one though, with grumpy customers and quarterly audits, and I wanted nothing more than to wash it all away from me; to step out of my professional skin and into my lounge pants and oversized sweatshirt.
Once home, I readied myself to do a simple cleansing ritual in my spell shed. You know, sort of like a she-shed but for… well… spell casting and rituals. The sort of things us witches, casters or druids do. Whatever you want to call my kind.
It was a small, wooden shack that I converted on the back of my Oregon property, just inside the tree-line with a clear view of the sky. The one-room build was my go-to place when I needed to cast or meditate. Someplace away from my actual home and from view of prying eyes I may not want to know about my powers… which was pretty much everyone.
However, on that day, I would not complete my spell. Instead, after a quick change into my aforementioned, preferred clothing choice. I gathered my crystals and felt myself soaking in the energy, sitting down in my bohemian style, wooden shack, the plush carpet beneath me. Spreading out the array of crystals, herbs and salts in front of my folded legs, a glimmer of unnatural air appeared before me as if it were made of water. A shimmering, undulating oval. The hairs on my arms stood on end as I got the feeling it was looking at me or someone looking through it was.
I scooted back, grabbing the bag next to me, swiping up a few items reflexively and shoving them in it as I stumbled up to my feet. I paused, waiting for the air to shift, change or leave. But it just hovered in front of me, seemingly beckoning me.
Holy shit! What is this? Call it gut instinct, call it witchcraft, call it whatever, but I had to touch it. I needed to feel it. My breath hitched as I reached out, intending to just feel its energies. With my hand out, palm toward the strange, oval wall, a cool shiver raced up my arm. The ebb and flow of the material was odd, flicking like flames, yet rolled like waves. And the most peculiar thing was that as I reached for it, the thing seemed to reach for me.
You would think that there would have been a lot of lights or sounds… or both. A whooshing or a bang. Maybe a sensation of being yanked, pulled or falling. But there was nothing. I blinked. A shiver coursed down my spine and through my toes, then, I was dusting my pant off, trying to figure out what happened as I lifted myself off the dusty ground that was suddenly beneath me.
I furrowed my eyebrows at the glimmering oval before me, ready to curse at it for throwing me off guard. But before my mind could wrap around a plan to investigate it, something tugged at me, drawing my attention to the fact that my surroundings were not as they should be. Nothing was like it had been a moment before.
It was in that moment, the realization hit me that I was not at home... not in my spell cabin... and seemingly not even in my own time or whatever.
Where the fuck was I? Panic settled into the pit of my stomach. I had to swallow it back. For a moment, I was paralyzed, unable to move; frozen in place staring at the mass that hovered before me.
I wasn’t breathing.
Auriena, you need to breathe. You need to move! I could hear my name, but I had no clue it was my own mind trying to get my own attention. But even if it had been someone else, I don’t think I would have replied. I was completely in shock, but I couldn’t let fear guide me. I had never fallen prey to it before. I sure as hell wasn’t about to start.
Swallowing hard, I took a breath. The lump in my throat threatened to not allow the air to pass by. But I gasped, and the paralyzing grip of fear released. I could do this. Whatever this was.
"Okay..." I dragged the word out,
