Book Four in the Flame Series: Consumed with Fire (eBook)

Revenge of the Tree Trolls

Theresa Gage (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
252 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3178-0968-3 (ISBN)

Infos

Traumatized and depressed after the war with the humans, Cassie, a tree troll, must survive after she lost the majority of her clan including her brother. King Roark believes her fortress belongs to him as a war prize, but Cassie fights him at every turn and vows he will never take her property. Seeking revenge, she enlists the help from a witch, but her plan backfires after Cassie kidnaps the queen. Larkin, the queen's sister, takes it upon herself to find Cassie and puts her in the dungeon. While there, Larkin stabs Cassie's thigh and it becomes infected. Cassie later escapes, but is wanted for treason, than murder after she kills one of the king's dragons. Losing her leg from the infection, she must learn to trust others and ask for help.

Known for her great imagination and vivid storytelling, Theresa Gage's work has been featured in various magazines, making her an esteemed figure in the literary world. She draws inspiration from nature and her surroundings. She is a retired nurse and preschool teacher. Gage lives with her spouse and two dogs.

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Cassie's soul cries for justice yet seeking revenge blinds her from those who care about her. Taking on the load of chieftain, after her brother's death, and the responsibilities that go along with it, including the care of the younger tree trolls, she longs for adult companionship. The majority of her clan had died in the war with the humans and Cassie is traumatized from watching the king's dragons feast on her friends. Trying to survive and control the fortress from the greedy king's hands, Cassie is at her wit's end. King Roark enlists his sister-in-law, Larkin in his cause and she kidnaps Cassie, placing her in the dungeon. Larkin stabs Cassie's thigh and it becomes infected, but she escapes. Cassie is on the run when a dragon finds her. Tossing her sword at the dragon's heart she kills it. Now she is wanted for murder and treason. Cassie learns she must learn to trust her friends and ask for help.

Textauszug

Chapter One

Middle Earth at Tinkraha

She never wanted to fill her brother’s boots. Was this a joke of the gods? Cassie gazed at the scars on her leathery bark-like arms. She had earned every one of them, but she hadn’t saved Rory, or her friends.

She wanted adult companionship, not a bunch of youngsters pestering her with their endless questions or fighting amongst themselves. Must she do everything? Cassie had thought of marrying Jarlath, Rory’s friend. At least he would help her with the estate. Her brother hadn’t approved of her true love, One-eyed Pete, and sent him away on some foolish errand with some scrupulous pirates. And if the rumors were true, her human friend Varick was kidnapped by them too. That was before the war, and she hadn’t heard from either one of them since. And to top it off, Jarlath died on the way home after the war.

The elders starved themselves to death for the youngsters to have food during the harsh winter. Cassie could have used their advice. They didn’t even ask her how she felt about their dying pact. Cassie hunted, but the wild animals were scarce with the colder weather. The crops had died too. She killed some of the livestock for survival. At least she had the foresight to hire a cook. Everyone looked forward to Bridget’s delicious meals. Cassie didn’t have the time or the patience to cook with all the work that needed to be done around here. She thought the others might object to a dwarf in their midst, but Bridget’s good humor and dimpled smile warmed the hearts of the young tree trolls. Bridget had lost her husband during the war and took the job to keep busy.

Thunder drummed the Tinkraha fortress walls and snapped her out of her misery.

Cassie glanced out the window. Lightning zigzagged across the cobbled courtyard outside and struck an old oak, leaving a bare shell of the tree. The scene reminded her of the war’s destruction. A senseless war brought on by the human sorcerer, Grimshaw, who had deceived her brother with thoughts of dragon eggs and treasure. All in order for Grimshaw to gain himself a crown and the loot. Rory played right into the sorcerer’s hands, and it cost him his life. Neither the eggs nor the treasure were acquired. If Grimshaw weren’t already dead, Cassie might kill him herself.

King Roark wasn’t much better. The human king coveted Tinkraha. It belonged to the tree trolls, not to the humans, but Roark was a greedy man. The tree trolls had built the fortress after their old home had burned down in a forest fire. Cassie vowed he would never take their land. She knew it was a matter of time before the man headed to their door. She had seen with her own eyes how King Roark treated others and stole their lands. Power and greed ruled the human king, but it will be his doom.

Cassie threw a robe over her five-foot-eight, willow-thin form, and stepped into deerskin slippers. She was now eighteen tree rings old but felt much older since the responsibilities weighed on her shoulders since her brother’s death. Cassie strode down the hallway and into the great hall. It was quiet. She thanked the stars the youngsters still slept.

Sitting at the dining table, exhaustion and worry wore her down, and Cassie laid her head down on the cool wood. Her wide nose flattened against the table and her pointed ears stuck out. Bridget bustled into the great hall and Cassie opened one eye.

“Tsk, tsk. Not again, Miss Cassie. Come on. Rise and shine before those young ins’ see you sprawled and think you’re sick or gone to your maker.” Bridget shook Cassie’s shoulders and the cook’s red curls bobbed up and down.

Cassie sat up and glanced at her surroundings. Cobwebs hung from tattered tapestries. Cassie shuffled over to a painting of her brother and touched his smiling face. “I remember Rory posing for tis after he won the pole competition. Look how proud he was.” She ran her hand over the polished ash pole posted on the wall next to his painting. “Ah, Rory. Why’d you leave me, eh?” A tear rolled down her leathery-like cheek.

“Miss Cassie, I’ll not have tears tis morning, you hear me?” Bridget said. “Go and freshen up before the young ins’ get up. You know they look up to you. You think you’re the only one that suffered during the war? Think of those young ins’ and what they lost.”

“I’m sorry you lost your husband, yet I’m glad you’re here, Bridget.”

“I had many years with me Tomas, but that was then and tis is now.” Bridget washed the table with a rag.

“It’s not fair these youngsters lost their parents, and I lost me brother and most of me clan. Someday King Roark and his men will pay for what they did,” Cassie said.

“Revenge can burn a hole in your soul if you allow it and it won’t bring back the ones you lost. Better to get on with your life and make the best of it,” Bridget said.

“Easy to say, but hard to live wit.” Cassie hurried down the hall to her bed chambers.

She shut the door and leaned against it as tears streamed down her face. It was too hard staying strong for the others. Cassie crumbled to the floor. She wanted to shout to the sky of the unfairness of it all. Kicking out of her slippers and removing her robe, Cassie slid a black tunic over her head, then stepped into her boots. Her goblin friend, no bigger than a ruler, snored in his little wooden box. Cassie tickled his pot belly. Gillian snickered and pulled his tiny blanket over his shoulder. Cassie played with the few wispy hairs on his bald head, and he pushed her hand away. Plucking him from his bed, she held Gillian in her hand.

“Wake up. We’re headed to the Silver Claw Castle. You can make all the mischief your little heart desires.” Cassie waited for his response.

Gillian stretched his wee arms and sat up. He opened his coal black eyes. “You promise? Don’t be teasing me, lass.”

Cassie snatched her cloak and her knapsack from the antler hall tree in the corner of her room. Opening the flap, Gillian climbed inside the knapsack.

“Why go to your enemy’s door?” Gillian’s squeaky voice asked.

“I’m curious what the king is up to, before I make me plans. Better to be ahead of the game. Now close the flap and get down.” Cassie slung the knapsack over her shoulder and dashed down the hall.

Standing by the front door, Cassie called out, “Bridget, I’m going out. Keep an eye on the place.” She opened the oak door and dry leaves blew inside. The wind howled and tried to push her back. With grim determination, Cassie placed one foot in front of the other and escaped the wind’s claws.

* * *

Rain pelted down and made it hard to see in front of her. Cassie tiptoed through fallen branches and debris strewn about the courtyard. She rounded the corner and gasped. A statue of her sister-in-law, Finola, had fallen over and an arm broke off.

Cassie picked up the arm and caressed it. She screamed at the wind, “It’s the only thing I had left of her, and you destroyed it!” Cassie rolled the statue inside the workshop that was located a few feet from the courtyard. One more thing on her list to fix. Would it ever end?

Gazing at all the wood carvings on the shelf, Cassie realized they weren’t all Finola’s.

Some of the carvings were Eamon’s. He had his mother’s creativity. It was hard for Cassie to look at her nephew. Eamon resembled her brother, Rory, with his bright red hair. The lad had turned shy without his father around and the other young tree trolls picked on him. Cassie wasn’t sure if they were jealous of Eamon because he was Rory’s son or if it was his clumsiness. At any rate, she’d teach him to fight back. Cassie realized all the youngsters needed to learn warrior skills for survival, especially if King Roark planned to invade their territory. She shook her head and strode out of the workshop.

The wind shifted to a light, cool breeze and the sun peeked through the dark clouds. The sunlight sparkled off the tin roof of the building across the river. Weeds and grass intertwined up the sides of the building. It had once belonged to Liam, Finola’s father. His specialty was tin, but he also carved things from wood and soap. He sat for hours tinkering his latest craft. Liam had died of a broken heart when he learned the news of his daughter’s death. Cassie used the building as a storage shed now to keep the rain off the hay and grain.

The river swelled from all the rain. Cassie had built up the banks of the river before the last storm. The water reached to the edge of the wooden bridge that connected this side of Tinkraha to the other. Cassie’s boots squeaked as she crossed the slickness of the bridge. A gravel road led from the bridge to the storage shed. She scuffed the bottom of her boots in the gravel, before pushing open the tin door. It creaked and disturbed a barn owl from the eaves.

He hooted, and stretched his neck up, blinking round, amber eyes. Cassie allowed the owl to stay in there to keep the rodents away. Walking inside the shed, she pulled a bag of oats from a bin. Heaving it over her shoulder, Cassie closed...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 30.7.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• ISBN-13: 979-8-3178-0968-3 / 9798317809683