The Jealousy of Jalice
Jesse Nolan Bailey
(A Disaster of Dokojin #1)
Publication date: May 19th 2020
Genres: Adult, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy
The Realms have split apart, the Stones of Elation have been hidden, and warnings of dokojin drift among the tribes.
The land and its people are corrupted. The Sachem, chief of the Unified Tribes, is to blame.
It is this conviction that drives Annilasia and Delilee to risk their lives. Afraid of the aether magic he wields, they enact a subtler scheme: kidnap his wife. In her place, Delilee will pretend to be the chieftess and spy on the Sachem.
Unaware of this plot against her husband, Jalice is whisked away by Annilasia. Pleading with her captor proves futile, and she rejects Annilasia’s delusional accusations against the chief. After all, the Sachem has brought peace to the land.
Yet a dangerous truth hides in Jalice’s past. As she and Annilasia flee through a forest of insidious threats, they must confront the evil plaguing the tribes and the events that unleashed it.
Excerpt:
A force pushed Jalice from the
arrow’s path. Her vision blurred.
The arrow whistled past, followed by
a sharp sting around her earlobe. Jalice landed on the ground with a grunt. Blinking
at the loose strands of hair that tickled her eyelashes, she regained focus.
The forest came into view, and her gaze settled on a nearby figure, lying a few
feet away. She squealed when she realized it was Annilasia.
“We need to run,” said Annilasia.
She sprang up and crouched low to the ground as if ready to sprint away.
Jalice didn’t move, paralyzed by the
sickening fact that, had it not been for Annilasia, she would be dead. The
archer had still fired his arrow, despite his clear view of Jalice. She desperately
attempted to rationalize this. Perhaps he had been aiming at Annilasia. Perhaps
he had been trying to save Jalice from the tillishu.
Annilasia scrambled across fallen leaves
and muddy earth over to Jalice. “Get up, and run,” she commanded.
Another arrow whistled by and landed
with a thud in the dirt. Jalice yelped and kicked against the soft earth,
throwing gobs of mud into the air. The archer was still firing. Surely he
intended to strike down Annilasia, not Jalice. Yet the uncertainty of this
terrorized her.
Powerful arms heaved Jalice to her
feet, leaving her no choice but to run.
Annilasia was right. There was no
denying it now. The archer had intended to strike Jalice. As she relented to
her captor’s command to flee, Jalice’s mind remained fixated on the archer.
There had to be an explanation.
She glanced over her shoulder and panicked
when she realized she was alone again. She halted and searched the forest for
signs of Annilasia and the archer. As she spun around, a dark shadow
interrupted her vision and she fell back with a cry. Unable to brace herself
with her hands, she landed on her back, pain searing across both shoulders. The
warped treetops and a dark silhouette loomed above her. Jalice let out another
muffled scream against the gag.
A large man, much stockier than the
archer but bearing the same red and gold streaks of paint, stood with his arms
extended over his head. He clutched a massive sword, with its tip pointed
towards the sky.
Jalice thrashed her legs and yelped,
but it was too late. The man’s face strained as he brought his arms down. The
blade flashed in the air, but everything in that moment slowed. This was it.
She was going to die. Her eyes snapped shut, and she braced for the final blow.
Author Bio:
Enthralled by the magic that written stories contain, Jesse Nolan Bailey has always wanted to be an author. With his debut novel finally released to the masses, he can now claim such title with relief. He lives in Durham, North Carolina, where he has embraced the equally-gratifying lifework of hosting a trio of spoiled cats.
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