GBH

BLURB

Book Two of the Mythos Series

The reign of Sheboss Barina was one of the most splendid in CroNulla history. But it ended in disaster. While the aristocrats and courtiers, even some generals and officers, lived securely behind the walls of CBD, the soldiers who manned the border posts and boundary forts struggled against a rising tide of Oztrakii tribes. These tribes were always waiting, testing the strength and resolve of the CroNullas, ready to pounce at the slightest sign of weakness. So when the heart of the empire turned soft and rotten, they did just that.

Across the land there was much destruction, much pillaging and looting and letting of blood. Ordinary folk scurried for cover like frightened mice. The more well-to-do tried to buy their safety. It made no difference, though, for no one was safe from the Oztrakii.

It was upon the tiny city of CBD that the barbarians vented their greatest fury. They burnt and smashed and tore down everything. The palaces and temples and great halls were torched, the plazas and gardens and fountains destroyed. The many statues of the city were shattered, those of every Sheboss, every great General and every CroNulla god. It was said that they even burnt the wonderful books of Yrec the Yarncarrier, the heavy volumes in which the myths and legends of Cronulla lore had been faithfully recorded. In the end, nothing remained but ruin and rubble, ash and smoke.

And yet, even within such despair lay the tiniest seeds of hope.

SAMPLE

From Chapter 1

As soon as she was able to move they left the makeshift shelter. The boy had insisted. Oztrakii were all over the harbour, he said, and they'd be found for sure if they stayed where they were. So although her body and head still ached, and her heart wept, Gheera agreed to go to the special hiding place that he had prepared.

'Come.'

Boy knelt beside her. The young tunnel boy had become her friend in the old city, read the diaries with her, and in the end had saved her from certain death. He didn't actually have a name at all, never needed one for he'd lived alone beneath the city. She'd called him Boy once, and the name had stuck.

'We must go.'

Gheera rose, pain jabbing at her with every movement. She turned her head, as though looking around, but saw nothing of course, her eyes completely bandaged. Even had they not been bandaged she still wouldn't have seen anything. The soldiers had made sure of that with their burning stakes.

'Is it morning yet?' Gheera tried to feel the time of day with her face straining towards the sky.

'Not yet. But soon the sun will pull itself from the sea,' Boy answered. 'We must go now while the darkness is with us and the fog still on the water.' Gheera allowed herself to be led away.

A small canoe nodded at the water's edge as the boy led the girl across the rocks. They moved quickly, despite her blindness, for she trusted him. Soon they were in the boat, she in the front, the boy behind with the paddle. He pushed quietly away from the rock ledge, gently dipping his paddle into the water, first one side, then the other. In this way they slid out of sight.

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