From Ash & Bone
Fantasy Fiction
From Ash & Bone is a fantasy fiction story inspired by the ancient Chinese symbolism behind the dragon and phoenix. Together, they signify yin and yang: the harmonious union of opposites.
From Ash & Bone follows an assassin and a knight given orders to hunt her down. In a world plagued by war and hopeful whispers of a rebellion, the King of these lands has spent his reign wiping out those with the mark of the dragon and burying those with the fire of the phoenix.
EXCERPT
Most of the houses and shops in Eldham were reduced to mere piles of ash and red embers; several buildings were still smoldering as they entered the village. The air was thick with the smell of smoke and rot. Kai stopped breathing as he took in the massacre in the town square. Bodies. All he could see were bodies. Piles of them were stacked haphazardly on the streets. Kai pulled back on Miles’ reins and dismounted, chainmail clinking as he hit the ground. He stood there, silently. Blood had stained most of the dirt around his feet, turning it into a deep reddish-brown.
It was only then that he realized the bodies were mainly women and children. Children. Bile rose in his throat as he realized that some of the piles had been burned. Someone had set them, the children, on fire. He could see half-burned faces—eyes and mouths still partially open. Seraphina had dismounted her horse and now stood behind Kai, watching him as he took in the destruction. His oath had bound him to the bloodshed.
“You bastard!”
Kai spun around to see a disheveled man stepping out from the ruins of a building, clutching a dagger.