For the next part of my stop on The Write Reads Blog Tour for Venators: Legends Rise by Devri Walls, I have this nifty excerpt provided by the author. Enjoy!
from Venators: Legends Rise by Devri Walls (available from Brown Books Publishing Group)
After such a long day and a full meal, Rune and Grey were both yawning. Beltran was feeling the exhaustion himself, but he needed Rune to be at least partially awake for the conversation he had planned for tonight. He got to his feet and brushed off his pants.
Verida eyed him from across the fire. “Where are you going?”
“I tried to explain before we left but was rudely interrupted.” He crossed to the packs and started pulling out shimmering pieces of fabric, grinning at Verida’s silent glower. “I have gifts from Arwin.”
Grey leaned back on the palms of his hands, craning his neck. “What is that?”
“Your tents.” Beltran strolled behind Grey, separating one from the rest and dropping it in his lap.
“This is my tent?” The fabric whispered through his hand, sliding away like liquid silk and pooling in his lap. Grey’s face fell. “We’re going to freeze.”
“On the contrary.” Beltran handed one each to Verida and Rune. “Tonight you will be warm, comfortable, and most importantly, unnoticeable to anything passing through the area.”
Given his ability to shift, Beltran didn’t actually need a tent—he could sleep just about anywhere in a well insulated form. But he was endlessly fascinated with Arwin’s abilities and wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to experience the wonder of magic by volunteering to turn himself into a bear.
Besides, with Rune so nearby, he was particularly attached to this human form, and would rather not be covered in fur in the middle of the night. Although, considering the cold shoulder she’d given him since the incident, an unexpected tent visit from Rune was probably a touch optimistic.
“How are we supposed to use this?” Grey asked. “Are there stakes or ropes or—”
“Grey.” Beltran tsked. “We’re dealing with a wizard. Arwin would be offended. Observe.” He flipped the fabric outward, the way Arwin had shown him. It snapped in the air. He gave it a sharp yank, pulled it over his head, and released. The fabric fluttered down around him and caught, puckering as if suspended by something, and then draping to the ground.
At first Beltran could only see the brightness of the fabric, but then a translucent circle appeared at the center point above his head. The effect grew larger, flowing down like rain water until it appeared that he was surrounded by nothing at all. The only tell-tale sign of the tent’s presence was the occasional shimmer that rippled across the inside.
Beltran saw everything, but to an outsider, he’d just become invisible.
Verida looked at the fabric in her hand like it was a viper, and Beltran stifled a laugh. She hated magic. The lack of control, understanding, and predictability ate her alive.
“Go ahead,” he called. “Try it.”
Rune’s nose crinkled. “Not very soundproof, is it?”
“Intentional. I asked Arwin to leave it that way.”
“Why would you have done that?” Verida took out her nervousness on the first thing she found, gesturing wildly. The delicate fabric clenched in her hand, flipped, and rolled. “What if Grey snores?”
Grey’s head snapped up, his brow furrowed. “But…I don’t.”
Well, Verida darling, that way, when you try to kill me in the middle of night, Rune and Grey will hear my screams and come running to my aid.” He poked his head between the flaps and would’ve winked—he wanted to—but the look on Verida’s face said she’d probably remove the offending eyeball.
“I’ll speak to Arwin about the glaring flaw in his design when we return.”
“I’ll let him know to expect you.”
“Hey,” Rune said. “Why didn’t we use something like this instead of nixie bubbles?”
Verida whirled, shouting, and shaking the tent in the air. “Because I didn’t know Arwin could do this, and we weren’t walking around the council house openly asking for help to disobey the council!”
“All right, all right,” she held up a hand. “Sorry I asked.”
Don’t worry Rune, it’s not you,” Beltran said, stepping out from the tent. “Verida hates magic.”
“Stop. Talking!”
He shoved his hands in his pockets, and shrugged at Rune as if to say…see?
“I don’t think I’m understanding,” Grey interjected. “Did you really choose not to soundproof this because you were afraid she’d murder you in your sleep?”
“Would you blame me?” Beltran mimicked Verida’s earlier flailing and grinned. “But no. Arwin said I could have invisibility or sound protection. I chose what I thought would be the most beneficial.”
“It would’ve been nice to know you brought tents before I packed the regular ones,” Verida snapped. “We could’ve done without the additional weight.”
“We’ll need both. Arwin gave me a very long speech loaded with copious amounts of wizardly terms that I wasn’t completely familiar with, but basically meant that fabric doesn’t hold magic as well as earth. He infused a stone—and proceeded to instruct me no less than fourteen times not to lose it—and then connected the rock to the fabric via another spell. It was very convoluted but amounted to the simple fact that the fabric can only hold so many hours of magic before needing to be placed back in the pack with the stone. These should last until morning, but once the tents are depleted, they’ll need to rest for at least a full day before they can be used again.”
He smiled at Verida, who asked, “then why are we using them tonight?”
“I thought it best to test out their capabilities.”
“I see.” She pulled in a tight breath through her nose. “And hope we don’t need them tomorrow? Excellent.”
“A better option than pulling them out when we desperately need them and discovering they don’t work.”
“Hold up,” Rune interrupted. “Let me get this straight. Our tents have to… charge?”
Beltran looked at her blankly. “I have no idea what that means.”
Rune rolled her lips in.
Grey burst into laughter, holding up the tent like he’d found the prize of an era. “Rune! Look! It’s the new upgraded iTent! The Bluetooth connection is non-existent but it’s new, improved, and doubles as a shelter.”
“But,” she snickered. “How’s the screen size?”
The two Venators continued, laughing hysterically, and dropping one joke after the next.
“I have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about,” he said dryly, glancing to Verida. “And I’m really starting to dislike how often that’s happening.”
“Agreed.”
At least they agreed on something.
Thanks to Devri Walls for this excerpt! Also, thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.
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