Facing the Gray Read online

  Facing the Gray by Carol Beth Anderson

  Published by

  Eliana Press

  P.O. Box 2452

  Cedar Park, TX 78630

  www.carolbethanderson.com

  Copyright © 2018 by Carol Beth Anderson

  Excerpt from Facing the Fire by Carol Beth Anderson Copyright © 2018 by Carol Beth Anderson

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact:

  [email protected]

  Cover by Mariah Sinclair

  Edited by Sonnet Fitzgerald

  Paperback ISBN: 978-1-949384-01-7

  First Edition

  Contents

  Be an Insider

  Characters and Places

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Epilogue

  A Note from the Author

  Preview of Facing the Fire

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Be an Insider

  Insiders get updates on Carol Beth Anderson’s books, plus early cover and title reveals, notifications of sales, and more. Sign up at carolbethanderson.com.

  To Ana and Eli, who show me with their creativity, humor, and all-around awesomeness that magic is real.

  Characters and Places

  The Golds

  Tavi (TAH-vee), short for Tavina Malin (Tuh-VEE-nuh MAY-lin), all-blessed

  Narre (NARR-ee) Holmin, touch-blessed

  Sall (SAHL) Almson, mind-blessed

  Tullen (TUHL-lin), stride-blessed and hearing-blessed

  Jenevy (JEH-neh-vee), ungifted

  The Grays

  Konner Burrell (Bew-RELL), ungifted

  Ash, real name Jerash Sheaver (JARE-ash SHAY-ver), touch-blessed

  Sella, sight-blessed

  Aldin (ALL-din), stride-blessed

  Camalyn (CAM-uh-lin) Hunt, speech-blessed

  Reba Minnalen (MINN-uh-len), sight-blessed

  Wrey (RAY), sight-blessed

  Revinee (REV-i-nee), touch-blessed

  Yamah (YAH-mah), scent-blessed

  Councillor Remina Birge (Reh-MY-nuh BERJ), hearing-blessed

  Councillor Norbin Amonel (AM-uh-nel), sight-blessed and mind-blessed

  Councillor Vellish Elling, scent-blessed

  Family Members:

  Tavi’s Parents: Jevva (JEV-uh) and Mey (MAY), mother

  Tavi’s Siblings: Misty, Zakry (ZAK-ree), Jona (JOE-nuh), Tess, Seph (SEF), Ista (EE-stuh)

  Narre’s Parents: Shem and Jilla (JILL-uh), mother (Jevva Malin’s sister)

  Narre’s Siblings: Elim (EE-lim), Gillun (GILL-un)

  Sall’s Mother: Hilda (HILL-duh)

  Sall’s Siblings: Lorn, Berroll (BEAR-ull), nickname Berr (BEAR)

  Reba’s Father: Runan (ROO-nahn)

  At the Midwife Houses in Oren and Savala

  Note: The surname “Kariana” indicates that a midwife is a sun-blessed Karian (KARR-ee-an) midwife who can give blessing breaths to babies born facing the sun. Practical midwives are not sun-blessed.

  Ellea Kariana (ell-LAY-uh kar-ee-AH-nuh), Karian midwife

  Nydine (ny-DEEN), meditation teacher

  Pala Rinner (PALL-uh), practical midwife

  Evitt (EV-it) Forning, errand boy, mind-blessed

  Other Characters

  Les Andisis (an-DIE-sis), safety officer in Oren, hearing-blessed

  Relin (RAY-lin) the Fierce, ancient hero

  Veylen, Konner Burrell’s servant

  Arjean (AR-jean) Shonner, butcher

  Urlo (URR-low), Meadow guard

  Aba (AY-buh), Meadow elder

  Garin Semovier (GARR-in Seh-MOE-vee-ay), Head safety officer in Savala

  Religious Names and Terms

  Sava (SAH-vuh), the giver of life, magic, and all that is good

  Kari (KARR-ee), the First Midwife who tamed magic when she gave her newborn son Savala a breath of life and blessing

  Savala (SAH-vuh-luh), Kari’s son, touch-blessed, the First Shepherd and first recipient of tamed magic. The city of Savala is named after him.

  Karite (KARR-ite), a sect of the Savani faith

  Kovus (KO-vus), a place of punishment in the afterlife

  Savani (suh-VAH-nee), the faith of those who worship Sava

  Savanite (SAH-vuh-nite), one who worships Sava

  Senniet (SENN-yet), a place of peace and joy in the afterlife

  Places

  Cormina (core-MY-nuh), a nation led by the Cormina Council

  Kovus (KO-vus), a place of punishment in the afterlife

  Oren (ORE-enn), a town in Cormina

  Savala (SAH-vuh-luh), the capital city of Cormina, named after the First Shepherd

  Senniet (SENN-yet), a place of peace and joy in the afterlife

  Tinawe (TINN-uh-way), a large city in Cormina

  The Meadow, a closed community thirty miles from Oren

  Chapter One

  RELIN: I consider myself a man of culture. Yet when my sword slices through the air and imbeds itself into one of my enemies, I feel a thrill my civilized pursuits have never offered me.

  -From Relin: A Play in Three Acts by Hestina Arlo

  She couldn’t get enough air.

  The fight had proceeded nonstop for several minutes. Her adversary was larger than her in every way: nearly a foot taller, with longer limbs, broader shoulders and bigger muscles. Her quick footwork and dodges had kept her out of his reach for long enough to make them both breathless and tired. And that was just what she’d wanted to do. If it were a matter of strength, he would prevail every time. But when they had each reached the end of their energy, determination became the greater factor. And Tavi Malin was determined.

  She drew closer. Keeping her eyes on his, she snapped her foot out, kicking the inside of his knee. He wasn’t expecting it, and she used the distraction to step in further, aiming a punch into his gut.

  He took the punch, recovering so quickly that before she could step away, his arms were around her, gripping the back of her shirt and pulling her in to take her down. Quick as a blink, Tavi relaxed her knees, her hips dropping. An image blinked into her mind: herself as a slippery fish in his grasp. It wasn’t enough; he still had her. She thrust her forearm into his chin, pushing it toward the sky.

  It worked. His head snapped back, he let go of her shirt, and his arms loosened their hold. Tavi slipped out of his
grip, but she wasn’t fast enough to avoid his long reach. His right hand grabbed her left shoulder, squeezing tight.

  Before he could pull her close again, Tavi’s left hand shot up, grasping the underside of the arm that held her. In one movement, she twisted in, bringing her back against his chest. Taking advantage of her momentum, she bent at the waist and pulled his arm. His feet left the ground, and he flew over her, landing on his back in front of her with a smack and a groan.

  Tavi stared at him, her only movement the rapid rise and fall of her chest. She had thrown him as if he weighed nothing. She had done it.

  Cheers and laughter snapped Tavi back to reality. She approached her adversary and extended a hand.

  “That’ll leave a bruise,” Tullen said as he grasped her hand and pulled himself up. Despite his words, he was smiling.

  “I sure hope so,” Tavi replied. “If you’re bruised, you can’t pretend it didn’t happen.” She didn’t even try to suppress her grin. Other trainees surrounded them, congratulating Tavi and giving Tullen some good-natured ribbing.

  The tenor voice of Safety Officer Les Andisis rose above the ruckus. “Sall and Stara, you’re up next.” Taking the cue, Tavi, Tullen, and the others stepped off the fighting mat while Sall and Stara walked to the middle of it.

  With Tullen to her left and her cousin Narre to her right, Tavi watched her friend Sall, who was uncomfortable fighting, despite months of practice. He shook the hand of the trainee in front of him. Stara was the youngest magical trainee in Oren, a speech-blessed girl just eleven years old. She was of average build, but stronger than she looked. This should be a good match, Tavi thought.

  As the fighters circled each other, Tavi felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned. Officer Andisis beckoned her.

  Once they were a dozen steps away, the safety officer spoke in a low, firm voice. “You know my rule, stay away from the fancy moves. You could’ve hurt yourself, throwing him like that. There’re plenty of other ways you could’ve taken him down.”

  Tavi’s head dropped, and she tried to drum up some remorse, but it was hard. It had been the most fun she’d had in weeks. “Yes, sir,” she said.

  “Where’d you learn that, anyway?”

  Tavi looked up and bit her lip.

  “Where?”

  “When Officer Lavvin was here one day, he showed us.”

  “Hmm. I’ll have a talk with him.” Officer Andisis gave her a stern look. “Don’t do it again, Tavi. Beat your adversary the easiest way you can. This isn’t a show. When you’re in a real fight, all you’ll care about is walking away safe.” Tavi nodded, not breaking her eye contact with him. She caught the twitch in his eye and at the edge of his lip before he said, “Bet it felt good, though, didn’t it?”

  Tavi tried to keep a straight face. “Yes, sir.”

  He gestured toward the mat, where Sall and Stara still circled each other. “Let’s watch this fight.”

  After the day’s scheduled matches, the trainees entered the midwife house. Greeted with the cries of a woman in labor, they tiptoed up the stairs. Nydine, their meditation teacher, was waiting.

  “Lay out your mats, please, and stand in position,” As her students situated themselves, Nydine’s face wrinkled in disgust. “An entire class of trainees who have been sweating outside for the last three quarters of an hour. I may need to talk with Ellea about the order in which she schedules our summer classes.”

  Despite the stuffy, malodorous room, meditation class was just what Tavi needed. By the end, her aggression had fled, and her limbs felt relaxed and loose. Afterward, all the female trainees stayed in the room to change back into their dresses.

  When the Golds—Tavi, Tullen, Narre, Sall, and Misty—had returned home from Savala nine months earlier, tales from their trip had quickly spread. Tavi and Narre had both escaped after being captured by the Grays, practitioners of gray magic whose gifts were free from the moral restrictions of ordinary magic. No one knew how the Grays would use their power, but everyone agreed it was dangerous, and an undercurrent of panic had entered the town of Oren.

  Ellea Kariana, Oren’s head midwife and leader of the town’s magical training program, had been particularly concerned. It hadn’t taken long for Tavi and her friends to convince their teacher to incorporate physical fighting into the training schedule. And Ellea had declared that if the young women under her tutelage were to fight, they would wear pants, without a skirt on top.

  Tavi groaned as she pulled her dress over her head, already missing the pants she had just taken off. She buttoned up Narre’s dress, then allowed Narre to return the favor. “One of these days,” Tavi said, “I’m going to walk out of the midwife house in my pants and wear them all the way home.”

  “I don’t think Ellea would stop you from leaving,” Narre said. “But—”

  “But my father might stop me from entering the house,” Tavi interjected.

  “And my mother would do the same,” Narre agreed. They put their pants and shirts in a dirty laundry basket before leaving the room.

  Ellea was standing in the hallway. “Tavi, may I please have a word with you in my office?”

  “Sure.” Tavi told Narre goodbye and followed the midwife downstairs.

  Once they were seated in the comfortable office, Ellea said, “I’d like to update you on what’s happening in Savala.”

  Tavi leaned forward. “Have any of the Grays been arrested?”

  Ellea frowned. “Unfortunately, no. The safety officers in Savala say they can find no evidence corroborating our story of Narre’s abduction. I have a hard time believing the Grays covered their tracks so thoroughly, but there seems to be nothing else to be done on that front for now.

  “However, Pala has settled into her new position as a midwife in Savala. I suspect she asked to transfer there specifically so she could learn more about the Grays. She’s very concerned about them, and she’s become a bit of an armchair detective.”

  “What has she told you?”

  Ellea unfolded a letter and glanced down at it. “You mentioned visiting the house of Konner Burrell?” When Tavi nodded, Ellea continued. “Pala met a young man who works as a gardener at Mr. Burrell’s house, and she employed him to work as the midwife house’s errand boy a few hours each week. His name is Evitt, and he’s agreed to gather information for Pala.”

  Tavi’s face broke into a smile. “That’s wonderful! What has he told her?”

  “Very little so far,” Ellea said. “He’s only identified two of the Grays at the house: Konner and Ash. We hope he’ll find a way to get inside the house and gather more information.”

  “I hope so too,” Tavi said. “Thank you for telling me this, Ellea.”

  The midwife gave Tavi a sad smile, covering her student’s hand with her own. “I’d prefer not to share it with you, because I want you to stay safe. But your trip to Savala made it clear that I can’t protect you. Your magic, Tavi—it continues to grow stronger. As much as I would like to keep you safe in Oren, I know you’ll be needed in the fight against the Grays. And you’ll need all the information you can get if you are to succeed.”

  An unexpected lump filled Tavi’s throat, and she swallowed past it. “Thank you.”

  Ellea nodded, pulling her hand away from Tavi’s. “You may tell your friends and your sister as well. I’m guessing when the time comes to confront the Grays, you’ll all be together.”

  Tavi grinned. “I’m guessing you’re right.”

  Ellea dismissed her, and Tavi picked up her satchel before walking to the front door. When she opened it Tullen, Sall, and Narre were waiting at the bottom of the steps.

  Tavi’s reaction upon seeing them was a twinge of annoyance. Well, it was more than a twinge. And it was more than annoyance. “You could have gone home without me,” she snapped as she strode past her friends.

  Three sets of footsteps caught up to her. “We don’t like this any more than you do,” Narre said. “But it’s how things are for now.”

&nb
sp; A huff was Tavi’s only response. The four of them walked along the dirt road for two silent minutes.

  After confronting the Grays in Savala, Tavi had been relieved to return home. But her parents had been frightened that the Grays would come to Oren for her. Narre’s parents had been even more panicked than Tavi’s. The Grays had held Narre for weeks, and Tavi had almost expected her Uncle Shem and Aunt Jilla to lock Narre in her room forever, just to keep her safe. Instead, Narre’s parents had declared their daughter could not be in public alone, and Tavi’s parents had adopted the same policy. Sall lived with Tavi’s family, and the rules applied to him too. However, the lack of independence didn’t seem to bother Narre or Sall half as much as it did Tavi.

  Tavi crossed her arms and kicked the dirt on the road as she walked, fuming over the injustice of it all. Despite fear and uncertainty, she had traveled to Savala and helped her cousin escape. The very next day, Tavi had herself escaped from the Grays by using her magic in more powerful ways than ever before. When she’d left Savala, she had felt as though she could conquer the world. And had her courage and competence earned her greater trust? No, she had instead been rewarded by the hovering of three friends who’d turned into mother hens.