Shieldbreaker: Episode 3: Betrayal of the Self

By Ty Johnston

Lerebus Shieldbreaker might be the personal body guard to Corvin Verkain, a prince of Kobalos, but what to do when the king himself decides all his children must die? And this is no ordinary king, but the famed Lord Verkain, one of the most powerful wizards known to the world. The only hope is in flight and possible exile, but Corvin will not leave Kobalos without attempting to save his brother.

Lerebus finds himself taking part in a ruse to lure the king away from the two princes, but can Lord Verkain be fooled for long? And once the sovereign discovers the truth, what will be his form of vengeance?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ty Johnston
• Release date: Feb 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301150816

Ty Johnston

Originally from Kentucky, Ty Johnston is a former newspaper journalist. He lives in North Carolina with loving memories of his late wife.Blog: tyjohnston.blogspot.com

Book preview

SHIELDBREAKER

Part III of V: Betrayal of the Self

The Ursian Chronicles

by Ty Johnston

a Monumental Works Group author

Copyright 2013 by L. M. Press

visit the author’s website: tyjohnston.blogspot.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental

Copyright © 2013 Ty Johnston

Cover artwork copyright © 2013 Ty Johnston

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, contact the publisher at [e-mail].

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Table of Contents

About Shieldbreaker

Betrayal of the Self

Preview: Chapter 1 of the novel Bayne’s Climb

About Shieldbreaker

Readers familiar with my ongoing epic fantasy saga The Ursian Chronicles might recognize the name of Lerebus Shieldbreaker, the main character of this five-part series. Lerebus appears as a minor character in the novel Dark King of the North: Book III of The Kobalos Trilogy, and as a somewhat more influential character in my novel Under the Mountain: Part III of The Sword of Bayne. Funny how Lerebus keeps showing up in the final novels of my trilogies. Also, I do not hide the fact that the Jorsican barbarian known as Lerebus will appear in more of my works in the future, sometimes as a major character, sometimes as a minor one. This has led to a few questions from readers about the character, especially concerning his past. How did he come to serve as a soldier in the Kobalan army when he is from Jorsica by birth? How does he meet with the mighty Bayne kul Kanon nearly two thousand years before the events of The Kobalos Trilogy, in which Lerebus appears? This five-part series of short stories will answer many of those questions, and others, though new questions might arise. The first story, Road of the Sword, is one of my oldest pieces of fiction, and the first time I wrote about Lerebus Shieldbreaker. Betrayal of the Self is the third of these stories, taking place nine years after the events of the tale An End to Rage. I hope the reader enjoys.

1,991 years After Ashal (A.A.)

The hard pounding of horse’s hooves brought Lerebus from his tent, the big man grabbing up an axe before pushing through deerskin flaps and crossing the encampment, passing around fires and past dozens of armored men in black.

It was a lone rider, one of the prince’s messengers by the looks of his youth.

What news? Lerebus called out as the rider pulled his steed to a halt.

The young rider breathed heavily