The Herbmaster (Prequel): Circle of Dreams

By Linda McNabb

Zaine's world is one of drudgery and work. Dumped on a farm as a baby, it will take him years to pay off the jar of silver that his 'aunt' claims that he owes them. 
One day he meets a mysterious old man, the herbmaster, and it changes his life forever! 

This is a SHORT STORY prequel for the CIRCLE OF DREAMS trilogy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Southern Star Publishing
• Release date: Dec 25, 2015
• ISBN: 9781519964106

Linda McNabb

Linda was born in England but raised in New Zealand where she currently lives. She write mostly non-epic fantasy that can be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys a light and uncomplicated story. They are all family-friendly stories and more often than not have a few dragons in them!

Book preview

Chapter One

Ahigh-pitched sound drifted through the trees and Zaine paused to listen. It stopped then repeated. No, it wasn’t any bird he knew, and he knew most of them. Even though he was only eight years old he had a good knowledge of most creatures that lived on the land as that was where he spent all his time.

He heard it again and there was something about the sound that made him uneasy.

Uncle Pretor came into sight and waved at Zaine to head back to the farm. Zaine shrugged and abandoned the sheep tracks he was following. This one was probably going to spend the winter in the forest. They hadn’t been out chasing sheep for long and Zaine wondered why his uncle was calling him in so soon. Usually they chased them for days at the end of summer to sell off as many as they could before winter’s bite settled on the land.

His uncle turned and walked off as Zaine hurried through the trees to catch up. The sound came again as Zaine cleared the trees and looked down the hill towards the farm.

He finally realised what the noise was and sighed heavily. He could see his aunt standing a short way from the house and her powerful voice was echoing across the fields with ease. What was worse was that it was him she was calling! She hardly ever came looking for him out on the farm, and it was the one good thing about working the fields or tending the animals for such a long day.

It usually meant trouble if she wanted him back at the farmhouse. He caught up to his uncle and cast him a questioning glance as they both headed down the hill.

I’ve no idea what she wants, Uncle Pretor said with a shrug. He looked as unenthusiastic as Zaine felt about the summons. Did you fetch the water... stack the wood... start the fire?

Zane nodded.