Passing On

By Loretta Laird

The time has come for Erix, son of Adamen and Jadara, to embrace his destiny and take on his Passer training. Unfortunately, his mind is more preoccupied with the delights of local maidens than the burdens of leadership.

Verdily, equal to him in strength and ability decides to face her own demons and return to Zergain; the place that once held her captive. Dressed as the young male warrior, Ved, she meets the Air kin warrior, Ren. Strangely attracted to each other, the pair embark on a journey of trust and discovery.

As the sands of time begin to run out, Adamen and Jadara strive to rid the land of one last curse before they return to the Fire Hills of Dargoon drawn by the final call of the freegan.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Luminosity Publishing LLP
• Release date: Jan 8, 2017
• ISBN: 9781910899069

Loretta Laird

My name is Loretta Laird, and I am a romance-aholic! My passion is to write books that I like to read. I love to get lost in a book though seldom get the opportunity being a busy mum. I enjoy cooking, mostly cakes as that’s what I love to eat. My ambition is to buy a cabin by a lake and sit and write all day, creating worlds and stories that are enjoyed by many.

Book preview

PASSING ON

The Passers, Book Three

Loretta Laird

The time has come for Erix, son of Adamen and Jadara, to embrace his destiny and take on his Passer training. Unfortunately, his mind is more preoccupied with the delights of local maidens than the burdens of leadership.

Verdily, equal to him in strength and ability decides to face her own demons and return to Zergain; the place that once held her captive. Dressed as the young male warrior, Ved, she meets the Air kin warrior, Ren. Strangely attracted to each other, the pair embark on a journey of trust and discovery.

As the sands of time begin to run out, Adamen and Jadara strive to rid the land of one last curse before they return to the Fire Hills of Dargoon drawn by the final call of the freegan.

PASSING ON

The Passers, Book Three

LORETTA LAIRD

luminosity3ha

WWW.LUMINOSITYPUBLISHING.COM

LUMINOSITY PUBLISHING LLP

PASSING ON

The Passers, Book Three

Copyright © July 2015 Loretta Laird

ISBN: 978-1-910397-06-9

Cover Art by Poppy Designs

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

No part of this literary work may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without the written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Jadehollow

Metal clashed with metal as two swords met with equal force and passion. Sword bow struck hook sword relentlessly as the blades swished through the air hitting their target with deadly accuracy time after time. If not for the crudely fashioned protective armour and the skill of the two assassins, death would have undoubtedly ensued. Instead the pounding of hearts and the panting born of exertion were the only side effects of the battle. Stepping apart for a necessary break in combat, the two warriors faced each other maintaining their readiness and poise in case the other gained the upper hand.

Vivid green eyes stared intently into the unusual hazel mix of two kins. The outer ring was as green as the woodland moss whilst an inner ring of chestnut brown betrayed the presence of Earth kin. Erix was among the first of his kind, born of a mix of kins at the start of The Change. Verdily, his worthy mentor and opponent, maintained the purebred blood of the Air kin. She regarded her young cousin coolly.

His skill was certainly at the point of readiness for entry into the Passer fortress of Zergain, and the boy’s grandfather, the Passer king Lambord, awaited the day with eager anticipation. Verdily knew that she would soon lose the boy she had loved since infancy. Roughier, the pair’s teacher and protector had been making plans for the journey to Zergain. Verdily should be grateful that she had been allowed to train with the elder Passer. She’d had to prove her worth as a warrior and maintain the gruelling pace of training that Roughier had insisted upon. He had been charged to train and then to return the boy to his kin and had taken his duty very seriously. Visits from Erix’s father had been few and far between over the last seventeen Awakenings and this had left Verdily and her cousin to bond and rely on one another. They had been inseparable since his birth and Verdily was finding it increasingly difficult to imagine her life without him.

* * *

Erix, on the other hand, seemed at odds with his duty and eager to depart for pastures new. He lived for adventure and had been plagued with an inner restlessness since learning of his imminent exodus. His lean and athletic body had recently begun to broaden and strengthen and his deepening voice now resonated with a low timbre. Manhood had come upon him and he yearned to make his own mark in the world of warriors; the world of Passers; the world of his sire and his ancient sire.

Erix grew tired of the hamlet of Jadehollow. The maiden’s emerald-eyed longing bored him and the dull routines of daily life made his blood boil. Erix knew that he was destined for more. He cursed the old ways and longed to be out in the world of Change where kins mingled and new colonies were developing with larger dwellings and more adventure. Recent visits from travelling players and merchants had filled Erix’s head with hope of a new dawn.

The resident army that trained in the nearby barracks did nothing for Erix. He quickly bored of their aggressive ways and their limited experience. They were often selected from isolated kins that focussed on the skills needed for battle and little else. The comely form of the newly awakened she-mates did nothing but briefly satisfy his own blossoming libido. Their offers were plentiful yet their charms were limited to the soft, fleshy warmth of casual rutting. Erix pitied their dapple-eyed devotion as he blatantly flitted from one to another.

There had been one who had managed to maintain a hold on his attention but she had long since resumed her travels, only stopping in Jadehollow to wait out the cold of the snow, before she left to seek more information about the land where she had been born. She had told him she craved to know more about the new dwellings to the east where it was said that hamlets nestled along the ocean coast. She spoke of the horrifying tales she’d heard of the beasts that dwelt within the salty depths of the seas and craved adventure as she journeyed to discover more about the legend.

All Air kins feared this form of water and no Fellnesians had ever settled beside its roaring splendour. Tamakin herself was born of Air and Earth and hailed from the western mountain region of Turonia. Her eyes had been the first attraction for Erix. Each possessed its own unique colour. The left glistened with the hue of the most vivid of blue like the sky on a mountain peak, whilst the right burned with the earthy lustre of falling eark leaves. Her voice had tinkled with the melody of water and her rounded hips had swayed with the rhythmic dance of seduction. Erix had been mesmerised from the first glance.

He had followed the vision of loveliness one evening as she left the snug warmth of the central fire. Her eyes had implored him to pursue her as they glanced at him with hooded promise over her retreating shoulder. With the arrogance of youth and the ardour of Awakening, Erix had trailed behind her like a houndar following the scent of blood. She had led him to the warmth of her lodgings and beckoned him in to her meagre chamber. Erix, unaccustomed at that time to the mating ritual, had made a clumsy lunge for the soft flesh of her swelling breast. He had pulled her roughly into his inexperienced body and forced his wet, eager mouth upon her ripe lips.

Tamakin had masked her horror at his ineptitude and curved her lips into a beguiling smile.

Like this, she coached, slipping her long and experience tongue into his pliant mouth. Firmly and boldly, she explored the contours of his mouth, urging his tongue to follow suit. She encouraged him with gasps of desire, swelling his manhood with each delighted pant. Tamakin then coaxed Erix’s hands to perform gentle massage, as she wriggled against him with practised charm. Her own hand traced the contours of his developing physique, blazing a trail to his throbbing length which yearned to act with primal instinct.

Erix’s hands followed a similar path, spurred on by Tamakinha encouraging moans. He pushed into her core with wanton need, his trembling fingers delving into the moisture where he yearned to sink his hard length. He used his long textured fingers to seek permission, miming the action that he longed to complete with his manhood. Tamakin sighed her accent, Yes, now!

Erix proceeded to lower her onto the small cot bed before slipping off his garment and pulling aside hers. He pushed his way deep inside, marvelling at the way he fitted inside her with ease. The sensation of her body clasping around his made him reach the edge of his own control. She sensed his closeness and urged him to wait. They lay still and silent in the darkened room. Erix was almost at the point of begging for permission to continue with his natural instinct when Tamakin began to thrust upwards against his hardness. She bucked and arched against him, pulling his head down to the softness of her bouncing breasts and urging him to feast upon their sweetness.

Erix felt the wave of ecstasy build up inside him with a rapid force. He bent to pull the hardened peak into his mouth as he shouted with the surprise of his instant release. He watched in awe as Tamakin bucked frantically against him. He felt his hot seed enter her as waves of pleasure racked her voluptuous body. Sated they lay together as Tamakin painted an oral picture of the places she had seen and the adventures that she had planned. Listening to her melodic voice, Erix conjured up visions of lands and people that he too yearned to behold. Desire returned to his body many times throughout that night and they mated as two souls who needed to meet.

Since that encounter, Erix had grown tired of his own kin. He hankered for a life beyond his own kind and counted the suns until he was allowed to depart. Duelling with Verdily gave him some pleasure, but nomadic blood pulsed through his veins and he longed to be free to roam the land.

* * *

Back in the hamlet of Jadehollow, Jadara was on the war path. She despaired of her selfish son and longed for him to accept the responsibility of his destiny. As she herself had once been plucked from all she knew to follow her sire and defeat Greenflack, she now knew it was Erix’s turn to face his own calling. Despite the valiant efforts of herself, Roughier and his father Adamen on his infrequent visits, her son’s heart remained focussed on the pleasures of his privileged life rather than his duty.

Jadara had been waiting for Erix since daybreak to accompany her to the neighbouring dwelling of Jadesbain. It was from here that her kinsman Greenflack had hailed. He who had caused chaos across the land of Fellnesia and brought about the Change that was Jadara’s destiny to fulfil. She had spent the last few Awakenings visiting this peaceful colony, allowing them to make amends for the disgrace that Greenflack had brought upon them all. Yet, Jadara had another purpose for her regular visits. Due to a kindness from the people, she had briefly known a Dolchie half-breed named Laymore. He had perceived for her, and alerted her to, a terrible danger that had threatened her then infant son.

Jadara, therefore, owed a debt of gratitude to his guardians. At mid-Awakening, just after the mating rituals had ceased, Jadara would spend time gathering much-needed herbs and cures for the elder healer who had nurtured the half-breed. She would then take Erix and visit with the kind folk of Jadesbain. Jadara clung to the sweet memories of the past when Erix had relished the time spent alone with his mother, away for a few brief suns from his gruelling training regime of his master Roughier. Recently, she noted, the trips had caused him boredom, along with many other rituals that he had once enjoyed. He had attempted to avoid the event altogether.

This year, Jadara knew that it could be her last chance to spend time with her only son. He was ready to take his leave of her - Roughier had detailed the arrangements of his departure just last moon and she had been contriving opportunities to spend precious moments with him ever since.

Now she paced back and forth from the lookout point that gave her access to the whole courtyard below. A voice broke through her frustrated thoughts.

He’ll be along, lass. Do not fret so.

Jadara turned around and allowed her gaze to fall from the scene below and onto the weathered face of Roughier, the elder Passer, who had been entrusted with the training and protection of Erix. He had done an admirable job with the boy’s warrior skills but had been left as perturbed as the lad’s mother at his disregard for the duties