The Ice's Voyagers

By Meyari McFarland

Xun's breath puffed into the air, crystallizing in a cloud. So cold. If Chifundo hadn't begged...

But she had. And Xun had to answer her, treking all the way up to the glaciers over Turnbull.

Only to discover that Chifundo didn't want her.

Or need her.

Something was very, very wrong. Xun had to fix it or lose her cousin forever.

If it wasn't already too late.

• Language: English
• Publisher: MDR Publishing
• Release date: May 18, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370596539

Meyari McFarland

Meyari McFarland has been telling stories since she was a small child. Her stories range from SF and Fantasy adventures to Romances but they always feature strong characters who do what they think is right no matter what gets in their way. Her series range from Space Opera Romance in the Drath series to Epic Fantasy in the Mages of Tindiere world. Other series include Matriarchies of Muirin, the Clockwork Rift Steampunk mysteries, and the Tales of Unification urban fantasy stories, plus many more. You can find all of her work on MDR Publishing's website at www.MDR-Publishing.com.

Book preview

The Ice's Voyagers

By Meyari McFarland

Other Gods Above and Below Stories:

In Reading Order:

The Heat of the Thorn

Door in the Wind

Rising Sword of the Blue Flames

Silent Voyages of the Last Winter

Thief of the Moon

Other Books by Meyari McFarland:

Transplant of War

Running From The Immortals

Hearts of Magic

Triumph of the Artificer Mages

Artifacts of Awareness

City of the Dead

Repair and Rebuild

Storm Over Archaelaos

Coming Together

Facing the Storm

Following the Beacon

The Solace of Her Clan

Running Before The Storm

You can find these and many other books at www.MDR_Publishing.com.

Copyright ©2017 by Mary Raichle

Cover image

© Orson | Dreamstime.com - Tear Paper - Abstract Back Photo

© Keremgo | Dreamstime.com - Woman Standing Alone In Fantasy Island Photo

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be emailed to [e-mail].

This book is also available in TPB format from all major retailers.

Dedication:

This story is dedicated to Andre Norton.

Table of Contents

The Ice's Voyagers

Excerpt: Artifacts of Awareness

Afterword

The Ice's Voyagers

Xun's breath puffed into the air, crystallizing in a cloud. So cold. If Chifundo hadn't begged…

But she had. Begged and pleaded and sent messages by the dozen until Xun gave in. She should have kept on refusing.

The glaciers looming over Turnbull were no fit place for a gardener like Xun. Or a scholar like Prince Cyrille, either. Where Xun had yet to pull her scarf up over her nose and mouth, Prince Cyrille was as bundled against the snow, creeping blue ice and bone-cutting cold as a person could be. Two pairs of socks and three of pants, several shirts, a coat, scarf and hat, all topped with a pair of gloves covered by two layers of mittens. The man could barely walk.

Of course, Xun could barely walk, too, but that had far more to do with the rifts cutting across the surface of the glaciers than it did with her extra clothes. At any other time, she would have said that the glacier was a beautiful site. White snow dusted the top but every rift gave them glimpses down into the deep blue heart of the glacier.

It smelled of dust.

Like standing on the edge of the desert's sand dunes, the dust hung in the air. Xun shut her eyes for a moment, standing still at the edge of a wide rift as blue as sapphires, as deep as falling from a mountaintop. So odd to smell dust on a glacier.

Where, Garnett asked, his teeth not chattering at all, are we supposed to meet this cousin of yours?

Here, Xun said. She reopened her eyes and snorted at the caustic glare Garnett leveled on her. She's an Ice Voyager. She'll be here shortly. No doubt that she felt us arrive the minute our boots touched the glacier.

It was hard to tell but Xun thought that Prince Cyrille straightened up and stared at her with awe. Well he should. Ice Voyagers took some of the most difficult journeys in all the realms, skating on and through the ice to other worlds, other stars, even other dimensions at times. Chifundo had never talked about the trips she'd taken but she'd come back different every time. Skin darker or lighter, hair straight or fiercely curly. Once she'd come back completely blind, leaning on a cane from a damaged hip and barely remembering her birth language.

Xun still wanted to know what had happened. And how she'd returned to the young woman