Cleaning House: Goddess's Honor

By Joyce Reynolds-Ward

What happens when Katerin returns to Medvare-the-city?

Katerin returns to Medvare-the-city as Leader of Medvara after the conclusion of Challenges of Honor. She must deal with mysterious fires and a rebellious Tapestry that links the Leader's magic to the land of Medvara. Can Katerin succeed in winning over Medvara's when her relatives have failed?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joyce Reynolds-Ward
• Release date: Sep 7, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386420880

Joyce Reynolds-Ward

Joyce Reynolds-Ward splits her time between Portland and Enterprise, Oregon. A former special education teacher, Joyce also enjoys horses, skiing, and other outdoor activities. She's had short stories and essays published in First Contact Café, Tales from an Alien Campfire, River, How Beer Saved the World 1 and 2, Fantasy Scroll Magazine, and Trust and Treachery. Her novels Netwalk: Expanded Edition, Netwalker Uprising, Life in the Shadows: Diana and Will, Netwalk’s Children, and Alien Savvy as well as other works are available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, and other sources. Alien Savvy is also available in audiobook through Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. Follow Joyce's adventures through her blog, Peak Amygdala, at www.joycereynoldsward.com, or through her LiveJournal at joycemocha. Joyce’s Amazon Central page is located at http://www.amazon.com/Joyce-Reynolds-Ward/e/B00HIP821Y.

Book preview

CLEANING HOUSE

A GODDESS’S HONOR OUTTAKE STORY

BY

JOYCE REYNOLDS-WARD

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to real people is purely coincidental.

Cleaning House  © 2018 by Joyce Reynolds-Ward.

Cover image © 2018 by J.A.G. Sandvik (stock snapper) through Depositphotos, design by Joyce Reynolds-Ward

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Distribution is handled by the author, and all requests for redistribution should be directed to the author.

Katerin ea Miteal, newest Leader of Medvara, stood on the sternwheeler’s deck as it negotiated the currents of the Saktrin River shrunken by summer heat and drought to approach the private Leader’s pier. Her fingers twisted in the black and silver mane of her magic-gifted horse, Rainin. The bay daranval’s nostrils flared and she pawed at the deck, impatient to get off the ship and onto solid ground.

Quit, Katerin said to the mare mildly. Rainin stood still but her eagerness to be back on land transmitted across their mental link. Her mare’s mindspeech was not as clear as others of the daranval breed, but there were times like this one when Rainin’s images came through as clearly as if she were thinking words.

Rainin nudged her side. Once again she sent pictures of Katerin in the Leader’s chair in the Great Hall. Katerin speaking to the Council as Leader. Katerin reviewing the Medvaran magical sheep herds. Katerin working the spells which kept Medvara and the nations of Varen safe from the intrusion of Chatain, Emperor-over-Sea. All images of Katerin as unquestioned Leader of Medvara.

I am not Leader but Regent for Witmara only, Katerin thought back to Rainin.

Undeterred, Rainin kept sending her pictures of Katerin as Leader, like she had been doing ever since Katerin’s cousin Rekaré had abruptly abdicated in the wilds of the neighboring nation, Saubral, after their successful pursuit of one of Chatain’s agents.

Why did she continue to argue her role with her daranval? It wasn’t going to change the reality they would face as soon as the ship docked.

Perhaps because she was not ready to bid farewell to her true self as Katerin Healer. She had been Katerin Healer much