The Gathering of the Wind: Holy City, #1

By Meyari McFarland

With the rains comes the Gathering of the Wind.

 

Caron should be there already to guard her friends as they summoned the winds that brought rain the Holy City. It was her duty and her honor.

 

Instead, she stood on the back step of her mother's house, hiding from Madhu and his impossible demands. He would shape her to be something smaller and meeker, whether she wanted it or not. Madhu certainly didn't care that he was as unwelcome as a leech attached to a carp's belly.

 

No matter what Madhu wanted, Caron was a shark and she wouldn't allow him to turn her into a guppy or for him to ruin the Gathering of the wind.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Meyari McFarland
• Release date: Apr 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781386668800

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 Gathering of the Wind

The Gathering of the Wind

A Holy City Short Story

Meyari McFarland

MDR Publishing

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Contents

Other Books by Meyari McFarland:

The Gathering of the Wind

Author's Note: Artifacts of Awareness

1. Sold

2: Palace

Other Books by Meyari McFarland:

Afterword

Author Bio

Other Books by Meyari McFarland:

Day Hunt on the Final Oblivion

Day of Joy

Immortal Sky

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A New Path

Following the Trail

Crafting Home

Finding a Way

Go Between

Like Arrows of Fate

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Out of Disaster

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The Shores of Twilight Bay

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Coming Together

Following the Beacon

The Solace of Her Clan

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You can find these and many other books at www.MDR-Publishing.com. We are a small independent publisher focusing on LGBT content. Please sign up for our mailing list to get regular updates on the latest preorders and new releases and a free ebook!

Copyright ©2019 by Mary Raichle

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Print ISBN: 978-1-64309-073-3

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Cover image

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Illustration 25142830 © Keremgo | Dreamstime.com

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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.

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

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

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This story is dedicated to MCA Hogarth.

The Gathering of the Wind

Caron licked her lips, squinting up into the bathwater-warm rain. Five minutes outside and she was soaked to the skin. Her hair straggled across her forehead, clung to her neck, a mess even when sopping. Her head brushed against the lintel but she didn't dare step out of the stark back alley doorway yet. On either side of the door, the elaborately carved cedar grills that let air flow through her mother's narrow rowhouse gleamed with the light of the lanterns within.

Not close, though Caron could hear voices inside. A man's and a woman's voice, low and murmuring. Irritation hung in the man's voice. The woman's, Mother's, sounded calm and reasonable. She was always calm and only seldomly reasonable. Hopefully tonight would be one of the nights where she turned it against Madhu and his never-ending quest to turn Caron into something she wasn't.

Unlikely given that Mother had hired him to tutor Caron without ever asking Caron what she thought of the whole thing.

Not quite full night yet. The sky overhead was dark as night, except low, near the palace walls. As stark as the simple weather-greyed boards of the back door, the palace walls were blank granite set atop the carefully constructed butte the palace compound sat on. Stones as big as Caron stacked fifteen feet high, ten feet thick, made a perfect platform for the Royal Guard to lazily patrol the palace