I do not object.
“What are…?” I begin to ask.
She puts a finger against my lips and lays her head on my shoulder. We lie quietly for several minutes and I am about to speak again when I smell something strange.
It takes me a few moments to place the scent. It smells of spring wildflowers in the lower Bavares, the scent of soil laid bare to the world after the melting of the snow. I hear birdsong, startling me, and when I look for the source of the sound I am no longer in a hospital in Bava. I lie on a grassy, lowland field, the dark green of wild pastures splashed with the brilliant colors of spring spread out for as far as the eye can see. A brook bubbles nearby.
My bed is now a patterned sheet laid on the dewy grass. There is a picnic basket at our feet.
I look down at Bellara. Her head is still on my chest, her eyes closed. I know this is an illusion, but it feels so real I want to cry. Bits of propaganda float through my head—admonitions against wasting sorcery on anything but the war effort. I discard them and put my good arm around Bellara, and allow myself to fade to sleep with dreams of peace.
About the Author
BRIAN McCLELLAN is an American epic fantasy author from Cleveland, Ohio. He is known for his acclaimed Powder Mage universe and essays on the life and business of being a writer. Brian now lives on the side of a mountain in Utah with his wife, Michele, where he writes books and nurses a crippling video game addiction.
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BOOKS BY BRIAN McCCLELLAN
Promise of Blood
The Crimson Campaign
The Autumn Republic
Forsworn
Servant of the Crown
Murder at the Kinnen Hotel
In the Field Marshal’s Shadow
The Mad Lancers
Ghosts of the Tristan Basin
Sins of Empire
Wrath of Empire
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Copyright Page
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novella are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
WAR CRY
Copyright © 2018 by Brian McClellan
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Richard Anderson
Cover design by Christine Foltzer
Edited by Justin Landon
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ISBN 978-1-250-17015-6 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-250-17016-3 (trade paperback)
First Edition: August 2018
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