Chosen: Book 1 in the Ancients of Light series

2
^nd
Edition

Copyright © 2012 by Heather Fleener

Smashwords Edition
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook
may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like
to share this book with another person, please purchase an
additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and
did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only,
then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the
work of this author.

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 or reviews. Please do not participate in or encourage the
piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s
rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

Discover other titles by Heather Fleener at
Ancientsoflight.com
Cover art © 2012
Alexandria N.
Thompson

Chapter 1
Chapter
2
Chapter
3
Chapter
4
Chapter
5
Chapter
6
Chapter
7
Chapter
8
Chapter
9
Chapter
10
Chapter
11
Chapter
12
Chapter
13
Chapter
14
Chapter
15
Chapter
16
Chapter
17
Chapter
18
Chapter
19
Chapter
20
Chapter
21
Chapter
22
Chapter
23
Chapter
24
Chapter
25
Chapter
26
Chapter
27
Chapter
28
Chapter
29
Chapter
30
Chapter
31
Chapter
32
Chapter
33
Epilogue

About the Author

Forsaken Preview

Acknowledgments

CHAPTER 1

Smoke rolled off the charred land before
Lorcan, the devastation spread every direction. A once lush valley
was now painted with soot and gore, a testimony to vicious war. The
battle through the long night had taken its toll, the Light and the
Dark both hit with heavy losses, but he and his warriors had
emerged victorious. He amended… his warriors and the witches. Even
those of his species that held the Witch Faction in great disdain
would be hard pressed to deny that their forces had fought
heroically.

The sun beginning to crest over the horizon
caused him no concern, unlike most of his kind. He continued to
survey the death. The Witch that littered the ground would be taken
care of by their own through magical means and no evidence of them
would remain shortly. The Vampire fallen would be gone within the
next hour, burned to ash by the heated rays.

Colm, his friend and second in command,
called then gaining his attention. Lorcan’s contingent was the
fiercest in the Realm and the five that comprised his inner circle,
the Elite Guard, were a force alone. All of his men would require
shelter from the light shortly, and with the fatigue of the night
weighing heavy they were eager to depart to Breslein. Lorcan
acknowledged Colm with a quick nod and lingered a moment longer to
bask in the rising warmth.

Towering over six and a half feet in height,
his massive form was framed by faintest reaches of the golden
light. He presented the very image of a fearsome warlord. His torso
was sculpted with muscle formed from wielding the massive
broadsword that rode his hip, and as he started down the hillside
toward the narrow stretch where his men waited, his loping stride
accenting the strain of muscle against the material that encased
his legs. Lorcan was a warrior of legend throughout the Realm,
the
Warrior of Light.

He brushed the dark locks of hair that fell
forward back from his brow in a careless gesture, making haste to
join the others before the rays breached the crest of the hill.
Catching Colm’s impatient wave, he shadowed the remaining distance,
appearing immediately next to his friend. Lorcan’s gaze encompassed
those gathered. They had lost very few and he was proud to be the
leader of this group. Most he had trained either since youth in
their immortality or in the years since their transition.

Unlike certain Covens within the Vampire
world, his made no distinction between those Vampire of birth and
those created through transition. The creation of new Vampire by
transition had been severely restricted in the last few centuries
by order from the Council of Ancients, the governing forum of the
Vampire nation. Several of the transitioned kind filled the ranks
of his army and many of them had few equals amongst the warrior
class. All would honor the fallen this night at Breslein, death
made no distinction between the classes either.

As the group made final preparations to
leave, a movement within the woods about four hundred yards east of
the gathering caught Lorcan’s attention and his steely gaze
narrowed, hand reactively clenching at the hilt of his weapon. Two
Darks lingered, taking care to stay within the shadows created by
the woods. The pair seemed to have no focus on the threat posed to
them by the Light warriors, but were fixated on something further
within the darkness of the surrounding trees.

Lorcan nodded his head towards them upon
catching Colm’s eye, “Lead the men home, I will follow.” He
shadowed immediately to the edge of the trees. Colm’s gaze followed
and after registering a minimal threat called the men back to
Breslein. In the space of seconds the field was empty.

Lorcan kept the Darks within his sight, but
trailed far enough behind to avoid gaining their attention. His
keen hearing was still able to pick up bits of their conversation.
With the magnified senses of his species he did not have to venture
close; coupled with the ability to shadow silently from spot to
spot, he remained undetected. The two he followed were of the
Ancient Dark, the evil Faction of Vampire within the Realm. A
couple of stray Dark warriors were not enough to cause him concern
but the mission they carried out this early morn did. Whatever the
pair was about, it had to do with the Witch. It was the only theme
that flowed through the snippets of hushed conversation that
reached him… “The Dark Lord’s pleasure…finding the witch…the
Chosen.”

Lorcan’s ears perked at the last. Two females
had been born to the Witch four years earlier, during the year
prophesied as giving rise to the Chosen and none in the Vampire
kingdom had seen either child. The children were kept well hidden
from both Light and Dark factions of Vampire. Per the ancient
Prophecy foretold by the Sorcerer Myrrdyn, the existence of the
Chosen threatened to bring end to the Dark explicitly. However, the
Prophecy was also contrary to the highest law sanctioned by the
Council of Ancients that forbids Vampire relations with any of the
Witch species. Knowing this, the Witch trusted no Vampire with
knowledge of the girls.

The origin of the Vampire was credited to the
darkest evil, birthed from the underworld in the beginning of the
age of man. The sole purpose of the species was to destroy the
beloved creation of humans. To counter this explicit threat to
mankind, the divinely-created supernatural breed of the Witch was
brought forth. The Witch were imbued with seven Castes of powers;
their magic was most effective against the dark agenda pursued by
the Vampire.

Within the first century of their creation,
the Vampire had split into Dark and Light factions. Over the first
few hundred years of existence, the lines continued to blur and
alliances formed. Certain of the Vampire breed were drawn to the
Light, even while some of the Witch denied their innate calling and
joined the forces of the Darks. With members of each breed swayed
to the calling of the other, neither faction was able to ultimately
champion its purpose.

For nearly a thousand years, the Witch and
Vampire that held true to the Light had been a united force in both
purpose and as kin; mating between the two species had become
common. The alliance was obliterated by an act of treachery. The
Ancient Queen of the Warrior Caste of Witch, Brisen, had taken an
elder Vampire, Alaric, as mate. Much to the delight of the Dark,
the witch was believed to have betrayed her mate’s coven and Alaric
took her life.

The resulting rift in force of the Light was
not to be mended. The Vampire deemed all witches to be
untrustworthy, while the Witch were adamant in proclaiming the
innocence of their Warrior Queen and enraged over her murder. Today
the Witch and Vampire of the Light faction maintained a tenuous
truce only on the battlefield and only out of necessity against
their common foe.

A thousand years after the great betrayal,
the birth of a female that would reunite the factions was foretold
by the powerful Ancient Witch, Myrrdyn. She was deemed the Chosen.
The girl would wield the ultimate combination of power from all
seven magical Castes and end the Dark. To fulfill her destiny the
witch would need to take a Vampire mate. The vampires refused to
entertain the notion of a prophecy, no matter how welcomed the end
result, that would forge a close alliance once more with the other
species. Either Light or Dark vampires might now seek end of the
girl to guarantee no Chosen witch would arise.

Lorcan shook off his musings as he continued
track the duo deep into the woods. He expected the Witch to keep
the girls hidden until the extent of their powers was fully
ascertained, but if these two Darks were on the trail of one of the
girls he would be following steadfast. Given that Alaric and Brisen
were Lorcan’s own parents, he found it ironic that he may well be
on a mission to protect the Chosen. The path of the Vampire had
been forced on him at this mother’s death. He had inherited
Brisen’s magic, not the Vampiric lineage from his father. Alaric,
as leader of the Council, had fostered a venomous hatred for all
things Witch in much of the Vampire population. Lorcan did not
agree with his father or the laws of the Council, but as one of the
elder leaders within the Vampire covens, he tempered his objections
and abided by Vampire law as well.

Lorcan finally spotted the Darks’ prey
stumbling through the woods a few hundred yards ahead – a witch.
Based upon his halting gait and slow progress, Lorcan assessed the
male’s injury to be serious. His hand was grasping his right flank
and his steps were sluggish. He kept leaning into the trees in a
failing attempt to keep himself upright. Intermittently he would
pass a glance over his shoulder, to make certain his progress
through the woods was unchecked and each time the Darks would
easily shadow to an alternate location.

Lorcan recognized the witch as an elder,
recalling memories of the man from his youth. Elfred was a strong
witch; an immortal to be reckoned with, his skills were a credit to
the Warrior Caste. He also held a very high status within the Realm
since he was mated to Vevila, the daughter of the great Myrrdyn.
His recollection of the pair was solid, they had oft times visited
his childhood home at Laverock. Vevila had been his mother’s
friend. If the Dark were hunting this one, it would be no surprise
if they actually were on the trail of one of the girls; all
anticipated that a child in the line of Myrrdyn would have the best
chance to fulfill the prophecy. The power of that Ancient’s magic
was unequaled - most referred to him as the Sorcerer of Light - in
deference to the magnitude of his powers which were derived from
five separate Castes. Myrrdyn was a true Ancient, one of the very
first Witch in creation.