The Branding

The Branding [Kindle Edition] - Micaela Wendell (Author)

Morwen Aleacim, an elfin teen in the village of Aren, has always heard rumors of evil lurking in the great forests of the kingdom, where children vanish. Her own father disappeared into those forests, and Morwen is determined to find him. So she is secretly training to be a warrior-against the strict rules of decorum for girls-with the help of Armando, an aging human swordsman. 

 

When Brynn, Morwen's own baby sister, vanishes, Morwen tracks her to the horrifying lair of Tobias, an inhuman Dark Wizard. There she strikes a deal with him-her service in return for Brynn's freedom. He accepts. She'll go free along with Brynn for now, but is bound to him as his apprentice. To her horror, Tobias brands her-not with a fiery mark, but with a spell that will slowly transform her human body into a grotesque creature and her spirit into an obedient slave. When the transformation is complete she'll have no choice but to return to him forever. Aided by Alan, a handsome elfin boy, who will soon have a dark challenge of his own, Morwen sets out to find a wizard who can lift the spell. It's a race against time as she struggles to free her mind, body, spirit and heart from a horrible fate.

 

Like all of the elves, teenage Morwen Aleacim knows that evil resides in the forests. She has heard the tales in her village of Aren that monsters who steal children lurk in the kingdom's shadows like nearby Silvia Forest. However, Morwen is more of a believer in the malevolence than most elves her age because her father Arthil and others in a search party vanished in the forests three years ago and have not been seen since. 

 

Although afraid, Morwen vows to enter the evil realm to find and rescue her dad. She needs to be a warrior but the elf creed disallows females to enter combat. Instead, Morwen trains in secret under the tutelage of the elderly human swordsman Armando. However, everything changes for her as she becomes even more determined when her six-elf year old sister Brynn disappears. Although not ready, Morwen follows the trail, which leads to Tobias the Dark Wizard. They make a deal in which her sibling is freed in exchange for her being his apprentice; their agreement is Branded in the fire of a spell that slowly changes her from a beautiful girl into a misshapen submissive slave. Alan the teen elf joins Morwen on her quest to break the spell of the evil Dark Wizard before she is called to serve the miscreant malevolence. 

 

This is a fabulous quest fantasy starring a resolute female who learns what happens when an elf bargains with a devil. The fast-paced story line is driven by the heroine who risks her life and much more to rescue her younger sister; for every elf knows once Branded it is impossible to remove the curse that Tobias got from his master Belial King of Sanguine. Harriet Klausner 

 

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 337 KB
• Print Length: 180 pages
• Publisher: Bell Bridge Books (January 23, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English