Marie Yoch – Marie Yoch, Author

The Time Stone releases in just a couple more days! Are you excited? Have you pre-ordered? It’s available at all the major retailers, including these: Amazon | Kobo | Barnes & Noble. And the print version should be available soon too!

The stone Sydney is looking for in this first series is the oldest one of the set. And after you read Sydney’s story, you can read the origin story right afterward. Or, you can read it right here, right now!

Enjoy!

Kalika

Her death would be an honor.

A deep, steady beat throbbed over the dense green canopy, giving pause to the natural cacophony that normally filled the spaces below. The sun was just rising over the jungle, its rays not quite strong enough to penetrate the blanket of mist hovering over the valley below. Kalika stood on a rocky outcropping half-way up Lima Mountain, watching the early morning light for what would be the last time.

She longed to run the Low Trail once more, but time was short. When the sun reached its zenith, her life would be forfeit – a sacrifice to the Sun God by her people. In the end, Kalika’s spirit would live on in an object to be forged from her remains mixed with molten rock. If her spirit was pure and the Sun God accepted her gift, the resulting object would bring great honor to her family, and blessings to all who touched it.

If her gift was rejected, any object so forged would be forever cursed and her family along with it. They would have to guard it until it could be cast back into the fiery mountain to be destroyed, breaking the curse and restoring her family’s good health and status in the tribe.

There were those in her position who feared the sacrifice, but not Kalika. Her parents had raised her to be strong, to be their beautiful offering. Her whole life had been about preparing for this single day, just as her brothers and sisters had been raised to care for her once she formed the sacred object. They would protect her and guard her from those who would use her unwisely, and tell her when it was safe to bestow her favors on those who would ask.

With one last look at the valley, Kalika turned and made her way back across the High Trail. Passing underneath the thick canopy, she strode purposefully through the dim light, a smile flitting at her lips and a song in her heart that matched the drums calling her tribe to the sacrificial altar.

Pre-order your copy of The Time Stone today: Amazon | Kobo | Barnes & Noble

Welcome to my blog! For my first post, please enjoy an excerpt from The Time Stone, the first Stone Scavengers novel coming out on April 20, 2018. Pre-order links below!

Excerpt #1:

“I have something for you, Sydney.”

Sydney Pointer looked up at the old man in rumpled layers of dirty clothing. Her nose wrinkled all on its own at the nasty smell that accompanied him, and she tried to remember everything her mom had taught her in case a strange man ever tried to take her. She opened her mouth to yell for help and grabbed her bag as he slid into the booth across from her.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” the man said, sliding a tattered piece of paper to her across the table. “But I need to give you this. It’s something your father was working on until just recently. I’m sure he’d want you to have it.”

Sydney forgot her fear for a moment at the mention of her dad – an amateur archaeologist who could never be happy in one place. When Sydney was a toddler, he’d gone off on one of the treasure hunts he was so fond of and never come back. He’d tried, her mother told her with a wistful smile, but after a year of missed holidays and sporadic hour-long visits, they’d divorced and Sydney hadn’t seen him since, even though he still kept a house in town for the rare occasion when he wasn’t treasure-hunting.

“You know my dad?” Sydney let her bag fall to the bench and looked closer at the man. He looked…tired. His hair was long and knotted, his beard in serious need of a comb and wash, his teeth crooked and brown, and the lines on his face etched in deep, sunburned furrows. Something in his gaze made her relax a little more. His hunched posture and shaking bent fingers weren’t exactly the hallmarks of a kidnapper. Not that Sydney had ever met one.

“I know him very well, child.” He pointed to the list, but made no move to reach across the table. “Your dad was looking for these stone talismans – keys, he called them – when he disappeared six months ago. Insisted that together they would open some sort of ancient treasure trove. One that supposedly holds the secret to life-long happiness for whoever opens it.”

Sydney looked at the list, which consisted of six crude pencil drawings with a name scrawled in rough handwriting under each one. At the top the drawing was a circle with a triangle on top. It was labeled The Time Stone. There was also a flower, an arrowhead, a heart with a crack down the middle, and what looked like a scroll of some sort.

“He was trying to find these? But how did he know where to look? And if they’re made of stone, aren’t they very heavy?”

The old man chuckled. “A talisman is a small object believed to bring good luck to whoever holds it. Your father found the first one – The Time Stone, there at the top of the page. I’ve seen it. It’s a sundial about the size of a half-dollar coin.” He curled his gnarled thumb and forefinger into a circle to demonstrate. “Legend has it that each talisman has a clue hidden with it that leads to the next. Whoever follows the clues and finds the stones will eventually find the treasure as well.”

Sydney frowned. “He disappeared? What happened to him? Is someone looking for him?” She looked around the diner for her mother again, but it was strangely quiet. They had to do something. “Did you call the police?”

“I don’t know what happened to him, kiddo. And I suspect the police won’t be able to help.” The man hesitated, and then looked her in the eye. “He had some…trouble getting the first stone. As if there were something protecting it. The last thing he told me before he left was that I should pass this list on to you when you turn eighteen.” He coughed, a wet, phlegmy sound. “I’m afraid I’m not going to live that long, kiddo, so you’ll have to take it now.”

Want to keep reading? Pre-order The Time Stone at your favorite online retailer (Barnes & Noble and iBooks coming soon):

Amazon | Kobo | Barnes & Noble