The Chamber by Dominic H. King is today's feature on One Thousand Worlds.
The Chamber-
When an unstoppable evil force known only as ‘the Reaper’ seeks to break into Kal’s world, his life becomes intrinsically linked to that of Daine, a ruthless female assassin. Boy and girl must face challenges both together and apart if Kal is to save his father who lies in a chamber far away, and Daine is discover why she has been called away from everything she has ever known.
Kal must travel further than he has ever been before, alone, except for the sporadic guidance of his father’s best friend, the mysterious Juquor. Relentlessly pursued by the deadly Arrochom, he must show maturity beyond his years to fight prejudice, solitude and the fears that cramp his every waking moment if he is to find a way back to his father.
Daine finds herself in another world, ripped from the comfort of the profession that is all she has ever known, unable even to converse with those around her. Confronted with feelings from a missing adolescence and forced to learn everything she once knew again, she must battle with her gender and revisit painful memories if she is to find purpose and quell the daemons that stalk her dreams.
He is the author of the Twin Worlds trilogy that follows Kal and Daine in their epic battle against the Reaper. The first two instalments, The Chamber (2012) and The Black Gate (2013), are currently available. He cites writers such as Tolkien, Pullman, Martin and Bernard Cornwell and time spent in China, India, Nepal and Latin America as his major inspirations.
Sports-mad he aspires to greatness as a football, cricket, rugby, hockey, golf and squash player, but has to settle with mediocrity. He has been more successful at charity challenges including the Blenheim Triathlon, the 3 Peaks Challenge and the London Dragon Boat race.
He works as an in-house economist at a global consultancy for whom he has written over 100 reports on the world economy. He lives in London with his Mexican wife Liz (and, from October, daughter Elena).
You can follow Dominic's blogs about publishing, economics, hockey and his pet hate, tiny trolley bags, via his website – dominichking.com.
“You must get back. He is coming–the evil one. You must be gone before he arrives.”
The old man called to him, but his mind felt heavy and sluggish. Great trees and fields of corn burned. Children ran screaming, their faces contorted with fear. A dark presence rose up, high as a mountain, blotting out the sun.
“Do you hear me? Help is on the way but you must get back!”
The boy awoke with a start. Cold stone bit into his back and he raised himself onto his hands. As he did so, a flash of pain erupted from his leg and looking down he saw that the right leg of his hair trousers was wet with blood. His vision blurred and he tried to focus on his surroundings. A great stone chamber engulfed him, hollow except for thirteen pillars which formed an inner-circle. A shaft of light fell from an unseen hole in the cavern ceiling, flooding the centre of the chamber with a pale, ghostly green translucence.
Is it illuminating something? Or someone?
He became aware of an unseen force; a howling, gusting gale that he felt in the depths of his soul. It bounced around the chamber, wailing and screeching, cutting and biting. But yet nothing stirred.
Lying in utter darkness some twenty paces outside this circle, the boy groaned, raising himself into a sitting position and squinted ahead, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his leg. A man lay prone on the cavern floor; his naked body looked frail, brittle. The boy could make out a deeply lined, lightly bearded face and something stirred inside of him.
Was this the man from his dream?
Have I been entombed? Or am I dead?
He thought he should check on the old man, but he was scared.
The air was heavier than usual, as though unwilling to allow either heat or rain to escape. Following a deluge the girl thought would never end, dark clouds still swirled menacingly overhead, as though forewarning her of danger. She had scouted the area and found nothing, but the stillness made her wary.
Could it be a trap?
She kept her senses sharp, mind alert for any signs of company. There was only a small window of time to complete the mission. She had to get in and out without being seen. There was no back-up, no friends to ride to her rescue if things went wrong. But she always worked alone. That was the way she liked it. That was the way she had been taught.
She straightened slowly, trying to ease the stiffness out of her legs, and craned her neck around the low stone hut she had been crouching behind since the sun had gone down. It looked like the Reaper’s army had moved on but a deep sense of foreboding gripped her. She must be gone before they returned. She made one final scan of the area from her hiding place before gliding away across the sodden earth. The evening was stiflingly muggy under the blackened sky which offered just the faintest tinge of murky moonlight to guide her. She would not make a sound, she had been taught by the best.
But then I am the best they have ever seen.
She crept forward, eyes fixed on the low stone entrance, senses straining for any sign of an ambush. The landscape was bleak and barren. All living things had either escaped or died trying. Charred remains of what might have been the villagers smouldered around her and she tried to block out the stinging, nauseating stench of burnt flesh that seared her nostrils as she crossed towards the low entrance to the chamber hewn smoothly out of the black rock.
Get in, get out. It was a job. Nothing more. It was how she survived.
The dream seemed so vivid. He could still make out the faces of the children running towards him, their eyes red and wild, their cheeks stained with tears, their mouths twisted in pain. Whether they had been fleeing the fire or the dark figure or both he was not sure, but the sense of desolation and hopelessness still felt raw inside him. The old man in his dream had been telling him to get back.
But why? And how did I cut my leg?
He reached down and pulled up his trouser leg to expose the wound. The cut ran down the front of his calf muscle, less than the length of his little finger in length, but deep enough to be filled with blood. Gingerly he tried to get to his feet, but as soon as he put pressure on his damaged side, a bolt of pain shot up his leg and he fell back to the ground.
With a grunt he rolled over onto his side and slid his hand into his pocket. He withdrew a small bronze coin, and flicked it through his fingers thoughtfully. On one side he could make out the helm of a knight, crested by a snarling bear, and on the other a cluster of thick trees. Its presence gave him an odd measure of comfort; it felt familiar, but his memory flickered and faded. He scrabbled around in the darkness, his hands searching for a pebble to use instead, but the cold chamber floor stayed unflinchingly smooth. Gritting his teeth against the pain in his leg, he got onto one knee, took aim and threw the coin directly towards the centre of the chamber where the old man lay. It span through air, glinting as it passed through the shaft of dirty, pale green light descending from the chamber ceiling. But then, as it was about to strike the old man, it slowed, bending as though melting in a furnace. For a moment is flashed bright.
And then it was gone.
Volume 2 of the Twin Worlds Trilogy, The Black Gate, is now available from:
The Blurb
The Chamber-
When an unstoppable evil force known only as ‘the Reaper’ seeks to break into Kal’s world, his life becomes intrinsically linked to that of Daine, a ruthless female assassin. Boy and girl must face challenges both together and apart if Kal is to save his father who lies in a chamber far away, and Daine is discover why she has been called away from everything she has ever known.
Kal must travel further than he has ever been before, alone, except for the sporadic guidance of his father’s best friend, the mysterious Juquor. Relentlessly pursued by the deadly Arrochom, he must show maturity beyond his years to fight prejudice, solitude and the fears that cramp his every waking moment if he is to find a way back to his father.
Daine finds herself in another world, ripped from the comfort of the profession that is all she has ever known, unable even to converse with those around her. Confronted with feelings from a missing adolescence and forced to learn everything she once knew again, she must battle with her gender and revisit painful memories if she is to find purpose and quell the daemons that stalk her dreams.
About the author-
Dominic was born in Bath, UK in 1982. He is the author of the Twin Worlds trilogy that follows Kal and Daine in their epic battle against the Reaper. The first two instalments, The Chamber (2012) and The Black Gate (2013), are currently available. He cites writers such as Tolkien, Pullman, Martin and Bernard Cornwell and time spent in China, India, Nepal and Latin America as his major inspirations.
Sports-mad he aspires to greatness as a football, cricket, rugby, hockey, golf and squash player, but has to settle with mediocrity. He has been more successful at charity challenges including the Blenheim Triathlon, the 3 Peaks Challenge and the London Dragon Boat race.
He works as an in-house economist at a global consultancy for whom he has written over 100 reports on the world economy. He lives in London with his Mexican wife Liz (and, from October, daughter Elena).
You can follow Dominic's blogs about publishing, economics, hockey and his pet hate, tiny trolley bags, via his website – dominichking.com.
Chapter 1.i
“You must get back. He is coming–the evil one. You must be gone before he arrives.”
The old man called to him, but his mind felt heavy and sluggish. Great trees and fields of corn burned. Children ran screaming, their faces contorted with fear. A dark presence rose up, high as a mountain, blotting out the sun.
“Do you hear me? Help is on the way but you must get back!”
The boy awoke with a start. Cold stone bit into his back and he raised himself onto his hands. As he did so, a flash of pain erupted from his leg and looking down he saw that the right leg of his hair trousers was wet with blood. His vision blurred and he tried to focus on his surroundings. A great stone chamber engulfed him, hollow except for thirteen pillars which formed an inner-circle. A shaft of light fell from an unseen hole in the cavern ceiling, flooding the centre of the chamber with a pale, ghostly green translucence.
Is it illuminating something? Or someone?
He became aware of an unseen force; a howling, gusting gale that he felt in the depths of his soul. It bounced around the chamber, wailing and screeching, cutting and biting. But yet nothing stirred.
Lying in utter darkness some twenty paces outside this circle, the boy groaned, raising himself into a sitting position and squinted ahead, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his leg. A man lay prone on the cavern floor; his naked body looked frail, brittle. The boy could make out a deeply lined, lightly bearded face and something stirred inside of him.
Was this the man from his dream?
Have I been entombed? Or am I dead?
He thought he should check on the old man, but he was scared.
Chapter 1.ii
The air was heavier than usual, as though unwilling to allow either heat or rain to escape. Following a deluge the girl thought would never end, dark clouds still swirled menacingly overhead, as though forewarning her of danger. She had scouted the area and found nothing, but the stillness made her wary.
Could it be a trap?
She kept her senses sharp, mind alert for any signs of company. There was only a small window of time to complete the mission. She had to get in and out without being seen. There was no back-up, no friends to ride to her rescue if things went wrong. But she always worked alone. That was the way she liked it. That was the way she had been taught.
She straightened slowly, trying to ease the stiffness out of her legs, and craned her neck around the low stone hut she had been crouching behind since the sun had gone down. It looked like the Reaper’s army had moved on but a deep sense of foreboding gripped her. She must be gone before they returned. She made one final scan of the area from her hiding place before gliding away across the sodden earth. The evening was stiflingly muggy under the blackened sky which offered just the faintest tinge of murky moonlight to guide her. She would not make a sound, she had been taught by the best.
But then I am the best they have ever seen.
She crept forward, eyes fixed on the low stone entrance, senses straining for any sign of an ambush. The landscape was bleak and barren. All living things had either escaped or died trying. Charred remains of what might have been the villagers smouldered around her and she tried to block out the stinging, nauseating stench of burnt flesh that seared her nostrils as she crossed towards the low entrance to the chamber hewn smoothly out of the black rock.
Get in, get out. It was a job. Nothing more. It was how she survived.
Chapter 1.iii
The dream seemed so vivid. He could still make out the faces of the children running towards him, their eyes red and wild, their cheeks stained with tears, their mouths twisted in pain. Whether they had been fleeing the fire or the dark figure or both he was not sure, but the sense of desolation and hopelessness still felt raw inside him. The old man in his dream had been telling him to get back.
But why? And how did I cut my leg?
He reached down and pulled up his trouser leg to expose the wound. The cut ran down the front of his calf muscle, less than the length of his little finger in length, but deep enough to be filled with blood. Gingerly he tried to get to his feet, but as soon as he put pressure on his damaged side, a bolt of pain shot up his leg and he fell back to the ground.
With a grunt he rolled over onto his side and slid his hand into his pocket. He withdrew a small bronze coin, and flicked it through his fingers thoughtfully. On one side he could make out the helm of a knight, crested by a snarling bear, and on the other a cluster of thick trees. Its presence gave him an odd measure of comfort; it felt familiar, but his memory flickered and faded. He scrabbled around in the darkness, his hands searching for a pebble to use instead, but the cold chamber floor stayed unflinchingly smooth. Gritting his teeth against the pain in his leg, he got onto one knee, took aim and threw the coin directly towards the centre of the chamber where the old man lay. It span through air, glinting as it passed through the shaft of dirty, pale green light descending from the chamber ceiling. But then, as it was about to strike the old man, it slowed, bending as though melting in a furnace. For a moment is flashed bright.
And then it was gone.
Connect with Dominic H. King:
Kal and Daine are back
in the world where they first met. Daine’s world. The Reaper’s world.
The Temple Elders sent
them back through a portal between the twin worlds as bait for the Reaper’s
army of arrochom, the creatures trying to break the bond between Kal and his
father, so allowing their master to cross the void.
But will the
creatures follow? Can Kal find a way back to his father in the chamber? Will Daine
find the answers she is looking for at the Commune? Can a plan forged by an old
mage before they were born really help them to defeat the being who has
conquered a world? And how long can they both keep out of the Reaper's path?
The Black Gate is the second volume of the Twin Worlds
trilogy, an epic tale of swords
and sorcery, travel and adventure, love and loss, good and evil. But most of
all, a tale of adolescence and growing up.
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