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    The Heart's Desire
    The Heart's Desire
    The Heart's Desire
    Ebook18 pages15 minutes

    The Heart's Desire

    By Carolyn Kephart

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    About this ebook

    A government scryer's life is a prison until she discovers the ultimate secret language. This poignant near-future tale examines the boundaries between love and freedom.

    THE HEART'S DESIRE is part of the collection PENTANGLE: FIVE POINTED FABLES.

    About the author: Early life as a military brat gave Carolyn Kephart an appreciation of nomadic lifestyles, a fascination with world cultures, and close-up insights into the warrior mentality and its manifestations, all of which influence her work to a discernible degree. She loves things that nourish the spirit and widen the mind.

    Kephart's epic fantasy THE RYEL SAGA: A TALE OF LOVE AND MAGIC combines and expands her critically acclaimed duology WYSARD and LORD BROTHER. Her latest novel is QUEEN OF TIME, contemporary magic realism that puts a Roman/Mayan spin on the Faustian bargain.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCarolyn Kephart
    Release dateSep 5, 2010
    ISBN9781458038739
    The Heart's Desire
    Author

    Carolyn Kephart

    About the author: Early life as a military brat gave Carolyn Kephart an appreciation of nomadic lifestyles, a fascination with world cultures, and close-up insights into the warrior mentality and its manifestations, all of which influence her work. She loves things that nourish the spirit and widen the mind.Visit http://carolynkephart.blogspot.com for her latest writings and random epiphanies.Kephart's epic fantasy duology WYSARD and LORD BROTHER received critical acclaim for its literary merit and timeless themes. THE RYEL SAGA: A TALE OF LOVE AND MAGIC now combines both volumes in a single book, now in a revised and emended 2024 edition.QUEEN OF TIME looks at the Faust legend through a magic realism lens, with a female protagonist.PENTANGLE: FIVE POINTED FABLES is a collection of Kephart's short fiction previously published in e-zines, plus a bonus tale.Visit http://carolynkephart.com for first chapters and more.

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      Book preview

      The Heart's Desire - Carolyn Kephart

      The Heart’s Desire

      A Short Story by Carolyn Kephart

      A government scryer’s life is a prison until she discovers the ultimate secret language.

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright 2011, Carolyn Kephart

      Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

      A list of Carolyn Kephart’s works available on Smashwords can be found at the end of this story. Visit the author's website at http://carolynkephart.com for synopses and free chapters of her books, bio, blog link and more.

      The Heart’s Desire

      The gavel struck once, then twice, sharply quelling the crowd. The third blow echoed in total silence.

      Let the Scryer be summoned.

      Her entrance was all but noiseless, save for the faint clinking of her bodyguards’ weaponry. It was always a ritual, a procession of ominous state with fully-geared special forces providing escort as she glided deliberately down the aisle in her trailing gray robe, her lowered head entirely cowled by its overhanging hood. All around her she heard the surge of many people rising to their feet, and furtive murmurs that were

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