THE PACK AND THE ALPHA-PAIR ARE BACK!
The Second Moon Map Chronicle:
D’Arcy Wolf-shadow
More Magical Adventures of an English Setter Pack
by Nina Green
Price £9.50: isbn number 9780953 053841
Proceeds to ESA/Rescue
Email: nina@setterpack.co.uk www.ninagreen.co.uk
Hello again everyone,
This is a special Limited First Edition to mark the passing of Joey, still so much loved, and the coming of Baby Benson: Clifford’s son and Ben’s Great Grandson: a long-awaited happy event.
The time has come for D’Arcy to repay his debt to Grey Pelt for sparing his sister’s life when he and Destiny were little more than pups. He must make the heart-rending decision to set out in pursuit of The Quest. He has no clear knowledge of what this is, or what he
is meant to do, but is driven by an inner urge that must be obeyed.
D’Arcy:
I live in his shadow. At times I feel him within me, mostly as Lady Moon reaches her full power and glory and lights the heavens. I feel it even when clouds billow and veil her face. The pull is unmistakeable and the power tingles along my nerves causing my muscles to twitch. It is then that the urge to lope freely over field and mountain, to poise on a summit, tilt my head and open my throat to give voice is strongest - and hardest to resist.
As before, Ben tells the story from beyond Rainbow Bridge:
This then was the essence of D’Arcy’s deep and dark thoughts as he gazed at his image reflected on the surface of Merlins Mere, named for the falcons that roost in the stand of rowan trees at the far end. He carries the same burden as his great aunt Fenella. She also had the sable face mask that he sees now darkening his own reflection, but in him this sign is pronounced by the black line that streaks from left eye to ear, so that Alpha-She laughingly calls him ‘Valentino’. But D’Arcy knows better: this is no romantic flash but the sinister mark of Grey Pelt who haunts the woods and fells of their Lakeland home.
D’Arcy: A taster – Ben relating D’arcy’s adventures…
‘He dragged on, sick with pain, aching with cold and griped by hunger pains until he could go no further. Both will and physical energy were depleted beyond recall. There were no more thoughts of failure, or even of returning to the Pack, only the desire to succumb to this will-sapping weariness and craving for sleep. The snow felt soft and warm now that he had given up the fight. At length he crept into a snow-filled depression, lay down and closed his eyes. He was vaguely aware that he may not wake up again, but no longer cared.
He was sinking fast into a warm, dark place from which there could be no return, but something was pulling him back. A strange yet also familiar scent was twitching at his nostrils but his eyelids were too heavy to prise open. The crunch of paws on crisp snow moving in his direction vaguely registered. Then the sound ceased and he was aware of a presence close-by. Something of the survival instinct still smouldered within and a small flame of self-preservation flared. With difficulty he prised open his lids and the sight that met his eyes made it impossible for him to close them again. He must either have already perished, or be dreaming the dream of the near-dead. A splendid creature stood motionless before him, hazed by the dying light of day. The pelt of bronze and gold was tinged with a rosy hue cast by the setting sun and dusted with snow from the branches disturbed by the noble head. A pair of slanted and startling blue eyes watched him without blinking.’
Who has found D’Arcy? And will they provide him with food and shelter?
Answers will be coming soon: publication is scheduled for Spring 2011.
During D’Arcy’s absence it is left to Miss Tickle, Pack Nanny and Guardian, to raise their spirits by organising the telling of Pack stories.
A little ‘taster’:
“Come on then, who has a good tale to tell?” Tickle demanded, wriggling her ample bottom to sit comfortably on the rug before the Aga…
“I know, let the Little Ones have a go,” Clifford piped up, lifting a front leg in the air to wave in the pups’ direction so that the long ‘feathering’ draped in an elegant swathe of blue-black streaked with white.
“Who? Us?” Flossie the Third and Fenella the Third chorused, whilst managing to look nervous and delighted at one and the same time. Two years had passed since their arrival as those eight-week old babes, and until now they had been allowed to listen but not tell stories at the Pack Gatherings.
“What do you say Destiny?” Tickle raised eyebrows now turned white to her deputy pup-rearer.
“Okay by me Nan Tickle,” Destiny agreed, adding with a severe look for the girls, “as long as you appreciate the honour and don’t get silly!”
Flossie tells the tale of How Destiny Almost Lost her Head:
Well, (Flossie began) it was all through Fenella running away…
“There’s nothing we can do here; let’s go back and alert Alpha-She.”
“I can’t.”
That was all she said. Yet my stomach churned on hearing the quiet panic behind her words. In my distress I had failed to notice that Destiny’s head was now stuck at an odd angle. In turning quickly she had twisted the wire and the more she struggled the tighter it became. Panic stabbed my chest as the threshing became less and less and her limbs sank limply to the ground.
“Don’t leave me here with her Flossie, I’m scared!”
Fenella’s eyes were starting in fear and clouded with guilt, and saliva dribbled from her mouth. At that moment she looked like the baby she still was in spirit. I hesitated a second: apart from Clifford, Fenella was the swiftest member of our pack. Maybe she should go. But she was also a bit of a flibberty-jibbet and could I trust her to find Alpha if she wasn’t at the house? No I had to be the one to run for help.
“Talk to Destiny, lick her face and at all costs, keep her awake. Lie down next to her and don’t move!”
Subdued and silent Fenella sank onto her belly.
‘I bent over Destiny, terrified by the tearing sound of the breath in her throat and the blood-flecked foam that now dotted her mouth. “I’m going to get help Destiny!” I panted, licking her nose and mouth clean, “I’ll be back with Alpha-She. We’ll have you free in no time, you’ll see.”
I struggled to hide my fear and distress as her eyes pleaded with me not to leave, then rolled back in her head.
“Stay with me Flossie,” she managed to croak..’
I hesitated – torn in two by my dilemma. If I left her now and she died in my absence I would not be able to live with myself. But if I didn’t run for help any slight chance of saving Destiny would be lost.
“Don’t die Destiny. We can’t go on without you!” I whimpered. A prompt decision was vital, but panic clouded my brain making me quake and dither.
I was young, inexperienced - and frightened half to death.’
Will Flossie find Alpha-She in time? And will Alpha-She be able to save Destiny? Sorry, you’ll have to wait a little while to find out, but you can pre-order the book (details coming soon) and be sure of getting your copy of this limited edition!
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity of thanking you all for your generosity and efforts in supporting the first ‘Moon Map’ book and for making me feel so welcome. I’m getting really excited now! I have loved researching this book as well as the actual writing of it - and hope that you will enjoy it too. In some ways it is perhaps an easier read than the first one; but I promise you, it is a pacy one too. I hope D’Arcy’s adventure proves thought-provoking as well as a ‘real page-turner’! Please keep an eye open here for further details, and on my web site and the publisher’s site www.pendragon-press-ltd.co.uk and Amazon, too as details for advance ordering, launch etc will be placed soon.
Best wishes to you all for 2011
