The Burning — E.C. Ambrose

The Dark Apostle is a powerful, energetic historical fantasy series set in an alternate 14th century England: a land of poverty and opulence, prayer and plague... witchcraft and necromancy.

As a child, Elisha witnessed the burning of a witch outside of London, and saw her transformed into an angel at the moment of her death, though all around him denied this vision. He swore that the next time he might have the chance to bind an angel's wounds, he would be ready. And so he became a barber-surgeon, at the lowest ranks of the medical profession, following the only healer's path available to a peasant's son. But when the magic inside him finally awakens, he finds that keeping to that path will be even harder than he could ever imagine.

In "The Burning," a 4500-word prequel story to Elisha Barber, Elisha's mother tells her tale of that first vision and its aftermath. For if Elisha insists that his vision is a true one, he risks everything she and her husband have worked for, and tempts not only the fires of hell, but perhaps another burning right there on the outskirts of town...

This DAW eOriginal includes an excerpt from Elisha Barber following the story.