Welcome to my stop on the book tour for Jesse Nolan Bailey’s The Jealousy of Jalice. I want to thank Justine & Timy @ Storytellers on Tour for letting me be involved and a big shoutout to Jesse on his debut release!
Make sure to check out the rest of the tour by hitting up the schedule link here!
Below you will find information on the book alongside an excerpt, links to wish-list or purchase, Jesse’s bio and all of his social media links. Be sure to give it a read and go give the man a follow!
Book Blurb
The Realms have split apart, the Stones of Elation have been hidden, and warnings of dokojin drift among the tribes.
The land and its people are corrupted. The Sachem, chief of the Unified Tribes, is to blame.
It is this conviction that drives Annilasia and Delilee to risk their lives. Afraid of the aether magic he wields, they enact a subtler scheme: kidnap his wife. In her place, Delilee will pretend to be the chieftess and spy on the Sachem.
Unaware of this plot against her husband, Jalice is whisked away by Annilasia. Pleading with her captor proves futile, and she rejects Annilasia’s delusional accusations against the chief. After all, the Sachem has brought peace to the land.
Yet a dangerous truth hides in Jalice’s past. As she and Annilasia flee through a forest of insidious threats, they must confront the evil plaguing the tribes and the events that unleashed it.
What Reviewers are saying:
“A slick, modern sword-and-sorcery tale!” – Christopher Ruocchio, Author of The Sun Eater series
“A suspenseful, intriguing, and highly original fantasy tale from a promising new author.” – Kirkus Reviews
“With slick original plotting and high octane action, there’s much to keep the most ardent of fantasy fans on tenterhooks with Bailey’s The Jealousy Of Jalice.” – Book Viral Review
“A riveting and brilliantly penned novel…This is an electric debut, and newborn fans of Jesse Nolan Bailey will eagerly await the sequel, as The Jealousy of Jalice is an imaginative and impressive start to a new fantasy series.” Self-Publishing Review, ★★★★½
THE JEALOUSY OF JALICE
JESSE NOLAN BAILEY
CHAPTER 1
Darkness covered the forest like a spider’s web—insignificant at a casual glance, but fatal to anything trapped within. Though the night already warped the mind into an uneasy disposition, a sinister presence permeated the air, invisible to the human eye. Like a hungry beast, the darkness skulked through the trees, as if waiting to devour its next prey.
Not many traversed the night, but one soul dashed alongside the gravel paths, sticking to the shadows outside the torchlight. Annilasia moved through the darkness with ease. A recent rain had dampened the dirt, creating an alternative noise much quieter than the loud crunch of gravel. Her boots padded on the soft ground, maintaining the eerie silence that deterred curious minds.
Few noises pierced the darkness. A cool breeze whispered into the trees, scratching the leaves together. All else remained still and silent. Weaving through the tents and huts, the gravel pathways appeared empty as they led to the Fortress. Wither Season had ushered in cool weather, but that was hardly the reason for the lack of souls. The citizens of the Ikaul Tribe had learned long ago not to linger past sunset. A thick heaviness hung in the air, like tar dripping over the forest. Ever present, it seeped into the skin and mind alike, conjuring a sense of danger and dread.
Annilasia slowed her pace before halting at the last line of tents. She studied the length of the wall that loomed before her. The fortified timber rose just above the treetops, built in
a circular formation to protect the precious dwellings within from outsiders. Numerous scouts trailed the alure, with their thin silhouettes stark against the night sky of twinkling lights.
Beyond the barrier existed the Sachem’s Temple and the towers—Annilasia’s destination.
She settled into a purposeful walk down the gravel path. No doubt the scouts had already seen her, and she’d be met with a small troop of warriors at the gate. Although stealth had been necessary thus far, it wouldn’t get her past the wall undetected. There were too many eyes. Routine and custom would now dictate her passage past the wall, and she hoped her presence didn’t arouse suspicion.
Annilasia emerged from the shadows as the trees gave way to an open area leading to the gate. As she had presumed, four men stood at the post. Two held torches on either side
of the troop, placed farther back along the wall. Standing farther upfront, another warrior handled an unsheathed sword that glinted in the torchlight. Each wore a linen or mesh suit,
overlaid by thick animal hides and fur pelts to banish the chill. Tattoos displayed in sporadic patches of exposed skin, distinctly sweeping across their faces.
Annilasia noted their passive stances. They didn’t yet see her as a threat. She glanced at the fourth member that headed the group, whose garb drastically differed from the others. Her heartbeat quickened, but she refused to let her face show
emotion.
The hirishu warrior appeared twice the size of his comrades, yet Annilasia knew his uniform attributed to the illusion of his grand stature. Snowy grey pelts flanked the hirishu’s shoulders, with the tips matted in a crimson crust. Fitted obsidian leather formed bracers on the arms and legs, as well as a breastplate concealed beneath an overlaid tabard. Frayed at the edges, the knee-length linen gripped any onlooker with dread by means of a deformed, skeletal face smeared across it. Lesser themes of mutated beasts locked in battle circled this inimical motif, tainting the otherwise pale cloth.
Annilasia made quick note of the oval shield hiding a large portion of the hirishu. Doused in white paint and enforced by a dark metal rim, it too battered the gaze with crude depictions of howling skulls in bright, red paint.
Yet Annilasia fixated on the thick blade of moon-white metal that tipped skyward, held in the opposite, visible hand. Annilasia knew from daylight glimpses that a defying,
atramentous halo shimmered around the sword’s blade, now lost in the night’s darkness.
An aether weapon.
Annilasia’s gaze trailed past the sword to the hirishu’s arm. Skin ink traveled in brash edges and squared lines across the exposed skin. Forming an intricate maze-like design in the shape of a soaring eagle, the tattoo served as a telling sign for Annilasia. She now knew the identity of the man before her.
Terrizo.
Dying stars, I would come across this dirt eater tonight, she thought.
The man’s gaze pierced her from beneath the skull mask that cropped over his forehead. White spikes of sharpened bones protruded from the drawn hood of the tabard, amplifying his foul stare.
“Halt, and speak your purpose,” bellowed Terrizo. His voice seeped past the mesh cloth wrapped around the lower half of his face.
Annilasia complied, keeping a stern expression as she placed a hand on the sheathed sword at her side.
“Annilasia, tillishu to the Sachem,” she replied, announcing her warrior status. “I need entrance to the Fortress.” With her free hand, she moved to retrieve a feather from beneath
her layer of armor. Her fingers trailed along the various quills, quickly identifying the yellow barbule of a salutation feather.
“Tillishu,” Terrizo said suspiciously. He grunted. “I thought your kind were on special order—on the Hunt.” He shifted his weight and tipped his sword in Annilasia’s direction. Annilasia knew Terrizo meant to intimidate her, but she remained unfazed. She’d expected wariness at her arrival. He was right after all—tillishu weren’t supposed to be in Ikaul territory. The last order given to the trained assassins had placed them on the Cleanse Hunt past the border.
“My orders are rarely proclaimed to the masses,” said Annilasia. “The secrets of my kind aren’t your concern.”
“Usually there are at least whispers traveling the wind,” huffed Terrizo. “Not even hermits escape the gossip of ravens.”
“I was chosen to be a shadow, Terrizo,” she responded with a clear note of challenge, “and shadows remain elusive, even to rumors.” She threw her arm forward, the gold feather grasped in her outstretched hand.
The two stood fixed in place for a long moment as a struggle of willpower waged in the confined space of silence. Annilasia didn’t blink. Lesser men had challenged her, and mightier men had faced the consequences. Terrizo was no exception. If she
had to cut her way past the Fortress wall, the task would be messy, but worth it.
Whether by wisdom or the inability to perceive a false note in Annilasia’s words, Terrizo relented. He nodded in her direction, and the other warrior at his side marched towards her.
Annilasia remained tense as she tightened her other hand around the hilt of her sword. Even when the warrior extended his own salutation feather, and the two acted out the customary Ikaul exchange, she stayed alert. These men were not beneath
trickery. She watched as the warrior returned to the hirishu’s side.
“What matter do you attend to here, tillishu?” asked Terrizo.
“Your tribal status doesn’t grant you that knowledge,” she said. “If you wish to wait for the Sachem’s arrival and bother him with the properties of my duty, then we can wait until
morning. I imagine he’ll be so pleased that you delayed one of his tillishu from completing their task.”
Terrizo swore violently. “I don’t forget that you’re Vekuuv. You hail from a tribe of slaves—our slaves. You may have the title of tillishu, but your status is far below mine!” He gnashed
his teeth, the sound muffled by the mesh covering. The other warriors grew tense at his words, and they pointed their blades at Annilasia.
Annilasia bit her tongue, holding back the spiteful responses twitching on her lips. “Will you let me through, Terrizo?” She cocked her head, a final gesture of challenge.
Terrizo’s eyes screamed of a desire to hack her down. “Commit your violent sins, and then be gone,” he said abruptly. “The Sachem may have graciously given you the rank of tillishu,
but that doesn’t erase the dishonor of your tribe.” He barked a quick order, and his troop moved from her path.
Annilasia wasted no time as she strode past the men while ignoring their murmurs. Terrizo’s eyes bore into her back as she walked through the gate. Eager to escape his sight, she disappeared once again into the shadows.
Past the wall, she was met with a maze of multi-storied buildings made of clay and wood, interrupted only by the wide streets between them. Annilasia chose her path carefully, avoiding the main streets in favor of more secluded paths that interconnected with the others. Like the pathways outside the Fortress, these streets were empty. A few windows flickered with candlelight, but only tribal warriors dared to roam outside in the open air.
Annilasia avoided these troops as often as possible, managing to only expose her presence to a passing few. Her armor signified her tillishu ranking, and she assumed this to be
the reason no one else questioned her presence. Being an elite warrior had its benefits.
Unlike the vicious, bold aesthetics of the hirishu garb, Annilasia embraced the element of obscurity expected of the tillishu—the elite assassins. A snug leather breastplate coiled
around her chest, with grey diagonal stripes painted across the black animal hide for camouflage effect. An equally dark skirt of the same material came to her knees, tucked under her belt in a seamless transition from the breastplate. Beneath this armor she wore a suit of grey mesh, with an added linen shirt against her skin as a buffer. Additional animal hide wrapped over her arms and legs, fastened by leather string.
Together with her light-brown skin and raven hair, the ensemble cloaked her like a shadow. When coupled with her honed skills of stealth, she became one with the night. Like
most Vekuuv, she lacked any skin ink—an art associated mainly with the Ikaul tribe. Neither did she flaunt decorative jewelry or paint. Tillishu weren’t meant to be seen. Assassins killed— and this duty choked out the freedom or permission of artistic identity.
The stretch of buildings didn’t last long and gave way to a clearing that preceded three grand structures. In the center stood the Temple, an impressive display of majestic design and
grand staircases. Unlike the wall and the surrounding buildings, the Temple alone boasted the honor of stone material in its formation.
Torches dotted the Temple grounds and its staircases, aiding the dozen of hirishu warriors that maintained vigilant watch over the sacred grounds. These Temple warriors stood like statues and could easily be mistaken as such. Keeping a wary distance, Annilasia couldn’t make out the details of the grotesque designs on their tabards. Yet the skeletal themes that
fanned across the cloth, coupled with the bone-riddled armor pieces, could still provoke unease from afar.
On either side of the Temple stood twin towers that soared higher than even the Fortress wall. Despite having even fewer posted warriors than the Temple, the towers were the most
protected buildings in the Ikaul territory. Annilasia wasn’t sure how many aether wards shielded these structures, but she wasn’t foolish enough to suppose those wards were weak. Invisible to the naked eye, such barriers and traps would deflect any attack on the towers with aether energy.
Fortunately for Annilasia, she planned to use the archaic method of physical strike.
One other unique monument—a lone obelisk—graced the Fortress grounds, somewhat lost in the grandeur of the Temple and its towers. Yet this landmark remained one of the tribe’s
oldest structures. Twice as tall as Annilasia, it stood a few yards from the first set of Temple stairs. Etchings of fantastic beasts and a lone Wisdom Verse were carved into its smoothed stone.
Annilasia considered it the last element of the tribes that hadn’t been desecrated by the Sachem’s touch.
Leaving the comfort of the shadows, she strode deliberately towards the obelisk. Her eyes flashed from one hirishu to the next. None of them made a move to approach, but their gazes
latched onto her as she strolled across their holy ground.
A loud groan rumbled against the silence. Annilasia’s attention turned to the Temple’s east tower. The entrance door stood cracked, permitting some light to escape. A silhouette appeared and paused at the doorframe, and despite the dark, Annilasia knew it to be Delilee.
The young woman glanced at the two hirishu flanking the door. Clearly hesitant, she lingered with one foot in the safety of the tower. As if urged by Annilasia’s silent command to quicken, Delilee finally stepped out and closed the door behind her.
Annilasia’s focus shifted to the guards that silently watched Delilee as she exited the tower. The hirishu made no move to sound an alarm, but Delilee’s presence outside the tower would
certainly be noted.
Delilee hastily joined Annilasia at the obelisk, clothed in simple travel garb that struck Annilasia as odd. It was strange seeing Delilee alone and lacking her typical wardrobe that
mimicked the ornate attire of the Tecalica. As decoy to the chieftess of the Unified Tribes, Delilee’s duty required that she look and act exactly as the chieftess. It was uncommon to
see the decoy without the Tecalica outside the tower. Without direct permission from the chieftess, Delilee could be executed for such treasonous dereliction.
Yet to Delilee’s credit, her current outfit came from the Tecalica’s wardrobe, albeit one the chieftess rarely wore. The clay-colored overhead shirt, its matching skirt made from cattle hide, and the tan wool sash around her waist were hardly enough to impress anyone, much less the chieftess.
Locks of ginger hair fell across Delilee’s shoulders, the rest hidden beneath a drawn hood. Pale skin projected like moonlight from the expanse of animal hide wrapped around
her petite figure. Sweet perfumes drifted off her, a result of the cremes and incense her role both afforded and required of her. After all, she had to mirror the chieftess in absolutely every sense.
Delilee stared at the hirishu.
“Is it happening tonight?” she asked. When Annilasia nodded, Delilee quivered.
“You need to drink this,” said Annilasia. She retrieved a small vial from one of her belt pouches.
Delilee’s face grew taut. As she swallowed, her eyes latched on the vial. “Are you sure we need to do this? Isn’t there another way? What if this doesn’t work—”
“We’ve discussed this to a thousand stars and back. There isn’t time to discuss it anymore.” Annilasia inched closer to Delilee. “The Sachem is on his way back from Vekuuv. We should have done this when he first departed.” She paused and mulled over whether to say more. “Whatever he’s doing in Vekuuv and planning over there—it’s going to happen soon.”
Delilee’s eyes widened. “How do you know?”
“I’ve heard rumors from men and women as disloyal to the Sachem as the two of us. We’re running out of time to stop whatever it is.”
Delilee’s face fell with dismay. “Then what are we going to do? What’s your plan?”
Unspoken strategies played out in Annilasia’s head. Her plan—such a dodgy bastard. Delilee knew only what her role required of her, which involved the vial in Annilasia’s hand.
The decoy knew nothing of Annilasia’s intent to journey with Jalice to the Nova Oasis, where the chieftess would undergo the removal of several pesky aether wards. Delilee only knew that Annilasia would be taking Jalice away from the Fortress—away from the Sachem.
Yet the whole scheme would deflate if Delilee could not rise to the occasion. Annilasia gestured the vial at her.
“You know the plan,” said Annilasia.
Delilee took the vial reluctantly, rolling it around between her hands. “I don’t think this is going to unfold like you want it to,” she murmured. “The Tecalica…” She blinked and cocked
her head. “Jalice isn’t as naïve as you think she is.” Delilee’s doubtful eyes flickered from the vial to Annilasia.
“You underestimate my persuasion.” Annilasia crossed her arms. “My only concern is if you will do your part.”
Delilee squared her shoulders. “You know I will. I’ll do anything to restore peace.”
Annilasia pursed her lips to avoid a chuckle. Delilee had courage, and for that, Annilasia valued her. But the decoy was far from intimidating.
“You know what to do then,” said Annilasia.
Delilee’s bravado quickly faded as her eyes returned to the vial. “Keep her safe, Annilasia. She’s not the same childhood friend we once knew, but…” She paused. “Just keep her safe.”
Delilee removed the cork from the vial. Without further hesitation, she threw her head back and poured the vial’s contents into her mouth.
Annilasia watched Delilee wrestle with revulsion. She didn’t envy her. The vial resulted from aethertwisting, and its intended effects would soon take hold of Delilee in a rather torturous way.
“Where is the Tecalica now?” asked Annilasia.
“Oh, great stars,” cursed Delilee. The decoy coughed violently and flicked her tongue with blatant disgust at what she had just tasted. “She’s asleep in her bedchambers. How are you going to get her out without having the alarm sound?”
Annilasia shook her head. “The less you know, the less you’re able to reveal under threat.”
Delilee winced, and Annilasia cringed in turn. Getting Delilee involved may have been a mistake, but they couldn’t turn back now. She knows the risks and what awaits her, Annilasia
reminded herself.
“Let me worry about getting out with the chieftess,” said Annilasia. “And if an alarm sounds, that changes nothing for you. You play your part.” Delilee nodded while Annilasia observed the height of the east tower. Her sight landed on the highest visible window.
“Let us kill this darkness by any means,” she said. “The end of the Sachem’s tyranny begins now.”
Author Information
Enthralled by the magic that written stories contain, Jesse Nolan Bailey has always wanted to be an author. With his debut novel finally released to the masses, he can now claim such title with relief. He lives in Durham, North Carolina, where he has embraced the equally-gratifying lifework of hosting a trio of spoiled cats.
— — —
Author Links
Website: https://jessenolanbailey.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jesseNbailey
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jesseNbailey/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesse.nolan.bailey/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/jessenbailey
GIVEAWAY
There is a ongoing, tour-wide giveaway, where one lucky entrant will win a The Jealousy of Jalice Book Swag Pack: (1) Signed paperback ARC, notebook, limited stock enamel pin, and a button pin. Click here to enter!
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