New Release Blog Tour — The Demon of Hagermarsh; by Beryll & Osiris Brackhaus
Beryll and Osiris Brackhaus have a new MM fantasy book out: The Demon of Hagermarsh.
“The Emperor cares for each and every one of his subjects.”
Many consider the catchphrase of the imperial Lotus Knights to be nothing more but well-polished propaganda, but for Yaden, it is a way of life.
A young Lotus Knight himself, his first mission in service of the Emperor sends him to the remote village of Hagermarsh, a suspiciously friendly place on a planet known for its inhospitable people. But how to uncover a demonist coven when nothing bad ever happens?
Getting to know the villagers only makes things more difficult – the motherly fishmonger surely isn’t a demonist. Nor the gruff leader of the local militia. And definitely not the cute baker from across the street.
Or are they?
Come discover a dazzling, hopeful universe of knights and monsters, of psions, aliens and ancient deities! The Demon of Hagermarsh is the first book of ‘Sir Yaden’, an epic SF saga of grand adventure, romance, bromance and family, set in the multi-faceted Virasana Empire. It is a romantic adventure and can be read as a standalone.
Excerpt
“How did you come to work for Master Darios?” Colin asked after a while.
“My parents paid him to take me on as an apprentice,” Yaden told the story MissionPrep had set up for him. “After learning the trade, I was supposed to have my own shop at some point. But it turned out I can’t seem to learn to read and write. The letters keep jumping around in front of my eyes.” Colin looked like he was going to say something pitying, so Yaden quickly continued. “Master Darios doesn’t mind me, though, so he kept me as his shop assistant, even when he moved out here. Means he doesn’t have to talk to the customers much. He doesn’t like people.”
“Well, you could always go into a career as crab picker,” Colin said, clearly aiming to cheer him up. “One of these cages is worth five chicks.”
Yaden chuckled. “Actually I prefer working with a roof over my head most of time. And I like my job.”
“So if Master Darios doesn’t like people I’m guessing he isn’t interested in getting married?”
“Say what?” Yaden wasn’t sure how Colin had jumped from one subject to the next and Colin looked slightly embarrassed.
“Sorry, bad habit.” He chuckled at his own silliness. “The elderly ladies of the village always try to match everyone up, and it’s infectious. At first, I got the usual suspicious treatment, but now that they have decided I’m alright, they keep trying to get me together with one of the girls. I bet they’ll do the same with Master Darios.”
Yaden wondered how that would go over with Darios. In all the years that Darios had been his guardian, he had never shown any romantic interest in anyone. Was that because he didn’t fancy anyone or because he had been too busy taking care of Yaden?
At least, Yaden was sure it wasn’t some strange notion that, as a slave, he would need Yaden’s permission. Their relationship had never been one of master and slave. More like child and single parent.
If it had been up to him, he would have freed Darios in a heartbeat, but there was no way of legally doing so apart from Darios marrying a commoner or being adopted by one, neither of which was an option in this case. Yaden could have bypassed the law by simply setting up Darios with enough funds to comfortably live on some other backwater planet where nobody would be aware he had ever been a slave, but Darios had refused that offer.
“I think they will find Master Darios rather reluctant,” Yaden tried to deflect Colin’s suggestion politely. “What about you? Are you with any of the suggested girls?”
“Naw. They are all too eager to call themselves ‘the baker’s wife’ and not interested in me at all. I had a few boyfriends back in Schimmelbach. But those were short flings. You know, guys picking me up as the cute trophy to brag about.”
No, Yaden didn’t know. Was that a thing that people did? Whatever it was, he very much thought that Colin deserved better.
“And you?” Colin asked. “Did you have a special someone before you moved here?”
“Still looking for the right one.”
That sounded cheesy, but it didn’t make it any less true. Between his job of keeping Erys safe and his training on Lagoona, he had never felt the urge to go and search for someone. If there was someone out there for someone like him, they would meet eventually. He cast a shy glance over to Colin. The way the baker flirted with him it sounded very much like Colin thought Yaden could be his special someone. Or at least, the shop assistant Yaden was currently pretending to be.
With a sinking heart, Yaden realised this was a lot more complicated than it had looked in the beginning. And it hadn’t looked simple at all.
Colin didn’t say anything, either, and they walked the rest of the way in silence, but again it was a comfortable silence. If Yaden weren’t pretending to be someone else, and if he were planning to stay here for real, he would be looking forward to spending more time like this. But he wasn’t, and it made his heart sink. He had a job to do, yes, but was it so wrong to want something for himself for once? If only that something weren’t so complicated and probably unattainable. Surely Colin would run the other way if he learned who Yaden truly was.
He still hadn’t sorted out his feelings when they reached the side entrance of the bakery.
Yaden handed over his basket of crabs with a shy smile. “So when can we eat them?”
Complicated feelings aside, Yaden wanted to eat those crabs. And he wanted to spend more time with Colin. Maybe going through this step by step was better than worrying about the problems of tomorrow.
“I need to boil them and they’ll marinade for a day before frying them up. So if you are free tomorrow evening…?”
“As it happens, I am.” Unless a demon went rampaging through the village, that was, but Yaden doubted this mission would wrap itself up that easily.
“Great. I’ll start preparing dinner after I lock up the shop, so you come over about an hour after that?”
“I’ll be there.”
For a moment longer, they stood in the soft drizzle. Yaden almost thought he should say something more, but he had no clue how to phrase his feelings. So when Colin turned away with a “see you tomorrow” thrown over his shoulder, he was almost grateful.
We hope you enjoyed your time in the Virasana Empire.
Yaden’s adventures continue in
Book #2 The Windmines of Bora Bora
You can find more information about the Virasana Empire at
For more information about our books, visit us at
Author Bio
We are Beryll and Osiris Brackhaus, a couple currently living our happily ever after in the very heart of Germany, under the stern but loving surveillance of our cat.
Both of us are voracious but picky readers, we love telling stories and drinking tea, good food and the occasional violent movie. Together, we write novels of adventure and romance, hoping to share a little of our happiness with our readers.
Beryll: An artist by heart, Beryll was writing stories even before she knew what letters were. As easily inspired as she is frustrated, her own work is never good enough (in her eyes). A perfectionist in the best and worst sense of the word at the same time and the driving creative force of our duo.
Osiris: An entertainer and craftsman in his approach to writing, Osiris is the down-to-earth, practical part of our duo. Broadly interested in almost every subject and skill, with a sunny mood and caring personality, he strives to bring the human nature into focus of each of his stories.
Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CAN | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | QueeRomance Ink | Smashwords | Goodreads
Where to Find Beryll & Osiris
Website | Facebook (Personal) | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon
0 Comments