WARD JR - LA CONFRERIE DE LA DAGUE NOIRE - Tome 15 : The Chosen

The Chosen
J.R. Ward

Sortie VO le 4 avril 2017

Quatrième de couverture :

Un amour condamné risque de créer de gravissimes dommages au sein de la Confrérie, car l’Élue Layla, mère des jumeaux du Frère Qhuinn, ne peut oublier celui qu’elle aime, l’ennemi suprême des Frères auxquels elle a juré fidélité, Xcor, le chef de la Bande des Bâtards, le renégat qui a tenté d’assassiner et de détrôner le roi légitime, Wrath.

Quand J. R. Ward a annoncé que son prochain tome (printemps 2016) serait avec Xcor et Layla...

Spoiler:: Q: Who is the next book?
A : Xcor and Layla. The title will be “The Chosen.”

Q: Do the stories ever change on you as you’re writing them?
A: They’ve corkscrewed on me. I’ll think something is going to happen and then the way the story unfolds contradicts what I was expecting.

Q: Last year you told us that Murhder was making more of an appearance. When???? When will you be coming to Nashville again?
A: I will be in Nashville again, but I don’t know if it will be on a weekday. It will be around the release of The Angel’s Share. (the next book in the Bourbon Kings series)
As for Murhder, I expected him to show up in this book. One of the problems is, when I start a book, I have no idea how far the story will go. We didn’t go far enough this time. I’d like to promise he’s in The Chosen, but I can’t.

Q: Will you write another Insider’s Guide?
A: I’m having trouble with my schedule right now. It’s so packed. But it is about time. We’ve had enough books, so there’s enough information. It’s just about finding time in my schedule to do it.

Q: Will Jo Early transition in the next book?
A: Keep Reading.

Q: Will the Scribe Virgin come back?
A: Can’t answer that.

Q: Is Markhus, the blood slave significant?
A: I would say everyone in the books is significant.

Q: Do you know who replaces the Scribe Virgin and do you know them?
A: Are you $%*$ing kidding me? It’s Lassiter.

Q: When Vishous makes the comment that he remembers Jane slumping in the crumpled Audi, when she died, that didn’t make sense because she didn’t die in a car accident. So why was the Audi crumpled?
A: Yeah, because Jane died from a gunshot wound in the car. (Checking the book) Okay, that’s an error in the book. It’s supposed to say ‘crumpled body’ instead of ‘crumpled Audi’. Sometimes, corrections don’t make it through the editing process and into the final copy of the book. I’ll fix it, promise!

Q: s’Ex is a boy?
A: Yes, s’Ex is a boy. You’ll see more of him.

Q: Did you purposefully choose Lassiter to take over the SV?
A: That would have been awesome, but the stories don’t work like that. But isn’t the irony great?

Q: If you could choose one Brother to be yours who would it be?
A: It’s like a box of chocolates: why choose only one? But there’s only one for me. Zsadist.

Q: Why wasn’t Boo in the book?
A: Because every time Boo is in the book, Lassiter puts on the Borat thong and sings, “What’s up pussycat?” I wasn’t putting that in the book.

Q: Does Lassiter get someone?
A: Lassiter absolutely gets his own book. He’s too fabulous not to.

Q: (The question was difficult to hear, so we tried to piece it together) There seems to be some discrepancy between what we know of Butch and Manny and their father and what we learned about Jo Early’s father.
A: Their father has a very convoluted storyline. There are secrets that Manny doesn’t know about himself or his mother. Manny’s age, and other things are not what Manny thinks he knows. Things have been hidden, and there’s a surprise about who they’re related to. Butch has a lot of healing to do over his sister who died, so there’s a lot of possibilities to his relationship with Jo. But it will take a while.

Q: Will the way Lyric was revived by Payne, twice, have a magical effect on Lyric?
A: Payne is losing the ability to revive and heal people. I suspect that the SV didn’t burden either of her kids with that role as a way of showing her love. But, no, I don’t expect it to have an effect on Lyric.

Q: Did the Creator tell Lassiter that this would be his destiny?
A: No, I feel that it was the SV’s role to choose her own successor.

Q: What was Vishous’ role in Lassiter’s life so that they ended up hating each other?
A: It’s very complex and convoluted. Vishous played a role in the loss of the love of Lassiter’s life. But it will take us a while to get to where we can learn the whole story.

Q: Does Lassiter have a name?
A: Yes, but I’m not telling you.

Q: How far in the future (of the stories) do you see? Do you see the young and their future?
A: I absolutely see LW and Nalla and the others. I would love to write Nalla’s book but it would have to step out of the timeline and go thirty or forty years in the future.

Q: Does Saxton get a Happily-Ever-After? (aka HEA)
A: Keep reading.

Q: Is there a book for the SV?
A: No, she doesn’t get a book. And neither does Fritz.

Q: Is Marisol coming back?
A: Yes.

Q: Is Marisol pregnant?
A: What? No! It would be a surprise to both of us if she is.

Q: When will they know that Lassiter has taken over for the SV?
A: Power has been transferred. He’s waiting for the worst possible time to reveal.

Q: In Dark Lover when Wrath agrees to take the throne, what was the favor he owes the SV? And will that transfer?
A: Keep reading.

Q: Will Blay and JM be inducted into The Brotherhood?
A: Yes. I can’t say when. My question is, will they induct Payne first? And how will that work with her being a female and they do the ceremony buck-naked.

Q: At the showdown at the old school, I was expecting all the fighters to be there, including the Shadows and Xhex and Payne.
A: Payne is doing something. I wasn’t seeing her, so she’s up to something but I don’t know what. Trez is depressed and isn’t doing well and needs to stabilize. I think he’s been off with the s’Hisbe trying to get his sh*t together. Xhex has been at the clubs.

Q: Was there anything significant to Vishous stumbling?
A: Yes, there is. If you noticed that Payne was also complaining about weakness, not related to the twins’ birth. So, there’s something happening.

Q: Will the name 'The Brotherhood' change one females are in?
A: No, I don’t think so. It’s traditional. But, it’s not up to me. Do you really think that the women who get in there care what it’s called?

Q: When John Matthew gets inducted, he already has the scar? (so does he need to get another one?)
A: They’ll punch him again. He will want that. That’s a lot of tradition and history behind the BDB. He won’t want to just rely on his birthmark.

Q: Will it come out that JM is Darius?
A: So many people ask that. But, you can’t have that out. It was a deal made and it doesn’t matter if the SV isn’t in charge. The core issue was that he bargained, so he gave a token of his faculties. You can’t rewrite the rules because the SV is gone. But it would change all the relationships. Tohr would go from being a father figure to his best friend.

Q: 90% of the Lessening Society has been taken out and the only way to end it is to take out the Omega. Have we met the person or weapon who can do that?
A: (choruses of Butch, Butch) What we don’t know is, what is Butch waiting for? That’s a Keep Reading.

Q: Assail talks about his no-good brother and sister. Have we, or will we, meet them?
A: We haven’t met them, but I don’t know if we will. I suspect they’re still in the Old Country. But I don’t know for sure.

Q: I just read Tohr’s book. I don’t care about spoilers. Will we ever get to know more about Darius’ backstory?
A: You will see some of that as you go further into the series. I would love to write a couple of books that go back and give us the Brotherhood’s history.

Q: Will Assail have his own book.
A: Assail will absolutely have his own book.

Q: Is Murhder Bitty’s uncle?
A: No, he isn’t.

Q: Will Ehric and Ehvale share a mate?
A: No, I don’t think so. If one of them fell in love, they wouldn’t want to see his love being banged by his brother.

Q: Is there a way for Xcor to redeem himself with the Brothers.
A: There absolutely is, and he’s already done it. It’s in the books. Think about it.

Q: Will we see Aghony, Phury’s son? (in future books)
A: Yes, we definitely will see more of Phury’s son.

Q: How do you shut it off? (The stories and characters)
A: You don’t.

Q: Do we find out what is in the coffins?
A: Yes, you will find out

Q: Is Murhder Butch, Manny, and Jo’s dad?
A: *JR walks away.

Q: Are Butch and V ever going to get it on?
A: There are some things that should remain behind closed doors.

Q: Will Marissa and Butch have kids?
A: I haven’t seen it, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.

Q: Will Havers have a mate?
A: No, Havers will not have a mate. I can’t stand the fool. I wanna throat-punch him.

Q: Are there more babies coming?
A: I don’t know.

Q: Could you give us a hint of where Assail’s story is going? How does Sola fit into his story?
A: Assail is having a bad week. He’s on his way to rehab. Sola has met a guy, but Assail doesn’t know it yet. Yes, Assail and Sola end up together, though.

Q: Will either JM or Xhex get revenge on the guy who raped JM when he was a pretrans?
A: I think he’s already met a bad end, but we’ll see.

Q: Phury was persecuted more than the others, who all had their own problems.
A: Because it’s the nature of addiction. You have to, at some point, say, “It’s sink or swim.” His problem is different than all of the others’ issues. Phury eventually got to that place where he asked for help, but when you compare it to Assail, who pulled his own ripcord, you have to realize, it’s not Phury that was different but the nature of his problem that was different.

Q: Assail seemed to have an immediate bond to the blood slave he rescued. Is that true?
A: 100% true.

Q: Is Vishous losing his power?
A: No, but I think when his mother opted out of the time-space continuum, I think there’s a power shift. And I want to be the first one to see Vishous realize that Lassiter has taken over for the SV. If there is one m***er f***er who you would not believe is in charge of everything, it would be Lassiter. No one’s going to take his word, so there’s going to have to be some kind of definitive proof.

Q: Is Throe’s sister dead?
A: I’ve never said one way or another. He has the ashes, but you’ve never seen them have you?

Q: Will we see some of the original Brothers in other Legacy books?
A: You will see some of the original Brothers in Blood Vow. There is an unaddressed issue about Bitty’s uncle. That has to be addressed before the end of the six months so that will be addressed in Blood Vow.

rappel :

Les nouveaux persos du tome 14
Aghony, fils (pas encore né) de Phury et de Cormia
Bitty : jeune femelle vampire orpheline, adoptée par Mary et Rhage
Jo Early, nouveau personnage de la BDB tome 14, humaine (pour le moment) journaliste, sœur de Manny Manello et donc demi-sœur de Butch, ce qu’elle ignore, elle enquête sur les apparitions suspectes de vampire et d’un dragon
Lyric fille de Qhuinn et Layla
LW, Little Wrath, fils de Wrath et de Beth, héritier du trône (apparu dans tome 12)
Markhus, vampire, esclave de sang qu’Assail a libéré dans le BDB 14, il est donc resté plusieurs siècles en retard sur son temps

Les anciens persos
Assail : vampire de la Glymera, drug dealer, mais a abandonné pour aider la BDB
Devina, démone d’une série parallèle, les Anges Déchus
Ehric and Ehvale : jumeaux, cousins d’Assail
Havers : médecin de la race vampire, frère de Marissa
Lash, fils de l’Omega, en principe mort depuis quelques tomes
Marisol (ou Sola) : humaine, a eu une aventure avec Assail (tome 11)
Michael : vampire d’une série parallèle
Murhder : vampire, membre (déchu) de la BDB, ancient amant de Xhex, joue le fantôme dans un vieux manoir du Sud depuis plusieurs tomes
Nalla fille de Zsadist et de Bella, niece de Rehvenge.
Payne, fille de la VS, sœur de V, est avec Manny Manello depuis le tome 11
Saxton : cousin de Qhuinn, gay, avocat de roi (a été amoureux de Blay)
s’Ex , une Ombre (voir BDB 13)
Lassiter : ange déchu, vit au manoir de la BDB, reprend le sceptre de la VS
Throe : membre déchu de la Glymera, a fait partie des Bâtards, s’est mutiné contre Xcor, veut renverser Wrath et devenir roi, est le nouveau méchant de la BDB, a des impulsions gays qu’il préfère nier
Xcor : chef de la Bande des Bâtards, actuellement prisonnier de la BDB, a tenté de tuer le roi, mais ensuite n’a pas attaqué le manoir alors qu’il savait son emplacement, amoureux de Layla, demi-frère de Tohr, (ce que ni lui ni Tohr ne savent, seule Layla est au courant). Xcor a pourtant sauvé la vie de Tohr dans le tome 12

Excerpt from The Chosen by J.R. Ward

He was born upon a winter’s night, during a historic blizzard’s gale. Deep within a damp and dirty cave, as the icy gusts threatened the earthen womb, the female who bore him had screamed and bled to bring forth unto the Black Dagger Brother Hharm the son that had been demanded of her.
Xcor had been breach. The first of many of his wrongs, and mayhap the only one that had not been his fault. And he had been wanted… until his face had emerged.
His physical defects overshadowed even the triumph of his gender, and thusly, his sire had leveled the care of his nascent self as a curse upon his mahmen, a punishment for her failure to gestate a proper offspring.
And that was the beginning of his story… which had landed him here.
In another cave. On another December’s eve. And as with his actual birth, the wind howled to greet him, although this time, it was a return to consciousness as opposed to an expelling to independent life that awoke him.
As with a newly born young, he had little control over his body. Incapacitated he was, and that would have been true even without the steel chains and bars that were locked across his chest, his hips, his thighs. Machines, at odds with the rustic environs, beeped behind his head, monitoring his respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure.
The Black Dagger Brotherhood was keeping him alive… so that they could kill him.
And as his brain began to function properly behind his skull, as thoughts finally coalesced and formed rational sequences, he recalled the series of events that had landed him, the leader of the Band of Bastards, in the custody of what had been his enemies: an attack upon him from behind, a concussive fall, a stroke or some such that had rendered him prone and on life support at the non-extant mercy of the Brothers.
Xcor had surfaced once or twice during his captivity, but the connectivity in his mental arena had been unsustainable for any length of time.
This was different. He could sense the shift within his flesh. Whate’er had been injured had finally healed. He was back from the foggy landscape of neither-life-nor-death.
Even with his eyes closed, he could not feign unconsciousness forever.
“… really worry about is Tohr.”
The tail end of the sentence uttered by a male entered his ear as a series of vibrations, the translation of which was on a delay. But the name…
“Nah, he’s tight.” There was a soft scratching sound and then he smelled rich tobacco. “And if he slips up, I’ll be there.”
The deep voice who had first been speaking got dry. “To chain him back in line — or help him murder this piece of meat?”
The Brother Vishous — yes, that was who it was — laughed like a serial killer. “Such a dim fucking view of me you have.”
It was a wonder they were not better aligned, Xcor thought.
Then again, the Brotherhood and the Bastards had been on different sides of Wrath’s kingship. Indeed, the bullet Xcor had put into the throat of the lawful leader of the vampire race had been a clarifying event when it came to affiliation.
Since that time, however, there had been a countervailing force that had interceded upon his destiny.
The image that came to his mind was of a tall, slender female in the white robing of one of the Scribe Virgin’s Chosen. Her blond hair waved down o’er her shoulders and trailed off on a gentle breeze, and her eyes were the color of jade, and her smile was a benediction he had done naught to deserve.
The Chosen Layla had changed everything for him, recasting the Brotherhood from target to tolerable, from enemy to co-existable tenant in the world.
She had had more effect upon his black soul that e’erone who had come before, evolving him a greater distance in a lesser time that he would have thought possible.
“I almost want Tohr to get in here and rip him the fuck apart. He’s earned the right.”
The Brother Vishous cursed. “We all have. Fucking traitor. The hardest thing about this is gonna be making sure there’s anything left at the end for Tohr to have at.”
And herein was the problem, Xcor thought behind his closed lids. His evolution was unknown to his previous enemy- and the only way out of this deadly scenario was to reveal the love he’d found with a female who was not his, had never been, and was not going to be.
But he would not sacrifice The Chosen Layla for anyone.
Not even to save himself…

Extrait de The Chosen.

Il naquit par une nuit d’hiver, au cours d’un blizzard d’ampleur mémorable. Au plus profond d’une grotte humide et sale, alors que les rafales glacées menaçaient le ventre même de la terre. Dans les hurlements et le sang, la femelle qui le portait avait enfanté le fils que Hharm, guerrier de la Dague Noire, avait exigé d’elle.
Malheureusement, Xcor avait un bec-de-lièvre. Le premier de ses innombrables défauts et le seul, peut-être, dont il n’était pas responsable. Ses parents l’avaient attendu avec impatience… jusqu’au moment où le visage du nouveau-né était apparu.
Un garçon, bien sûr, mais laid et malformé. Son père, fidèle à sa nature, avait violemment juré, puis frappé la parturiente pour la punir d’avoir échoué à lui donner un héritier acceptable.
Ce fut ainsi que Xcor débuta cette existence… qui l’avait mené ici, aujourd’hui.
Dans une autre grotte. Et aussi à la veille de Noël.
Comme le jour de sa naissance, le vent hurlait à son éveil, mais cette fois-ci, Xcor n’émergeait pas du ventre de sa mère, il sortait du coma.
Aussi faible qu’un nouveau-né, il ne contrôlait plus son corps. Handicapé, il n’aurait pu bouger même si des chaînes et des barres en acier ne l’avaient pas maintenu à la poitrine, aux hanches et aux cuisses. Un appareillage médical ultra moderne, étrange dans cet environnement rustique, émettait divers « bip-bip » derrière sa tête, pour surveiller sa respiration, son rythme cardiaque et sa pression artérielle.
La Confrérie de Dague Noire le gardait en vie… pour pouvoir l’exécuter.
Peu à peu, son cerveau se remit de à fonctionner correctement, ses pensées s’organisèrent et formèrent des séquences rationnelles : il se souvint de la série d’événements qui avaient conduit le chef de la Bande de Bâtards à tomber aux mains de ses ennemis. Il avait été attaqué par derrière, puis une chute brutale et une commotion cérébrale… Il avait dû subir un accident vasculaire cérébral, ce qui expliquait le coma.
À présent, il était à la merci des Frères – qui, envers lui, n’en auraient aucune.
Au cours de sa captivité, Xcor avait déjà repris conscience une ou deux fois, mais une intolérable souffrance l’avait empêché de se concentrer.
À présent, c’était différent. Il sentait le changement au plus profond de lui-même. Sa blessure avait fini par guérir. Il était de retour dans un environnement brumeux, entre la vie et la mort.
Il avait gardé les yeux fermés, mais il ne pouvait feindre éternellement l’inconscience.
— … à qui ça pose un vrai problème, c’est Tohr.
Une fin de phrase prononcée par une voix mâle… les sons arrivèrent à son oreille comme une série de vibrations, Xcor mit un moment à les traduire, à les comprendre.
Mais ce nom… Tohr !
— Non, ça va aller, déclara un autre mâle.
Un léger grattement, puis une riche odeur de tabac turc s’éleva dans l’atmosphère.
— Et s’il déraille, ajouta-t-il, je serai là.
La première voix profonde se fit plus sèche :
— Qu’est-ce que tu vas faire ? L’enchaîner, lui aussi, ou bien l’aider à assassiner ce tas de bidoche ?
Le Frère Vishous – oui, c’était bien lui, la seconde voix – éclata d’un rire de psychopathe.
— Franchement, quelle opinion tu as de moi !
Un taré, lui aussi, pensa Xcor. Dans ce cas, il était étrange que tout deux ne se soient pas mieux entendus.
D’un autre côté, les Frères et les Bâtards n’avaient pas la même opinion concernant la souveraineté de Wrath sur les vampires. Et Xcor avait clairement exprimé la sienne en mettant une balle dans la gorge du roi légitime.
Depuis lors, une nouvelle puissance était intervenue dans sa vie, modifiant à jamais sa destinée.
Il évoqua sa femelle : grande, mince et blonde, portant les longues robes blanches des Élues de la Vierge Scribe. Ses cheveux d’or flottaient sur ses épaules, soulevés par une douce brise, ses yeux avaient la couleur du jade, et son sourire était une bénédiction que Xcor ne méritait en rien.
L’Élue Layla avait changé sa vision du monde, transformant la Confrérie d’ennemis à éliminer à colocataires tolérables d’un territoire commun.
Elle avait eu sur son âme noire un effet impressionnant – comme personne avant elle. En très peu de temps, Xcor avait plus évolué qu’il ne l’aurait cru possible.
— Je voudrais presque convoquer Tohr ici pour lui faire étriper ce fumier. Il en a bien gagné le droit.
Le Frère Vishous poussa un juron.
— Nous aussi, bordel. C’est un putain de traître ! Le plus difficile sera de s’assurer de laisser de lui un morceau pour que Tohr ait sa part.
Ah, voici le problème, pensa Xcor derrière ses paupières closes. Il avait changé, mais ses ennemis – ses anciens ennemis – l’ignoraient. Sa seule échappatoire à ce piège mortel était de révéler son amour pour une femelle… qui ne lui appartenait pas, ni aujourd’hui, ni hier, ni jamais.
Ses révélations risquaient de compromettre l’Élue Layla, ce qu’il refusait formellement.
Il garderait donc le silence, même s’il devait le payer de sa vie…

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J'adoreeeeeeeeeeee cet extrait !!!! Je l'ai lu plusieurs fois hier en étant tellement frustrée de devoir aussi longtemps pour la suite ! C'est vraiment le tome que j'attends depuis des années !
Merci beaucoup Anne

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WARD JR - LA CONFRERIE DE LA DAGUE NOIRE - Tome 15 : The Chosen Baniar11

Humm ça promet du bon !!

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4 avril, je l'ai en VO... :)

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Messages : 320 Date d'inscription : 06/12/2016 Age : 25

Enfin, depuis le temps qu’on l’attendait, le voici : le tome sur Layla et Xcor !

On retrouve Xcor, emprisonné par la Confrérie à la fin du précédent tome, qui attend son jugement. Il est résigné mais ne peut s'empêcher de penser à Layla. Celle-ci est déchirée entre son amour pour Xcor et ses jumeaux. Quand elle décide d’en parler à Qhuinn, celui-ci n’a pas du tout la réaction attendue : il devient fou de rage, se montrant dangereux pour tous ses proches.
On retrouve également dans ce tome, Torhment, qui est en quête de vengeance ainsi que Trez, qui ne se remet pas de la perte de Selena.

Layla va s’affirmer tout au long de ce tome et nous offre des moments épiques en balançant leurs quatre vérités à certains guerriers. J’ai adoré son évolution de simple « élue » à femme et mère déterminée à protéger ceux qu’elle aime.
On découvre un Xcor torturé et brisé dans ce tome, il a toujours été rejeté mais depuis sa rencontre avec Layla, il fait son possible pour la protéger.

Il y a cependant plusieurs bémols dans ce tome : Qhuinn et ses réactions disproportionnées qui m’ont donné des envies de meurtre à plusieurs reprises ; les retournements de situation dans la vie sentimentale de Trez qui surviennent sans aucune explication, même si on peut émettre quelques hypothèses, et surtout Vishous qui remet en question son histoire et qui m’a brisé le cœur.

Néanmoins, malgré ces quelques bémols, je trouve que ce tome est réussi et remonte le niveau des tomes précédents.