SS - King of Air and Fire

King of Air and Fire

from "He" (Jars of Clay) and "Open Heaven" (BarlowGirl)

Footsteps intruded on Josh’s daydream. He rolled over and peered between boxes. Dust went up his nose and he had to squelch the urge to sneeze. Hairy feet appeared just an arm’s reach in front of him.

“Joshua Thomas,” The feet turned on the spot as his dad looked around for him, “where are you?”

Josh held his breath. If he was quiet enough maybe he wouldn’t be found. He could go back to being King of Air and Fire and not worry about whatever serious lesson his dad wanted to teach him.

Downstairs a door opened and a bunch of people came in, speaking in hushed voices. Josh grimaced. The only thing worse than a lesson was a Meeting. But he couldn’t hold his breath any longer. He let it out slowly but forgot about the evil dust bunnies during the breath in. He sneezed. His dad’s feet had reached the doorway. They stopped at the explosion of sound. Josh dropped his head against the ground. He was done for now.

But his dad didn’t say anything. The footsteps started again but moved away, out the door and down the stairs. Josh couldn’t believe his luck. He turned back over and fingered the glow-in-the-dark pictures stuck in the under-frame of his cot: the Queen of Wind and Rain, Prince of Seas, Lady of Stone and, his favourite, the King of Air and Fire. Masters of the world, nothing scared them, not even the Dread Captain of Thunder from Issue 53.

“Jo, what are you doing under the bed again?”

The voice startled Josh so bad he smacked his head on the wire under-frame. Silver stars danced in his vision. One of the boxes by his head was pulled away. He scooted sideways to avoid a kick to his already aching head as a scrawny girl shimmied feet first under the cot to join him.

“Ho, Lacey.”

“Ho yourself. What are you doing?”

Her breath smelled like cinnamon hearts and broccoli but Josh was already pressed up against the wall and couldn’t move farther away. He breathed through his mouth. “Nothing.”

“Well, why don’t we go do nothing somewhere less dark, crowded and dusty then?”

“I don’t want to go to Meeting.”

Even in the dark, Lacey’s eyes twinkled. “Who said anything about Meeting? I have a better idea.” She crawled back out and Josh followed semi-reluctantly. Lacey was more fun than a barrel of bears but her ideas usually led to trouble.

TL - Books Much Anticipated

 Insurgent by Veronica Roth (May 1, 2012)

 Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore (May 1, 2012)

 Palace of Stone (no cover released yet)  by Shannon Hale (August, 2012)

Bloodbonded by Amy Rose Davis (possible 2013 release)

Anything by Brandon Sanderson that is not Wheel of Time (no dates set yet)

SS - Beautiful Ending and Helpless

April song scene for Barlow Girl's "Beautiful Ending" and KD Lang's cover of "Helpless"

Take 1 (utter inspiration fail)

Crows gather where…

            Derek dove into the room face first. The door swung back against the wall with a crash as he skidded across the floor on his stomach. Paper cranes blew off the tables

            “Ouch.” I winced.

            “Derek, you moron, if you’ve crumpled any of those, I will break your nose again.” Huni said but her eyes never left the pink square of paper between her hands.

           

Take 2

Crows gather where the saints fall

All Agnes wanted for her birthday was a picnic in the woods. With ice cream and lemonade and peanut butter raspberry jam sandwiches and dill pickles and cake. It  didn’t seem like too much to ask for for her one and only sixth birthday.

Six was ages older than five. Six year olds could go to sleep away camp and play on baseball teams. Six meant riding the long yellow bus, a matching lunchbox and backpack, and spelling bees.

S-U-P-E-R-C-A-L-I-

Agnes pulled the Velcro straps tight. She wiggled her feet and scrutinized the sparkly pink runners. Were they on the right feet?

F-R-A-G-I-L-I-S-T-I-C

She stood up and jumped up and down a couple times. They felt alright but she’d been wrong before. “You are lucky you don’t have shoes.” Agnes told Gus. She blew a kiss at him through the bars but he was entranced by the carrot from lunch.

E-X-P-E-A-L-I-

She held both her arms out for balance going down the stairs, hopping over every third step. After all, you can never be too careful about monsters. Every jump shook her hat off balance until, as she hit the landing, it tumbled off and hung from its ribbon. Hmmm… Agnes squinted against the sun and dusties. Eight steps went from the landing to the floor. She bent her knees and stretched out her arms.

D-O-C-I-O-U-S

But she didn’t float like the sun-dusties. Her knees hit the floor first, then her chin but her tongue hurt the worst where it caught between her teeth. Poop!

            “Agnes!” Footsteps and worry noises came whirling down the long hallway. “What were you doing?”

            “Falling.” Agnes blinked back tears. Blood was welling up on one of her knees. She hoped this wouldn’t ruin her picnic plans. Mama had already made the sandwiches and cake but it would spoil everything to eat them inside at a table.

            And she really really wanted to show Mama and Dadda the sparkly gate by the willow tree. Then they could tell her why it was sometimes invisible and couldn’t be rained on and smelled like vanilla without being baked.

            And whether it was okay to ride a unicorn when he invites you to tea.

SS - Ready

March Song Scene for Britt Nicole's "Ready"

POV character is from my middle grade (?) fantasy series. This scene takes place during the timeline of the second book but probably won't be included. Lisa is a character I have been coming to know but all the others in this scene are totally new to me.

The green hill between three mountains came into view.  By now, sentries would have alerted the Rhabdi to Lisa’s arrival. Too late to turn back. Lisa closed her eyes and took a couple slow breaths. Relax, she told herself. The heat of the summer sun ran through her wings and a delicious summer wind pushed her along but she couldn’t unclench her fists and her pulse throbbed inside her head. The small bag between her wings might have been loaded with rocks the way it seemed to press against her back. 

            Lisa descended lower. She could identify the four people gathered on the open grass now. Aerad waited with arms folded, wings out of sight. Sunlight flashed from the rings on his hands and the bronze scales on his arms. Toma lounged on the grass, a dark grey shadow against the bright green and yellow. His presence might have been a welcome reassurance except for the last two: Iras and Guinevere. 

            Lisa’s nails bit deeper into her palms and the pain brought a halt to the panic threatening her composure. Liars. Anger welled up afresh and the fear dissipated. She vanished her wings while still above head height. The heavy impact of her landing against the soft turf was very satisfying. She straightened up and raised a bent arm over her head briefly in greeting to Aerad. 

“Blue skies, abAearad, and a wind to your back.” Lisa nodded to Toma and turned a radiant smile to the two women. “Pardon my interruption.”

Suspicion darkened Iras’s face but Guinevere smiled back, “Pardoned indeed! Great news is always a welcome interruption.”

“You have returned much earlier than planned.” Aerad said. “You were successful?”

Lisa kept her smile in place as she swung the velvet bag from her shoulders. “More successful than planned.” She held the bag loosely in front of her.

Toma rolled onto his back, “Don’t torment them, child, spill your secret.” He opened one yellow eye to look at her. “I hope the truth is at least half as sensational as some of the rumors. I’ll be disappointed in you otherwise.”

“With all respect due to my elders, I would like to propose a trade.”

“A trade? You know whatever you have reclaimed is already the property of the Rhabdi.” Aerad’s expression didn’t change but he’d slipped into his disciplinary lecture tone.

“Oh, not for this, abAerad.” Lisa lifted the bag slightly. “Toma mentioned sensation and rumors. I only want to trade truth for truth.”

Toma opened both eyes and seemed interested for the first time but Lisa didn’t look to him. Puzzlement wrinkled the foreheads of Aerad and Guinevere. “What do you want to know?” Aerad asked. 

“Where did the Galth virus come from?”

Aerad’s gaze was steady when he answered, “you know your history, the virus originated in one of their underwater labs, a tragic experiment,” but then, he had been the one to teach her how to detect signs of lying… and how to lie convincingly when necessary. “What else did you want to know?”

“That’s enough.” Lisa shrugged. She reached into the bag and closed a hand on the hidden orb.  She winked at Toma. “The truth is rather sensational.” Lisa locked eyes with Iras. She wanted most to see her reaction. “There are survivors and they had the hab with them all along.” 

She threw the orb down, her wings already unfolding as she leapt away from the explosion. Heat seared her bare arms. She flew straight up until the air became frigid and thin around her where no adult could follow. The cold eased the sting on her arms and Lisa slowed to catch her breath.

Any moment now she would feel the thrill of her victory. Liars. Tricksters. She’d fooled them! But she felt only hollow and lost, worse than the feeling after she had betrayed Maro and left him. Lisa grasped for any remnant of anger. Nothing. Iras’s final expression had erased it. Lisa had been prepared for shock and anger or fear and guilt but Iras had only looked sorry.