"The First to Die"

As always, life is trying to swallow me whole. As a result, I am going to post excerpts from my published novel, "Season of Crows." This scene takes place at the beginning of the battle with the crows. Ash is guarding the entrance to the King's Chamber on the Home Tree.

~*~

“Walnut Keepers!” Roan’s deep voice rumbled across The Commons. “Stand fast. Let loose your fear. The crows are nearly upon us, and you must fight with your very soul or die!”

Every hair of every creature stood on end at these words. This was their time. This was their moment to make a difference in the world.

Ash stood fast on the king’s balcony and gripped his spear tightly, scanning the bits of sky visible between the leaves. Just inside the tree, Sky had crept up to the opening of the King’s Chamber to peer out.

“The time has come, old friend,” he said quietly to Ash.

He started at the sound of Sky’s voice. “What do you mean, young prince?” It was odd to be called old friend by someone so young.

The heir of Evershade grew uncharacteristically sober. “You saved my life many months ago, but it may have been for nothing. I may not live through the night.”

“Nonsense, young prince,” Ash said, managing a weak smile. “I am here to guard you. Besides, if you die, who would be heir to the throne?”

A loud caw sounded close by, and he was certain he could hear the beating of wings.

“Get back inside!” he hissed.

At once, a flurry of black wings and shrieking cries filled the air. The noise was maddening. A solitary crow wove its way through the canopy to The Commons, its head turning left and right in search of an easy target. It spied him and veered right sharply, gliding toward the balcony. From nowhere, a dart zipped through the air, glancing off the crow’s black beak and penetrating its eye. The crow gave a shriek and tumbled clumsily forward onto the balcony, right onto Ash's outstretched spear.

He stood in place, horrified to find the black bird impaled on the end of his weapon. A sickening pulse traveled the length of the wooden shaft to his paws, and it was a moment before he realized the pulse was the dying bird’s heartbeat. The young crow screamed and stumbled backward, hitting the rail and falling over the side, the spear still protruding from its chest. The bird landed with a nauseating thud far below, where it flopped helplessly about on the ground.

Petal appeared on the steps below, paws clamped over her mouth in horror.

“It was you?” he asked in wonderment.

She nodded.

The two leaned over the railing from their respective places and watched with an equal mixture of awe and disgust as Mr. Barkwhistle waddled over to the fallen crow and beat it to death with his strong, flat tail.

~*~

 

"Season of Crows" is available on Amazon in both paperback and ebook formats.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Season-Crows-Evershade-Prix-Gautney/dp/1633731537/

 

https://www.amazon.com/Season-Crows-Evershade-Prix-Gautney-ebook/dp/B01M3PW03L/



"Changing of the Guard"

(As told by Queen Sapphire to her adopted son Sky.)

 

The great badger turned and let Ebony be. Skulking toward the mound where the fox and snake looked down upon him, the badger lowered his head, a low growl resonating form deep within the beast's chest. The fox and snake appeared unconcerned. Ebony slowly pulled himself from his shell to watch the exchange.

 

"He does not seem to have heeded our warning, Rasp," the snake said to the fox.

 

"No, indeed," Rasp answered.

 

Ebony perked up when he heard the fox's name. Emerging fully from his shell, the great snail gazed upon the red fox with the blue jay feathers in his tail and wooden pegs in his ear. All of the adornments were new, but the voice was unmistakable. This was the fox Ebony had driven from his cave.

 

The badger snarled at the newcomers and stopped in his tracks.

 

"What do you want from me?"

 

"For you to leave," the snake replied.

 

"Unlikely."

 

The snake flicked his tongue, his clouded eyes unfocused but seeming to look right at the badger.  Turning his head to Rasp, he whispered, "End him."

 

The badger's gaze fell on the fox, and the fox stared hard at the badger. In a moment's flash, there was a wet, cracking thud, and everything was still. The badger stood like a stone, a long wooden spear protruding from his forehead. He emitted a soft exhale, then collapsed in a heap on the ground.

 

Ebony stared at the badger's body in disbelief. Only moments after he thought he would die, his enemy lay dead only feet from him.

 

His companion Snail Lords emerged from their protective shells and looked about, startled by the sudden change of events.

 

The black snake with his sightless eyes turned to address the small gathering.

 

"You are free to move on, but do not return to the Crystal Caverns," he said in his smooth, dangerous voice.

 

Ebony considered arguing the point, but a glance at the bleeding badger, whose body was beginning to cool and grow stiff with death, changed his mind.

 

Without a word, High Lord Ebony and his friends slowly crept along the path to the south, leaving the territory of the Crystal Caverns behind, apparently to be ruled by a blind snake and a red fox with a very deadly aim.

 



"The Watchers"

(As told by Queen Sapphire to her adopted son Sky.)

 

The massive badger crept forward on large, wide paws. Ebony's comrades ducked into their shells and suctioned themselves to the earth. But the great badger had no interest in them.

 

Ebony continued to flash warning colors as the badger edged closer. Believing all was lost, the great snail ducked inside his shell and secured himself to the ground as his companions had done. The badger reached him and sniffed all about. Taking a great paw, the badger pried at the High Lord's shell where it was secured to the earth, trying to dislodge him. And the great beast would have succeeded had not two voices called to him.

 

"Be still," ordered the first voice.

 

"Or you will surely die," said the second. The smooth, sinister ribbon of his voice chilled every soul present to the very core.

 

The great badger turned his lumbering frame slowly about to see who had dared interrupt his meal.

 

To the side of the path, the land sloped upward into a low mound dotted with young trees. In a little clearing among the trees stood the red-orange form of a fox with wooden pegs drilled through his ear and blue jay feathers braided into his tail.

 

Beside him lay the source of the second, unnerving voice--an enormous black snake as large around as a sizeable limb.

 

A snake blind in both eyes...

 



"Stranger in a Strange Land"

(As told by Queen Sapphire to her adopted son Sky.)

 

High Lord Ebony and the three Snail Lords crept away from the Crystal Caverns, leaving the bodies of their comrades where they died. The flood had brought nothing but sorrow and death in its waters, and the caverns were tainted forever with the stench of death.

 

They inched along a path that led away from the flooded stream. Ahead of them in the center of the trail lay a soggy, miserable-looking creature with silver fur caked in clumps across its body and a black and white striped face. It was large and muscular and looked to be as large as the Snail Lords themselves.

 

"Stay here," Ebony said.

 

He crept forward to investigate the creature. The stench of wet fur filled the air the closer he got to the beast. Ebony approached carefully and bent low. The creature's muzzle twitched, sniffing the air. Slowly, its eyes cracked open, focusing on Ebony.

 

The great snail backed away slowly as the creature lifted its head, clearly exhausted but possessing a strength that was tangible.

 

Ebony's shell glowed warning shades of yellow and red, and the other Snail Lords began to back away in response.

 

The beast struggled to its feet and stood low to the ground on four dark, shaky legs. It lowered its head so that its back hunched in an aggressive posture, which alarmed the great snail. It turned to face Ebony fully.

 

The High Lord glanced at his companions. "Duck!"

 

A thick, raspy voice growled behind him. "No. Badger."

 

 

 

 



"Walnut Season Draws to a Close"

Halloween is nearly upon us, and the black walnut trees of the Missouri Ozarks have shed their crop. Most have, at any rate. A few stubborn trees continue to hold onto their valuable nuts...it's like dollar bills hanging on the branches for those of us who harvest them...

The bright autumn sunshine and the spicy, woody aroma of the walnut hulls is shifting to moldy, damp smells and graying skies.

Winter is nearly here, and I, for one, am praying for snow...

"Snail Lords"

(As told by Queen Sapphire to her adopted son Sky.)

 

"It was not long before more snails joined Ebony in the Crystal Caverns. The great Snail Lords discovered the entrances to many caves littering the bank, each finding his own crystal chamber deep inside the outcroppings that flanked the old streambed.

 

Ebony, who had settled in the first cave and taken it from the fox, became High Lord, which is what they called kings in those days. For many seasons, the Snail Lords lived peacefully in the Crystal Caverns. But, as you know, peace does not always last.

 

It was during a fierce storm that trouble came. The sky bruised and darkened, belching sheets of rain over the land. The dry streambed filled quickly and spilled over the banks. Before long, the rising water reached the entrances to several caverns, filling them with the dirty floodwaters.  Many Snail Lords could not escape their homes and drowned in the water, their patterned, glowing shells snuffed out for good.

 

But those who survived became severely ill once the waters receded. The great Snail Lords became confused--many of them crawling onto the ceiling of their caves and remaining there until their bodies grew weak and dropped to the floor, shattering their shells. As they lay dying, a strange thing happened. Something grew between their eyestalks, bulging the skin outward like a swollen parasite. At last, a single, pale mushroom burst from each of their brains, killing them instantly and pinning them to the spot where they died.

 

High Lord Ebony and three other Snail Lords had managed to escape the floodwaters, and that means they escaped the deadly mushroom spores that the flood had brought with it.

 

But they did not escape everything, for the flood brought with it other dangers.

 

Dangers they were not prepared to face."

 



Release of My Debut Novel

Well, it's release week, and I have been through the ringer lately, what with my mother dying, our household losing half its income, my daughter getting a concussion, and a good friend dying. But on a positive note, "Season of Crows" is available for pre-order now. The official release date is Friday, October 14th.

This is the first of five books in the series, and I will continue to work on them once walnut season is over.  October at our house is all about selling Boy Scout popcorn, attending the Ozark Creative Writers conference (where I met my publisher), and harvesting black walnuts, which happens to be how "Evershade" came about in the first place--thanks to my son and a 3,000 lb. heap of walnuts at the corner of our house.

I encourage you to take a look at the world I've created, and when you do, please leave a review. It means more than you know.

(Link to my listing on Amazon is beneath the photo.)

 

https://www.amazon.com/Season-Crows-Evershade-Prix-Gautney/dp/1633731537/