The boy walked a few paces off. He took a moment to stop, looked around, and wondered where was the best place to conceal himself. Obviously, he wanted to be able to see the outcome of the fight. He wasn’t planning on fleeing until it was clear that he had no choice. A few of…
Category: Writing
A Charm for the Nameless Child #121
Caewen was right. The knights and horsemen made no move for hours. They stood or sat, seemingly sunk into a strangely conversationless, oddly sullen quietude as they waited. At last, when the sun was not much more than a bleeding wound of orange atop the caps of westward peaks, only then did the knights stir…
A Charm for the Nameless Child #120
Mid-afternoon of that day, they passed from dirt and scrubby hill-slopes onto the rocky outcroppings that marked the lower spurs of the mountains. Caewen looked downhill, and said, “It’s no good. They’ll be on us by dusk. Look.” She was right. The draig-riders had not even bothered to sortie over them again. Both of the…
A Charm for the Nameless Child #119
About an hour later, they slowed and allowed themselves a bit of rest. Soon enough, it was obvious the pursuing riders were redoubling their pace. They would be boxed in if they stayed where they were. With a weary stretch and a yawn, Caewen got back up on Dapplegrim’s back and helped the boy up…
A Charm for the Nameless Child #118
They rode for three days, stopping only to eat and to allow Caewen and the boy to catch what small snatches of sleep were possible during these brief stops. Otherwise, they had to take turns sleeping in the saddle. Dapplegrim–being not a little unnatural in his blood–was near-tireless… but near-tireless is still only near-tireless. By…
A Charm for the Nameless Child #117
As they approached, Caewen leaned forward, and said at a whisper in Dapple’s ear. “Stop. Stay here.” She swung herself down then, landing lightly on the grey and moor-damp turf. She left them, and crossed the last few hundred paces on her own. Wetness oozed in her footsteps, welling up from the soaked ground. It…
A Charm for the Nameless Child #116
They rode together on Dapplegrim’s back, the boy behind and Caewen in the front, with Fleat gliding along beside them. Every hour or so, he would circle back, sailing out of sight, only to return some time later. After the third or fourth of his sorties back, he returned with as dark a look in…
A Charm for the Nameless Child #115
He saw the hard expression of her face, the cold angry look in her eyes. She was staring fixedly at Athairdrost, and there was perhaps even a gleam of enjoyment in her eyes. He shifted uncomfortably, without saying anything. Eventually, it was Dapplegrim who interrupted her. “Caewen.” She looked at him. “The knights aren’t going…
A Charm for the Nameless Child #114
She looked at him, then back at the circle. Then she looked at him again, searchingly. Her eyes seemed to settle on something. Her expression changed from wrinkled-up thought to a clear smile. “I have it.” She carefully pulled a single hair from her head, between finger and thumb, and laid it inside the circle….
A Charm for the Nameless Child #113
She looked at him narrowly and then waved a hand at one of the nearby paupers of the court–a hunched and much put-upon looking man-servant, bent-backed with rheumy old eyes and skin splotched by liver spots. His lips were wet and loose, and his hair thin and grey. “Make that man rich enough to buy…