My name is Carol Bond, but I write under the pen name of
Ellen Mae Franklin and on the 25th of March my book - THE
UNSEEN PROMISE was released for sale. It is the first book from the
Tarkeenia Sagas.
I am Australian and reside in Adelaide, where I was born,
sharing my life with my family and friends. It was never my intention to become
a writer, although my intense love of books began in the moment of being able
to read. But, with enormous pleasure, I have written off and on these past 10
years.
I am pleased to offer you, the reader, an excerpt from my
fantasy book for your literary enjoyment.
This passage is from Chapter 43
I was told once that the best form of
attack is defense – baloney
Kitty licked her lips. Her tongue slid out into the night
air for the hundredth time, this waiting was unbearable, and her hunger it hurt
so. If she didn’t feed soon, her belly would distend and the pain, dear Lord,
the pain would cripple her. They would find her then, of this, she was certain,
it was this fear that spurred her on.
She had developed a fondness for human flesh, the sour
rusting taste of hot blood made her mouth water. Voices drifted through the
walls of the stables, the straw jabbed her, the smell of dung made her nauseous
and she was, oh, so hungry now.
‘Where are you?’ she growled. Roedanth had been gone too
long. What the hell, she was hungry.
From shadow to shadow, under the watchful eye of the Pata
Batu, in the blue and rose hues of the evening light, Kitty made her way
towards the voices.
They grew louder and to her ears, younger. The room
bathing in yellow light was filled with children. Fledglings soft of meat and
clean; very clean blood. She couldn’t help herself, Kitty raised her eyes over
the window ledge and saw, with eyes wide a mouth-watering buffet.
Twelve boys and girls talked and laughed, some stretched
out on their cots wriggling their toes, while others swapped stories in a gale
of theatre play. All were oblivious to the danger as Kitty watched on.
Through the window and over to a tall nightstand, it was
the perfect cover. Down went a fair-haired girl, she couldn’t have been more
than eight years old, it was a clean kill and her whispering moan went
unnoticed. Using a little of the girl’s sticky blood, the Speck slithered on
her belly to the next cot. This time, a boy drew his last breath on a name, he
cried ‘Mother.’ Kitty laughed at that, flecks of blood sprayed onto the bed
sheets, she didn’t know her mother, so what did she care?
A child noticed a spreading pool of blood; it floated on
the floor, creeping towards the feet of the youngest, Bella Hiela. She, of
course, screamed and then screamed some more, a small hand found her mouth and
stuffing it full of fingers she began to cry. The noise, awful in its entirety
rose in pitch over a squabbling pair of older boys.
“Cut your screaming Bella! How can we hear ourselves yell
with all that cat-calling?” One of the youngsters shot off a ‘boo-hoo’ and
stopped short when he saw the blood. “What’s that? What in the hell is that?”
His voice shook with panic.
“Barney, you sound like a girl…” but his friend’s
laughter drained away as he was pulled off the cot, he disappeared under the
bed.
Kitty’s head poked out from where the boy had just been,
she grinned, her razor teeth stained red and her pink chin hair dripped blood,
drip, drip onto the floor. The remaining children, all white faced with pants
probably full of shit, opened their mouths in wide O’s and sounds, a terrible
chorus of distress and fear began to sing, even Kitty had the grace to look
shocked as she took up the charge. Out whipped her hand; strong fingers grabbed
the closest child, poor Bella Hiela, her throat ripped away wasn’t screaming
anymore.
She made short work of the rest. In the room, littered
with mangled flesh and blood soaked sheets, Kitty felt full. She was happy.
This time when she licked her lips it was to clean them of blood.
*****
The Unseen Promise
is a fantasy novel that takes place on a world called Tarkeenia. It boasts an
array of colourful characters, some are good, while others are pitiless evil,
and then we have those that are indifferent.
Master Sniff’s Ferret Men are the latter, totally
indifferent to everything, unless of course, it crosses that invisible line
they stand on. It is these Murrdocks that I wish to speak of.
Master Sniff’s
Cherry Fellows as I like to dub them, are at times, also referred to as the
Cheery Chaps or Merry Fellows. In this story, a group of four marches with
pride and weapons under the orders of the Rat Man. As to be expected they are
half human and half ferret. They are a blending of each, with characteristics
of both.
Thieves and long
time smugglers, these Ferret Men revel in the employment of Master Sniff and
his lucrative business dealings. Of course, they’re guilded like all good
thieves, answering to the summons of the Silent Man when they are called upon
and giving him a fistful of gold as a token of that call. You see, it is a way
of keeping a member loyal, at least that’s what the Silent Man says.
Everything about
these Murrdocks could be called sharp: it’s a useful word when one is
describing them. Narrow faces with narrow jaws, narrow noses that stick out
sharply on their long faces. Yes, everything was thin and sharp. A Ferret Man’s
head is cropped with short, fine hair that extends down his long narrow neck to
erupt in plentitude over the rest of his body. Hard eyes, sharp teeth and long
thin fingers which itch in happiness whenever they’re asked to fight, how they
love a good scrum.
Take Ferret Man One for example, and yes they answer to their given number for it was their mam who had called them as such. It has never occurred to them to change it, there were sillier names out there anyhow – Fluff, Poppet or one of many other stupid labels, indicating what you could be called. So, for them it was Ferret Man One, Two, Three and Four: a name or a number, it didn’t matter, you see for not one of them liked upsetting their mam. She had a heavy hand when she thought they were getting out of line, so these skinny creatures stuck with the numbers and got on with it.
Take Ferret Man One for example, and yes they answer to their given number for it was their mam who had called them as such. It has never occurred to them to change it, there were sillier names out there anyhow – Fluff, Poppet or one of many other stupid labels, indicating what you could be called. So, for them it was Ferret Man One, Two, Three and Four: a name or a number, it didn’t matter, you see for not one of them liked upsetting their mam. She had a heavy hand when she thought they were getting out of line, so these skinny creatures stuck with the numbers and got on with it.
There are a
couple of very important facts that must be touched on when speaking about a
Ferret Man. Loyalty for one and of course, the mention that they don’t come
cheap. You can’t buy off a Ferret Man, his loyalty is to his guild and the
contract, and Master Sniff’s pockets ran very deep.
Skilled in
weaponry, whether it be sword, knives or a bow, a Ferret Man is worth his weight
in gold. Master Sniff knows this for a fact, so he looks after his Merry Fellows
and they in turn look after him. It’s a happy partnership in all and at the
end, no matter what the story, the plan is to finish up as rich as they can be.
Following Carole around a little (sorry, I can't every day, but then that would probably make you nervous!) Good luck!! Raven, thanks for giving her a place to crash for the night!
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