It’s time for Snippet Sunday and the weather outside is winter. That’s it, no cute phrase or fun remark. It’s winter – snowy and cold. And because it’s Wyoming, LOTS OF WIND.
Over the summer, I joined a group of fellow authors writing fantasy romances in an alternate world resembling DnD campaigns. The premise was, what if a spell seeking heroes went awry and dragged people from our world into the magical one? What would the new heroes do with their new abilities while on this quest for a magical artifact? THE SORCERESS OF SONG AND FLAME is my answer.
In this snippet, Matsuko Ishikawa been thrown in jail because she set the market on fire. And she meets someone new.
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“Sleep tight, girlie. Mayhap I’ll be back later to try yer paces, yeah?”
Fear ignited to anger, literally, and one of my hands glowed. “Should we start right now?” I didn’t dare throw it at him, but I wanted to see the fear reflected in his eyes. I couldn’t control it, but he didn’t know that.
He lost his smirk and skittered away from the cell with a muttered insult I ignored. I still needed to find some sort of anchor to reality, but none appeared to be forthcoming. The world around me had foul, alien scents and unfamiliar sounds, and I stood lost among them.
“You certainly have a way with the guards.”
The smooth, cultured voice came from the cell to my left, and someone leaned forward into the limited light seeping through the bars from the smoky torches burning in the aisle.
I couldn’t be sure he was speaking to me. I didn’t know if he meant it as a compliment or in sarcasm. I still struggled with the basic niceties other people naturally understood.
“I wasn’t going to let them do anything to me.” I rubbed my arms with my hands, grateful I didn’t set my own clothes on fire.
“Nor I. I may not be the greatest being out there, but I draw the line at taking a woman against her will.”
I suppose that was comforting, though what he’d be able to do when iron bars separated us was unclear. I glanced around to find a place to sit, but the grime made me wrinkle my nose and avoid all surfaces. Who knew what crawled on the two stone walls? I shivered and wrapped my robes tighter around me.
Robes that aren’t mine any more than the ability to control the fire in my hands.
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So she has an unlikely defender. 😉 There are several great authors on the Weekend Writer Warriors list, the Snippet Sunday Facebook group, and the Rainbow Snippets Facebook group. A few of my favorites are, P.T. Wyant, Karen Michelle Nutt, Veronica Scott, Karysa Faire, and Iris Blobel.
Here’s the blurb for THE SORCERESS OF SONG AND FLAME:
Now available!
Matsuko Ishikawa, Audiologist and Newbie Sorceress
Being autistic, I’ve learned the patterns and rules of my world to make life easier. Everything I know is thrown into disarray when I find myself wearing long robes and setting fire to a wagon with blue flames… From my hands. I don’t know where I am… or how to control my new pyrotechnic talent. Throw in a guy who can turn into a dragon and a goddess-given quest, and I’m totally out of my depth. But if I complete the goddess’s task of finding a magical artifact, I can go home, which is the goal, right?
Arach Uzekamanzi, Third Born Prince of the Dragonkin
Being a 126-year-old dragon, there isn’t much that surprises me anymore, but Matsuko is completely new. And it’s pretty clear she’s not local. Accompanying her on a quest to find magical artifact seems like the best way learn more about her and stave off boredom. Now I just have to help Matsuko acquire the Song Stone, return it to the goddess’s temple, and get her home. But the more I learn about her, it becomes clear I’ll do just about anything to convince her to stay.