This week, I’d like to share an excerpt from my story, The Price of Power. I hope you enjoy it!
By the time Celeste clopped into camp, the Moon had already begun Her trip across the sky. My eyesight was back and the tension I’d been carrying before sunset, the fear that my eyes wouldn’t return to normal when the sun went down, was gone.
Mack led Celeste into the hangar, took off her saddle, and cleaned her hooves. I walked over and she whickered in greeting. I stroked her neck.
“Find anything interesting?” I gave Celeste some feed and brushed her coat.
He glanced at his pack. “Bandages and a few odds and ends.” He straightened. “Gary’s got some locations he wants to go back to. Good salvage.”
I took my time with the brush, whispering silly stuff to Celeste. The skin of my hands glowed against Celeste’s darker hair and I activated my Glamour amulet. Tonight—a night shy of the full Moon—I’d be glowing nearly bright enough to read by if I didn’t damp it down. The full Moon was a powerful time for me and my skin shivered to be out underneath Her light. By the time I was finished with Celeste, the smell of beans and bacon filled the air.
Sandra’s fire snapped and crackled outside the hangar. I poured myself a cup of hot water and dropped a mesh tea ball filled with loose leaves in to steep. I slid my chair into a patch of Moonlight and sighed.
Gary reached into a pocket and pulled out a walkie-talkie.
“Javi,” Gary said into the transmitter. “You and Derek are about to miss another exhilarating round of beans-n-bacon.”
Sandra scowled at Gary, and I snorted.
“Don’t listen to him, Sandra,” Mack said. “You’ve elevated Beans-n-Bacon into an art form.”
“Thank you, Mack.” Sandra turned to Gary, aiming a spoon at him. “You hear that? An art form. I should be charging you…” She trailed off.
I followed her gaze to Gary who was staring at the silent device in his hand.
He glanced at us. “Javier. Derek, respond.”
The fire popped, sending sparks into the sky.
“Derek, Javi, come in.”
Silence.
“Why don’t they—?” Sandra stopped.
Gary glanced at me. There were any number of things that might keep either Derek or Javi from replying. Dead batteries. Damaged gear. Accidents happened. The only things I could think of that would prevent both of them from responding involved the words “collapse” or “trapped” or were armed with claws and teeth and burned to death in sunlight.
You can pick up your copy of Trials at: