Author: G. Jefferies
Wayland found consciousness on the journey back as the cart rumbled over uneven ground and wagon ruts baked under the sun. He was under damp sacking which offered some relief from the heat above but his body felt on fire. Strange deliriums walked across his mind. Dragons weaving and scorching the earth and strange creatures flying overhead though he knew his eyes were not ready to open. He could hear hushed voices in the front of the palanquin. They sounded concerned, almost scared.
“Faster,” said one.
“I’m trying,” replied the other.
Wayland recognised neither, lost as he was in hallucinations of the mind. The black dragon was absorbing. It swooped and sprayed flame igniting fields and a hay-barn and a man that was drawing a longbow that never got to release it’s arrow before the charred remnants of the archer fell to the ground. These things were all new to the blacksmith. He found them fearful and prophetic; real and yet in a dream. The voices in the cart carried on as the darkness claimed him once more.
It was like that four times before he awoke and silence befell his ears. The jostling had stopped suggesting the cart was stationary. The Black was perched on a ruinous building that might have been a chapel rather like the one he was going to wed someone in….his mind was not clear in that matter. He remembered going for a walk with a girl but the rest was fog. Thinking hurt so he let it by. Things were wrong, but right now he was in real trouble. This much he knew.
Next time his eyes flicked open it was dark and a ceiling look down at him in the flickering glow of an candle. He felt cold, which was a change from burning. The Black had gone from his hallucinations although he was uncertain if he was looking at reality. His corroded memory was piecing things together but kept locking onto a daisy withering in the dusk air. He tried to turn his head but nothing happened. Panic crawled in as limb by limb he found nothing moved and everything was slowing. He heard an owl somewhere outside and tried to call out. In his head it was clear please help me, is anyone here but nothing left his lips.
Terror purged through his blood but found no method of release save for the emptiness inside his mind. The Black appeared, this time on the ground. It walked ever closer standing taller than any building Wayland had witnessed. The creatures eyes were ice and all things putrified before it. He tried to shut it out but his eyes no longer wanted to close. A taloned foot descended towards his head and he felt his bladder empty. Inside he screamed as the foot came down and again his waking world fell into the abyss.
© G Jefferies and Fictionisfood, 2016. All rights reserved.
Omg.. I could almost picture everything as I was reading your post. I must say not many people can write in such a manner which intrigues the minds of people 🙂 Looking forward to reading more posts on your blog.
Ok..now you are embarrassing me lol. You are very kind although Intend to write how and what I’d like to read. If that makes sense. My posts at present are a shade too infrequent because I’m editing a book (extracts of which are are in the Assent category on the right of the blog page). I’m trying to interlink stories so while they can stand in isolation they can also be seen as fitting into a larger world, or should I say worlds. Gets quite tricky to do though as my brain is forgetful lol. Glad you found it intersting to read. Question is though….does it make you want to know what happens to our troubled blacksmith?
To answer your question, yes it definitely made me really curious as to what happens next. Are you planning to write the next part of this story? I know many writers just like to leave things to the readers’ imagination but I really hope you do otherwise I will have to draw my own conclusions lol.
To answer in possibly a bad way… Waylands story is complete to the end of the chapter this is taken from. Part of me wants to put it all up and part of me says hang on its part of a book that’s paused in the writing while I finish The Assent of Rose Marie Gray (working title). Three readers have seen this in total so far but if I give too much away then as a book it might act as too big a spoiler? Someone else said here the excerpts are a bit like trailers lol. Thing is I’ve got about five projects running concurrently and not enough hours in the day…obviously a book deal would sort that out !!!
I may put up one more exercpt from this though…if people demand it 😇
Wow 5 projects running at the same time.. I can only imagine the amount of hard work you have to put into it. Yeah and people are right.. It does feel like a trailer and yeah, guess I will have to learn to be a bit more patient 😊
I know..but I should really stick to one at a time…might get one finished lol. I started this year with a new ambition. To finish The Assent, set up a blog, author Facebook page, Twitter account and figure out why Linked in might help me. That left my Opus Magna in limbo with one book in the series done but needing serious editing, book two started (including this piece), a third supernatural book almost done and a new one, The Bequest which is horror…some short excerpts of which are here. I think I may have over cooked myself lol. I hate it you have to feel patience is needed…because I’m so not patient 😜
Hi Gary,
I saw you were hoping for reviews and feedback. I don’t write in your genre. Based on my limited knowledge, I am beyond impressed. A taloned foot, his waking world fell into abyss. wow!
Janice
Hi Janice,
Gradually catching up on things. But thank you so much for the feedback. I’m never really impressed with what I write but I think that might be the lot of many writers. I am my worst critic which is why feedback is massive for motivation. Red genres. I have varied tastes here. Anything tagged as The Assent of Rose Marie Gray is in the book I am editing now. That’s more a psychological journey of a depressed single mother of two after a pretty tragic marriage and and experience that is related in the extract from another book on here entities Half a Twin. That piece is raw and written two years ago. It was the genesis of an idea that grew everything else. It needs editing badly because Anne in that is in fact Rose out of the above book I mentioned.
Anything with wizards and Wayland are parts of book two in my opus magna and The Bequest is a new project which is actual horror….or will be once it’s written.
The very first piece in here has grown too into a a journey of the paranormal brothers Carmichael. Alas most on here are unedited first drafts. Testers if you like. As I progress I will edit posts accordingly.
Seems I can book ramble all day once I start !!!!
Thank you again. That is exactly what I was trying to create in the way I write. I think it reflects my own tastes in reading. There are a few more posts relating to different parts of this tale. One includes a wizard and reflections on water. I’m trying real hard not to give too much away though lol
Wow….just amazing….so emotive and atmospheric and creepy…creepy-good 🙂 Thanks for sharing 🙂