It's Been a Long Time Coming.... Desert Marker

"How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live." -- Henry David Thoreau

It was my turn to do some living. I think I'll stick to writing...

After finishing Oko (re-vamped chapters available here http://authonomy.com/books/36157/-ko-/) I got dragged down into a writing rut that lasted longer than I care to admit. But! It seems when the words fail, the images flourish, I am starting to run out of canvas and paint. Next post, I will give you guys a link where you can see my art adventures, need to clean up some images and post them on etsy proper.

Thank you, Phil Partington for playing a role in getting me out of my writing rut and forcing me, through a crackling win in a virtual underwear pillow fight, to contribute to his Campfire Story the Desert Marker.

First 2 chapters are here:

Ch. 1–The Desert Marker (A Campfire Story)

The Desert Marker (Chapter 2): A Campfire Story

And here the saga continues: Ch. 3 -- Desert Marker (A Campfire Story)

Shadows

James staggered back, his arms flying to protect his face, but the man was gone, not a footprint or a whiff of tobacco. Like he had never existed outside of James’s imagination. James shook his head to clear the sound of the wind and the laughter. The wind was gone, but every time a breeze stirred his hair, he could hear an echo of the old man’s merriment.

Po. He had found him at last.

He should have known that finding a guide that cheap this far away from the cities was no mere coincidence. But, it was that or wander in the desert aimlessly, with nothing but a flask of horse water. So, he parted with his last three khans. There would be no use for them anyway – he had no time to spend the money before the gate to his home-world closed. And if he didn’t make it on time… James shuddered as he looked at the sun. So bright, so unyielding in its journey across the sky. If he didn’t make it… Nothing would matter.

He squinted at the doubling shadow on the mountain, careful not to look directly at it, and started walking. City of Flames was waiting. And Po had returned there, James was sure of it.

The desert air was hot on his forehead and the bridge of his nose, and he toyed with the amulet around his neck that protected his delicate skin from the ravages of the Rock World. The string had been woven out of the hair of the First Mother and the sapphire was blessed in the streams of the holy river. He kissed the cool stone and tucked in under this shirt.

To pass the time, he counted stones and watched lizards as they basked in the afternoon sun, not paying him any attention. Unlike a human’s, his steps soothed, not stirred the wildlife. Stooping, he scooped up a sleeping horned lizard and placed it, still undisturbed, into his pocket. He would give it to his little sister, Luna. She would laugh with delight and wrinkle her funny freckled nose at its long tongue. He promised himself he would see her again as he tilted his flask and took a sip of the stale, lukewarm water.

As the sun moved across the sky, the shadows changed. The caves and folds of the mountain deepened, slurred, and shifted. But every time James needed to check his course, he turned his gaze to the side, and there it was again, the one shadow, unmoving like it was tattooed into the side of the mountain. When the night came, James dreamt of the shadow. In his mind, it glowed a barbaric orange, hot and enormous, like the light of a thousand pyres.

In the morning his eyelids were crusted with tears and fine sand. Probing his dry mouth with his tongue, he reached for the flask. A boot descended on his wrist and James yelped. A shadow crossed his face, and he looked up, squinting at the sun that brimmed the stranger’s head. 

Five men surrounded him. Their mouths and noses were bound with cloth, and their eyes were a vicious black. Scimitars gleamed on their hips, and their clothes were made of tough leather. James jerked his wrist, but the leader pressed down harder. The man’s voice was a crackling tenor when he spoke.

“Who are you?”

Well, enough of this silly merriment, although feel free to add to it on Phil's Campfire Story Home Page. He is a man who isn't afraid of the light of strange new authors and will be delighted if you participate.

All is well in the land of Oko. Namaste.