Well, enough with the editing and review requests and NASCAR. I've been ignoring The Bell Tower long enough. I really do only have a few more chapters left and I'm going to get it done! Mostly so I can work on getting the King's Mistress ready for submission.
In order to accomplish this, I need to get back into my routine. It's simple. 500 words a day on my current work of fiction. And that will finish off the story in no time!
Here's todays words--unedited and wholly out of context. But the final battle is coming!
(A middle-grade mystery fantasy)
A large rabbit sat
at his feet, busy taking furious bath.
The man smiled a welcome to our approaching horde.
He bent forward
and spoke. "Amy, my friend. It has
been too long. Are we ready?"
Amy hugged him
then knelt to the rabbit and rumpled his fur.
"You brought Lapin!"
She pulled the rabbit into her lap.
"What mischief will you do tonight?"
The man laughed,
his white teeth gleaming in his dark face.
The rabbit chirped then wriggled free of Amy's arms. He shook and went back to bathing, like he
didn't like his fur all mussed.
"Ted. Meet Amedee."
We exchanged
handshakes. I shoved my hands in my
pockets and tried to disappear among all the selkies. Tristan eyed Amedee and frowned, a distinct
expression of distrust tugging at his mouth.
Now we had the
residents of Cherryfield, a collection of brownies, I shivered when I noticed
the spiders climbing up the sides of the pound, a herd--is that what you call a
group of seals?--of selkies and now a rabbit.
If nothing else, I
wanted to see who all Priscilla would bring tonight. The field would be filled with a wild
collection of...
"Ted!" A
man's voice cut through the general chatter between the others.
I peered down Main
Street. Billy stood outside my house
calling my name. What was he doing? He carried a bag slung over his shoulder.
"I'm up
here!" At this point sneaking
around town didn't matter. Most of the
people I met at the church social were milling by the giant oak tree in front
of the Cox's house.
Billy turned
toward my voice, then jogged toward us.
He slowed when he realized all the people standing around were not locals. He nodded at Tristan, Amedee, Sorcha and
frowned at the rabbit.
"Uh, Ted. I
heard you needed help tonight. I thought
maybe some of my animals might be able to do something." He upended the sack. Little wooden creatures spilled out. None of them were bigger than my hand. Birds, mice, fish and a few butterflies
tumbled over one another. "Will
that help?" he asked me.
I kicked at
them. "They're wood."
"I whittled
them from the ends of the woodmen that they were making at night in the
mill."
Amedee stepped
forward and knelt down. He lifted a
lizard up to the sunlight. For an
instant I thought the tiny scales on the animal moved. Then Amedee blew across the wooden animal.
Its toes wiggled,
then cracked and finally grasped Amedee's fingers. Its tail curled and it took a tiny breath.
Billy inched away
from his creatures. "Yeah, I
thought so."
Amy and Amedee
went to work bringing the little wooden figures to life, one after
another. They set them aside. Walter walked up with a watering can and started
to sprinkle them. Brown crunchy skin altered
into soft scales and fur. Then they
grew.
In no time at all
a virtual zoo hopped and scurried around our feet. Walter called several of his friends
over. They ordered the animal army and
suddenly rank upon rank of creatures lined up on the top of the hill. The selkies lined up at the back. The humans came next. And finally, just as the sun set behind the
cemetary, a dark mist rose from the Bell Tower.
The Others floated
up the road and took their place. Their
voices hummed in the deep dusk. "We
come to help."
