And here's a snip from my latest short story....
First draft. Please don't copy or repost, subject to change.
Tara Medichi stood on the ship’s deck, dressed as the bride she never was, and pulled her skirt out of the sea spray that washed her feet. The wind whipped at her dark hair until it stood out like a pennant. She took deep breaths of the fresh air, glad to be out of the dank darkness below deck, even though she knew what she would face.
She glanced over her shoulder at Captain Ferrel and his crew, who watched her avidly, even while busy shortening sail in the stiff wind that snapped the sails and made the ropes groan.
He was coming. Wind and wave always preceded his arrival. She turned to face the sea and steeled her heart.
Cold billowed off the water. Her breath smoked in the frigid air. A geyser erupted from the sea, high as the mainmast’s yardarms. The geyser broke over the ship, drenching her and the crew. When the water receded, the deck around Tara glittered blood-red, and the sea wraith stood before her.
The crew blanched and shivered although they could not see the apparition. She knew they felt its cold and inimical presence. Captain Ferrel eyed the blood-rubies but made no attempt to approach.
“Jeryn,” Tara whispered, tears slipping down her cheeks. “Oh, my poor love.”
Her fiancé’s anguished, tortured features flayed her heart into a thousand pieces. The gaping wound of Jeryn’s slit throat grinned at her, maniacal and red. The deep slashes over his torso and arms oozed.
Have you found him? Have you found the one who took my life?
1 comment:
intriguing and moving. another one of yours that i'll find myself remembering at some odd moment.
sorry it took me so long to return your visit. a month! i feel some responsibility for the demise of Friday Snippets. my late posting and hit and miss visiting was not supportive of the community spirit.
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