Hi again!
I know, you don’t usually see me twice in one week in your inbox, but here I am! And I’m back to entertain you.
Who am I? I’m Ran, and I’m the sunny, talkative son of the quietest and the most magical character, a really nice guy named Sarn. He’s gets a little lost in social situations, and I have to rescue him. But then he repays the favor and saves me from all kinds of magical problems and monsters in the Curse Breaker Series. And you can grab the first book for free as part of the Stuff With Fantasy event happening today!
And now, let’s take a look at the best kind of news, book news!
Unfortunately, we’re still waiting for the first round of proofs from the printer for the Robin of Larkspur kickstarter. Melinda tried their new printed edges and designed some chapter pages where the illustrations fade to black with white text on the black, and we really, really want to see how that turned out in case we need to modify the design.
Book 2, Rogue Night, has a lot of those pages since it takes place largely under Mount Eredren. Follow the Kickstarter so you’re notified when it launches.
That’s all the book news this week. And now for the next installment of:
Catch the Scribe
by Melinda Kucsera
Chapter 3: The Woman in the Leaf, Part 3
But Papa slept too deeply, so all he did was roll onto his side and pull his knees in toward his chest until they touched Ran. Papa’s stomach was now his backrest, and he was comfortably ensconced in a cozy little niche formed by Papa’s extra long arms and legs. Ran smiled because he was extra protected now.
“Thank you, Papa.” Ran patted Papa’s thigh, and that must have triggered his magic because green light shot from Papa’s knees to his hands and back again forming a glowing green fence between Ran and the rest of the cave.
“You’re always looking out for me.” Ran leaned forward and gave the shield an appreciative pat, and its power made his hand tingle.
Papa’s magic must have sensed something. But the leaf had come from the Queen Tree, and she was everything that was good in the world. So the danger didn’t come from the leaf. Then where did it come from?
Ran scanned the cave, but it looked like it always did. Dirty laundry and other unidentifiable items were scattered about the floor except for the spot Papa had cleared for the Queen Tree’s mark. By some miracle, that area had remained stuff-free. On one side of the cave, water dripped from the stalactite into the pail sitting directly under it, and its constant plinking made a comforting counterpoint to Uncle Miren’s soft snoring to his right.
On the other side of the cave, books and papers covered the table. Other than the stool and a small chest, there wasn’t any other furniture in the cave besides the mattress, and it was currently occupied. Papa tended to take up most of it when he slept because there was so much of him.
Two lumir crystals cast orange light on the cave. One rested on the table and the other on the chest. Papa never extinguished their glow because he didn’t like darkness. Neither did Ran so he never asked him to turn off their glow. Ran squirmed around until he could see over Papa and look at the shadowed corner where the Ghost Boy had appeared a few times, but the young ghost wasn’t there. Uncle Miren’s sock-covered foot was.
The Queen Tree took the ghost boy to the place where dead people went when they left this world. It looked like a nice place. But Papa didn’t know anything about it aside from the glimpse they got when the Queen Tree had appeared in their cave. But if the Queen Tree was involved, it must be as nice as it had seemed. She wouldn’t be involved in anything bad.
Ran twisted around and frowned at the magical fence Papa had generated in his sleep. “Are you having a bad dream, Papa? Is that why you caged me?”
Ran couldn’t see a reason for the shield other than the leaf in his hand unless he was right about those shadows. Ran looked at them again. We're the shadows looking back at him? If they were spawning monsters, Ran couldn’t tell. Would the shadows look different if I had magic?
Ran didn’t know so he looked at the leaf. But the image forming on it was still blurry. The leaf was the only thing out of place, but why would a leaf from the Queen Tree set off Papa’s magic? Maybe the blurry woman on the leaf was in trouble. That would do it.
Ran studied her, but she was just a hazy outline against the soft glow of the silver-veined leaf. How can I make her image clearer, so I can see what was wrong? Ran probed the leaf with gentle fingers. It was heart-shaped, and it overflowed his hand. He held the leaf up to Papa’s hand for comparison, and his hand was a lot larger. That was strangely comforting.
“Who are you? Are you a nice lady? Do you need our help?” Ran asked the lady in the leaf.
She didn’t answer, but Ran didn’t expect her to. Glowing objects didn't talk to him, but sometimes they spoke to Papa through his magic. Ran turned the leaf over, but the woman wasn't on the back. There were just a bunch of pretty loops and swirls. As his eager fingers traced them, they reminded him of the Queen Tree’s bark, which made sense since this leaf used to be part of her. But how did the lady get inside the leaf? Was that lady the Queen Tree herself?
Was the Queen Tree in trouble? Ran turned the leaf over and over, searching for clues. As he reviewed the little Papa had learned about the Queen Tree, everything started to get a little fuzzy around the edges, and the walls got all bendy. Uh-oh. The leaf must be magical, and it might be trying to take him somewhere. Do I want to go where it’s trying to send me?
The answer depended on whether this leaf really had come from the Queen Tree. Since Ran didn’t know for certain if it had, he leaned into the reassuringly solid and warm wall of muscles of Papa’s stomach. But his fingers tingled, and that tingly feeling crept up his arm. It wasn’t a nice feeling when his fingers started to fade away. Uh-oh. That was bad. “Papa, wake up and help me. Papa!”
***
Next week, we’ll continue with the next chapter. But you can read ahead on patreon right now. Have a great week!
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