Please let us know if you would continue reading in the comment section below.
It was quiet. Uncommon quiet.
Slade Jackson cracked his eyelids to the blue light of dawn, scanning the
red-rock canyon below. Things looked all right, but the desert could be like a
strange woman: pretty and prickly at the same time.
Still, the dun was quiet too,
which was a good sign, since horses were generally onto trouble before men.
Slade relaxed a touch, rolled over to check on the new filly, and like-to
jumped out of his skin.
“I’ll be taking back my horse,”
she said from atop an oversized sorrel. Her voice was as hard and cool as the
barrel of the Spencer Carbine pointed his way. Her eyes narrowed. “Where are
the rest?”
“Apaches got ‘em, I reckon.”
“Likely story.” She nodded toward
the dun, which she’d already managed to untie. “Then how did you wind up with
her?”
He paused to study his adversary.
Her delicate features belied her fortitude.
She arched an eyebrow. “I asked
you a question?”
“Some young buck hunting hair came across my
track and ran me down. He shot my paint out from under me, so I finished him
and took this one.”
“Well, she’s not yours, so I’ll
be taking her now.”
“With all due respect ma’am, you
can’t leave a man alone in the desert without a ride.”
“Watch me.”
“But it’s the dry season, ma’am.
That’s the same as murder.”
“Not murder. Justice.” She
pointed up the hill. “I tossed your guns up there in the brush. You can hunt
them down after I’m gone. Look at it this way; it’s better than a judge would
give you.”
Heat crept up the back of his
neck. “I told you, ma’am, I’m not a thief.”
She said nothing, just lowered
her reins, and slapped the horses. Her red hair whirled like a dust devil as
she disappeared into the rising sun.
Would Your Read On?
Last weeks brave author was Annie Carter.
Annie dabbles in a variety of
pursuits, from writing poetry to teaching German. She began blogging earlier in
the year at writelightuk.wordpress.com, mainly on culture, family and faith.
The Book Beyond Time is her
first novel, that she was inspired to write as a coming of age fantasy for her
three sons. The story follows thirteen year old Marcus who embarks on a quest
that he’s not quite sure he wants to follow. Set in the land of techno-medieval
Krinton, three hundred years after the Great Catastrophe of 2025, Marcus
tackles physical and spiritual forces to make his way cross country to the elusive
Kingdom of the North before Krinton’s impending doom. The excerpt is from the
prologue; Ree-Mya is Marcus’s mother.
A website is underway for the
novel and should go live by the end of the year. Check back soon at
thebookbeyondtime.com
Merry Christmas everyone!
Diana
6 comments:
Yes, I would read on.
Yes. I want to know what happens next!
Sure. I want to know if he gets his horse back or, if he doesn't, how he gets out of the desert without one! I wonder, though, if it might be better to start with the sentence "I'll be taking back my horse now." Then you could say this woman was like the desert, "pretty and prickly at the same time." :-)
Great start - would definitely read on.
Becky
Yeah, I would, but then I'm a sucker for a good western (Louis Lamour, T Burns, etc.) Good start.
Yes, I would read on. I don't read tons of westerns but this was a great beginning. Well done, I feel like a cowboy just reading this.
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