April 16, 2007
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Wake of the Raven, Chapter 23, “Cake.” An excerpt.
At first Stuart tried to think of other matters: of how he would travel home from Singapore, if they ever got there, and of what the speculation must be amongst his friends, if even they knew he had vanished. For a while this occupied him, but then amidst these sober plans the relentless dragon of speculation crept slyly in again, and held before his mind’s eye the face of a girl long forgotten, a girl he had known in his teens, and walked in Pillot woods with one long ago summer.
She was a girl he had been very fond of, a quiet, dark haired girl, and they had strolled slowly, too absorbed with each other to care much where they went, content to wander aimlessly, talking endlessly on infinite subjects as the young can, crossing and re-crossing the same trails, oblivious to the people who passed by them on the dappled paths. Only half conscious themselves of their growing purpose, and not speaking of it, they found themselves leaving the beaten path, wading through the woodland grass between the tangled trees, rejoicing in the firm snap of twigs beneath their feet.
Voices came to them faintly, floating through the ever thickening barrier of trees, and his hands felt moist and his voice a little hoarse and unsteady. Yet that didn’t matter, for they had ceased to say much, but went on in unstated quest until the distant voices were fainter than the flutter and song of the birds in the branches above, fainter than the close, pressing hum and buzz of the insects.
They passed into a narrow clearing to which no path came, and paused, feeling the warm isolation of the place, and turning to each other came together gently, and embraced softly, but with a rising heat of their own, beyond the summer day’s. And he lay with her in the grass where the Blue Bells grew thickly, whilst the shafts of sun and shadow duelled beneath the leaf swathed branches.
They kissed, and her breath fanned his face warmly, and his hands….
Damn! I’m out of ink.
Comments (7)
Wow, that was great.
I’m gonna buy your book as soon as I have some cash to spare.
thank you, thank you. i thought so myself.
ave satanas!
nice try
i’m still a faggot.
ryc
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts.
Kaz
Graham…. the nicest thing happened to me yesterday… I popped open my mailbox here in Texas and I had a package… I LOVE surprises
and it was your book. Now don’t think I will read it immediately… because as an English teacher I still have to read Thoreau and
“The Great Gatsby” and “All Quiet on the Western Front”… but as soon as the kids get out of school I am going to read it… I will not
someone else have it until I read it.
Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! You rock my world right now!
Love ya, Mean it…
Tricia
let… let… let… Why do I make mistakes when I type.
Hugs, Tricia