Chapter Snippet

The beginning of next Chapter. This marks the eleventh chapter thus far in No’va. 

*****

Nickademis eyed the sea of wavering brown and green grass. There was little movement where he had last seen the young harpy until a shift in the pattern of bending reeds confirmed her location. Huffing out a sigh, he continued down the path Windchester had cleared once again.

A sudden squeal, followed by a burst of feathers emerged directly alongside the doctor. He halted in a panicked skid before realizing she had caught a field mouse.

“Someone’s enjoying breakfast.” he grumbled.

Amber eyes peered up at him, the mouse’s tail still twitching along her dark lips. It was intriguing to actually view all of her facial markings during the daylight hours. A black line went from brow to chin, with thinner ones fanned out across her cheekbones. Unfurling her wings broke the illusion that kept them from tangling in tight spaces. Yet even they contained shades of greens and brown alongside the darker plumage.

Everest stood, sucking in the tail and ticking her lips. A small lump could be seen traveling down her throat when she tilted her head back to help get it down. A shake of her feathered head brought a grin, and she patted her belly.

“Earrrly morrrningsss are the bessst,” she hissed with pride. Her top crest of feathers fanned out as wide as her toothy smile before layering flat over her hair once again. The hissing vanished with her next comment, “You should try it sometime. Leaves the whole day open afterwards.”

“I saw some rabbits,” Phine commented from behind the doctor. “Would make a nice stew if we could catch ’em.”

“Perhaps you could assist in helping them,” Windchester suggested to the harpy. “Although I am not permitted to harm the creatures that grant our shifting abilities, that doesn’t mean I will stop anyone else from obtaining their rightful nourishment.”

“With pleasssurrre,” Everest purred in delight before folding her wings in a fade. She then darted back into the wavering blades.

Corrigan Redesigned

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Work in progress…. painting in details of foliage and feathers.

Corrigan Revamp

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Work in progress

Chapter Teaser

The Beginning of the End

 

This is it… the final countdown until the end of book three, ending the first trilogy in Blue Moon Rising. This is the first chapter that marks that beginning.

From “Healer” – chapter teaser

 

There was an erie silence throughout the city of Lexington. People hastened their business with merchants in hushed tones as a dense fog settled in from the south. Fingers of dark mist crept through back alleys and poured over the cobblestone streets. It did not take long before all of Lexington was in its grasp.

Yet Lexington’s inhabitants were not the only ones unsettled by this uncanny arrival. Surrounding hillside provided the perfect lookout points for Healers to amass. Extending their animal senses from gained shifts, they alone could detect human movement and smells within the gray covering. Among them was Chronicles, ready to signal his people forward at the first sign from either Jangus or his son.

A White Wing brushed past some leaves to join his side, his wings neatly folding into a fade. Squinting at the haze of gray, Rusha turned to the other Healer.

“I hope this doesn’t last,” he said. “A fog like this will prove hard to navigate through in mid-flight.”

Chronicles flicked his gaze over to the harpy before refocusing on the city.

“Nevertheless,” was his unmoved reply, “it will help conceal your attacks.”

“Until we hit their structures!” Rusha countered.

“Leave the buildings to us,” Chronicles soothed the harpy’s doubts. He held out a hand to demonstrate his words by calling forth a small vine from the earth. “We’ll level everything they’ve built until the only mark of their existence is a barren field!” He clenched his fist, and when he did the vine crushed a small stone beneath the soil.

“As long as you’re certain,” Rusha replied. “Why wait for the others, then?”

“I want confirmation.” Chronicles waved a hand to dismiss the Wing’s presence. “Be ready to send your people in.”

Slightly offended at the leader’s abrupt end to their conversation, Rusha backed away in silence. When his presence could be sensed no more, Chronicles turned his attention to the southern skies.

There was a mere dot in the horizon. As Chronicles’ pupils dilated to sharpen his gaze, the dot grew larger until he could just make out the raven form of Jangus.