Thursday, July 16, 2015
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
WIP Wednesday – Clan Beginnings: Clan and Crown
Egilka
shouted in the prince’s ear to be heard over the scream of a Isetacian trade
ship taking off. “Where are we going? What are we doing here? We can’t even pay
to get off this damned planet!”
Despite
the exhausted countenance that told the Imdiko that Clajak was as close to done
in as he was, the Dramok surprised him with a sly grin and a wink. “Then we’ll
have to rely on the generosity of others.”
Egilka
stared at him dumbfounded. “Generosity?
On Dantovon?” Apparently, Clajak’s brain had melted in the jungle heat.
Yet he looked so damned confident. Almost cocky, the smug bastard.
Trying
to figure out where his companion’s assurance came from ... heat-induced
madness or inside information ... Egilka ventured, “Maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll
run into a vacationing Kalquorian or clan. You know we can’t bet on that,
though.”
Clajak
slowed enough to allow Egilka to walk by his side. His arm slipped around the
Imdiko’s waist and squeezed. “Calm down, my worried friend. I still have a
trick or two up my sleeve.”
Not
reassured in the least, Egilka glowered at him. “I’m not terribly fond of your
tricks, Clajak.”
The
jerk laughed. “No? You will be when
we’re back in Empire space.” Clajak’s eyes widened as he looked past Egilka.
His grin spread wider and he shoved against the Imdiko, angling them from the
middle of the traffic flow towards the launch pads to their right. “Now there’s
a definite possibility.”
Egilka
eyed the ship Clajak guided him towards. He frowned at the large, almost
triangular capsule sitting on spindly metal legs that extended beyond the
craft’s booster rockets that would lift it beyond gravity’s pull into space.
One figure strolled beneath the vessel, made tiny by the craft’s impressive bulk.
Egilka
gave Clajak a quizzical look. “An Adraf freighter? They will definitely want us to pay for
passage. Up front, no less.”
They
reached the edge of the launch bay, standing in the shadow of the towering,
angular vessel. Clajak’s face was positively sunny as he looked it over. “We
don’t have to pay if they don’t know we’re aboard.”
“Stow
away?”
Even in
the din of the port, Egilka’s voice rang loud in his disbelief. Clajak gave him
a shake. “Will you quiet down?”
Releasing mid-December 2015
Monday, July 13, 2015
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Monday, July 6, 2015
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Monday, June 29, 2015
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
WIP Wednesday – Clan Beginnings: Clan and Crown
Egilka
yanked his arm free of the prince’s grip. His fists clenched, he shouted, “You
stupid child! You nearly got noosed out
there. Do you think anyone of those
people around us would have stopped it? Those
Tragooms would have dragged your ass back to their Bi’isil master and the rest
would have cheered the entertainment.”
Clajak
had the nerve to look as if Egilka had disappointed him. His tone was every bit
as chastising as the Imdiko’s. “At least I could have claimed to have had some
fun before it all ended. Life is more
than just duty and promises, Egilka. Do you really think your sister wanted you
to lock yourself away from life in her memory?”
Egilka
inhaled sharply. “You shut your mouth about her!”
“Why?
If Cyrt loved you half as much as you loved her, she’d be beating you over the
head right now, trying to knock some sense into you. She’d want you to live,
damn it!”
“I am
living!”
“No
you’re not. You don’t even know the meaning of the word.” Clajak flicked his
hand at Egilka dismissively.
The
Imdiko wished he had the strength and skill to whip the man. “So tell me, oh
great sage of Kalquor. What does living mean? Fucking all the time? Goofing
off? Running away from your duty?”
Clajak’s
expression hardened. “Sometimes.
Sometimes it means daring to come out from behind your lab and delaying
doing what your elders tell you to do.
Even if I did end up a slave on Bi’is, that wouldn’t end Kalquor. Being a prince doesn’t make me that much
different from you in that regard.”
Egilka
had heard enough. It was obvious that Clajak didn’t care he’d brushed up
against certain doom only minutes ago. The Imdiko couldn’t figure him out or
how to make him behave like the royalty he’d been born to.
All at once,
Egilka didn’t want to be anywhere around Clajak. Ever. It wasn’t worth the hurt
that had sprung up unbidden and unexpected in his heart.
He made
his own dismissive gesture. “Fuck you. You want to see me turn my back on duty?
Fine. I’m going home and seeing if our contract can be dissolved. I don’t want
you for a Dramok.”
He
turned away, refusing to believe he’d seen Clajak’s expression turn devastated.
It hadn’t. All Clajak cared about was himself. His thoughts seething, Egilka
headed back the way he’d come in, pressing against the wildly hopping
Dantovonian bodies.
Releasing mid-December 2015
Monday, June 22, 2015
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