New Project!

Not surprisingly, I am working on something new. I’ve mentioned before that I have many stories in progress and I will flit from one to another as my mood strikes me. This is not to say I’m undisciplined. I have my main project and then when I’m either not able (stubborn muse), or unwilling (stubborn me) to work on it, I pick up another to make sure that I’m always writing — something.

I’ve been stuck for a while on my middle grade project and was finally coming to the conclusion that I need to let it sit and percolate for a while when a new idea popped up. I don’t really know what inspired it, or exactly where I’m taking it but I’m excited. This new story has a firm hold on me and I’m okay with that. It is fantasy. I don’t know if it will be a short story or a novel. Sound like I don’t know much about it? What I do know is the words are coming easily and it’s evolving in a way that I like.

This is the first scene, rough draft of course.

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The old, young man pulled his baseball cap low over his eyes as he stood in the middle of the crowd. He watched the man on the outdoor stage perform illusions, one after the other. Glancing around at the people nearby he noticed, as always, no one stood closer than a few feet from him. He fancied they could feel the power emanating from him and naturally shied away, although, in truth, he pushed them away for their own safety. The thought made him feel in control, something he desperately needed when he was outside.

The magician must have done something amazing because everyone started applauding, drawing his attention back to the show. It was pathetic. If these people saw real magic they would either not recognize it or scream and run for cover. He realized he wore a sneer but he didn’t try to hide it. No one would look directly at him anyway. He liked it that way, most of the time. Loneliness was his constant companion. That negative emotion welled up, threatening his discipline. He was trying to stamp it out when something bumped into him, hard, knocking him off his feet.

Before he could figure out what had happened he realized he could see his hat laying on the ground in front of him. He groaned and closed his eyes. Now he would have to take control of the entire crowd to make them forget seeing him. He slowly drew in a little energy from the grass beneath him. He saw no reason to exhaust himself when he would have to face whatever attacked him.

When he felt he had enough, he opened his eyes, pushed himself up onto his knees and peered around. No one was looking at him. Huh? He knew he had been laying on the ground for long enough to be noticed. The lady closest to him started clapping, he abruptly realized he couldn’t hear it. Shit. A familiar magical shield surrounded him. He grabbed the hat, got to his feet quickly and braced himself as he covered his head again.

“You might as well look at me, Liam.” a voice behind him said.

Liam slowly turned to face his assailant. He stared at the man who was both older and younger than him. Fear wormed its way into his soul. One of the few beings in the world as powerful as he was faced him. “Hello Gareth.”

“Hello? That’s all you have to say to me after all this time? After all the effort I’ve had to put into hunting you down and waiting until you braved going outside? No, hello will not do. You’ll have to give me more.”

“Piss off. Let’s not drag this out. Just kill me and get it over with.” Anger replaced anxiety. Why had he ever stepped out in the open?

“No, Liam, I am not going to kill you. Not even when you beg me too. Come along now.”

Gareth walked away and Liam fell in line behind him as the compulsion took hold. A small part of him was relieved he wasn’t going to die this night but caution overwhelmed that quickly. “What do you want then?”

“I want nothing more from you. I have a job to do and once I finish, I’ll walk away.”

The bastard had been chasing him for three hundred years for a job, and why did that hurt his feelings? “Wait, where are we going?”

“I’m taking you to Suzanne.”

For the first time in his long life, Liam fainted.