Death Springs Eternal by Robert J. Duperre

Author:Robert J. Duperre [Duperre, Robert J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780615583884
Amazon: 0615583881
Publisher: TRO Publishing
Published: 2012-01-29T23:00:00+00:00

INTERLUDE

THE ARRIVAL OF THE BLACK SHIPS

The dagger in her hand shimmers in the late afternoon sun. Izzy stares down at it, gazing at the intricate markings emblazoned on the blade. It feels light in her hand, as if it’s not a tool but a part of her fourteen-year-old body. Which it is, she realizes. The words written on it are those of her people, after all. It has been meant for her all along.

Someone approaches from behind her, and fingers run through her hair, breaking snarls, flattening curls. She turns and sees her mom standing there, a sad smile on her face. Izzy doesn’t smile back. It would be false if she did, and her mom would know. Her mom always knows what she’s thinking. Has for as long as she can remember.

“You’re beautiful,” her mom says.

“Thanks,” Izzy replies.

Her mom continues to fiddle with her hair, now tying it back with a piece of twine. Izzy is more comfortable now, without strands constantly blowing into her face. Just like always, her mom knows how best to make her feel comfortable. Too bad that comfort is fleeting.

“You have your mother’s hair,” says her mom. “Did you know that?”

Izzy rolls her eyes. “Yeah, dad’s told me that before.”

“Well, it’s gorgeous.”

This time her spirits stay lifted a bit longer. She loves it when her mom casts praise upon her, just as she loves it when she remembers how dad used to hold her at night before the fire, telling her stories of the past, of how he and mom met. It’s like a gateway into another world, one that holds only a sprinkling of the beauty she’s grown up with but is in many ways more fulfilling.

With thoughts of her dad, she allows her eyes to track down from her perch upon the green mountain, gazing upon the bustle of activity on the beach below. The island is inaccessible on all sides save one, Teacher has told her. The invader’s only choice is to arrive here, at the thin, rocky inlet. It is on this beach that the battle will take place, and now the people who stayed behind, her friends and family, are busy stacking rocks, sharpening spears, building blockades, erecting walls made from the remains of their homes. She cannot see their faces given the distance, but the anxiety each of them feels is as real to her as her own, flooding her senses in waves, invading her thoughts. She is able to hold these impressions at bay for the most part, as her mom has taught her well, but there are two she cannot. Her dad is down there, as is teacher, and they are both afraid. She looks up and over her shoulder and sees her mom’s expression of lock-jawed concentration. Yes, mom feels it as well. The emotions are overbearing.

Again she glances at the knife in her hand, and a part of her desires to spin around and bury the blade in her mom’s sternum. With the thought of this comes shock, and she stumbles backward.

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