Quintessential Tales: A Magic of Solendrea Anthology by Martin Hengst

Author:Martin Hengst
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Coming of Age, Sword & Sorcery, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Anthologies & Short Stories, Anthologies, Fantasy, Teen & Young Adult, Literature & Fiction
Publisher: Ethergate Publishing Limited
Published: 2014-07-02T22:00:00+00:00

All Souls

Note from the Author: Please be aware that this story contains spoilers if you haven’t read the Swordmage Trilogy, particularly The Pegasus’s Lament. If you haven’t, I highly recommend that you read the original trilogy before reading All Souls.

“Mama! Mama, come quick! There’s a monster in the pumpkin patch!”

Kellni looked up from the washbasin as the door from the front porch banged open. Selma tripped over the threshold, sprawling across the rough plank floor and crashing into the table in the center of the common room. The table, which served as a place to dine, a desk, and a workbench, wobbled on unsteady legs, and for a moment Kellni thought it would crash down on her youngest daughter, taking the lit lantern with it.

At five, Selma was still young enough to cry when she skinned her palms and knees, so when the girl didn’t react to the fall with the slightest yelp of pain, Kellni knew something was afoot. Instead, the child scrambled to her feet and ran to her mother, burying her face in Kellni’s work dress. She had to pry Selma off her leg just to get a good look at her.

“Monster in the pumpkin patch indeed!” she scolded, taking a damp rag from her dress pocket and attacking the dirt on the youngster’s face. “Of all the foolishness. Why were you out there after dark anyhow? You know you’re not supposed to be past the south fence after sundown.”

Selma had the decency to look abashed, but her eyes were wide and bright. Whatever had scared the child hadn’t given her enough of a fright to make her behave any better than usual. The bigger concern in Kellni’s mind was where Demitra was. Her eldest daughter was supposed to have been watching the youngsters while their father was in the field. If she’d gone sneaking off with that boy from the village again…

“Mama! You have to come quick! Demitra went to chase the monster off. Then she screamed and didn’t come back.”

What Kellni had been ready to dismiss as childish tomfoolery now took on a much more sinister aspect. She grabbed the lantern from the table and glanced around the room for something to use as a weapon. There was no time to call for a guard or the militia. This was something she’d need to look into herself. Her eyes fell on a long-bladed butcher knife. That would have to do. She snatched it off the counter and was out the door, Selma two steps behind her.

They dashed around the house and down the packed earth path that led past the south field and to the pumpkin patch. Though the path wasn’t that long, the urgency of the moment made it seem as if they were traveling from one end of the Imperium to the other. After what seemed like an eternity, they reached the split rail fence that surrounded the south pasture. The gate was standing open. Luka, her husband, would never have allowed that.

Kellni’s

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