Broadswords and Blasters Issue 1: Pulp Magazine with Modern Sensibilities (Volume 1) by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Broadswords and Blasters
Published: 2017-04-13T22:00:00+00:00

Island of Skulls

(Part One of Two)

by Matt Spencer

Matt Spencer is the author of several novels, including the acclaimed Deschembine trilogy, The Night and the Land, Trail of the Beast, and The Blazing Chief (forthcoming from Caliburn Press), as well as numerous short-stories and novellas.

Find him online at https://mattspencerauthor

.wordpress.com/, or Twitter @MattSpencerFSFH.

One

“We shall all dance the Dance of the Rising, in the House of Schrias, on the Island of Skulls.” The husky voice sent a shiver of primordial excitement down Ketz’s spine.

One minute, he and his twin sister Tia climbed the brambly, rocky hillside - a pair of lithe, nimble wire-sculpture youths, with skin of swirling, earthen shades that blended with the forest-hues around them, better than any painted or woven camouflage could. They each wore just enough leaf-and-vine-woven garments to keep the scratchy brush off their tender bits, and to strap their long knives and gear-pouches to their sides. They’d spent all day chasing vague reports of unsavory activity in their territory, tracking from one side of the mountain to the other and back, sniffing for clues and questioning some hermitish outlying locals. Now here they were, back where they started, catching their breath, with nothing to show for it. High time they got back to the village, so they could wash up, then go kick back with some pals and a filched jug or two of ol’ Lehirm’s sap wine.

Then that strange girl appeared over the ridge above, out of nowhere. She wasn’t one of their own, that was for sure. Her thin skirt swirled and lashed about her hips, catching nebulous, kaleidoscopic patterns in the light, casting their splendors over the rocks and leaves. That was all she wore, except for the ominously carved coral jewelry that draped over her full breasts, woven about her slender wrists and between her supple, spidery fingers like gauntlets. Serpentine tattoos covered her smooth, ruddy skin. At a glance, you might miss how those were tattoos, that her flesh was naturally solid-shaded - not like the native Schomites of these hills.

Her lips lightly tickled Ketz’s ear with the words - We shall all dance the Dance of the Rising, in the House of Schrias, on the Island of Skulls - then her fingernails brushed his cheek before she danced away over the rocks. Her hair lashed about her shoulders as she glanced back. Her sultry gaze met his with hypnotic Care to fuck? eyes. He blinked, dizzy from her fragrance. His mouth watered. His fingers curled and uncurled, eager to explore her skin, to snarl through her wild, silken hair of gold and scarlet. Suddenly, his loose-fitting, knee-length trousers felt mighty constrictive. A wisp of wind carried the scent away, as she darted downhill.

Tia sprang after the girl, even faster than Ketz did. She snatched at the lovely creature like some scrambling brush-rodent that might make a good dinner. Ketz bounded to catch up, to reach the girl before Tia did. Still the girl pranced away on bare feet, like the sharp, prickly terrain couldn’t touch her, like she was a ghost or something.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.