I thought I’d share a little of the fruits of my pre-writing efforts. This is from early free writing exercise that in all likelihood won’t bear much resemblance to the actual story about the gargoyle/fae.
Celeste eased her body to the edge of the opening and let her legs hang over the rocky lip. When she looked down, she saw only a black void beneath her. She didn’t dare activate the lamp here though. The flare of light would be a beacon in the night. The Unknowing One was too close. Maybe close enough to find her before she could complete her task if she gave him any hint of where she was.
She grabbed the edge of the opening and lowered herself into the darkness. As she hung there for a moment, she took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. The floor was beneath her, but being unable to see it made her nervous. She gathered her courage and let go. The drop was short. When she landed, the sudden impact surprised her and she stumbled to her knees.
She straightened and took a few calming breaths. The darkness surrounded her, seeming almost suffocating. The dim moonlight didn’t reach down here and she couldn’t even see her hands. Cautiously, she slid her feet forward until she was certain she was away from the opening. She slid her hand down her right side and into her pocket.
She wished both of the moons were full tonight. She wouldn’t have any problem then, but both were only slivers in the sky. If they had been brighter, she couldn’t have attempted to complete her mission though, so she had to deal with the darkness. She had to do this by feel.
She pulled the crystals from her pocket and lifted them in front of her. With a glance back and up, she struck them together. Hopefully, she was far enough away from the light. The crystals began to glow.
She took a lantern off her belt and put the glowing shards into it.
The light spilled out in front of her. It wasn’t as bright as she’d like, but she didn’t want to give away her position. The Unknowing One was hunting her and he might find the entrance to this old mating maze.
She pulled a map from her packet. The old woman who’d given it to her had said there was a break in one of the maze walls which would give her access to the caves. The cave would take her to the cavern. Hopefully this would work. If she had to travel above ground, it would be easy for the Unknowing One to spot her from the air. As a fully mature male, he had the ability to fly.
She wished she had a name for the Unknowing one or the one she had to free. The risk of getting too close to the man who had been given the duty of keeping everyone away from the caves was too great. He had no idea who he actually was or that he was part of something more, although he undoubtedly was given a name. As for the other, his name had been lost to history.
Carvings on the walls caught her eyes. Men, women, plants and buildings were depicted on the in the reliefs. The scenes showed a time before the culling and the disregard of the reasons behind the old ways. They were beautiful and she’d like to stay and learn every detail, but she couldn’t. She had a duty. She had to start setting things right.
She paced slowly down the hallway. She didn’t want to miss the hole in the wall. She had no idea how obvious it would be or if it would be obscured. The frozen one and his guards waited. It was past time he woke and took that other man in hand. Then the two men could start the reawakening and help rebuild their dying people.
Happy Reading!
