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THE START OF SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL by Kacey Ezell
It was warm and squishy. I did not like it.
“Can’t I have a different one?” I whined. My mother smacked me to the other side of the alcove with an idle flip of her second foreleg. I lay stunned for a moment while she left without giving me any further answer. Then the air came back, and I could breathe again, though it hurt.
I untangled my legs and got my feet under me, then stood up as steadily as I could.
It just lay there, watching me.
I’d seen my mother’s Flatar, and he didn’t look anything like this ugly, hairless thing with the enormous eyes. Hranou was sleekly furred, and laughed all the time. I liked him more than I liked my mother, truth be told. He was the reason I’d looked forward to this day. Today I would meet an infant Flatar.
This, though? This was not what I had expected.
“Look at you,” I said, “Who would want to bond with you? Ugly, weak thing as you are! You can’t even move properly. I think Mother made a mistake. I think you’re supposed to be food. I think, maybe, I’ll just eat you.”
It kept watching me with those huge eyes. Like all Flatar, it only had two, but they dominated the little face. I watched it back, and took a step toward it.
It was so small! I wasn’t very large myself, having only hatched a few days ago. I’d barely made it out of the nest alive, too, as I was one of the smaller of my mother’s offspring. The first several of my siblings to hatch had been bigger than me, and had immediately begun consuming the rest of us as we emerged from our eggs. I didn’t know much at that moment, but I knew I wasn’t ready for my seconds-old life to be over, so I fought back, and when that worked, I followed suit and consumed the body of the sister who had attacked me. A few more of those, and I’d managed to fight my way free of the tangle of egg sacs and run. I’d finally collapsed in this alcove.
When mother showed up, I thought for sure I was dead. She was so big, and I was exhausted. And she had seemed so displeased to see me.
“Too small,” she’d said. “Should never have survived Hatching.”
“But she did,” a small, chittery voice had answered. I hadn’t dared rise up from my defensive crouch, but my left side eyes caught the movement as a furry head poked up beside Mother’s. That was the first time I met Hranou.
They visited me every day after that, and the experience was the same. Mother dismissed me as not good enough, while Hranou laughed and told her not to be so blind. He at least seemed to think there was something redeeming about me. So when they told me that they would bring me a Flatar pup, I was very excited.
But, again, this was not what I expected.
I rose up over the thing, staring back at its obscenely large eyes. I suppose it did look a little Flatar-ish…and up close I could see that it did in fact have fur. It was just very, very fine and appeared colorless. It was wrapped in some kind of drab cloth, and as I watched, it kicked its back legs free. Then the cold air hit it, and it began to whimper.
Stupid baby. I reached down and pulled the blanket over it again.
It kicked it off again. The cries got louder.
“Stop that,” I said. I pulled the blanket over it again, to no avail. It just kicked loose and let out an ear-piercing wail that echoed off the stone walls of my alcove.
“Quit!” I said, keeping my voice a low hiss. “You’ll tell my siblings where we are and if you do, then we’re both food!”
It just kept crying.
“Stop it right now, or I will sting you,” I said. “And then you’ll die, and I’ll eat you. It’s better than being eaten myself!”
More wails.
Something clenched inside me, but I didn’t really have much choice. I looked down at that red, wrinkly face all screwed up in a cry and gave it a good jolt with my stinger.
The cries stopped. The tear-filled eyes opened wide, and the little mouth parted with an “O,” revealing the little Flatar’s milk teeth. Then it did the strangest thing.
It glared at me.
Or rather, he glared at me. Since the stupid baby insisted on lying uncovered on the ground, it was pretty obvious he had male sex organs. I don’t know how I knew what they were, I just knew.
Kinda like I just knew how to fight, I guess. Small I may be, but I was clearly not stupid.
Unlike the baby, who seemed not to know he’d been stung. He just glared at me, then reached up and rubbed the sting site.
“Why did you do that?” he asked, in a piping voice.
Now it was my turn to stare.
“You can talk?”
“Of course I can talk. All I’ve heard since I was born was your ranting and raving.”
“You were just born?”
“Why else would I be so small? Are you going to eat me now? Because I’m not afraid to fight you.”
I laughed, my mandibles clicking together.
“I’m twenty times your size! You’re just a baby!”
“So are you! Why else would you be afraid that your siblings would find you?”
“I don’t…why are you still alive? That sting should have killed you. I gave higher doses to my bigger siblings when I was Hatching.”
“Maybe I’m stronger than you…what are you?”
“Me? I’m a Tortantula.”
“That’s your name?”
“No, that’s what I am. I’m a Tortantula and you’re a Flatar. And don’t ask me how I know, I just know,” I said. Then I paused. “…I don’t have a name.”
“Why not?”
I shrugged.
“My mother doesn’t like me. She said I was too small and should have died in Hatching. Maybe that’s why she didn’t give me a name.”
“That’s stupid. You look plenty big to me. I think your mother is an idiot.”
That surprised me so much I laughed again.
“What is your name, then?” I asked him. I was beginning to revise my initial impression. He was still small and gross-looking, but this little Flatar pup had guts.
“Sadek,” he said. “At least, that’s what my father said when I opened my eyes earlier.”
“Sadek—”
I never got to finish what I was saying. A whisper of sound warned me, and I barely had time to collapse myself over Sadek and roll to the side before my attacking sibling could impact us with the full force of her charge.
I wrapped Sadek’s tiny body up in my center limbs and came up on my feet, stingers ready. My sibling lunged, her forelimb slashing out toward my eyes. I ducked and skittered forward, holding Sadek close to my abdomen. I came up under my sibling and jabbed her with my two front stingers, right at her wasp waist. I heard her gasp, but I was already down and rolling again. I took out her left side legs and managed to get in a bite on her rearmost ankle. She went down with a scream.
“Get up on me!” I shouted to Sadek, and gave him a boost in that direction. I could feel his tiny clawed hands and feet scrabbling to find a seam in my exoskeleton to hold onto. I didn’t have much time to worry about him, though, because my sibling was rolling over, and if I was going to survive, I had to beat her now.
I leapt, causing Sadek to let out a “meep!” of fear and dig his claws into the seam he’d found. It hurt, but I ignored it. Instead, I focused on coming down hard on my sibling’s head with my back four feet. She was rising up, but her front legs toppled back down under my sudden weight, and I managed to scrape my back right stinger across her eyering.
She let out another scream as I felt several of her eyes on the right side burst. Her back legs buckled, and she fell to her abdomen on the stone floor of my alcove. I scrambled backward, getting the bulk of my body positioned over hers as she started to thrash and try to rise again.
“Stay down,” I growled, and bit her head off.
Well, not all of it. I was smaller than she was. But I did take a big chunk out of the side where I’d pierced her eyes. The taste of her blood filled my mouth as she screamed again. She
tasted delicious, like metal and strength.
I ate until she stopped screaming, and then I ate until there was nothing left of her but a few fragments of exoskeleton and her stingers. Only then did I slow down and let out a large burp.
“Wow,” Sadek said. His little voice echoed softly off the walls of my alcove, emphasizing the silence. If there had been other siblings lying in wait, they’d decided to go elsewhere.
“Are you all right?” I asked. I hadn’t realized that I cared, but suddenly, I did.
“I am,” he said. “You’re…really good.”
“How do you know?” I asked. “You’re just a baby.”
“So are you,” he said, “and look what you did! She was half again your size, and you took her right out! And saved me at the same time! I wish you liked me.”
“Why?”
“So I could be your partner! We would be unstoppable! Plus, if you keep eating everyone that attacks you, you’re going to be plenty big soon enough.”
“I do like you,” I said. Again, I didn’t realize it was true until I spoke, but there it was. I liked Sadek. He was important.
So be it.
“You do?” he asked. “Why?”
“Because…” I thought about it. Why did I like him? He was small, and ugly. But he was smart, and tough. He hadn’t even flinched when I stung him, and…
And he liked me. He was the first being who did. And that was something.
“I like you because you like me. So give me a name, and let’s be partners,” I said.
“Yeah? All right!” he said. “I will name you…Azah.”
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Editor’s note: “The Start of Something Beautiful” is the beginning of the upcoming novel, “Weaver,” by Kacey Ezell and Mark Wandrey. I can’t wait. CJK
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About the Editors
A bestselling Science Fiction/Fantasy author, publisher, and speaker, Chris Kennedy is a former school principal and naval aviator with over 3,000 hours flying attack and reconnaissance aircraft. Chris is also a member of the SFWA and the SCBWI.
Chris’ full-length novels on Amazon include the “Occupied Seattle” military fiction duology, the “Theogony” and “Codex Regius” science fiction trilogies and the “War for Dominance” fantasy trilogy. Chris is also the author of the #1 Amazon self-help book, “Self-Publishing for Profit: How to Get Your Book Out of Your Head and Into the Stores.”
Find out more about Chris Kennedy and get the free prequel, “Shattered Crucible” at:
http://chriskennedypublishing.com/
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Located in rural Tennessee, Mark Wandrey has been creating new worlds since he was old enough to write. After penning countless short stories, he realized novels were his real calling and hasn’t looked back since. A lifetime of diverse jobs, extensive travels, and living in most areas of the country have uniquely equipped him with experiences to color his stories in ways many find engaging and thought provoking.
Find out more about Mark Wandrey and get the free prequel, “Gateway to Union,” at
http://www.worldmaker.us/news-flash-sign-up-page/
Four Horsemen Titles
Cartwright’s Cavaliers
Asbaran Solutions
Winged Hussars
The Golden Horde
A Fistful of Credits
Peacemaker
For a Few Credits More
The Good, the Bad, and the Merc (Coming Soon!)
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The following is an
Excerpt from Book One of the Revelations Cycle:
Cartwright’s Cavaliers
___________________
Mark Wandrey
Available now from Seventh Seal Press
eBook, Paperback, and Audio
Excerpt from “Cartwright’s Cavaliers:”
The last two operational tanks were trapped on their chosen path. Faced with destroyed vehicles front and back, they cut sideways to the edge of the dry river bed they’d been moving along and found several large boulders to maneuver around that allowed them to present a hull-down defensive position. Their troopers rallied on that position. It was starting to look like they’d dig in when Phoenix 1 screamed over and strafed them with dual streams of railgun rounds. A split second later, Phoenix 2 followed on a parallel path. Jim was just cheering the air attack when he saw it. The sixth damned tank, and it was a heavy.
“I got that last tank,” Jim said over the command net.
“Observe and stand by,” Murdock said.
“We’ll have these in hand shortly,” Buddha agreed, his transmission interspersed with the thudding of his CASPer firing its magnet accelerator. “We can be there in a few minutes.”
Jim examined his battlespace. The tank was massive. It had to be one of the fusion-powered beasts he’d read about. Which meant shields and energy weapons. It was heading down the same gap the APC had taken; the tank was heading toward Second Squad, and fast.
“Shit,” he said. He had to stop them.
“Jim,” Hargrave said, “we’re in position. What are you doing?”
“Leading,” Jim said as he jumped out from the rock wall.
* * * * *
Get “Cartwright’s Cavaliers” now at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MRZKM95/.
Find out more about Mark Wandrey and “Cartwright’s Cavaliers” at: http://chriskennedypublishing.com/imprints-authors/mark-wandrey/.
The following is an
Excerpt from Book One of the Kin Wars Saga:
Wraithkin
___________________
Jason Cordova
Now Available from Theogony Books
eBook, Paperback, and Audio
Excerpt from “Wraithkin:”
Prologue
The lifeless body of his fellow agent on the bed confirmed the undercover operation was thoroughly busted.
“Crap,” Agent Andrew Espinoza, Dominion Intelligence Bureau, said as he stepped fully into the dimly lit room and carefully made his way to the filthy bed in which his fellow agent lay. He turned away from the ruined body of his friend and scanned the room for any sign of danger. Seeing none, he quickly walked back out of the room to where the slaves he had rescued earlier were waiting.
“Okay, let’s keep quiet now,” he reminded them. “I’ll go first, and you follow me. I don’t think there are any more slavers in the warehouse. Understand?”
They all nodded. He offered them a smile of confidence, though he had lied. He knew there was one more slaver in the warehouse, hiding near the side exit they were about to use. He had a plan to deal with that person, however. First he had to get the slaves to safety.
He led the way, his pistol up and ready as he guided the women through the dank and musty halls of the old, rundown building. It had been abandoned years before, and the slaver ring had managed to get it for a song. In fact, they had even qualified for a tax-exempt purchase due to the condition of the neighborhood around it. The local constable had wanted the property sold, and the slaver ring had stepped in and offered him a cut if he gave it to them. The constable had readily agreed, and the slavers had turned the warehouse into the processing plant for the sex slaves they sold throughout the Dominion. Andrew knew all this because he had been the one to help set up the purchase in the first place.
Now, though, he wished he had chosen another locale.
He stopped the following slaves as he came to the opening which led into one of the warehouse’s spacious storage areas. Beyond that lay their final destination, and he was dreading the confrontation with the last slaver. He checked his gun and grunted in surprise as he saw he had two fewer rounds left than he had thought. He shook his head and charged the pistol.
“Stay here and wait for my signal,” he told the rescued slaves. They nodded in unison.
He took a deep, calming breath. No matter what happened, he had to get the slaves to safety. He owed them that much. His sworn duty was to protect the Dominio
n from people like the slavers, and someone along the way had failed these poor women. He exhaled slowly, crossed himself and prayed to God, the Emperor and any other person who might have been paying attention.
He charged into the room, his footsteps loud on the concrete flooring. He had his gun up as he ducked behind a small, empty crate. He peeked over the top and snarled; he had been hoping against hope the slaver was facing the other direction.
Apparently Murphy is still a stronger presence in my life than God, he thought as he locked eyes with the last slaver. The woman’s eyes widened in recognition and shock, and he knew he would only have one chance before she killed them all.
He dove to the right of the crate and rolled, letting his momentum drag him out of the slaver’s immediate line of fire. He struggled to his feet as her gun swung up and began to track him, but he was already moving, sprinting back to the left while closing in on her. She fired twice, both shots ricocheting off the floor and embedding themselves in the wall behind him.
Andrew skid to a stop and took careful aim. It was a race, the slaver bringing her gun around as his own came to bear upon her. The muzzles of both guns flashed simultaneously, and Andrew grunted as pain flared in his shoulder.
A second shot punched him in the gut and he fell, shocked the woman had managed to get him. He lifted his head and saw that while he had hit her, her wound wasn’t nearly as bad as his. He had merely clipped her collarbone and, while it would smart, it was in no way fatal. She took aim on him and smiled coldly.
For a Few Credits More: More Stories from the Four Horsemen Universe (The Revelations Cycle Book 7) Page 49
