by Kay L. Ling
They lapsed into thoughtful silence.
The crowd had calmed and seemed willing to stay and watch, but they stood back from the fire, speaking in hushed tones. The pungent odor of burning wood hung thick in the air.
Lana said to Elias, “You should take a few cinders to S as a memento.”
“That’s a good idea,” he said with a chuckle.
“Let’s take another look at the throne,” she said, and Jules and Elias followed her.
An arm and a couple legs had burned away. The rest was charred but mostly intact. A couple gnomes braved the heat and shoveled glowing coals onto the throne to hasten its destruction. The others cheered and whistled.
For several minutes, Lana stood watching the throne burn, and then she realized something. As the fire ate away the carvings, the smoke creatures were fading, and a few had already disappeared.
“Have you noticed—” Lana started to say, but broke off when she saw Jules’s distracted expression. She followed his gaze. He was watching Franklin and a group of gnomes on the other side of the bonfire. One was pointing toward the castle’s outer wall, and a few broke away and hurried off in that direction.
“What’s going on over there?” Lana asked.
“I don’t know,” Jules said.
Franklin saw them looking his way and motioned to them.
Lana took Elias’s arm. “Something’s up and we’re going to investigate.”
Jules ran off, and Lana and Elias followed as fast as they could, reaching Franklin just as he was saying to Jules, “You probably couldn’t see it, but there’s a luffow over by the wall.”
“So, what’s the big deal?” Lana asked as they all hurried off. “Luffows aren’t dangerous, right?” She had only seen a luffow skeleton. It was the size of a fox, but unlike any animal from her world. According to Jules, they ate everything from grass to bugs to rodents and had terrible eyesight but a keen sense of smell. S had created them to be a food source for carnivorous predators.
“No, they’re not dangerous,” Franklin said, glancing back at her. “Especially this one.”
“What’s different about this one?” Jules asked.
“Wait till you see it.”
Gnomes and breghlin had gathered around the creature, which was rooting blindly among newly emerging grass and weeds.
“Fascinating,” Elias said, pushing past everyone.
Lana could see what Franklin meant about this luffow being harmless. It wasn’t all there. Elias stooped down and put his hand out, and it passed right through.
A few gnomes got up the courage to touch the luffow, with the same result.
“How is this possible?” Lana asked. “What’s happening to it?” As she watched in amazement, the luffow became more and more insubstantial. The gnomes whispered among themselves.
“I’d say it’s losing its reality,” Elias said, stepping back. The gnomes watched silently as the luffow grew fainter. Finally, it was no more than an outline that flickered a few times and then disappeared.
The smoke images were fading away, and now a real creature had faded away. How very strange. Was it a coincidence, or was there a connection? “Could this be happening to all of S’s monsters? Could they all be losing their reality?” Lana asked, almost afraid to hope.
“I don’t know what to make of it, but clearly, something important is happening,” Elias said.
“It would be too good to be true,” Lana said. “Imagine—no mutant insects, no crocodillos, no pythanium—what a different world this would be.”
“We’ll know soon enough, and if the creatures really are disappearing, it couldn’t be better timing,” Jules said. “The gnome clans need to travel to find one another, and we need to reach the Amulet barrier.”
“We got lucky before, guessing S’s password and finding the ommort mirkstone, but that would be nothing compared to burning S’s throne and finding out that, unbeknown to us, that destroys her creatures.”
Elias said, “That would indeed be a strange twist of fate.”
“The gnomes deserve a few lucky breaks,” Jules said, folding his arms.
Elias glanced around and then lowered his voice. “While everyone is occupied here, Raenihel and I plan to move S to her new Tree Home. I should be back in a couple hours.”
“What about the rest of his clan?” Jules asked. “Are they staying the night?”
“No. Franklin has arranged for carts to drive them home. We need to be on our way before they go.”
Lana said, “Tell S we’ll send a housewarming gift once she’s settled—a charred piece of her throne.”
Elias smiled and walked away.
Raucous laughter pulled Lana’s attention back to the bonfire. A few breghlin had started to circle the fire in what looked like a conga dance. More breghlin joined in, but the gnomes stood back, either not familiar with the dance or finding it beneath their dignity.
Each dancer laid his or her left hand on the shoulder of the breghlin in front, and with the right hand forming a fist, made three circles at waist height and then punched skyward. Their footwork was nothing complicated, just a bouncing march. As the line lengthened, the shouting and laughter grew louder.
“Come on,” Lana said, tugging on Jules’s arm. “It looks like fun.” For a moment, she thought he would refuse, but then he laughed and nodded.
As they approached, the breghlin opened a space for them, grinning broadly. Lana and Jules joined in, and Lana called to a group of gnomes, “Come on! It’s fun!”
By the time she and Jules had circled the fire twice, most of the gnomes had joined in. Dignity forgotten, they danced, shouted, and laughed.
Franklin came toward them, and Lana yelled, “Hey, why aren’t you dancing?”
He shouted back, “I’ve been busy! Have everyone on the terrace in half an hour. I brought up kegs of fialazza, beer, and wine.”
“Great idea!” She gave him a double fist pump and kept dancing.
Acknowledgements
My sister, Marie Clapsaddle, my biggest fan, provided invaluable feedback and spent more hours reading and editing this book than either of us can count. Thanks!
Lowell Ling, my wonderful husband, provided daily motivation by asking, “Do you have another chapter yet?”
I’d like to acknowledge the “noblebright” trend, which is the opposite of “grimdark.” Reading tastes differ, and one style of book isn’t inherently better than the other, but for those of you who enjoy main characters who have heroic hearts, this book is for you.
Author's Note
Thank you so much for reading Shadowglade! If you enjoyed it, I hope you will spread the word by posting an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads. You don’t need to write anything lengthy or profound. Even a simple statement like, “I enjoyed this book and I think you will too,” will encourage readers to pick up Shadowglade. Lana, Jules, and Elias thank you in advance, and the gnomes and breghlin do, too!
Join us online to find out about the exciting sequel to Shadowglade!
Visit us at www.kaylling.com/newsletter.html for more about gemstones and Lana’s upcoming adventures.
About the Author
Kay L. Ling began writing fiction at an early age. In grade school, her stories evidenced a sense of wonder and love of adventure. In one, mythical creatures lived and traveled inside a rainbow, and in another, a bored sixth-grader turned her teacher into a maroon sofa and then teleported herself to London. As she grew up, Kay never lost her ability to imagine strange and wondrous peoples and places, and now she would like to share her unique fantasy adventures with others.
http://www.kaylling.com/
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Afterword
Join us online to find out about the exciting sequel to Shadowglade!
Visit us at www.kaylling.com for more about gemstones and Lana’s upcoming adventures.
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