Sons of a Soul Split: Chapter Eleven

Talsis dismounted along a moist, dirt path. The deer-trodden trail passed through an evergreen forest, down the jagged rockface of a ten-foot cliff, and into the soft, white sand of a small, hidden beach. The forest’s last line of defense against the encroaching sea was a row of crooked cedar trees. Their roots fought to sap nutrients from the thin soil that topped the cliff; they competed for space and sustenance. The trees appeared as a row of poorly trained archers, cowering between the parapets of a sylvan fortress. Beneath the forested cliff, loud, violent waves splashed onto the shore, inching closer to the rockface with each pulse…

The Changeling

Crack! Thud! A branch of the apple tree broke. Something hit the ground beneath. Was it the branch? Or was there someone in the tree? The sound woke Lady Rena. The worry pulled her from her bed. She threw off the covers, stumbled to the window, and opened the shutters. She peered into the darkness, but the dim light of the stars could not overcome the shadows of the moonless night. Lady Rena saw nothing and heard nothing more. She closed the shutters and crawled back into bed. She scolded herself for letting her overactive imagination get the best of her, ignored her lingering concerns, and again, she slumbered…