Welcome to Tuesday Tales, a weekly blog featuring diverse authors posting excerpts from their works in progress based on word and picture prompts. I’m pleased you stopped by today. This week’s word prompt is road. My snippet is from a medieval romance featuring a knight and his lady. I’m excited to work in my favorite reading genre. Enjoy the other authors at Tuesday Tales.
The road divided and stretched before him, veining out in three directions. Under a full moon the crystalline trio held his gaze, wide swatches here where he stood and then narrowing into filaments and nothingness in the distance. The sight gleamed amidst menacing boughs and crisscrossing branches.
Father Michael lifted a foot to loosen a pebble caught in his shoe. His lilting voice, filled with the mists of the isles, whispered into the night. “An’ here we are, lad, the place Old Maddy bid you come. The old stories tell of an ancient behemoth ploughing the earth, so cross with his wife for burning the porridge that he failed to keep his rows straight.”
A cold breeze fluttered by Reese. Muttering an obscenity beneath his breath, he rubbed the back of his neck where the hairs stood up. To him the place resembled a phantasm of ghostly fingers beckoning him from beyond the grave, follow, follow to your doom. He was indeed falling prey to the good Father’s whimsical inclinations. He liked it not one whit. “What is this godforsaken place, Father Michael?”
“Tis a crossroads, where evil bides.”
“Do you really believe that, Father?”
“Aye, the devil’s own handiwork, lad. ‘Tis that, to be sure.”
“But Maddy called it differently, remembering from her girlhood.”
“The folks hereabouts, indeed the spot itself, may well have begun with good intentions. Country folk living in the old ways, harmless enough. Over long years another power moved in, one bent on harm. Can you not feel its shadow? Tis simple to call a name by another name to hide the intent. The Deceiver comes in many guises, some beauteous to see, for the rot is hidden, and some so vile you’d rather gouge out your eyes with a burning poker than view it. But the most dangerous, lad, the one that snares the innocent as well as the guilty, is the guise of holiness. For holy is the one thing the devil cannot be. Yet multitudes are still deceived by the Father of Lies.”
I hope you enjoyed the snippet based on the word prompt road. Thanks for stopping by. Return to Tuesday Tales.
Cheers & Happy Reading!
Flossie Benton Rogers, Conjuring the Magic in Romance
All rights reserved, copyright @ 2019 Flossie Benton Rogers
Love snippet! So full of glorious characterizations!
Thank you, Vicki!
Wow. Beautiful scene. The images gave me goosebumps.
I’m glad it gave you goosebumps. Thank you, Susanne!
That was exceptional, Flossie. You really have an ear for the speech patterns of the time. I love the snippets you’ve been sharing from this story. I want to read the whole thing!!
I’m glad the speech comes across okay, Mae. Thank you for the kind feedback!
Wow, Father Michael gave me goosebumps! Great imagery! Great job!
I’m gratified the Father gave you goosebumps. Thanks, Tricia!
So descriptive!
Thank you for stopping by, Cathy!
I’m always in awe when I read your snippets. So descriptive with a lyrical touch. This is your genre!
You made my day, Trisha, as medieval romance is my dream genre. Thank you!
Wow! So many fabulous images. I love the one with the behemoth plowing askew because his wife burned the porridge. And the wisdom of Father Michael — the evil that disguises itself as holiness. Oh, that is so very true in life, as well as in your writing. Brilliant piece, Flossie.
Thank you so much for the kind feedback, Jean!
As always, I love it. Your writing is so lovely and real. I could even imagine the pebble in his shpe bothering him. And the evil doom looming….
Jillian
Great snippet. I love it
Thank you, Cathy.