by
M. D. Presley
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE:
Fantasy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A
fantasy reimagining of the American Civil War that pits muskets
against magic, massive war machines against mind readers, and glass
sabers against soldiers in psychic exoskeletons.
In
exile since the civil war, former spy and turncoat Marta Childress
wants to quietly live out her remaining days in the West. But then
her manipulative brother arrives with one final mission: Transport
the daughter of a hated inventor deep into the East. Forced to decide
between safely delivering the girl and assassinating the inventor,
Marta is torn between ensuring peace or sparking a second civil war.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt
One:
To her
surprise Carmichael blinked uncomprehendingly at the name. It had
been rattling around Marta’s head like a Breath in a bottle for the
last three months, but to him it seemed meaningless. Then the corners
of his mouth curled up, Carmichael finally remembering.
“This
is about our older sister? I forgot about her entirely.”
His
dismissal of her months of misery infuriated Marta all the more, the
girl fighting harder against his grip. Her helplessness stoked her
anger further, fanning it into blazing rage.
And with
the rage came clarity, Marta suddenly aware of each Breath within her
body. There were the usual three all humans were born with, one in
the center of the chest to representing the Body, the second in the
middle of the forehead for the Mind, and the third at the crown of
the head signifying the Soul. But in that moment of clarity, Marta
could feel a fourth Breath nestled deep in her chest next to the
Body. Were she not so angry, she might have been surprised to find
it, to feel it thrumming with its own frequency. It had a resonance,
a musical identity all its own that only she could hear.
So she
inhaled, filling that Breath with both her air and anger.
The
fourth Breath stirred, summoned by Marta’s will and obeying on her
exhale. Though its base remained firmly in her chest, she felt it
elongate as it stretched through her throat and out towards her
mouth. The appendage was entirely new to her, but it felt natural as
she experienced each sensation through this fresh limb: the light
scrape as it edged over her teeth, the sudden coolness of the air
outside her body; the crunch of her brother’s bones as it collided
with his nose.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Never
passing up the opportunity to speak about himself in the third
person, M.D. Presley is not nearly as clever as he thinks he is. Born
and raised in Texas, he spent several years on the East Coast and now
waits for the West Coast to shake him loose. His favorite words
include defenestrate, callipygian, and Algonquin. The fact that
monosyllabic is such a long word keeps him up at night.
His
blogs and short stories can be found at his cleverly titled website:
mdpresley.com
Or
join him on Facebook at: facebook.com/solsharvest
And
you can always pick up his book here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IALGCDE?ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_BouHxbKEZD2BZ&tag=kpembed-20&linkCode=kpe
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