Writing resource #17

I've recently come across a new body language cheat sheet that works really well.

Body language cheat sheet #3

 This is a good way to help 'show' emotion.


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Lucidity chapter 30

Chapter 30 (Beyond return)

            Ikiffar galloped down the hill towards Kkaj’s camp. How did I miss?

            In the distance, the nightmare — or crocobear as her sweet Jekor had called it — roared. Had it already made it to Kkaj’s camp?

            Rotten meat! She kicked her heels into the horse’s side like Jekor had showed her, and the beast ran faster.

            Hooves pounded against stone and hard-packed sand from behind. Jekor moved up beside her. “What do you plan to do against a crocobear?”

            “Save the map.” She tightened her grip on the reins.

            “How? Crocobear scales are resistant to magic.”

            Ikiffar blinked. “What?”

            “It’s probably why your shot didn’t kill it.”

            The muscles in her face drew taut, and she cringed. “Yeah … .”

            Jekor patted her on the back. “It’s okay. We all make mistakes.” He winked. “Besides, not everyone can know as much as me.”

            She forced herself to grin. How will he feel when he learns the truth? “You’re right.”

            “So, what’s the plan?”

            “Using that bastard as a distraction, we swoop in and snatch the map from him.”

            “While I like the idea of you removing Kkaj from your revenge list—”

            A quick grimace crossed Ikiffar’s face.

            “— I don’t like the idea of leaving him and his two —”

            Her gut clenched.

            “— assassinates to die against a crocobear.”

            She swallowed. “They —” her voice cracked. “— be able to survive.”

            “Unlikely. Besides, do you know where they keep the map?”

            The tiny flame in the center of Kkaj’s camp grew larger and larger as they as Ikiffar and Jekor pushed their horses hard.

            “The assistant called Roffor has it.” And the other took a bullet for that bastard.

            Bang! The gunshot echoed through the night, and her horse jerked to the left a bit. Was Kkaj fighting against the crocobear?

            “Let’s hurry!” Ikiffar leaned forward and urged her horse to move faster.

Next: Chapter 31

Lucidity chapter 29

Chapter 29 (Covered in a loved one)

            Kkaj stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth.

            The spiced beef burned his tongue in a good way and made his mouth water for more. A tangy sweet taste followed the burn as the meat climbed down his throat.

            He licked his lips then turned away from the fire.

            Between him and the ruined cart, Roffor stood with her hands on her hips. “Is it ready?” Click-click-click. Her left foot tapped against the stone, and she scowled at her sister.

            Beside Roffor, Saffer glared at the ground with her arms crossed over her chest. Her breaths came in frantic bursts along with whimpering sounds.

            “Yes, it’s ready to eat.” A sight deflated Kkaj’s lungs, and her rolled his neck. “I guess the three of us need to have a talk.” Why couldn’t this just resolve itself?

            “We do.” Roffor poked Saffer in her right breast.

            Saffer yelped and looked up with tears in her eyes.

            Great. Just great. “Kkaj stepped forward.

            “Your tears are not going to guilt me into giving up this time!” Roffor shoved Saffer to the ground.

            Saffer landed on her butt then curled into a ball, crying into her legs.

            “Roffor!” Kkaj knelt beside Saffer and massaged her shoulder. “I said we need to talk, not argue.”

            “But she —”

            “Just check the map and see if you can figure out how far we have to go.”

            Roffor bit into her lower-lip, and tears began to well up in her eyes. “I-I-I … I’m sorry.” She wiped at her eyes then pulled the map from her Drunkzard vest. After unrolling it, she traced her fingers around it while glancing to the left and the right.

            “Saffer?” Kkaj scratched the back of her neck — her feel good spot.

            “It’s true.” Saffer’s entire body trembled as if those words had been the only thing holding a chill back.

            “What is?”

            “What Roffor says.”

            Kkaj blinked. “About?”

            “Stealing you from her. I knew —”

           Kkaj lifted her chin and kissed her. “That’s why we have to talk. I don’t know what, if anything, will change, but we can’t keep glaring in the dark at each other.”

            Saffer swallowed then nodded. “You’re right.” She held out her hand to him.

            He stood before helping Saffer to her feet. “This is going to be —”

            She placed a finger to his lips. “I know. Despite what my sister believes —”

            A rumbling growl escaped Roffor’s mouth as she glared at Saffer.

            “— I do love you, Kkaj.” Saffer interlaced her fingers behind Kkaj’s neck. “I didn’t just come after you to spite her.”

            Kkaj stared down into Saffer’s beautiful golden eyes, feeling a true spark in the pit of his stomach for the first time in their relationship. Could I love her? “Why then?”

            “It was after you raced into the burning building to save those three children.”

            “Back in RiBer?”

            “Yes.”

            “But I was still with Rokar.”

            “I’m sorry.”

            His eyes narrowed. “For what?”

            “For distilling the liquor of distrust between you and Rokar.” Saffer’s grip around the back of his neck tightened. “But I had to. She was no good for you while I am.” She glanced at Roffor. “My sister is probably better than me, but I don’t want to give you up.”

            “I see.”

            Roffor rolled the map up and shoved it into her Drunkzard vest.

            Kkaj clenched his gut. What am I supposed to do? This whole thing is beyond my ability. “I’m —”

            Saffer jerked his head forward and wrapped her lips around his. So soft. Her tongue slithered into his mouth and brushed across the back of his teeth.

            Icy Octospider legs danced across his skin, and he moaned.

            She released the back of his head, holding him in place with her kiss. Her hands worked their way down to his chest, and she pinched his nipples.

            An inferno raced through his veins, and he became hard. So hard it hurt.

            Her tongue brushed across his then pressed into his cheek.

            He melted in her embrace.

            Roffor screamed.

            Ba-bang! The cracking sound ripped through Kkaj’s mind, and his cousin’s mangled body appeared in his thoughts, everything else vanishing. His knees became weak, and the world lurched.

            Something grabbed him and slowed his fall.

            He fought against the memory, shattering it. His vision faded into focus.

            Saffer held him by the shoulders. She smiled just before a bullet ripped through her skull. The bullet gashed his cheek. Her body convulsed, and her grip let up. Boom! the bullet crashed into the ground behind him.

            His eyes bulged as he fell backwards.

            Warm blood and brain tissue covered his face. Her body went limp.

            He hit the ground, back first. His shoulder blades scrunched together, and he grunted.

            Her lifeless corpse landed on his midsection and knocked the air from his lungs is a gasp. Roffor screamed. More blood flowed from the hole in her head and soaked through his Drunkzard vest. Soon, his silk shirt clung to his chest.

            Kkaj’s jaw quivered, but he reached out to shake Saffer.

            She didn’t respond.

            He bit into his cheek. This had to be a dream. A flashback. A — He didn’t wake up.

            Saffer’s corpse still lay atop him, bathing him in blood.

            “Impossible.” His voice cracked. “Please, Saffer. Say something.” Everything around him blurred, and tears rolled down his cheeks.

            Roffor’s blurry form bent over him and moved Saffer’s body off him. Roffor caressed the exit wound. “This has to be a joke.” She kissed Saffer on the cheek, and Roffor’s lips came away a deep crimson. “The first time I stand up to you, this happens?” Sobs stirred between her words. “None of this can be real.”

            Kkaj rolled onto his side and vomited towards the fire. Whoever did this — His stomach twisted into a knot. The wastes spun around him. Was he really thinking about revenge? With all the wrong he has committed, did he have any right to seek revenge? The bullet was probably aimed at him. Pain gripped his heart. “I’m … sorry, Saffer. Because of me, you had to die. I —”

            “No!” Roffor’s voice echoed into the wastes. “Whoever did this was at fault. And we are going to make them pay!”

            Whomp! Whomp! Was she stomping towards him? Whomp-whomp! No. It was coming from the other side of the fire pit.

            Kkaj sat up.

            A shadow danced just beyond the light of the fire.

            Roffor squealed and scrambled backwards.

            The light bathed the massive creature covered in black scales.

            Kkaj’s teeth chattered, and his mouth dried. He lifted his hand to point at the monster with a massive jaw and sharp claws. “C-c-c-c-crocobear!”

Next: Chapter 30

Lucidity chapter 28

Chapter 28 (Catching up)

            Jekor opened his mouth to ask another question, probably his millionth.

            Whinnying screams echoed in the distance.

            His mouth snapped shut. I should stop bothering her. The memory is clearly painful. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. I should be comforting her, but something deep down just want to write it all down. And how can I do that if I don’t know the whole story? He bit into his lower-lip.

            Bang! What was going on?

            Jekor snapped his reins and set his horse into a gallop. He glanced left then right. “That has to be —”

            Bang! A second gunshot rang across the open wastes.

            Jekor pulled his horse to a stop and pointed towards a large hill. “There.”

            Ikiffar turned her horse and trotted off towards the hill without saying a word. Her downcast eyes and tight grip on the reins made her appear small. Was she scared? Or upset that he had asked so many questions?

            “I’m sorry,” he said.

            Tears welled up in her beautiful black eyes.

            Pain spiked into his chest. “I didn’t mean to pester you with so many questions.”

            She shook her head. “I should be the one apologizing.”

            “Not at all.”

            “For all that you did for me, I repaid you with lies.”

            “No. For all that you went through, it was the least I could do for you.” Jekor placed a hand atop hers and smiled. “Don’t cry. I’m here for you now.” That sounded really corny.

            She wiped her eyes, and her lips turned up into a smile. “Thank you.”

            Bang! A third gunshot? What were Kkaj and his women fighting against?

            Ikiffar glanced towards the sound. “Do you really think he will reveal the other members of the Empty Bottle Cult? Even if we torture him?”

            Torture? Icy fingers raced down his spine, and he shivered. “He will tell us. Though, I think there are better ways to make those responsible pay for what they did.”

            “No.” She gritted her teeth. “Their lives are the only payment I seek.”

            Jekor found himself nodding, unable to argue with what was owed to her. “Let’s hurry up that hill and set up camp. We should be able to use your spyglass to see what’s going on.”

            “Good idea.”

            They held hands and rode in silence to the top of the hill. After tying the horses to a stump of a tree-like thing, the started a small fire. Using rocks, the create a wall to prevent the firelight from giving their position away. A cold wind rips across the top of the hill.

            Ikiffar squealed.

            A grin crossed Jekor’s face. “Still not used to the waste’s freezing cold nights?”

            She bit into her lower-lip. “How could I be?”

            “Then come sit by the fire.”

            “One moment.” She pulled out her spyglass and extended it. “I have to make sure my target is down there.”

            Target, huh? Jekor grabbed his vodka flask and took a shot. As his master’s letter indicated, he folded the earth energy in on itself and crafted grains. He repeated the process until he had two sacks of grain to feed the horses.

            Ikiffar glared at the fire below, and a rumbling growl climbed up her throat.

            Jekor strolled to her side and patted her on the back. “Calm down.”

            “How can I calm down with that bastard so close?”

            “By taking a deep breath.”

            Her jaw relaxed. She inhaled through her nose and exhaled from her mouth several times before the tension in her muscles vanished. A sigh deflated her lungs then she smiled. “Thank you.”

            “You seem to be saying that a lot recently.” He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.

            “I could say it in a different way.”

            Jekor blinked.

            Her smile turned into a lopsided smirk.

            He opened his mouth to question her. He was clearly no relationship expert.

            Ikiffar wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him into a kiss, thrusting her tongue into his gaping mouth.

            His body melted in her embrace. The world around them vanished, and he found himself moaning. When she pulled away, his chest heaved for air, and his heart raced.

            She glanced towards Kkaj’s fire. “Maybe I should just give up.”

            “No.” Jekor placed his hands atop hers. “Though, I do think you should change how you’re going about it.”

            “Change? I think you’re right.”

            “If we could get enough Lucidity … .”

            “Then, even if Kkaj doesn’t talk, we will be able to use its power to discover the true culprits behind the desolation.”

            Not exactly what I had in mind. “Something like that.”

            Her stomach grumbled, and she looked towards the fire.

            Jekor grinned. “I’ll heat up some food.”

            “Thank —” She burst into laughter.

            He made his way to the fire and set a pair of spits over it. He skewered dried meat and onions then placed them on the spits.

            Ikiffar once again studied Kkaj’s camp. She nodded. “There it is. I guess it’s time to make a change.” Her left arm twitched, and the spyglass turned to the north, deeper into the wastes. She gasped. “Impossible.”

            “What is it?” Jekor turned the skewers. Should he go have a look?

            “A-a-a nightmare. A m-m-massive nightmare.”

            “What could —”

            “Something with black scales and a massive jaw.” She scrambled to her feet and grabbed her long-barreled rifle. “I won’t let that monster have him.”

            Monster? Black scales? Massive — “A crocobear!” Jekor drank tequila and snuffed out their fire. Shit! Has it already caught our scent? “We need to —”

            Ikiffar gulped down some whiskey then, holding the spyglass above the sight, took aim. Was she going to wait for the crocobear to get closer to Kkaj’s camp before taking a shot?

            Jekor stepped forward.

            Ba-bang! She pulled the trigger and used the metal energy to shove the bullet. The echoing crack filled the night, and she leaped into her saddle. “Rotten meat! I missed!” She waved at Jekor. “Let’s go!”

            Jekor stumbled to his horse, unable to bind his thoughts together.

Next: Chapter 29