Welcome to Flash Fiction...Promptly Penned. I'm part of a fantastic group of exceptional authors who do a monthly flash fiction blogs. All of them are excellent writers and I highly recommend visiting their blogs. This time the story was inspired the following prompt:
"Magic isn't all it's cracked up to be. For example, there are 20 spells for making tea but none to save yourself from falling off a cliff."
It happens to work really well with an ongoing tale I'm working on, so here you go with Kendra and Phinnius.
~~~~~~
“Look who’s awake. About time.” Kendra grumbled to remind herself what a jerk Phinnius was and keep any lusty ideas about him at bay. “How are you feeling?”
His brows lowered as he opened his mouth to speak, but only a dry croak came out. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Groggy. Where are we?”
Kendra shook her head. “I don’t know. Wherever we ended up, it’s winter already and Marbles led us to this cabin to get you out of the snow.”
“Marbles?”
“Yeah.” She shot a look at the dark cat-like demon lying in front of the wood stove. “The tracker demon.”
Phinn jerked and tried to sit up. “The tracker demon is here? And you named it?”
“Yes. What else was I supposed to do when she helped us avoid the mounted patrols?”
He shook his head. “You’ve lost your mind.”
“No, I lost my marbles and she can track them down for me. Which is where she got her name.” Kendra sighed. “Look, if it weren’t for the two of you, I’d be home getting ready for Samhain. Instead, I’m here, nursing you back to health, and Marbles has done nothing but help me with you. So, you’re just going to have to get over it.”
“I’ll get over it. Oh yeah.” Phinn’s eyes narrowed as his hands slid behind his back, then they widened with concern. “Whoa. Where’s my sword? What did you do with it?”
“Relax. It’s here beside the bed.” She held up the scabbard out of his reach. “But you don’t need it right now. You need to rest. Would you like some tea?”
“No, I don’t want tea. I want to get away from that f—” He stopped himself when Kendra shot him a challenging look. “Demon. Look, these things aren’t pets and they’ll turn on you the moment you give them an inch.”
“Tell you what. You sit there and stew in your animosity toward Marbles and I’ll enjoy the tea with her. Let me know if you want some.” She retreated from the bed to sit with Marbles near the fire. The heat felt good and the demon gave her a welcoming purr as she settled down like a tiger, her head on her forelegs.
“How the hell did we get here, wherever here is?” Phinn sat up and rolled his head on his neck.
“Magic, I suspect.” Kendra let her gaze rest on the fire instead of on his rather beguiling physique.
“Magic? Why would magic bring us here?”
“Magic isn't all it’s cracked up to be. For example, there are 20 spells for making tea but none to save yourself from falling off a cliff.” She waved at the cabin around them. “Or stopping you from going to a destination you didn’t intend.”
“Did you cast a spell to get us here?”
“Nope.” She shook her head. “I cast a healing spell meant to fix whatever was wrong with Marbles here.” She patted the tracking demon’s head and it rumbled a happy purr. “Seemed to work. Unfortunately, I suspect Marbles cast another spell, something to bring her and her query back to this world, and that’s how we all ended up here.”
“Shit.”
“No, Magic. And for the moment we’re safe. The patrols that passed earlier didn’t seem to notice us and Marbles found us a place to stay until you’re at full strength again.” Kendra smiled with amusement as he scowled. “She really has been very helpful. She even dragged your ass here and helped me toss you into that bed.”
“Why the hell do you think that thing is a she?” Phinn waved at the demon on the floor beside her.
Kendra glanced down at the contented creature. “Because she never gave up and she helped get you to safety even while you threatened to kill her. I’d say that definitely makes her female. A male would’ve let you die out there in the snow.”
~~~~~~
Heh. Don't mess with a witch who knows her business. That's it for me this week. Check out how the prompt worked for the other flash fiction authors below and happy reading.
"Magic isn't all it's cracked up to be. For example, there are 20 spells for making tea but none to save yourself from falling off a cliff."
It happens to work really well with an ongoing tale I'm working on, so here you go with Kendra and Phinnius.
~~~~~~
“Look who’s awake. About time.” Kendra grumbled to remind herself what a jerk Phinnius was and keep any lusty ideas about him at bay. “How are you feeling?”
His brows lowered as he opened his mouth to speak, but only a dry croak came out. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Groggy. Where are we?”
Kendra shook her head. “I don’t know. Wherever we ended up, it’s winter already and Marbles led us to this cabin to get you out of the snow.”
“Marbles?”
“Yeah.” She shot a look at the dark cat-like demon lying in front of the wood stove. “The tracker demon.”
Phinn jerked and tried to sit up. “The tracker demon is here? And you named it?”
“Yes. What else was I supposed to do when she helped us avoid the mounted patrols?”
He shook his head. “You’ve lost your mind.”
“No, I lost my marbles and she can track them down for me. Which is where she got her name.” Kendra sighed. “Look, if it weren’t for the two of you, I’d be home getting ready for Samhain. Instead, I’m here, nursing you back to health, and Marbles has done nothing but help me with you. So, you’re just going to have to get over it.”
“I’ll get over it. Oh yeah.” Phinn’s eyes narrowed as his hands slid behind his back, then they widened with concern. “Whoa. Where’s my sword? What did you do with it?”
“Relax. It’s here beside the bed.” She held up the scabbard out of his reach. “But you don’t need it right now. You need to rest. Would you like some tea?”
“No, I don’t want tea. I want to get away from that f—” He stopped himself when Kendra shot him a challenging look. “Demon. Look, these things aren’t pets and they’ll turn on you the moment you give them an inch.”
“Tell you what. You sit there and stew in your animosity toward Marbles and I’ll enjoy the tea with her. Let me know if you want some.” She retreated from the bed to sit with Marbles near the fire. The heat felt good and the demon gave her a welcoming purr as she settled down like a tiger, her head on her forelegs.
“How the hell did we get here, wherever here is?” Phinn sat up and rolled his head on his neck.
“Magic, I suspect.” Kendra let her gaze rest on the fire instead of on his rather beguiling physique.
“Magic? Why would magic bring us here?”
“Magic isn't all it’s cracked up to be. For example, there are 20 spells for making tea but none to save yourself from falling off a cliff.” She waved at the cabin around them. “Or stopping you from going to a destination you didn’t intend.”
“Did you cast a spell to get us here?”
“Nope.” She shook her head. “I cast a healing spell meant to fix whatever was wrong with Marbles here.” She patted the tracking demon’s head and it rumbled a happy purr. “Seemed to work. Unfortunately, I suspect Marbles cast another spell, something to bring her and her query back to this world, and that’s how we all ended up here.”
“Shit.”
“No, Magic. And for the moment we’re safe. The patrols that passed earlier didn’t seem to notice us and Marbles found us a place to stay until you’re at full strength again.” Kendra smiled with amusement as he scowled. “She really has been very helpful. She even dragged your ass here and helped me toss you into that bed.”
“Why the hell do you think that thing is a she?” Phinn waved at the demon on the floor beside her.
Kendra glanced down at the contented creature. “Because she never gave up and she helped get you to safety even while you threatened to kill her. I’d say that definitely makes her female. A male would’ve let you die out there in the snow.”
~~~~~~
Heh. Don't mess with a witch who knows her business. That's it for me this week. Check out how the prompt worked for the other flash fiction authors below and happy reading.
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