Murder Most Fowl – Part I #atozchallenge

For the A to Z challenge, I present Murder Most Fowl, an unedited serial story from the unpublished Cera Chronicles. Please excuse the grammar mistakes. This hasn’t been critiqued yet. If you’re just diving into this story, you may want to start with part A.

I flung up a shield of ice and energy drained from my body. Perry’s shot struck the barrier. Tiny cracks raced and spread. Her band opened fire.

I forced out more power, reinforcing the shield. Ice thickened with additional layers that bullets quickly chipped away. Fues retaliated with bow and arrow.

Sweat dribbled from my forehead and temples. The edges of my vision tinged silver with elemental exhaustion. Blood thundered against my eardrums. Pressure pushed me back.

The assault ended.

My muscles shook. I gasped in quick, ragged breaths. Ice melted in a flash and dropped like a river to puddle around my feet. The pungent odor of wet rawhide compounded the fetor of gunpowder.

Something warm slid down my stomach. I touched my abdomen and my fingers came away slicked with red. None of the bullets had made it past my shield. Was this from earlier in the town?

My flesh knit back together–slowly. Why was it taking so long?

Fues eyed my bleeding center before meeting my gaze. I looked away. Different worlds played by different rules. Like the way this one had locked down my ability to track my companions.

I surveyed the damage. Two of Perry’s cowboys and a cowgirl were dead. Perry had vanished. No losses on our side. Shirtless Joe cowered behind the rock next to Molly, and the masked man lay snoring facedown in the dirt.

Squawk?

That damn bird. Maybe Fues could make arrows out of him. But then, what if the arrows started stalking me?

Molly stared at me with wide eyes. “What are you?”

I did my best to ignore the pain and faked a confident smile. “I am awesome.”

Fues prodded the masked man with his spear. “This one make for good eating. Taste better than cow.”

I grimaced. “You want to take him back to town? Because I’m not hanging out in the desert while you fix yourself a meal.”

“Meal?!” Joe looked from Fues to me and back again. “Is he planning on–”

Fues poked Joe with his spear. “Maybe this one better. More tender.” He grinned and gnashed his teeth at Joe, cackling manically.

Joe hopped to his feet and scrambled over the rock. “Perry! Perry, honey, I’m a comin’!”

Read J here.

Thanks for reading! If you want to start at the beginning, find it here. Don’t forget to visit other bloggers participating in the A to Z Challenge.