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Cera Chronicles - Murder Most Fowl - #atozchallenge

Murder Most Fowl – Part O #atozchallenge

Posted on April 16, 2014April 18, 2014 by Loni Townsend

For the A to Z challenge, I present Murder Most Fowl, an unedited serial story from the unpublished Cera Chronicles.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.

Ostriches fled in all directions, squawking and scrabbling as they tried to evade falling debris—including us. The blast from the building flung us forward. I landed on something small and a little squishy. Nice break. I dropped my grip on Michael and Molly. They emitted ‘oofs’ and ‘acks’ of varying pitches. I straightened my corset and dusted my hands.

I heard muffled screams and looked around with a frown. Where was that coming from? Michael and Molly rolled away and a pair of dark, painted hands waved frantically to either side of me. Oh! I stood up. Fues crawled out from beneath me, muttering curses in his native tongue. He glared at me. I hid my grin. I couldn’t really take him seriously with that dirt-print of my rear plastered to his mask.

A blackened bundle of feathers fell from the sky and landed at my feet. My stalker was dead. Again. Maybe.

I turned toward the saloon. Apparently, only the hotel portion had been damaged, particularly our room. People spewed from the lower batwing doors like chunky, multicolored vomit. Women in vibrant dresses, men in fancy coats, cowboys in twill and leather.

Bartholomew the bartender stalked out with his shotgun. “Damn pirate zeppelin.” He waved a fist at the air. “You’ll be paying for that.”

A bulky shadow plunged the crowded street into darkness. “Molly Fischer,” boomed a female voice from overhead. Was that Perry? “You have until the count of three to surrender. One…” She certainly did like counting.

I glared up at the giant metal balloon looming over us. “Is all this really necessary? Why make such a fuss over one dead man?”

“One?” Bartholomew—toothpick still in his mouth—stared at me as if I was stupid. “Massacre Molly’s killed dozens of men.”

Molly folded her arms. “That’s a dirty lie!”

Rope ladders cascaded from the giant balloon. “Two!”

Michael stroked his chin. His eyes narrowed, studying the floating vessel. His gaze flicked around. He grabbed Molly’s gun from its holster.

“Hey!” She reached to take it back, but he turned away.

He ripped one of the pipes free and tossed it to me. “Mistress Cera, will you grind that into dust please?” He hurried to the closest ostrich tie and started scraping at the bolts with a small knife and collecting the fall-off in a handkerchief.

“What’s he doin’?” Molly asked.

I shrugged and started crushing the metal pipe with my elemental-given super strength. Out of our five-man team, Michael was one-third of the brains and Fues was the other half. I wasn’t about to argue.

Pirates descended. “Three!”

Read P 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.

Do you have any criticism? Suggestions? Wild, off-the-wall ideas of “you know what would be funny…?” Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear them.

21 thoughts on “Murder Most Fowl – Part O #atozchallenge”

  1. Anupama says:
    April 16, 2014 at 9:59 PM

    I’ll have to start from A, will surely do this weekend!

    http://Www.volatilespirits.com

    Reply
    1. Loni Townsend says:
      April 17, 2014 at 1:30 PM

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  2. Kristin Smith says:
    April 17, 2014 at 7:46 AM

    Great excerpt! My favorite line: “People spewed from the lower batwing doors like chunky, multicolored vomit.”

    I’m wondering what will happen next…

    Reply
    1. Loni Townsend says:
      April 17, 2014 at 1:45 PM

      That part was fun to write. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Alex J. Cavanaugh says:
    April 17, 2014 at 10:43 AM

    I had a feeling she landed on Fues!
    You are really good at conveying so much in few words and with a good dose of snark to boot.

    Reply
    1. Loni Townsend says:
      April 17, 2014 at 1:46 PM

      Thank you!

      Reply
  4. Cat says:
    April 17, 2014 at 11:11 AM

    Really fun, Loni. So colourful and full of action. You describe the scene so well while keeping the action going. Not easy to do. I enjoyed it!
    http://cattitudeandgratitude.blogspot.ca/2014/04/o-is-for-ocean.html

    Reply
    1. Loni Townsend says:
      April 17, 2014 at 1:57 PM

      I’m glad your having fun and enjoying the story!

      Reply
  5. Crystal Collier says:
    April 17, 2014 at 12:48 PM

    Ooh! I can’t wait to see what Michael is working up. This is going to be good.

    True Heroes from A to Z

    Reply
    1. Loni Townsend says:
      April 17, 2014 at 1:58 PM

      Hopefully it’s as good as you’re imagining. 🙂

      Reply
  6. Doreen McGettigan says:
    April 17, 2014 at 1:26 PM

    A newspaper book reviewer once wrote that I vomited emotion onto the pages of my book. I could not believe she used the word vomit. It took me awhile to appreciate that line. I really like the way you used it. Colorful chunks… conjours such a vision.:)

    Reply
    1. Loni Townsend says:
      April 17, 2014 at 2:01 PM

      Haha, that is…um…a very strange compliment. I’d scratch my head in wonder too.

      Reply
  7. Liz Blocker (@lizblocker) says:
    April 17, 2014 at 3:20 PM

    So much good stuff here. Cera’s math skills, vomit metaphors, squished Fues… hilarious as always!

    Reply
  8. River Fairchild says:
    April 17, 2014 at 4:35 PM

    “…chunky, multicolored vomit.” Oh, the visuals! LOL I’m going to go find something squishy to land on now.

    Reply
  9. Lexa Cain says:
    April 17, 2014 at 4:50 PM

    I never read people’s fiction on blog posts – but yours sucked me in before I even knew what was happening. The tension is great, as are the descriptions and the voice. Wow! Awesome job!

    Reply
  10. Kim says:
    April 17, 2014 at 6:38 PM

    Lexa’s so right. Your writing is very engaging and the tension is wonderful. Love the “Rope ladders cascaded from the giant balloon. ” part!

    Reply
  11. Alicia says:
    April 17, 2014 at 7:17 PM

    Great post – your descriptions are incredibly vivid.

    Happy A to Z-ing! 🙂

    http://www.prolixme.wordpress.com

    Reply
  12. Kirsten says:
    April 17, 2014 at 8:47 PM

    I love how action packed each episode is!
    Cera’s elemental super strength caught me by surprise, but it was a good surprise. 🙂

    Reply
  13. Cristina says:
    April 17, 2014 at 9:14 PM

    Chaps and twill?! I love it.

    Who’s dead?! One…two…three. Cliffhangers! GAH!

    Reply
  14. SD Neeve says:
    April 18, 2014 at 1:22 AM

    What can I say that everyone hasn’t already said … bring on P. 😉
    Another dose of exceptionally funny and action-packed fiction. 🙂

    Reply
  15. Elizabeth Seckman says:
    May 1, 2014 at 9:26 AM

    Love how you infuse grins into the action. Well done Loni!!!

    Reply

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Welcome to my blog. I post here on Wednesdays most of the time, but you can find me on social media any day of the week. My topics include my stories and writing, life at the Town's End, creating and tinkering with graphics, things I learn and think might be helpful to others, and the occasional amateur photo. Thanks for stopping by! I hope to see you around.

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