The Raven Dreams (A Small Taste)

I thought I should take a moment to post an excerpt from my novel.  This one is not very long (a couple of pages worth) but it was one of my favorite scenes to write and I think it gives a good look into my writing style as well as a small taste of the story line.  For those of you who may be wondering whether or not The Raven Dreams is of interest to you, maybe this excerpt will give you the confirmation you need! ;)

Enjoy!


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I lay in my bed a short while later, feeling as if I have been emotionally violated.  How long has Talvy known about this? I wonder.  Thrae must know as well.  It just doesn’t make sense.  Of all of the Vitalists, in all of the time in Amortera, why would I be the one selected to fulfill this daunting task?  I have no special knowledge, or strength, or even elemental powers.  I’m just another Vitalist like the rest.

Then the realization hits me.  I’m not like most Vitalists.  I’m the only one who has been tormented by nightmares.  Nightmares that I now know were a warning about what my future has in store for me, for our world.  My stomach churns uneasily and I lean over the side of my bed, positioning over the trash bin, but nothing happens.  The nausea passes and a wave of exhaustion comes over me. 

Even though I’ve already made my decision to follow the path I’ve been set, I’m terrified of the moment I will leave this world behind - possibly forever.  I will be leaving my home and my brother, and Hazel knowing that it may be the last time I see any of them.  And they won’t be able to follow, because the Sages won’t allow them. 

Talvy wants me to save all of them, even if it means sacrificing myself in the process.  So many revelations run through my mind when I think back to my interactions with the Sages – the way Talvy protected me when I was young, the strict upbringing by my aunt at the orders of the Sages, and even earlier today when Talvy practiced one-on-one with me - all of these things were their way of keeping me safe, though not preparing me in the slightest, so when my time came I would be able to complete what I was born to do.  It seems so masochistic of two people who swear by living in peace with one another and the land. 

My eyes get heavy until I can no longer hold them open, my body and mind falling into an anxious sleep. 

The trees sway in the wind, an unnerving sound that gives me the sense I’m not actually as alone as I feel.  But it’s more than that.  The trees aren’t just swaying from a natural force.  They are pulsing, alive in a different way.  That’s when I notice a soft hum of thumps, a treacherous song reaching throughout the forest: heartbeats, hundreds of them in the trees.  I stare into the black night, straining to make out what’s hiding in the bare tree branches. 

In scattered movements, tiny red eyes pop out from the darkness around me but whatever, or whoever the eyes belong to, they don’t make any attempt to come at me.  They just sit in the branches, watching me. 

A cloaked figure appears at the opposite end of the clearing.  This is the first time I notice it is the same clearing from my previous dream, with the raven, only this time it more closely resembles one of my nightmares.  From under its hood, two blood red eyes glare at me.  The figure glides toward me, arms outstretched.  Familiar long, yellowing fingers wiggle out from the sleeves of its black cloak.  I try to scream, but find it impossible.  The trees are pulsing faster and closing in on me.  Red eyes surround me now, staring down from above like bloodied stars.  I want to run.  My mind is telling me to run but the signals aren’t going to my legs.

The Tempest is within inches of grasping his shriveled, cold hands around my neck and I close my eyes bracing for it, unable to scream for help or run away.  But instead of a death grip, several swift gusts of wind brush across my face.  Then I feel something soft against my cheek and open my eyes preparing to fight back in any way I can.  To my surprise, the Tempest is backing away, looking up at something in terror.  I follow his gaze and see a large bird hovering in the air above us - the raven! 

It caws loudly, echoing through the forest, causing the Tempest to shriek and hiss like an animal fighting off a predator.  The creatures in the trees above hiss loudly also but still don’t move from the safety of their branches.  The raven swoops down and sinks its claws into the Tempest’s shoulder, snapping at him with his enormous beak.  His black feather coat gleams in the moonlight. 

I back up several steps to avoid the fight, and just in time.  The earth under them opens up like a mouth, the raven lets go of his grip, and the earth swallows the Tempest, burying him beneath the dirt.

The raven hovers in the air, his wings spanning the entire length of the clearing, larger than I remember.  A beam of sunlight breaks through the dark sky right into the clearing and shining light on both of us.  The forest no longer feels threatening.  The trees stand still and in the light the only animals I can see are a few bluebirds.  I look back to the raven that appears almost happy as he looks back down on me.  Can birds make facial expressions?

The raven lands gracefully on the ground just feet from where I stand.  Intrigued by his beauty, I step forward carefully with my hand outreached.  I am able to move now.  Maybe the bird has given me the ability.  He sits still and calm as I approach.  When my hand brushes the feathers below his neck, a warm sensation runs through me.  The bird stands taller than I do.  He lowers his head and nudges my other hand with his beak until its resting on the back of his neck and he looks at me as if trying to tell me something.  His left wing stretches out to the ground.  

He wants me to climb up, I realize.   

Without hesitation, I climb onto his back and lock my arms around his neck.  When he is sure I’m ready he pushes from the ground and soars up past the trees, breaking through the top of the forest into the open air. 

I exhale at the sight.  The forest was in a valley surrounded by mountains, like the Tree of Gathering, but much grander.  The raven carries me over the sea of treetops with ease, seeming to enjoy the freedom as much as me even though this isn’t his first time flying. 

Together we fly high above the mountains, leaving the valley and the darkness behind us, toward the horizon.

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