The Word Worker

Category: Fiction

  • The Map

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    It was the worst excuse for a map I had ever seen. Trust Lin to come up with something like this. Too much imagination, not enough sense, that girl. That square might be the airport, I thought. Or if I was holding it upside down, maybe it was the fairgrounds. Given the giant question mark…

  • Book Teaser: Dwarves and Elves

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

       “Look there,” Dagda pointed out suddenly in a hushed voice. “Be quiet and move slowly; try not to draw eyes to us. With any luck we’ll slip by unnoticed.” I followed his gaze to see a pair of dwarves supervising a small group of what I could only assume were elves. Another pang of…

  • The Pod

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    Lise’s eyes darted back and forth in the dim light under the trees. Jole was always following her around, but she didn’t want to share her find with her loudmouth little brother. Sure she was alone, she ducked under the hanging moss hiding the strange pod and its contents. The bones were merely a curiosity;…

  • Book Teaser: In the Giant’s Hall

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    My breath caught in my chest. Was it possible he had heard my silent scream? My fear hadn’t lessened, but somehow my need directed it outward. Dagda had said to use my feelings rather than letting them control me. I kept my eyes on the Eimlach and begged wordlessly. He didn’t move, but shreds of…

  • Book Teaser: The Innkeeper

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

       Dagda led us to an inn near the edge of town. The door, large enough to accommodate the tallest of giants, was made of solid oak planks, heavy and impenetrable. Fortunately for us, a smaller door was set into it, still solid and heavy, but with a latch that was accessible to smaller beings…

  • Dark Star

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    wordworkerrussell
    in , ,

    Her sisters already framed the night sky, swirling gently into the place reserved for them by Zeus. Only she remained, already touched with the stardust of the light she would become. The light she had not chosen. The grasses crushed softly under her bare feet as she walked slowly across her mother’s pasture, their scent…

  • Symphony

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    He flexed his fingers and shifted nervously. He stroked the keys, drawing a deep, ragged breath as he moved his hands into position. The first notes were soft, tentative, sending dim blue tendrils into the darkness of the sound chamber. His pulse quickened, notes grew stronger. The tendrils thickened and swirled, the darkness within their…

  • Book Teaser: Songs of Fae

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    wordworkerrussell
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    Ballad of the Door, excerpt “With ancient feuds forgotten, and minds with ballads filled, Two worlds long torn asunder will find the door again. Pure of heart and human, a Chosen warrior comes, The barrier shall be broken, two worlds unite as one.” Irvu’s Lullaby, excerpt Born of power, born of flame, The one has…

  • The Chapel

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    “Boris, dorogoy, please come away from the window! The hall will not come to you, no matter how hard you stare. We must go to it, and soon or we will be late and the Chinovnik will mark against us.” Boris sighed and twisted his cap in gnarled fingers, his eyes not leaving the hall.…

  • Seasons

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in , ,

    She stretched her nearly thawed wings to brush the trees on either side. How much fun dancing among the branches had been, their bare bones crackling beneath the ice of her feathers. How delighted she had been by the cooling that had silenced the world and dressed her in crystal lace. The touch of her…