Fantasy

More Bears, More Problems

Hi Readers,

How are you doing? The Scribe had a rough week with lots of technical issues at her day job, which resulted in many late nights, but she still got her words in. So as much as I, her fictional character, would love to complain, I really can’t.

She added over 13,000 words to His Angelic Keeper Tempted between Nov. 1 and 7th during NaNoWriMo.

This is a new experience for me. I am struggling to process this and simultaneously super happy because I got some cool scenes I was not expecting in His Angelic Keeper Tempted.

(This is Ran, Sarn’s son from the Curse Breaker series.)

Nothing (except family) gladdens my little heart more than page time!

And I can’t talk about the end of His Angelic Keeper Tempted even though I really want to.

This is supposed to be a spoiler-free newsletter and it’s killing me not to tell you that Melinda delivered that satisfyingly long and eventful wrapup/epilogue/lead into the sequel. It does not end on a cliff!

It ends like Curse Breaker Enchanted.

This makes our Scribe happy because she’s not a fan of cliffhangers but sometimes we, characters, don’t leave her any other option because we like drama.

We also like page time. If we leave our Scribe on a story cliff, then she has to write more.

(We once tricked her into writing half the next book before she realized the last book had ended. This his how much the Scribe doesn’t like cliffhangers.)

And we got more page time, which was the goal. But you also got more books, so are they really a bad thing?

Since we left you on a mini-story cliff last week, we’d better resolve that:

Rogue Spells

by Melinda Kucsera

(A‌ ‌Curse‌ ‌Breaker‌ ‌Companion‌ ‌Novel‌)

This stuffed bear didn’t have pockets or clothes. He was also carrying around more than a few ounces of stuffing than necessary because the makers of this furry excuse for a body decided it should be rotund rather than svelte with a big belly, short, wobbly appendages, and dinner plate-sized ears.

Maybe I can balance the book on my back while I crawl? Bear tried to grab the book. But his paws were rounded things with no digits. Damn. He needed someone with fingers to put the book on his back.

“Aww, someone dropped their teddy bear,” a woman said as she grabbed a handful of fur on his back and lifted him.

“Could you also grab that book? I need it.” Bear pointed to it, and the startled woman dropped him.

“Oh my God, it’s a talking bear!” She whipped out her phone, and white flashes blinded Bear where he lay on the ground facing a churning sky.

There was a black thing at the center of the slowly spinning clouds. That can’t be good for anyone. Bear waved his short arms, kicked his stubby legs, and rocked his body. If he could just roll onto his belly, he could crawl away. “Madam, could you stop taking the pictures? I have a child to find, and probably save because I don’t see his father’s magic anywhere.”

For no reason Bear could fathom, that quiet introvert who liked to hide from the world worked the most visible sort of magic in existence. Life was full of ironies, but Sarn was a walking, talking collection of them, and his son was shaping up to be one too.

Ran was a sunny, outgoing child who wanted to be seen, and he’d inherited the subtlest magic in existence. The poor kid, no showy magic for him, not like his father’s. Too bad they couldn’t trade. Sarn would be much happier with a subtle magic.

“Just one more. Oh, that’s so cute. Wave your arms around again.” More rapid flashes followed that request.

“Did you fall down and hurt yourself?” another woman asked as she peered at him through a pair of thick glasses. She wore the same mottled blue pants as the first lady. Maybe it was the uniform here. She didn’t wait for his reply.

The woman set Bear on his feet. She didn’t even blink at the sight of a mobile teddy bear. Maybe she’d help him find Ran.

“Thank you,” Bear said as he tried to balance on his rounded feet. It was hard without toes. He wobbled and would have fallen if she hadn’t grabbed his flailing arms.

“You young things, always falling down.” She clucked her tongue and held him up.

“Could you help me find my friend? Oh, and could you also carry that book for me? I need to return it to him.” Bear pointed to the book. Thankfully, it wasn’t glowing anymore.

“Of course, I’ll help you.” She bent and scooped the book up. The lady winked at him, and he realized there was nothing wrong with her vision. She saw him quite clearly. She was just too polite to comment on his unorthodox appearance. Well, God bless her. “Now where to? Where’s your little friend?”

And that was the one question Bear didn’t have an answer for. Where are you, Ran? He couldn’t reach out with his magic and find the child because he couldn’t access it here. Bear turned his borrowed body, so he could glare at the giant book. Why did its power work?

A blue glowing eye stared back at him from within the pages of that book, then it disappeared. There went that avenue for answers. Though, that dragon probably didn’t know why his magic didn’t work here either.

The first woman had moved on to taking pictures of that giant book, and Bear relaxed. The flash from her picture-taking device had blinded him; it was so bright. Maybe he wouldn’t mention that to Ran when he found the boy since that weakness painted him in an unflattering light. His actions in Curse Breaker: Faceted had cemented him as a hero in Ran’s eyes, and Bear didn’t want to jeopardize that.

“Well? Where are we walking to?” His helper asked, and there was a note of impatience in her voice.

There was a crowd ahead, but Bear was too short to see what they gathered around. Since Sarn worked impressive-looking magic when he used it, heading toward that crowd was a safe bet. Sarn’s magic was definitely picture-worthy, and flashes fired from all over the crowd.

“That way.” Bear pointed at them.

“Then let’s go.” She hurried past some cars and pushed her way through the crowd while dragging Bear behind her. Maybe she had somewhere to go.

He bobbled through the dense crowd, using them like bumpers to stabilize him each time he lost his balance, which was about every other step. Bear would have chosen a more mobile body, but Ran lived in a cave, which had limited his options at the time. This floppy excuse for a body was all that had been available.

“Hey, slow down. I have short legs, and they’re not made for walking. In fact, they’re not made for much of anything,” Bear called out, but his helper didn’t slow down, and his rounded paw, which had nothing to grip with because he had no fingers, slipped from her grasp. “Hey! Come back here.”

***

Find out what happens next, get your copy of Rogue Spells now! We’ll be back on Monday with the end of our preview.



This is Ran, son of Sarn, signing off. Have a great week!


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