by Kenny Soward
They more or less agreed, voicing, “yeahs,” out of sync, as usual.
“Come one now, people. Let’s get this together, one more time for our Selix. She was our girl, right?”
“Yeah.” Much better that time, their voices carrying loudly together.
Lonnie’s eyes lowered, tracing every line of her face for the last time. Her voice was gone forever, and gone were the bright blue eyes.
“She had the magic. She had that song, yeah?”
“Yeah, the song!”
Something disturbed the surface of the water. Something brushed against his leg. There was a moment of panic, gazing into the current, when he thought if there were any of Gruff’s pets left, they’d be feral after his passing. That they’d drag them out and drown them.
“She brought us good fortune and kept us loving one another even when there wasn’t much to love, right?”
“Yeah, love!”
Ingrid let go of Selix’s foot, which was under the water by now, and switched her grip to Lonnie’s arm. Her nails bit into his skin, her body shaking with emotion.
“And that’s why we loved her. That’s why we’re givin’ her to the river. To be with her friend, Mr. Gruff, the man who helped us so well. Right?”
“Yeah, Gruff!”
A dozen feet out, the water churned, and Lonnie glimpsed something shiny and wet sliding across the surface.
“So, since we love her, and since she meant the world to us, we ask that you give her peace.”
“Peace!”
They stopped walking. Crash stopped talking. They were waist deep now, and Lonnie couldn’t take his eyes off her face.
Ingrid gave his arm a squeeze. “It’s time, Lons.”
Lonnie nodded, placed Selix in the water, letting her sink into the improbable darkness. The surface churned, tentacles passing. He shuddered and searching the depths with his eyes.
Selix’s leg jerked. Something had her ankle. A dark tentacle slithered around her neck, wresting her body from him. Lonnie resisted, angry. He tried to pull her back, but Ingrid’s touch disarmed him
“Let her go.”
Lonnie held on a moment more, clutching her wrist and thinking this was a foolish and stupid funeral and not very beautiful at all. But something whispered to him, a whiskey scratch voice that said it was okay to set her free.
So he did.
The tentacles wrapped around her pale-slick belly, coiled her chest and thighs. They didn’t take her right away, but held her at the surface, embracing her, touching and familiarizing themselves with her form.
With sudden agitation, the limbs whipped the river water into a froth.
Lonnie let out a surprised gasp as the nightmare arms thrust Selix's body above the surface, dripping, suspended at eye level, a goddess of muck.
Slowly, they let her down, down, down, until the only visible parts were her pale shoulders and head.
And then just her gaunt face resting on the darkened surface.
And then just her colorless hair brushing against the angular line of her jaw, her cheeks, her brow.
The white locks swirled in the settling foam, undulating white around the shock of red like a river flower.
And then, even that was gone.
THE END
Where do we go from here?
You’ve dried off and are happy to be out of the Under River. You might be disappointed we lost another member of the 8th Street Gang. I am, too! But it’s not over yet. There’s still a lot of fighting left to go, and a greater evil to face. How will the gang cope now that Selix is gone? Will they fly to pieces or hold it together? Click the link below to find out!
Galefire III: Tether War on Amazon!
If you enjoyed Galefire II : Fade Rippers, don’t forget to leave a rating or review on Goodreads or Amazon!
Acknowledgements
I’m far from the perfect writer. I occasionally miss deadlines. I forget to post on social media. Sometimes (okay, a lot) my writing isn’t quite up to snuff.
Yet, you stick with me. You frequent my website and read my blogs. You give me feedback on rough drafts. You post honest reviews. You give me deals on editing and artwork and share my social media posts (when I remember to post). You offer me encouragement when I’m feeling down.
God, I’m needy.
Yet, you remain by my side.
Heather and Jarrod Seago. Sally and Beau Eadon. Jasone Staley and Jenn Sczur. Billy and Heather Tackett. All the fine folks at Ragnarok Publications: Jeremy Mohler, Alan Bahr, Alana Abbott, Tim Marquitz, Joe Martin, Melanie R. Meadors, and Shawn T. King. Eloise Knapp. Kirk Dougal. Rob Hayes. Mark Lawrence. Charles Phipps. Edea Baldwin. Missy Katano. Becca Calloway. Larry Heydorn. Last, but certainly not least, my biggest supporter and love of my life, Michele Kuchinick.
Thank you for your support. You mean everything to me.
Notes on Locale
The majority of Galefire takes place in the Cincinnati area and spills over to the Covington, Kentucky side of the river in Galefire II: Holy Avengers. While I paint a mostly accurate depiction of the city streets and buildings with regards to architecture and layout, I changed the names of some of the places in order to protect myself from possible litigation resulting in the unlicensed use of a name. You just never know, right?
Rose Park is completely made up—although in my mind I know exactly where it would be. And the things that went on there were incredible.
Cincinnati has always been a strange place to me with a dark underbelly I’ve always loved exploring. It’s a tense mix of old and new ideas. An ache to be modern but with a sort of resistance to make it happen. We make pretty good beer. We have some great bars and good food, too. The music scene is a bit like a budding Seattle that never really buds. Some of the best bands I’ve ever heard are from here.
All-in-all, a great, grim tapestry to paint a big urban fantasy series on.
In Galefire III : Tether War, Torri Dowe’s hill is located somewhere in the vicinity of Black Mountain, Kentucky, which does, in fact, exist.
Thanks for coming along with me on this journey. There’s much more to come.
About The Author
Kenny Soward grew up in Kentucky in a small suburb just south of Cincinnati, Ohio, listening to hard rock and playing outdoors. In those quiet 1970's streets, he jumped bikes, played Nerf football, and acquired many a childhood scar.
Kenny's love for books flourished early, a habit passed down to him by his uncles. He burned through his grade school library, reading Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, C.S. Lewis, and Tolkien. He spent quite a few days in detention for reading in class.
In later years, Kenny took inspiration from fantasy writers such as China Mieville, Poppy Z. Brite, and Caitlin R. Kiernan.
The transition to author was a natural one for Kenny. His sixth grade teacher encouraged him to start a journal, and he later began jotting down pieces of stories, mostly the outcomes of D&D gaming sessions, until he was finally creating his own works. If you enjoy urban and dark fantasy, paranormal and horror, with brooding, broken characters and fast paced action, you can visit Kenny at www.kennysoward.com.
Other Books By Kenny Soward
Galefire (Urban Fantasy | Horror)
Code-X (Galefire Prequel)
Fade Rippers (Book 1)
Holy Avengers (Book 2)
Tether War (Book 3)
The GnomeSaga Series (Epic Fantasy)
Rough Magic (Book 1)
Tinkermage (Book 2)
Cogweaver (Book 3)
The Dead West Series (Weird West with Tim Marquitz and Joe Martin)
The Dead West Omnibus Vol 1
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