TheInkWell Fiction Challenge | The Last Drop

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(Edited)

Week 9 of TheInkWell Fiction Challenge Summer 2020

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Image by Jean van der Meulen from Pixabay

Series Title: Our Thirteen Sonatas

Week 1: A Star Burns Bright as It Collides
Week 2: Ghost of the Past
Week 3: A Sorry Tale of Woe
Week 4: To Thine Own Self
Week 5: A Day at a Time
Week 6: A Day Is Saved
Week 7: The Threads That Bind
Week 8: The First Step

“You bought quite the find there, good sir. It took me awhile in the wildlife to catch a feisty one like her.”

I wasn’t exactly hearing the merchant’s words as I paid him for my purchase and turned back towards the birdcage to open it—

“Ah! Careful! That thing bites—”

Before the merchant’s words could sink in, I had already swung open the cage door and much to his surprise, the avian had obediently hopped down onto my outstretched forearm.

“Well I’ll be.. I thought for sure it’ll leave a hole through your arm with that beak of hers..” I watched the merchant rub his jaw in awe before I focused my gaze back to my feathered friend, a small smile graced my lips as I watched her brilliant red eyes sharply focus on me.

“Alika, fly up and see if we are heading for the right direction towards the river.”

With that command, the bird I bought nearly two months ago effortlessly took off to the sky. I watched her black wings, stark against the whiteness of her feathered body, as I steered my horse towards the direction where she flew. The Acheron River, that was where we were headed—Mythological as it seems, it may as well lead to the River Styx, making it a possible entrance to the Underworld. At this point, it was better to face the Fates head on than to skitter around these twists they had dealt with my never-ending Thread of Life.


Χαράλαμπος Γκούβας (Photo: Harrygouvas) / CC BY-SA

I was harshly taken out of my thoughts at the sound of a gunshot, I immediately looked towards the sky, frantically searching for Alika as I urged my steed towards the source of the sound—

“A mercenary has entered our lands!”

I pulled on the reins to a halt as I came across and saw the faces of at least a dozen armed men, the one who first noticed my unwelcomed presence not taking his eyes off me, “Those startlingly clear eyes against dark skin.. Could it be the mysterious Talib, Seeker of Knowledge and Keeper of Truths? My, just because you know too much.. No wonder you have such a reward for your head!”

I briefly heard his cronies laugh alongside him, but I was more focused on the sounds of the nearby river, what made my heart stop though was the familiar cry of the bird I had first laid my eyes on all those months ago. Alika!!

I gritted my teeth as I silently pulled out my weapons—If it was the truth they wanted, they could have the bloody lot of it..

SPLASH

I felt the blood of my enemies wash away from me as I jumped into the Acheron, swimming towards the unseen form that I knew had been taken away by the ever flowing current. I tried to reach my hand forward amidst the watery depths, my eyesight becoming blurry by the second, but just before my lungs could give out on me, I saw it—a golden thread of light.

It was time to grasp Fate in my hands.

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4 comments
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So much adventure packed into relatively few words -- outstanding!

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Thank you so much 😊😊 such an honor to receive your feedback 😊😊 happy Sunday!

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Wow, so for once they have more than a few minutes together, but when she is in the form of a bird. I got slightly lost in this chapter, and couldn't quite tell if Alika was shot, or if the narrator died in this one.

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Well the story will continue on... Thank you so much for the feedback 😉👍 have a great week!

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