by Esther Davis
“Go ahead. Flood the whole city over your petty grudge. You’re the Lady Monte, after all.” How Heather itched to spit that into Her Royal Plumpness’s face. Or maybe just glare. Glaring worked.
Heather handed the unconscious child to her nephew then splashed down the roadside to the next victim. She weaved through the scattered furniture and scanned the flooded street for any people they might have missed. Her knee-high boots should’ve kept the water out, but the moisture still managed to find crevices to seep though, sloshing between Heather’s toes and making them even prunier.
An Aqua Hound stood on the flood’s surface, sniffing at the hair plastered to a servant’s face. Heather squinted at the hound. All the other water Elementals had Melted. Was Lady Monte still around, or did her spell just need a few more minutes to wear off?
Heather fished a pebble from the flooded street and chucked it at the hound. The stone passed through its midsection. A few drops fell from the aqueous body, but most of the liquid kept its shape. The hound glanced up and barked—a bark that sounded more like a crashing waterfall.
Heather threw a second pebble. “Scram!” The rock missed the dog and bounced off the servant’s shoulder. He groaned.
The Aqua Hound leapt over the servant and towards Heather. But before it landed, it Melted. Its shape disintegrated. Water raining into the flooded road.
Heather didn’t bother taking the servant’s pulse. He’d already grunted at her rock. He looked pretty banged up, red stains seeping through his drenched, torn suit. A waiter at the Williams’ fancy party, Heather guessed. Must’ve got knocked around inside the manor when Lady Monte ordered her aqua creatures to flood the place.
She stooped and pulled the man onto a splintered cadenza. Heather stopped mid-haul. She recognized this one. He meant trouble.
Read the rest of the “Summoners” on Amazon Kindle.
-OR-
Read the rest of “Summoners” and other short stories in A Dog, 3 Cats, and a Dragon.
Notes…
Yes, you did get a full story this month. Hope you enjoyed it! 🙂 Heather has been stomping around my mind for a while. She had to come out before she called me anymore names.
For monthly stories and sketches (think the written version of a doodle) subscribe above (or below for you mobile users). You can follow me on Twitter @EstherDDavis.
Wow, this story is really great, I feel like it deserves to be in print, on a shelf somewhere for someone to buy. Have you tried getting it published?
Reblogged this on jmwwriting and commented:
No critique here, just a great story. This one is longer than what I usually share, but I got through it pretty fast. That’s probably a good sign. I’m starting to really like Esther Davis, though I have only read a few of her pieces. I like here style, clean and direct, probably because it’s like my own. No experiments, no tricks, just plain good writing. I love the main character in this story. For some reason Heather reminds me of Granny Weatherwax in how unfazed she is by everything, so willful and resolute, yet capable of putting up with the idiots around her. Bravo!
Oh, and do you happen to have any more stories set in this world? I really like what you have built here.