Thursday's Title
St. Patricks Day Anthology –
Meadows of Gold by C. L. Kraemer
Excerpt: Heat Level 1
Book: Heat Level 1
A gentle breeze sighed, undulating the meadow grass lazily
and whispering past the forlorn figure slumped on the tree trunk, hands clasped
tightly in his lap. Thomas, a forest leprechaun, released a long melancholy
breath between his cracked, dry lips. A single plump tear meandered down his
stubbled cheek.
Sunlight sent bright shafts of light through the pine boughs
and around the wooden pedestal upon which the morose figure resided. Ignoring
the dancing beams, the leprechaun pulled a shuddered breath into his lungs and
stared at a spot in front of the stump where a crumpled daisy chain necklace
lay withering in the warmth of the afternoon. Another plump tear snaked down
his unshaven face.
In
the distance, a lone figure scuffed up the lane, which crossed in front of the
tree stump. Thomas paid no heed to the approaching form, pulling a thin silver
flask from inside his rumpled vest. He blindly opened the lid, placed the
opened top to his lips and pulled a deep draught from the container. Refitting
the cap to the top, he slipped the silver spirit holder back into his vest. His
next shuddered breath was interrupted with a hiccup.
The
figure on the road drew closer. Thomas raised his head and squinted his eyes.
Was it she coming back? He hiccupped and straightened up. Maybe she had been
teasing him when she ran away and now she realized how much he cared for her.
His eyes brightened and a smile began to touch his lips.
The
figure came around the bend and toward him. The last he’d seen her, she was
wearing a diaphanous, thin dress. Had she changed? The form nearing him was
clad in leather breeches, a braided leather tunic, knee-high, soft leather
boots, A sword blade strapped to the figure’s back flashed in the sunlight. Was
Cary so angry she meant to cut him in little pieces? His heart began to pound
in his chest and inside his mouth his tongue stuck to the roof.
The
figure stopped two lengths from him and raised a hand to shade its eyes from
the brightness of the day.
Thomas
realized he was shaking. This was it… his life was over. He hung his head.
“Thomas?”
The
voice was familiar but it didn’t sound like Cary. If it wasn’t her…
“Thomas!
What are you doing?” Tiamoon, a warrior gnome of the valley clan, stood with
her feet planted shoulder width apart, in her full leather armor on the roadway
to her home. She’d just reconnoitered the meadow area for evidence of the
marauding night elves. The local hill clan had been raiding the gnome
settlements and wreaking havoc on the inhabitants. The gnome community was
rallying together to protect their families against further damage.
Thomas
narrowed his eyes and looked through his veil of tears.
“Oh,
Tia (hic) moon, itsch you.”
Tia
rolled her eyes heavenward and leaned toward the wobbling leprechaun, wrinkling
her nose in disgust at the sour smell of alcohol surrounding the disheveled
lump occupying the tree stump.
“Thomas?
How long have you been sitting here?”
“Dunno.
What day is it?”
“Tuesday.”
“Really?”
Thomas lifted rheumy eyes to meet Tiamoon’s clear blue ones.
“Yes,
really. So how long have you been here, Thomas?”
“Uhm,
(hic) since Saturday.”
“Saturday!”
Tiamoon
stepped to the stump, in the process crushing the daisy chain necklace. She
reached out to grab the leprechaun as he dissolved in tears.
“You
(hic)… you stepped on (hic) the necklace. (hic) Just like she (hic) stepped on
my heart.”
“Good
heavens, Thomas, pull yourself together. She who?”
She
wrestled the drunken leprechaun to his unsteady feet. His weight surprised her.
He was sturdy and muscular beneath the rumpled clothing.
“Cary,
the love of my life.”
“Heavens
be cursed. Thomas…”
“Wha-a-a?”
He turned red-rimmed, green orbs her direction.
“You
fall in love with every female who crosses your path.”
“Do
not!’
“Really?
Okay let me guess… she flirted with you and teased you until she got you out
here at the edge of the meadow where you promised to tell her where your secret
stash of gold was hidden if she’d kiss you and be your mate.”
His
eyes ricocheted in the sockets making Tiamoon’s head hurt.
“You
were (hic) sshpying on ussh.”
Tia
got her shoulder under his armpit and hoisted him up. She wrinkled her nose at
the stale body odor emanating from his clothing.
“No,
Thomas. It’s a pattern everyone in the woods knows. Come on. You need a bath,
some food and sleep.”
“But
what if (hic) she comesh back?”
“Thomas?
I can guarantee that won’t happen today. Come on.”
She
dragged him along the road. His head was slumped on his chest and his leather
shoes were dragging, toes down, in the soft dirt of the two-lane thoroughfare.
After a mile of struggling with the leprechaun, she turned down a single file
path winding through the trees. Thomas had hiccupped in Tia’s ear through the entire
journey, his head lolling from side to side.
She’d
reached the end of the path as well as the end of her patience. When the path
stopped abruptly at the river’s edge, so did Tia. She allowed the momentum of
her pace to transfer to the inert leprechaun.
The
moment the figure hit the icy water, he screamed.
“You’re
killing me! Gods in Heaven! You’re trying to kill me!”
“For
crying out loud, Thomas. Just dunk your head under the water and quit yelling.
Maybe if you bathed more often, you wouldn’t chase away the ladies.”
The
figure floundered in the icy stream.
“I
can’t swim! Tia! I’m drowning!”
“Thomas?”
“Help!
I’m drowning!”
“THOMAS!”
The roar echoed through the woods.
“Put
your feet down!”
Blustering until his face was crimson, the drunken man
splashed furiously. His head went beneath the water and he rose up sputtering,
unconsciously standing on the stream’s bottom. He quit flailing his arms.
“Oh.”
“Yeah,
oh.” Tia drew her sword and pointed it his direction. “Now get yourself and
your clothing sopping wet. If you even think of getting on the bank without
attempting to wash off some of that stench, I’ll split you from gullet to
gizzard.”
He
glared at the gnome warrior until his head started pounding.
“Fine.”
She
stood pointing her sharpened blade at him until he and his clothing were
sufficiently soaked.
“Now,
let’s go. My mom will have some stew to put into your stomach.”
“But
I don’t wa…”
Thomas
stopped his whine at the glare he was receiving from Tia.
“Lead
the way.”
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