Tara Maya
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Tara Maya
- by Tara Maya
28. The Snowsnake
The Unfinished Song: Initiate
…follow him into exile. Or maybe some would-be enemy wanted to make certain he would never return.
Kavio climbed higher into the mountains. The peaks met like clapped hands to divide the rains of the world in half. All waters of the eastern fingers cascaded into a drought-dry landscape of sand- stone phantasmagoria—stone rainbows, stone islands, stone waves, striated stone flavors of pepper and cayenne. All the waters to the other side flowed west, through terrain sweetened by late summer storms, down, gently down through valleys of oak and golden poppy, down, gently down to coastal forests and the sea.
In the mountains, however, autumn had already given way to winter, and he found the pass already thick with snow, where he sacrificed a night and a day to lay a trap. He had to choose his spot, plan his moves against possible countermoves, dance a spell without making it obvious to any hypothetical observers what he was doing. The crisp powder proved a convenient medium for false footprints. By the next nightfall, he was ready. He cast his prepared illusion around a log to make it look like his sleeping form, and then he doubled back over his trail, climbed a tree, and watched his own camp.
The moon rose with no sign of any intruder. Once he heard scritching in the tree where he waited and looked up into the stare of a snow snake, camouflaged like a fall of snow on the branch. Their venom was quite lethal, he recalled. He glared at it until it slithered away to find its own damn tree. He took this living echo of his journey omen as a sign he wasn’t just trying to catch an enemy who existed only in his paranoid imagination.
Then, close to midnight, he heard a twig snap below his tree.
Two masked Tavaedies crept into position, and, after exchanging a silent nod, rushed to hack apart the log he’d left in his sleeping roll. They cussed like drunks when they discovered they’d dulled their flint axes for no reason. In the dark, he couldn’t see their tribal marks, and might not have been able to guess in any case, since they both wore furs against the cold. He shadowed them back to their camp, a neat affair of two leather tents and seven canoes. The snow gave way to the ice-choked grasses of a frozen river. The ice was unbroken, and the grass tall enough to offer cover, so he followed cautiously, but something nagged him. Two men had attacked his sleeping roll, but there were seven boats.
Five more men cracked out of the ice in a circle around Kavio. Human, not fae. He couldn’t tell their tribe. Lathered with lard for warmth, camouflaged by mud and rushes, they were clumps of living marsh. They’d been crouching under a layer of ice no thicker than flatbread, breathing through reeds, waiting to spring their trap. Nets weighted with rocks dragged Kavio down while…
TO BE CONTINUED
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- by Tara Maya
27. Journey Gifts And A Warning
The Unfinished Song: Initiate
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| “89” by yag65 |
Kavio
“…accept being smoked out of the Labyrinth like a rat?” cried Nilo.
“You’re just going to let Zumo win? You know that none of us will ever follow him as War Chief !”
“It’s too early to say it will come to that.”
“His blood flows from the Bone Whistler, and so do his ambi- tions. He’s already got you out of the way!” said Nilo. “With the White Lady under the Curse of Obsidian Mountain and your father growing older, and now you exiled—who else is there to stop him?”
“You going into exile with me won’t help,” said Kavio.
Nilo exchanged glances with some of the others. “It will—if we go to the Yellow Bear tribehold to raise an army against him. There are many of our people still living there who would follow us, who would follow you, Kavio. You could return in a year’s time with Tav- aedies and warriors at your back! We could finally wipe out—”
“Enough!” said Kavio. He inhaled air past his clenched teeth to calm himself. “Enough, Nilo. You mustn’t talk like that. You mustn’t even think it. I will raise no army to march against my own tribe- hold. And I will take no one into an exile that I alone earned.”
“I guess we all knew you would say that.” Nilo shifted his feet. “That’s why we brought you journey gifts.” He held out his spear. “I want you to have this—no, don’t shake your head. You can’t refuse, it’s a journey gift. We took care to gather nothing from the Labyrinth itself, only outlying holds.”
One by one, each one of them pressed close to Kavio to give him gifts. Weapons, clothing, food, water, even jewelry. Overwhelmed, touched, Kavio could only murmur his thanks.
When his friends had dressed him and weighed him down with almost more than he could carry, they finally allowed him to say goodbye.
Nilo clasped his hand, then hugged him. He said in Kavio’s ear, “But you are going to the Yellow Bear tribehold, aren’t you, Kavio?”
“Perhaps.”
Nilo smiled, satisfied with that. “Whatever you do there, we will be waiting for you when you get back. We have no doubt you will be back. And then the blooded spear will be loosed, whether any of us like it or not.”
Kavio
Kavio camped alone, as before, in much greater comfort, but with even less peace of mind. Nilo and the others had meant to encourage him to come back to the Labyrinth. Instead, the disturbing conversation made Kavio wonder—if his return to the Labyrinth would ignite a civil war, maybe the best thing he could do would be to stay away. So much for the freedom of exile. His responsibilities trailed him like spies.
Perhaps actual spies trailed him as well. He again heard a rustle nearby, a subtle crackling in the leaves that made him tense. Maybe Nilo, or some other would-be ally, still wanted to…
TO BE CONTINUED
Download the complete book for FREE or buy it on Amazon as an ebook
- by Tara Maya
Download Space Jockey Today for only $0.99!
Space Jockey is ready to download for only $0.99!
Tomorrow the price goes up to $2.99.
A science fiction anthology about that classic career of the future… space pilot.
A young pilot thinks he knows the cost of war. Until he opens a forbidden door…
If you’re piloting a cargo of convicts on Titan, you’re already in trouble. Things can still get worse.
After the war, humanity gave up dreaming of the stars. But not him.
Can a fleet of ships run by citizens stop famine from being used as a weapon?
Every time he traveled to another world, he lost a little more of himself. Now they wanted him to make one last trip….
And more!
The anthology includes ten short stories, two novelettes, and one full novella, featuring stories by:
Scott Whitmore | Ethan Rodgers | Algis Budrys | Steve Brady
George Zhao | Jillian Romanowski | Philip K. Dick | Andrew Vu | Josef Vasicek
Learn More about the Worlds in Space Jockey
SHORT STORIES
Scott Whitmore – Green Zulu Five One
A young pilot thinks he knows the cost of war. Until he opens a forbidden door…
FIRST LINE: Tyko killed the first two Vyptellians quickly enough, sending bright green streams of charged slugs into spacefighters that were now millions of pieces of space debris….
Keep reading, “Green Zulu Five One”
Novel Excerpt: The Devil’s Harvest by Scott Whitmore
Ethan Rodgers – Farsider
If you’re piloting a cargo of murderers and rapists on Titan, you’re already in trouble. Things can still get worse.
FIRST LINE: I take a long drag from my cigarette, watching the androids load the metal pod onto the cargo deck under the supervision of four armed guards….
Keep reading, “Farsider”
Algis Budrys – The Stoker and the Stars
After the war, humanity gave up dreaming of the stars. But not him.
FIRST LINE: It was after the war, and we were beaten….
Keep reading, “The Stoker and the Stars”
Steve Brady – Going Hyperdown
Was letting this institution turn his brain inside out the best thing he could do for everybody in the galaxy?
FIRST LINE: Right eye day: the left eye was covered today. With one eye, which meant poor depth perception even in 3-D, Djonn went through all the four-dimensional (hyper) kinesthesia exercises….
Keep reading, “Going Hyperdown”
Jonathan Von Post – Garrett Lisi’s Exceptionally Simple Theory of E8 Stardrive
An advanced stardrive can turn the universe inside out. But it’s still not as twisted as the drive for revenge.
FIRST LINE: As I squeezed into the cockpit of the first starship, I had one last question….
Keep reading, “E8 Stardrive”
Adrian Tymes – AFK (Away from Keyboard)
For them, it was worth a fortune. For him, it was a part time job.
FIRST LINE: Rodrigo massaged his neck and shoulders as his computer logged in….
Keep reading, “AFK (Away from Keyboard)”
Tara Maya – Food, Peace, Power
Can a fleet of ships run by citizens stop famine from being used as a weapon?
FIRST LINE: Peace is always maintained by power; the only question is whose power….
Keep reading, “Food, Peace, Power”
Jack Skillingstead – Dead Worlds
Every time he traveled to another world, he lost a little more of himself. Now they wanted him to make one last trip.
FIRST LINE: A week after my retrieval, I went for a drive in the country….
Keep reading, “Dead Worlds”
Jillian Romanowski – 2134
She was reunited on the ship with the boy she loved—but he was promised to someone else.
FIRST LINE: I’m going to be collected tonight. The inevitable has finally arrived and I didn’t even get to say goodbye to him….
Keep reading, “2134”
Andrew Vu – The End of the Universe
The end is near. Just not in the way you think.
FIRST LINE: How else would one traverse infinite space? One individual, one soul, isn’t enough to map out the universe….
Keep reading, “The End of the Universe”
NOVELETTES
Philip K. Dick – Mr. Spaceship
How can you defeat living ships? With a living ship of your own…
FIRST LINE: Kramer leaned back. “You can see the situation. How can we deal with a factor like this? The perfect variable.”
Keep reading, “Mr. Spaceship”
George Zhao – Eyes on the Universe
How far would you go to prove a theory? How about 8000 lightyears?
FIRST LINE: The human body doesn’t really appreciate being vitrified and cryo-preserved….
Keep reading, “Eyes on the Universe”
M. Pax – Semper Audacia
She was the last one left. But she wasn’t about to give up.
FIRST LINE: The claxon blasted through the outpost. Leda vaulted onto her feet, reaching for the rings hanging above her bunk….
Keep reading, “Semper Audacia”
NOVELLA
Joself Vasicek – Star Wanderers: Outworlder
He was searching for a home. Instead, he found a girl without one.
FIRST LINE: Jeremiah knew something was wrong the moment he stepped out of the Ariadne’s airlock and onto Megiddo Station….
Keep reading, “Star Wanderers: Outworlder”
ENTER OUR CONTEST!
Win a FREE book if you can answer this question: In how many stories in Space Jockey does the hero physically pilot or ride in a ship, and in how many does the hero pilot the ship remotely?
EMAIL YOUR ANSWERS TO: contest@misquepress.com
Reviewers will be allowed a double entry in the contest. Sign up here for your review copy.
- by Tara Maya
26. The Challengers on the Road
…shunnedthem, but everyone needed them.
He left the bodies beneath the skull stone. After a slight hesitation, he relieved one corpse of legwals and a spear.
The legwals stank of sour milk and blood, a stench that reminded him of the first time he’d killed a man. Though Kavio had only been ten, not yet past Initiation into manhood, he’d already been Tested and proved a Tavaedi. During the fight, he’d been so sacred he pissed himself, and because of that so embarrassed, he hadn’t told Father what happened. His stupid fear, his stupid pride, had almost started a war.
Was this the meaning of his journey omen? He’d spent his whole life trapped in the literal and political mazes of the Rainbow Labyrinth tribehold. This was his chance to shed those restrictions, grow himself anew. He didn’t want to be his father’s shadow, or his mother’s reflection, but neither did he care to be a rover. If he remade himself, he wanted to become more than he had been, not less.
Sheer cliffs lay directly west, so he took the gentler eastern path from the box canyon then circled back into the mountains. A generation ago, many thriving clanholds had nestled in the arroyos and cliffs of these mountains. Eagles nested in the thatch bomas where warriors had once stood guard. Whole clans had bequeathed nothing to the future but their bones. His father would not say how he had survived those years; that generation hoarded food and secrets, but Kavio knew more than his father suspected. It was in the West, in Yellow Bear, Kavio had learned his father was not the hero he’d always believed.
At times, he felt sure someone followed him. He went so far as to double back on his tracks, in case the rovers had friends. He saw no one.
At a major crossroads in the trail, however, a crowd of men and women waited. He growled to himself. He’d sharpened the stone point on the spear he’d won from the rovers, but if it came to real battle, he wasn’t properly armed.
This lot looked more deadly than the rovers. For one thing, he knew them and many of them were Tavaedies. It stung to realize that many of those standing there to confront him were young men and women of his own generation whom he had considered friends. Even Nilo, the son of Danumoru and Shula.
Kavio refused to show how they had hurt him. Weakness must be concealed; he’d learned that much from his father.
“Well?” he challenged.
“We want to come with you.”
This, he hadn’t expected.
“Are you mad?”
“If the Morvae are going to start exiling Imorvae again, we want to be with you,” Nilo said. “If the blooded spear is to come, we’re going to be on your side.”
The others grunted agreement.
“Don’t be fools. There must be no blooded spear, no war. It would rip the tribe apart.”
“So you’re just going to…
TO BE CONTINUED
Download the complete book for FREE or buy it on Amazon as an ebook
- by Tara Maya
Farsider, my first sale as an author – Don’t give up
I’m honored to be able to re-post this from one of the authors featured in Space Jockey. Ethan talks about that point that most aspiring writers reach — when you’ve been rejected so many times, you think you should just give up. I know he he felt… I’ve been there too. If that’s where you are now, don’t give up. I’ll let Ethan tell you why….
Farsider, my first sale as an author – Don’t give up
by Ethan Rodgers
In March of this year I told myself that it was time to face facts. I’d always written casually — it’s been a favorite hobby of mine since grade school — but nothing had ever come of it. I’d started novels and given up. I’d written short stories and let them collect dust in the deep, untouched folders of my laptop. I’d entered writing contests, wasting 15$ a pop to hear someone say “Sorry, this just isn’t what we’re looking for.”
There were plenty of negative thoughts overwhelming me. “This is a waste of time,” “You’ll never be successful,” “There are probably millions of authors out there who are better writers than you.” This all may be true. Actually, the latter is absolutely true. But I read something very interesting in a short story magazine. One of the authors of the short stories stated “I often find that hopeful authors don’t lack talent or ability. They simply lack doggedness.”
So I made myself finally commit. I wasn’t going to half-ass it anymore.
The deadline I set for myself was August of 2013. I wanted to be published – I didn’t care how or in what, but I wanted my name in a magazine, a blog, a quarterly… something… anything. I joined an online writing workshop. I started reading books focusing on what I was interested in writing and books focused on creative writing and editing. I took down every idea that came to my mind, morning noon and night, in a journal. And I wrote. Nearly every day I either wrote or conceptualized.
Months passed. I started with magazines like Clarkesworld and Asimov’s. That was a mistake. I now know that my manuscripts were, more than likely, relegated to a pile filled with unwanted stories and never really given a chance. They probably never were even read. The rejection letters came in faster than spam emails. No critiques or feedback, just pure rejection. I started a collection in a folder titled “Motivation” and put every rejection letter in there. I think there is at least two-dozen.
Just before Summer, I started casting my line out a bit farther. I’d started with the most popular publications with the greatest circulations. Perhaps this was vanity or maybe laziness, but I realized that, barring a miracle, I was never going to get noticed. I started looking for every single SF and Horror magazine I could, joining mailing lists and finding out who was holding open submissions.
By early July, I realized it was going to take me a lot longer than six months. Most publications were taking 12 or more weeks just to get back to me, and all of them were bluntly saying “No thanks.” I had an interesting decision to make.
While my ultimatum had been completely unrealistic, it was an ultimatum. I promised myself I’d stop wasting time if this didn’t work. I promised myself I’d make it just a hobby and quit pretending that I’d like to write some day. But then I got an interesting comment on my online workshop.
I’d posted the second draft of a short story titled “Farsider” on the Online Writing Workshop for Science-Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. The story revolves around a woman named Kendra that flies a cargo ship far in the future. I wrote it from personal experience, to a degree, since I’m a pilot, and tried to make the writing simple, crisp, and similar to what I was reading in SF magazines. The third review simply said “Please contact me, I’d like to talk with you more about your story.” It was the publisher of “Misque Press” and an accomplished author, Tara Maya.
For some time prior I’d be insistent that the style I’d grown to enjoy writing was what I was going to write. Period. Changing wouldn’t be true to myself. Now, when I hear some of my friends say they don’t want to “sell out,” I sort of chuckle. I realized, after receiving the email and the praise for the piece, that I wasn’t “selling out.” I was just writing better.
I look back at what I wrote as little as twelve months ago and cringe. The sentences are long, confusing, and filled with useless adverbs. The past tense is wordy, inefficient and boring (sort of like this blog post). The descriptions were lengthy, cliche and useless. I could pick out a pitfall that every young writer falls prey to in each and every paragraph. It had only taken me six months to completely improve my writing style just by reading, learning, and listening. And all that junk I used to write in, all the fluff and “style” I thought was part of my writing, was just my misconception of what people thought was good writing. It was bloated, it was boring, and it was stupid.
So now, if you’re reading this still, my word of advice would be: stick with it. As long as you enjoy it, don’t let anyone tell you to stop. Join work shops, listen to critiques, and keep writing. But, most importantly, don’t think you’re anything until you’re something. You may think the 3000 word piece you finished last evening was the best thing you’ll ever write. You may tell yourself “If this isn’t it, than nothing is.” But I can tell you, with near certainty, that there is probably no author on the entire planet that has ever finished his first work and realized it was a manifesto, a gift to humanity, or the apex of his career. That piece will only be your best piece if you settle for continuing to write what you’re still writing, which is probably crap (just like what I write).
Perhaps this will be the only thing I publish ever. Perhaps when you google “Ethan Samuel Rodgers” the piece “Farsider” will be the only one that pops up. Perhaps I’ll look back when I’m older and wonder why I wasted so much time on such a fruitless hobby.
But my deadline was August 2013, and today I received a contract to publish my first short story in a Science-Fiction magazine. And if I can do it, anyone can.
***
Tara adds: Space Jockey will be released tomorrow! You can read Ethan’s story, Farsider, as well as many other mind-blowing science fiction stories.
- by Tara Maya
Eden Forest by Aoife Marie Sheridan
Sarajane Anderson is your regular twenty-one year old with family, friends and a normal job. She also happens to be the only person who can save Saskia, a parallel world to earth. When Sarajane is taken to Saskia, she could never have imagined the reality of the world that she is stepping into — a world where magical abilities are in everyone’s possession. She must face a father she never knew, a world that is beyond her belief, a guardian who captures her heart; and a darkness that wants to take it. On her journey, Sarajane discovers her magical abilities, and realizes too that they come with a price. Sarajane is truly tested as her own loved ones are put at risk — the ultimate question she is forced to ask herself is, how do you choose who lives and who dies?
Download Eden Forest, Part One of The Saskia Trilogy, on Amazon and Synergebooks.
Find more from Aoife on her website, blog, Facebook and Twitter.