Sara C. Snider's Blog, page 9

Hazel and Holly — Shadowed Dreams

Previous: Shadowed Depths, Part Two

 

Holly tried to keep her breathing even and calm as she lay in the enclosed box. She wouldn’t panic. If she panicked, she might suffocate, and Holly would rather that didn’t happen. She clenched her eyes shut, bracing herself against the jostling of the box to keep her head from getting any more lumps. Breathe in, breathe out. Nice and even; nice and slow.

Her thoughts turned to Hazel. Would she ever see her sister again? A lump formed in her throat that,...

Hazel and Holly — Shadowed Depths, Part Two

Previous: Shadowed Depths, Part One

The water surrounded Hazel, cool and and comforting like a chilled feather-down blanket. The shadowed forest stretched down around her from a watery sky, though they remained translucent. Impermanent, like coiling mist.

Hazels booted feet scraped along the stony bottom of the pool as she walked through the water. Then her body became weightless as the floor fell out from under her, and the trees melted into the shadows of the pool. All became black; Hazel...

Hazel and Holly — Shadowed Depths, Part One

Previous: An Imparted Plea

Hazel followed Ash through the long stone corridors, her mind racing as she tried to figure out what she had done, what was coming next. That she had asked her father for help shouldn’t have meant much of anything at all. But his smile had been entirely too smug, and the hush that had hung in the breakfast chamber entirely too ominous.

What, exactly, had she done?

They passed through lengths of corridors, down flights of narrow stone stairs, and through countless n...

Thresholds of a New Year

I like it when the new year rolls around. There’s a sense of optimism that knocks about the pessimism that sometimes follows me around. It’s like crossing a threshold, and that’s exciting. Who knows what’s on the other side? It makes sense that January is named after Janus, the god of gateways and beginnings, which sounds like an excellent time to start a new year, don’t you think?

Interestingly, the new year in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire started when the consuls would enter office...

Hazel and Holly — An Imparted Plea

Previous: Locks and Shadows, Part Two

Holly awoke in darkness. She tried to sit up but banged her head against a wooden plank.

“Ow!” She lay back down and rubbed her forehead. The air was warm and stifling and the room jostled to and fro. Where was she? She summoned a little flame into her cupped hands and sucked in a breath.

She was in a wooden box.

The box was as long as she was tall, but it was only about twice her width. Her heart floundered in her chest as she reached out and touched th...

Hazel and Holly — Locks and Shadows, Part Two

Previous: Locks and Shadows, Part One

Hazel’s mind went blank as she seethed in fury. She closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe. Throwing a fit wouldn’t help her here, she needed to think.

When she had composed herself, Hazel opened her eyes. The room looked different now. Instead of a warm, comfortable space, it was now cramped and oppressive. And very, very dark. The coals in the hearth had died down again, and all Hazel could see were the stones in the fireplace and the surroundin...

Hazel and Holly — Locks and Shadows, Part One

Previous: The Edge of Winter

Hazel hurried down labyrinthine stone corridors as she fled from her father and the summoned aspect of her mother. She had no idea where she was going, which was just as well as she’d likely have no idea how to get there even if she had. She just needed to get away; she needed a moment to breathe.

It was all starting to feel like a dreadful mistake, her coming here alone. She had known, deep down, that her father would likely refuse to release her mother. And yet...

Hazel and Holly — The Edge of Winter

Previous: Reunions

The lead necromancer took a moment longer to express his displeasure at Holly, Hemlock, and Hawthorn. Then he handed the tapestry to the younger necromancer behind him.

“Get that to the laundress. Keeper only knows what’s been done to it.” He turned to Holly and the others and thrust a finger at them. “You stay here.” He and the other necromancers backed out of the room and he slammed the door shut. There was a scratching sound near the knob, then a slight click.

Holly tes...

Hazel and Holly — Reunions

Previous: Return to the Shrine

“The moon is a week in its waxing cycle,” Hazel said. “How can you summon Mother without a new moon?” She found herself clinging to a desperate hope her father wouldn’t be able to summon Willow. The idea of it filled her with a peculiar dread she couldn’t explain.

Ash smiled a patient, tolerant smile that grated against Hazel’s nerves. “It’s true that the cycle of the moon and the positioning of the sun and stars affects the magic we cast in different ways. But...

A Christmas Wish List of Real-World Magic

Do you ever find yourself wishing for things that don’t, you know, actually exist? I think one of the main things that has always drawn me to fantasy is my persistent dissatisfaction with the real world. This can’t really be all there is, can it? And so I find refuge in stories.

But then I thought, how cool would it be to come up with a list of magical things that do exist in the real world? It could be my Christmas wish-list of sorts, and my gift to you, because we all need a little bit of m...