Murder Most Fowl – Part R #atozchallenge

For the A to Z challenge, I present Murder Most Fowl, an unedited serial story from the unpublished Cera Chronicles. Please excuse the grammar mistakes. This hasn’t been critiqued yet. If you’re just diving into this story, you may want to start with part A.

Railroad tracks ran alongside the road. A black metal beast barreled down the iron path toward a screaming figure wrapped in ropes down the line. A column of steam rose from its stumpy stack. Bartholomew flicked the reins and the ostriches bolted into a run, throwing us to the back of the cage. I reached out to steady Michael and Molly. Could we reach whoever it was before the train did? I couldn’t transport while not in contact with the ground.

I pinned my two charges against the bars and shouted to my pygmy. “Fues!”

He hooted and jabbed a carved bone into the keyhole. Click. The door swung open. Fues clung to it, hanging out over open air, cackling as we bounded to the rescue.

Michael patted my shoulder. “I have her. Go on.”

I nodded and released my grip.

The ground rushed past in a blur. My head spun and I sucked in a breath. The ostriches careened into a turn, nearly throwing me and rolling the cart. Someone shouted. Michael! My heart lodged in my throat. If he’d been hurt—

Michael and Molly held each other and the bars with matching death grips. I flicked my gaze back to the bound figure on the tracks. No good. Wouldn’t get there in time. The train bore down.

We were close enough that I could…

I focused my elemental power and called forth a blast of water. My muscles shook and the world tilted around me, but I clung to the bars. Water pressure knocked the person clear. Sweat beaded on my brow. Exhaustion clouded my vision.

My grip slipped. Train tracks rushed to meet me. Aw crap. This was gonna hurt.

Thanks for reading! If you want to start at the beginning, find it here. Don’t forget to visit other bloggers participating in the A to Z Challenge.

Do you have any criticism? Suggestions? Wild, off-the-wall ideas of “you know what would be funny…?” Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear them.

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