Story Excerpt Sunday: from The Dread Hammer by Linda Nagata

The Dread Hammer

Book 1 of Stories of the Puzzle Lands

by Linda Nagata

The dried bunches of herbs that hung from the thatch were almost all gone by the time winter neared its end. Ketty used a forked stick to bring down the last one, though she wondered if it had any flavor left in it other than smoke. But as she lifted it from its hook, another item was revealed behind it. It looked to be a small pouch, hanging from its drawstring.

Putting the bundle of herbs aside on the table, she used her for...