in order to confuse you madly...

[lagilman]

from "Retrievers #6

“Hey. Partner-man.”
Sergei felt the pine cone hit his shoulder the same instant the guttural call caught his attention. He looked up and was greeted with the sight of a small, grayish-green figure sitting on a tree branch about a foot above his head. Wild orange hair a color not found in nature or supernature spiked madly around the ugly little face, and one thin arm was wrapped around a squirrel, who was watching him with equally bright black eyes.
It wasn’t the first time he had been addressed directly by a piskie, but it never felt comfortable. Piskies actually liked humans as a species, being one of the few of the fatae-breeds who did, but they liked them as subjects for their practical jokes as much as anything else, and as a Null, Sergei was well aware of the fact that he had few defenses.
But then, he really only needed one: He was The Wren’s partner-man. The Wren was friends with the demon P.B. And the piskies, for whatever reason, adored P.B. Wren had asked the demon about that once, and gotten a very vague hand-waving shoulder-shrugging response. If Sergei didn’t know the demon better, he would have said that it was embarrassed.
“Partner-man,” the piske said again, more urgently.
“Yes?” He was cautious, but polite. He really didn’t want any more pine cones thrown at him.
“You be careful, partner-man.”
“Any particular reason why, or just a general warning?” It could be anything, knowing piskies, up to and including a prank they themselves had planned.
“Whispers. Whispers in the ground, rising on the wind.” The piskie made a face, like it couldn’t believe it was saying what it was saying. “Old history, blood and stone. It should have been left in the old world, but it’s coming here.”
“Could you be a little less obscure?” Sergei couldn’t resist asking, and the piskie grinned, showing small sharp teeth. “No,” it said. With an impossible leap, it disappeared into the higher branches.
Abandoned, the squirrel stared at Sergei for another moment and then, with a scolding chrrruup chrrrruup, disappeared as well, if not quite so gracefully.
“Great.” Sergei kept walking, not even bothering to keep an eye out for further interruptions from above. The piskie had said what it wanted to say.


And under the heading of "I learn, so you don't have to": Pistaccio and coffee flavors actually go together better than expected. But not well enough to do it again intentionally.

Comments

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

Now that was an interesting excerpt! YAY you.

[meekachuegs.livejournal.com]

oh the beauty of snippets that catch and send the mind into spirals of curiosity. The uncontrolable facial reactions that result leaving a reader twitching, to see more said reader will have to invest in the purchasing of said story to get even more details.

[lagilman]

girl's gotta make a livin', ya know... *grins*

[meekachuegs.livejournal.com]

it might take me a while to get them all this I will do to the best of my financial ability. (;-p) Gives me something to look forward to. Your books have provided me with a much apprieciate escape into a world of the natural, supernatural and human nature good, bad and that inbetween. Thank you.

I learn, then learned again.

[ekovar.livejournal.com]

I was having breakfast with Michael a couple of weeks ago at some pancake place or another and, while talking, started to pour syrup into my coffee. (coffee made at home: black. coffee made elsewhere: cream). We both laughed at me and I said something about not doing *that* again.

More conversation. Refill coffee cup. Notice noticeably blank look on Michael's face. Notice pitcher of syrup in hand.

Michael has a rarely-seen, very wicked smile.

(Oh, right. New book. Looks good.)