The challenge for Day 8 is to take a discarded bit of work and write it into a new story. My discarded phrase is in italics and comes from ROCK CHILD, my first attempt at a novel, written about 15 years ago. I have since rewritten it entirely to create my LIVING ROCK series.
Some of you will have read A VOLCANIC RACE, the first in the series, and I hope will buy WOLF PACK, its sequel, due out any day now. So now I've got the sales talk out of the way, here's my story.
BAD OMEN
“Matt – I saw a raven this morning
– a bad omen.”
“I was fortunate to get a place on
the King’s ship, and God knows we need the money. Now hand me my knife, Jenny –
‘tis honed enough.”
Matt stepped into the
tender and was rowed to the ship, scrambled up the net and hurried to his post
beside the gun. He was still a strong man
despite his age and could lift the heavy cannonballs with ease. At the
sound of a band striking up he looked through the gun-port to gawp at the King
arriving, but as the sails unfurled with a snap he returned to his work.
Outside the harbour a violent gust
shook them. Matt balanced with practised ease for the return lurch but the
ship heeled further, cannon-balls rolled, guns careered across the deck, and in
seconds the sea had flooded in. Unbelievably, within sight of land, they were
sinking!
Matt snatched a breath and swam for
the gun-port, but his legs caught in a tangle of ropes. He fumbled for his knife
and slashed frantically, blessing Jenny’s honing skills, and burst free to swim to the surface. Far too few followed him.
Through the clear water beneath his
legs he watched the ship sink, the crew trapped by the anti-boarding nets. A
watery sunbeam flashed on gold paint – MARY ROSE.
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