Looking for writing-related posts? Check out my new writing blog, www.larrykollar.com!

Friday, April 05, 2013

Joab Dower in the Great Cedar Swamp #3 (#FridayFlash)

The wife said she liked this story! That’s a pretty big deal around here, I usually don’t write stories that she likes to read.

Now, the hero everyone loves to hate prepares to do battle…

Part 1Part 2



Photo credit: Keith Survell, Flickr (Creative Commons)
They ate on the march, jerked beef and hardtack, and reached the hills well before dark. As Dower knelt to pray, thanking the Lord for returning his feet to solid ground, Sally wandered off to forage. She soon returned, her hat brim-full of early-season blueberries. The wholesome fruit reinvigorated their weary bodies, and they soon set forth. Winding their way around or over hills as Sally saw fit, they at last reached a hill thick with trees.

“Do my eyes deceive me,” the preacher asked, “or are those trees growing in circles around yonder hill?”

“That’s the place.” Sally’s voice was almost a whisper. “It’s like that, so you don’t walk up it unawares.”

Dower pressed his lips together. “Well, we are aware. Let us go.” But he made no move forward. “It would be best if you stay well clear of the field of battle, Sally Harper. Remember, the devil is the Father of Lies, and this is one of his unclean children. If it speaks to you, answer it not, for in deceitful words it will seek to trap you. And in the mouth of a demon, even the truth can be a mighty lie. If I fall, run. Run with the Lord’s Prayer on your lips, and your hand on a crucifix. That may be enough to keep it away from you—but better you drown yourself in the foul waters of the swamp, than to find yourself in its clutches. Understand you?”

“Yeah, preacher, I understand. But I’m done runnin’ and hidin’ from this thing out here. That’s my town back there, and so it’s my fight, too.”

“We face worse than death this night.” Dower gave her a stern look.

“You think I don’t know that?” Sally put her arms on her hips and looked up, staring Dower in the face. “I know worse than death. Worse than death is hidin’ in your house like a frightened rabbit on new moon nights. Worse than death is livin’ among men so afraid of their own shadows, none of them dare to court me, because I ain’t a mouse like them. Worse than death is starin’ at your life ahead, seein’ no family in it, no children.” She swallowed. “No purpose. Tonight, I got a purpose, and I ain’t gonna stand and watch it go by.”

Dower returned her glare with his own, but finally nodded. “Then kneel, Sally Harper, and be consecrated unto this task.” Bent over almost double, he dipped a finger in a vial of holy water and drew a cross on her forehead. “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, I consecrate thee, Sally Harper, and charge thee to be true to the Word. Now arise.”

“You’re the leader now,” she said, standing. “Tell me what I need to know.”

“First, we gather firewood.”


Standing just inside the inmost ring of trees, the two stared at the altar. Its builders had chipped off the tops and bottoms of each stone, so they lay flat upon each other. Three sides were steep slants; the fourth was straight. Its top was a slab of solid stone.

“An altar of sacrifice, I warrant,” Dower whispered, as they laid out the firewood they carried. “Such a dark purpose would, even after centuries, be a fertile garden to nourish the evil spirit.”

“There were rumors,” Sally replied. “This one band would sacrifice their enemies here. Even the other Indians don’t like to tell of it, they say it shames them that their own would do such a thing. But after the white man came, they’d snatch any of us they could, and carry ‘em out here, too. So the whites and the other tribes made an alliance, and killed every last one of ‘em they could find. That was like a hundred years ago. Then, a-course, we run the rest of ‘em off, too.”

“Aye. That is good to know. But speak no further of such things, in this place. This is a night of cleansing.” Dower knelt, took out his tinderbox, and put spark to the dry tinder at the bottom of the pile. As the sun went to slumber, unseen behind the clouds that had hidden it all day, the fire grew. “Prepare thyself for the battle to come, Sally Harper. Put on the gospel armor, as described in the Word, that ye may withstand the onslaught that is to come.”

Sally nodded, and took a flintlock pistol out of her bundle. “Maybe you should consecrate this, too,” she said, loading and preparing it with expert hands. “And if it don’t do for this thing here, maybe it’ll do for me.”

Dower nodded, and said a quick prayer over the weapon. “And I myself did not come unarmed,” he said, drawing a sword from under his cloak.

“Nice pig-sticker,” said Sally, looking over the shining blade and wide cross-guard. “Where did you get that?”

“It came to pass, that in my travels, I was led to preach the Word in a seaside tavern. A drunken Spaniard bade me hush, but I obeyed only the Lord. He drew this sword, and ordered me to smite him, that he might strike off my head in turn. But when I struck him, the Lord Himself smote him as well, and he fell dead at my feet. His companions were sore when I took up his weapon, but none dared press the matter. I carried the blade to one whom I trust, one who preaches the True Word, and he consecrated it to the use of the Lord.” He held it up. “It makes a fine crucifix as well. I had a blacksmith blunt the blade, just below the cross-guard, that I might use it as such. I have found it often as effective in this manner, as for its intended use.”

The dusky gloom deepened. “Ready yourself,” said Dower. “The battle is soon joined.”

“Joab Dower. My old friend.” The voice was oily and a little repulsive.

continued…



If you’re enjoying this story, you’ll love my anthology Oddities, now available in the Kindle Store and (for Prime Members) the Kindle Lending Library. More than a collection of #FridayFlash, Oddities brings you both flash fiction and short stories, some of which have never seen the light of blog. Helen Howell said, “what could be better than a nice cup of coffee and a good short story to read” — and at 99 cents, you can still afford that cup of coffee!

13 comments:

  1. The plot thickens, and takes a turn I didn't expect!

    ReplyDelete
  2. LOL A blade as a crucifix? Funny image.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, lovely. Another battle of good and evil in a war as old as time, on a mountain top with an alter.

    The language maintains, the character's voices maintain and the history deepens just as it should.

    And I love that the demon's voice is oily but only "a little repulsive."

    I can't wait to hear the web he's going to weave!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh as Tony said, the plot thickens! I loved that the demon's voice was the last thing we read - is it next week yet?!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Interesting stuff! Sally's getting harder to figure out the more I see of her.

    This is staying to remind me a little of And the Ass Saw the Angel by Nick Cave.

    ReplyDelete
  6. These two main characters are so interesting. I'm beginning to wonder why Sally has been so willing to help him out though and if she will stay on Dower's side, if she was even on it to begin with. And I can't believe we have to wait a whole week to find out what's behind the slightly annoying, oily voice... Gah.

    ReplyDelete
  7. And further into the darkness we go accompanied by the Word...a flintlock pistol and a "nice pig-sticker."

    I love how Dower came to have his blade. It's so true to the character. Really nice work here, Larry.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great cliffhanger. I'm anxious to see what the voice reveals - and whether they both come out of this unscathed.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ooh what a lovely twist and an unexpected one! The pace of the story is great, the plot tickens and the tension grows! Sally is a great character, I take my words back and hope she doesn't die. She plays a great opposite to Dower. Looking forward to next week Larry.

    P.S. The cover for "Oddities" looks awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hang in there, Tony, all will be resolved next week!

    Thanks, Sonia - there are Bible passages about God's word being like a sword…

    Thanks, Bev! You'll hear the web next week!

    Helen, was that a cliffhanger or what? ;-)

    Katherine, Sally's a little more complex than her companion. Or maybe not. He has issues. Lots of issues!

    Kath, Sally wants the things a woman of the early 19th century was raised to want, but she wants adventure too. That's going to, um, complicate matters.

    Glad you liked that part, Kevin! It seemed right.

    Li, next week is the conclusion… I hope it delivers.

    Thanks, CIndy, and Sally thanks you too. ;-) I was pretty pleased with the cover, too!

    ReplyDelete
  11. You know, I really like this, Larry.

    Sally's speech about 'worse than death' really worked for me and I like the build up to next weeks confrontation.

    This feels like it has legs.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have a feeling all will not go smoothly!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks, Peter. I thought it was a succinct summary of Sally's motivations.

    Icy, would it be any fun if it *did* go smoothly?

    Conclusion's coming Friday!

    ReplyDelete

Comments are welcome, and they don't have to be complimentary. I delete spam on sight, but that's pretty much it for moderation. Long off-topic rants or unconstructive flamage are also candidates for deletion but I haven’t seen any of that so far.

I have comment moderation on for posts over a week old, but that’s so I’ll see them.

Include your Twitter handle if you want a shout-out.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...