[powerpress]
Title: Leviathan
Author: Linnea Kingsley
Genre: fantasy, mm
Story rating: Mature
Excerpt rating: PG
Summary: A young man finds himself in a very strange situation with a very strange companion.
Coming soon to a store near you (on the Internet.)
Leave a comment if you want an early copy and are willing to offer constructive feedback.
EXCERPT —
Taeyon had been traveling for what felt like days when he found the beautiful glade, the grass lush and green, inviting him to stop. He dropped his pack next to a large tree with overhanging branches ornamented with lacy white puffs and wandered around the area, breathing deeply the scent of flowers and the ripe purple berries on the overgrown bushes framing the glade, and there in the center of it all a peaceful spring bubbled up from the depths of the earth, smelling of mountain and sky, the water caught in the rough bowl shape of smoothed rocks.
There was no thought involved. He just kicked off his boots and tugged off his socks, then sunk his bare feet into the tall grass, wriggling his toes. Already he felt somewhat refreshed, though he had far to go before he would be completely at ease. Traveling for so long had brought aches to his shoulders that he had never experienced before and the soles of his feet had become callused from walking. He didn’t regret the necessity of his journey, but more than ever he missed his home and the hearth his mother always kept tended.
He missed the sound of her voice and the gentleness of her hand as she brushed roughened fingers through his hair and sang songs in the Old Tongue that sent a shivery chill down his spine. He missed his father and the stories he would tell of life in the army and all the commonsense lessons Daeson would impart as they went about chores on the farm. Most of all, he missed the carefree days he would spend down at the lake, swimming and fishing with his friends, frolicking in the sunshine, their bare skin taking on a golden cast as they relished the bright days of summer.
He walked over to the spring and knelt down, the knees of his trousers crushing the blades of grass and the leaves of the wild dandelions and daisies. He felt the moisture in the plants soaking through the cloth of his pants, small spots of dampness against his kneecaps.
Taeyon leaned over the spring, seeing his own face reflected in the lightly rippling surface. He reached out a hand and brushed his fingers through the icy water, raising it up to his mouth for a quick taste. Clean, clear water.
He bent down further to use his cupped hands to scoop up some of the water, raising it to his lips. It was as he was sipping that he spotted a strange movement beneath the surface. It was a large shadow moving around, much too big to be a fish, though he thought he caught a glimpse of dappled silver scales.
Curious, he leaned closer and closer, peering down beneath the surface, squinting to try and see. He leaned down so far that his chin almost touched the water, his bare toes digging into the grass of the bank as he leaned his weight on his left hand to maintain his balance as he tried to see what was moving around inside the spring.
There was no warning, no change in the size or shape of the shadow to show that it was getting closer, just a sudden rush upward and he didn’t even have time to cry out before he was plunging down and down, an iron grip clasped tight around his right arm.
He kicked his feet and tried to use his other hand to free himself, but whatever had him was too strong. All he ended up doing was blowing most of the air out of his lungs and he could feel himself going weak and he could not break free. He was helpless in the face of such immovable strength.
His struggles weakened and finally stopped, the last of his air escaping him in a burst of bubbles. He felt himself sinking down and there was nothing he could do to stop it as all the light was pulled from his world and he was left empty, swirling into the darkness far below, a strengthless passenger in the shell of his own skin. His eyelids fluttered and fell closed.
/ EXCERPT
