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    Stone and String
    Stone and String
    Stone and String
    Ebook43 pages31 minutes

    Stone and String

    By Stephanie Flint

    ()

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    About this ebook

    A spell to infuriate the goddess of the dead...

    In the world of "The Wishing Blade," everyone is born with two strings of magic. One strand is life, and the other is death. Very few can manipulate them.

    Among the Cantingen Islanders, children are tested for this ability during their first rites of magic, a ceremony which determines what magic they have and their future as a mage. But when Edyli's little sister, Akymi, dies in an accident before those rites can occur, Edyli does the unthinkable. She uses magic to return Akymi to the living. As a result, she finds herself in a land of weblike strings... the afterlife.

    Edyli refuses to give up seeing her sister's first rites. With the help of a mysterious immortal and sheer determination, she has every intention of seeing her sister once more, even if it means incurring the wrath of Madia, the goddess of the dead.

    ~

    Author's Note: This is an 8,000-word short story based in the universe of "The Wishing Blade" series. Though the stories are related ("Stone and String" takes place at the same time as the events of "Magic's Stealing"), "Stone and String" stands alone.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherInfinitas Publishing
    Release dateDec 5, 2016
    ISBN9781370268757
    Stone and String
    Author

    Stephanie Flint

    Stephanie Flint (formerly Stephanie Bibb) graduated from the University of Central Missouri with a Bachelor of Science in photography and a minor in creative writing. She merged the two interests into book cover design and photographic illustration, but she particularly enjoys writing speculative fiction. Stephanie lives with her husband, Isaac. Together they plot stories in the form of tabletop role-play games, and they enjoy the occasional cosplay. Online, Stephanie often goes by the nickname of SBibb.

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      Book preview

      Stone and String - Stephanie Flint

      STONE AND STRING

      A The Wishing Blade Short Story

      by Stephanie Flint

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental.

      Copyright 2016 by Stephanie Flint

      Formatting and cover design by Stephanie Flint

      All rights reserved. Published by Infinitas Publishing.

      Smashwords Edition

      infinitaspublishing.com

      Sign up for The Wishing Blade Universe newsletter!

      Table of Contents

      "Stone and String"

      Acknowledgements

      About the Author

      Thank You

      Not Ready to Leave?

      Connect with the Author

      Newsletter

      Stone and String

      Are you getting down from there or not? Edyli crossed her arms over her chest. The branch above her wavered, and Akymi, her little sister, peeked between the leaves.

      The girl shook her head. No, she said, her tiny voice not in the least bit giving.

      Edyli sighed and twisted the strands of her black hair between her fingers. She had searched for her little sister all afternoon—squeezing through the crowded bazaar and tiptoeing through a hushed temple—and only now had the child finally shouted her presence to the world. Edyli had even considered using word magic to scry for her—and chances are that would not have ended well. She cupped her hands over her mouth. "Your first rites of magic are tonight. You cannot spend all afternoon hiding in that tree."

      "Yes I can."

      Petulant little—

      Edyli took a deep breath. The girl would join her on the ground when she was ready. But she had wanted to perform those rites earlier. All morning she paraded around the house with her embroidered skirt, waving her sheer orange scarf and singing about how she was going to be the strongest mage of them all.

      All right. Edyli craned her neck to the canopy. "Why are you hiding?"

      A tiny, dark hand pointed between the leaves. Edyli followed the direction the fingers pointed to a peacock. The valiant bird strutted around a fountain, trilled and cocked its head, then focused its dark eye on Edyli as if it knew she watched.

      She rubbed her temples. Did you try plucking its feathers again?

      Nooo…

      Edyli snorted. Of course Akymi would say she had not tried plucking a feather. She was too young to understand the importance of exactness and speaking truthfully. Ruetravahn help them… even the god of language could likely not teach her.

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