Podioracket Presents: Glimpses

By Podioracket

Podioracket Presents - Glimpses is a collection of fiction to accompany already established novels from Podiobooks.com authors.

These all new short stories by Podiobooks.com authors are written in their own universes and offer a great way to sample these writers, get a taste of their full-length novels, or for you to enjoy short stories from authors you already love.

Includes:

Conclave – Mick Bordet
Foretelling – Arlene Radasky
The Interview - M. Darusha Wehm
Appeasement - Gloria Oliver
Good Luck - Casey S Townsend
Fleeting Time - Keith Hughes
Blind Curve - Dave Donelson
Holy Rites - Emerian Rich
The Siege - Katharina Maimer
Wayward Spirits - A Prelude to The Dawning of Power - Brian Rathbone
Future In Hand: A Rivenspace Story - H.E Roulo

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brian Rathbone
• Release date: Nov 13, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466165137

Podioracket

Our goal is to provide an inclusive podcast for listeners on upcoming Podiobooks.com releases and give authors a voice in promoting their works to an interested audience.

Book preview

Podioracket Presents Glimpses

by Podioracket

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2011 White Wolf Press, LLC

Table of Contents

Conclave – Mick Bordet

Foretelling – Arlene Radasky

The Interview - M. Darusha Wehm

Appeasement - Gloria Oliver

Good Luck - Casey S Townsend

Fleeting Time - Keith Hughes

Blind Curve - Dave Donelson

Holy Rites - Emerian Rich

The Siege - Katharina Maimer

Wayward Spirits - A Prelude to The Dawning of Power - Brian Rathbone

Future In Hand: A Rivenspace Story - H.E Roulo

Conclave

Mick Bordet

The menacing creature towered over the two men, looking down at them, its long claws extended from massive white paws and teeth bared in a controlled snarl. Macleod lifted his broadsword and swung it, building up the speed needed to strike a blow. The beast paused, watching him; it seemed to know all too well what the man intended. When the blow came, the bear stepped backwards on its hind legs and let the blade slice past its belly, the soft fur only ruffled by the gentle breeze. Macleod staggered forward, his balance thrown off by the missed strike, and fell to the ground in front of the bear. He pulled his sword before him, a desperate defence against the certain death to come at the huge creature's next move, but no such move came. The bear stood still, as though frozen, claws poised at the ready.

Are you all right, Macleod? asked Macdonald from a safe distance behind. The Macdonalds had something of a reputation for rushing in and attacking with the element of surprise before beating a hasty retreat, but on this occasion he was happy to have left that approach to someone else.

Aye, I'll live. I didn't see you rushing to my aid, Ewan Macdonald. Did you think your day would be made better by my passing?

That it would, Seamus, but in truth, I'd rather see you at the head of your clan than that eejit you call your nephew, replied Macdonald.

He stepped forward and helped Macleod to his feet, slapping him on the back once the man stood beside him.

Aye, the lad's an eejit all right, but at least he's not a Macdonald! Clan Ebhir would never stoop so low, Macleod said and smiled through his thick dark beard.

I thought you were dead for sure when that beastie stood up, but I would wager that it's only meant to scare us. It could have killed us both by now if that's what it wanted, said Macdonald.

You mean, what he wanted. Our host.

Aye, fair enough, Seamus, the beastie has been seen to do his bidding. Let's get this over with, shall we?

Macleod nodded and they both waited a moment, each hoping the other would make the first move.

Are you there, Stranger? Macdonald eventually called around the side of the bear, into the mouth of the cave.

The man they only knew of as Erik stepped forward, appearing at first as nothing more than a shadow from the gloom and echoes of the deep scar in the hillside. He was noticeably cleaner and better-groomed than the other two men, with short dark hair and a neat, trimmed beard. His skin was pale and pink, even soft in comparison to the rugged earth-worn appearance of Macleod and Macdonald. Where they both wore their own dull plaids flung around their stocky bodies, the garment Erik wore seemed tailored for him alone, with no excess material hanging down and not one piece without function.

Welcome, friends. I see you have met Bear, he said.

Aye, we've seen your monster, but it will take more than that to scare us, Stranger, replied Macdonald.

Please, Ewan, call me Erik, and I can assure you that Bear is not here to scare you. He is merely my companion and protector.

You bring yourself a protector, yet tell both of us to come alone, said Macleod.

This is true, Seamus, but you have seen some evidence of what I offer, have you not? You know that I have much more to lose and let's be honest here; you have both been less than reliable when it comes to meetings such as these. The Laird of Glencarse was never heard from again after you met with him, Seamus, from the tales that I have been told.

Seamus shrugged. Macdonald smirked at the sight of his rival being called out for his past activities, not that he was an innocent in such matters himself. He had removed the occasional barrier to progress, just with a little less fuss than the Macleod chieftain.

Anyway, today is not about blame or the past; it is about the future, about working together. Come my friends, join me inside, but please, leave your weapons out here, said Erik, returning to the darkness of the cave.

Macdonald and Macleod exchanged glances, but they had expected nothing less. The stranger had his protection with him, but if he was leaving the beast outside then there could be no harm in leaving their weapons as well. They both unhooked their swords and placed them on the ground outside the cave. Once they had done so, Bear stepped aside, making it clear the two men were free to join Erik. They followed him into the cave, never letting their gaze stray from the huge polar bear as they walked past.

A short, stooped corridor led into the main body of the cave, which was lit with three flickering torches attached to the dark, damp walls. In the middle of the space was a single, flat, round stone, knee-high and an arm's length-wide, laid out with stone goblets and a large loaf of dark brown bread. Erik invited the two men to join him for food and the three of them knelt down on the furs he had laid on the floor. As they sat, Bear entered the cave, sitting down on the floor at the entrance.

Tell me stranger, how is it that you have control over such a beastie as this? asked Macleod, pointing at Bear.

Erik gave a gentle smile.

I thought that might be one of your first questions, he said. My people are much the same as yours, though we live in secret, isolated from petty squabbles, clan battles, failing crops and fatal winter storms. Without the devastating effect of war and disease, my people have been free to develop our skills. We have learnt about many things that you would find amazing, even magical. For example, we have found a way to change the way bodies are built at the lowest level. In doing so, we have been able to create bears that are far more intelligent than normal. These bears work together with us to protect us when we travel far from home and in return they are supplied with food and somewhere to stay, as well as the benefits of genetic manipulation their line will receive in future generations.

Gen… what? asked Macdonald, clearly confused.

Sorry, genes are those tiny parts of the body we change. By doing so to the bears living with us, those changes will be passed down to their children and grandchildren. What I'm saying is that both my people and the bears benefit equally from the changes. This device allows us to communicate directly with them, said Erik, pulling out a shiny stone sphere from within his clothing and holding it out in the palm of his hand for the two men to see.

What's that? asked Macleod, leaning forward to try and make some sense out of the object, noticing it was covered in a set of intricate spiral designs.

We use it to control many things in our home. I doubt you would understand how it works, but I can demonstrate a little of what it can do, Erik replied.

He held the stone ball in one hand and ran his fingers over it with the other. It started to glow, giving out a very slow pulse of green light. The two clansmen drew back in fear, having never seen anything light up of its own accord.

Watch you dinnae burn yourself, man! said Macleod.

It's not hot, Seamus. Here, feel for yourself, said Erik. He smiled and held the sphere out towards Macleod, who flinched a little, but touched the rock, never willing to show anything like weakness or fear to his life-long rival.

Very strange, said Seamus, withdrawing his finger, but what does it do?

Erik pointed over at Bear.

You see the small device attached to his ear?

Device?

The little black rock.

Ah, yes.

That is connected to his brain, the part of him that makes him think. It sends silent messages to the control sphere I'm holding, which lets me talk to the bear, Erik explained.

You can talk to that thing? Macdonald asked, disbelief written all over his face.

Bear, could you go out and gather some wood, in case we need to light a fire later? Erik asked.

The two men looked over at the creature, wondering if it would rise and obey immediately or if it would need told again.

Okay, Erik. I will go, said Bear. His legs straightened, lifting his massive frame up, and he left the cave.

It talks? You've got a talking bear? This is magic, stranger! yelled Macleod.

Not magic, no, though it may appear as such to you. I have explained how it works as best I can with your limited knowledge. Accept that it can happen, but only because my people have changed the bears and have created these devices that allow us to communicate. Without these, the bears are more intelligent than normal, but have no idea what we are saying and cannot respond to us.

Does it work with all creatures? asked Macdonald.

We are still working on it. At the moment we use the bears because they serve a useful purpose to us and their large skulls are easy to work with, but it may be possible in the future to do the same with other animals, said Erik, nodding.

Very interesting, I can see how we could use this, said Macdonald. What else can you show us?

Erik took a deep breath. The first part of his plan had been accomplished, to get the men to see he had something worthwhile to offer them. What would prove more difficult, he knew, would be getting them to agree to his terms for learning about the technology behind the tools he could offer them. Clever devices on their own would be no use unless mankind had the knowledge to create more and the appreciation of the consequences of their use.

Okay, he said, let's talk.

* * *

The men talked for hours, Erik describing some of the most basic tools at his disposal. He didn't want to show his full hand at this early stage, knowing only too well what most of mankind was like, but he had been chosen by his people for this meeting because he was a great reader of men. As he was telling them about the simple devices he could share with them, rock cutters and things that would start fires in an instant, methods of storing food for weeks and ways to protect from disease, he was also dropping little traps into the conversation. All it would take would be for too many of those traps to be figuratively sprung and he would back off, limit his sharing to the bare minimum. Earlier the men had not been doing too bad, having only tripped over themselves a couple of times in their eagerness to gain as much as they could from Erik whilst trying to outmanoeuvre each other so that one clan or the other would come out on top, but now tempers were beginning to flare. All three of them were tired and found themselves unable to agree on anything, despite the best efforts of Erik to find some common ground.

Please, my friends, this is not about advantage to either Clan Eremon or Clan Ebhir, it is about the benefits to mankind. Any advantage you may gain will be due to each clan's own unique set of skills and knowledge, as well as the raw materials you have available to you, said Erik, trying to explain.

Enough talk, Erik, grumbled Maclead, it's time to take action. You have what my clan wants, now give it to us and stop trying to manipulate the situation!

Manipulate? Listen Seamus, I can walk away at any time and be just as well off as I have ever been. I do not need your help, nor am I asking anything from you other than assurances about how you will use what I can offer. And those assurances do not include ensuring your clan rises to power, said Erik.

Macleod stood and grabbed for Erik, who pulled back away from the attack easily, as though he had been expecting it. The irate clansman lunged again, taking a firm grip on his arm and pulling