A Father's Blessing

By Dayle A. Dermatis

Marble and granite, alabaster and onyx: all stone speaks to Farais, and she wants nothing more than to be a Sculptor and release their secrets. But Farais is the last one in her family left to recite their lineage, a task at odds with her dreams. To achieve Master Sculptor status, she must obtain her father’s blessing...and her father believes in family and tradition. Farais must find a way to appease him, or she will lose everything she holds dear.

DAYLE A. DERMATIS has been called “one of the best writers working today” by USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith. Under various pseudonyms (and sometimes with coauthors), she’s sold several novels and more than a hundred short stories in multiple genres. She lives and works in California within scent of the ocean, and in her spare time follows Styx around the country and travels the world, all of which inspires her writing. She loves music, cats, Wales, TV, magic, laughter, and defying expectations. To find out where she is today, check out www.DayleDermatis.com.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Soul's Road Press
• Release date: Feb 11, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311545428

Dayle A. Dermatis

Dayle A. Dermatis is the author or coauthor of many novels (including snarky urban fantasies Ghosted and the forthcoming Shaded and Spectered) and more than a hundred short stories in multiple genres, appearing in such venues as Fiction River, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, and DAW Books.Called the mastermind behind the Uncollected Anthology project, she also guest edits anthologies for Fiction River, and her own short fiction has been lauded in many year's best anthologies in erotica, mystery, and horror.She lives in a book- and cat-filled historic English-style cottage in the wild greenscapes of the Pacific Northwest. In her spare time she follows Styx around the country and travels the world, which inspires her writing.To find out where she’s wandered off to (and to get free fiction!), check out DayleDermatis.com and sign up for her newsletter or support her on Patreon.* * *I value honest feedback, and would love to hear your opinion in a review, if you’re so inclined, on your favorite book retailer’s site.* * *For more information:www.dayledermatis.com

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CHINK.

Chink chink chink.

Chink.

Farais stopped chinking and examined her work, then continued. Scales of stone separated and fell, the sound of them hitting the ground lost beneath the constant tap of her hammer against her chisel.

She breathed slowly, confidently, as if her measured breath could imbue life into the rock. Indeed, she had already spent time in meditation with it, determining the shape in which it should be. The sculpture trapped in the block, some called it. To Farais, that was as close to the truth as she could phrase it.

Chink chink.

Chink.

The Guildhall was silent save for the sounds of Farais’ work. The other students had retired for the noontime break, to pursue personal activities or to rest. But the statue within the marble drove Farais on, through heat and hunger and exhaustion and loneliness, as it always did.

It was her best work yet; truly worthy of a Master-class application. The stone had spoken to her of a classical vision: a hydra attacking a stag, tearing its throat. Brutal, but powerful and graceful and moving. When she was finished, Farais knew, you would be able to see the sinews in the stag’s neck, the spittle from the hydra’s mouth.

All of the apprentices, who worked as assistants to the journeymen and Masters, had also taken their leave for the noontime respite from the heat, so Farais had to carry her own water from the trough at the other end of the covered courtyard that served as a studio for the larger works-in-progress. She dumped the bucket over the statue, rinsing away the dust and smaller flecks that clung to it, then stood back, swiping the back of her wrist against her forehead.

Yes, it was her best piece. The knowledge didn’t