Vermillion

By Greg Wilburn

Although the war rages between the Limphelm and the Mentilm, no danger is as great as the warrior Daleli. The only half-breed between the two kingdoms, he fights and lives for his beloved Juniel alone. But with Juniel's death at the hands of the barbarous Mentilm and the Limphelm plot to assassinate him, the monster within Daleli will be unleashed, ready to wash the world with waves of blood.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Greg Wilburn
• Release date: May 4, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311694843

Greg Wilburn

What is most important about writing is the art of storytelling. I hope that my writing does what a great story should do: make you feel, think, and see something so vividly that it impacts your interactions with the world around you after you've read it. That's because writing is a world all of its own. I write horror, flash fiction, and literary stories that take what we see--even what we want to see--and make it something entirely different. What is most important to this kind of experience is that you leave it saying, "Yep. That was it. And now my world is made anew."I am a writer living in San Dimas, California, and I know that the stories I bring to Smashwords are worth the small contribution I ask. If not, tell me; I want to be a better writer, and I can't do it without feedback. Tell me your thoughts, and show me your stories. Let's share what our imaginations hold together.

Book preview

Vermillion

By Greg Wilburn

Copyright 2015 Greg Wilburn

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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VERMILLION

Shh! You’ll wake the night! Ghandel hissed at Juniel in a whisper. Juniel, only a lesser Limphel, made shushed apologies to her superior as she treaded softly among the leaves. Ghandel led the way through the darkened forest, feeling surer with each step that they were nearing the camp at Kindel’s Grove, where Commander Hanlem had stationed the 47th battalion.

Juniel huffed aloud as they reached the Tistern River, failing to keep the small deer she held steady on her back. Not so loud! commanded Ghandel as his eyes searched the night for enemies. After a few moments of holding their breath, Ghandel shifted the giant stag he’d killed to his left shoulder and said, Okay. Let’s go.

Juniel didn’t register the signal to move at first; she’d lost herself in the cold, black eyes of the white stag, which glared at her with the milky film that had spread over the pupils. A small pocket of vomit reached her throat, but she forced it down quickly as Ghandel told her to move for a second time.

They waded into the cold water slowly, causing nothing but a few ripples in the slow-moving river. She watched the stag’s gaping mouth glide across the surface of the water, its tongue dragging along the top of it. Guilt sank down into her stomach as she thought about how thirsty the stag must have been to still be trying to drink even after death.

She came to as Ghandel gently lifted her out of the river as if she was a feather. She looked around carefully, her hand on her dagger. Ghandel shifted the glorious stag to the center of his back and slowly unsheathed