Kilgore's Five Stories #2: September 2020: Kilgore's Five Stories, #2

By Shaun Kilgore

Author Shaun Kilgore returns with another five stories for September 2020. You'll find fantasy, romance, and more in the pages of Kilgore's Five Stories! This second volume includes the stories "The Price of Alliances," "Music of the Heart," "The Unexpected," "The Demons of Dukaris," and "The Tower of Hazzel."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Founders House Publishing LLC
• Release date: Oct 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393484431

Shaun Kilgore

Shaun Kilgore is the author of various works of fantasy, science fiction, and a number of nonfiction works. His books appear in both print and ebook editions. He has also published numerous short stories and collections. Shaun is the editor of MYTHIC: A Quarterly Science Fiction & Fantasy Magazine. He lives in eastern Illinois.

Book preview

Contents

Introduction

The Price of Alliances

The Unexpected

The Tower of Hazzel

The Demons of Dukaris

Music of the Heart

About the Author

Kilgore’s Five Stories

#2 September 2020

Original Short Stories Every Month

Shaun Kilgore

Copyright © 2020 Shaun Kilgore

Published by Founders House Publishing, LLC

Cover art © Grandfailure | Dreamstime.com

Cover design by Founders House Publishing LLC

www.foundershousepublishing.com

www.shaunkilgore.com

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any semblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

Introduction

Well it was a close one. I almost missed the second month’s release of Kilgore’s Five Stories. But here it is, folks. Five new short stories from yours truly. It’s mainly a mix of fantasy stories with a couple of contemorary and romance stories thrown in. I hope you like them.

For next month’s release, I’ll try to aim for mid-month. I want this to be as regular as it can be. Thanks for giving my little magazine a look. Onward to Issue #3.

Shaun Kilgore, September 2020

The Price of Alliances

1 - Expectations

Andrene moved down the tunnel slowly, carefully, as though worried her very presence would send the stones and earth down on top of her. As it was, she cringed at every creak and shift in the ancient stone buttresses. She squinted up towards the ceiling, trying to shine the lantern so she could get a better look but all was thrown in the sharp shadows. The stone was old limestone, carved and set into place centuries ago when the city resting far above her was newly built. The tunnel was only one in a series of passages carved into the bedrock.

Her slippered toe kicked a pebble and she nearly screamed. Andrene didn’t want to think about the state of her gown too much. The whole surface of the tunnel was coated in dirt and cobwebs. She worried about rats and other vermin, scurrying around her feet or lurking somewhere above her head. She brushed a hand through her hair but felt nothing but her silky locks. Andrene tightened her grip on the lantern. She was suddenly worried about dropping the only source of light she had. The idea of being plunged into an eternal darkness set her heart racing. She wanted to hurry out of the tunnels and climb the scores of steps back up into the light, into the fresh air.

The air in the tunnel did not stir and smelled musty and dry. Andrene carried on and tried to keep her breathing slow and steady. Panic was always hovering nearby and she knew that concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other would be the way she would get out of the tunnel.

Andrene followed the same long passage of rock as it steadily climbed up. She kept waiting for the tunnel to fork or turn on itself. Andrene hoped she hadn’t missed any turns in the darkness. The thought flittered in her mind and made her tremble. Still, she pressed on.

Then came the sound of footsteps echoing up and down the ribbon of the tunnel. Andrene couldn’t be sure from what direction they came from but she didn’t risk finding out. She walked faster, the lantern bouncing up and down with her quickened stride, spilling its light at all angles. The shadows moved as Andrene moved. She stopped and listened.

Nothing. Not a sound.

Andrene was breathing heavily and gulped in the warm but stagnant air. She lifted the lantern up and scanned back the way she came then turned the light to the tunnel ahead. She spotted a shadow on one wall. Andrene gasped. A door!

She closed the distance between herself and the intersecting hall. She turned down it immediately and was rewarded with an upward slope in the stone floors. She climbed as fast as she could, not worrying about the dirt smudging her clothes, her skin, her hair. Andrene prayed to Saint Bethaya that she had chosen the right course. A few moments of steady walking brought her to the top of the incline. Her lantern revealed a set of stairs.

She grinned. Nearly there. Her voice was soft, coming out as little more than a croak. Her throat was dry.

Andrene sniffed. The air smelled strange. She couldn’t place the scent. There was a spiciness to it that reminded her of the wharves. Andrene had visited them as a child in the company of her tutor, Mastra Denoveve. Along with two other children in Denoveve’s charge, Andrene had been allowed to visit the loading docks where all the merchandise, including foreign spices, was loaded and unloaded onto the various ships that made berth there.

The feeling that someone watched her from the darkness was more than enough to urge Andrene up the crumbling steps. The stairwell spiralled around on itself as it rose