FREE Preview of Gunwitch: A Tale of the King's Coven:
Chapter 1
Rose
Lake Patrizio
1742 A.D.
As the moss-hung canopy of the bayuk gave way to the open sky of Lake Patrizio, Rose Bainbridge picked up her paddle and began paddling. Stroke left, stroke right. Stroke left, stroke right. She kept her rhythm steady, matching the speed of the pirogue as the small boat moved across the surface of the water toward the rusted and smokestained skyline of New Venezia. Force of habit driving pointless precision, she thought. Because she rowed only to preserve the illusion that rowing was necessary, to hide the truth that the boat moved across the water at the will of the pirogue's other passenger.
Continuing the pantomime of rowing, Rose looked over her shoulder at Chal. The native girl sat in the stern, her paddle in the bottom of the boat, untouched, her long black hair loose and streaming behind her in the wind of their passage. Chal saw Rose look at her, and used a finger to push stray wisps of hair out of her face and tuck it behind her ear.
"Maybe we're going too fast?" Rose said.
That made Chal laugh, a sound like water over rocks. The speed of the pirogue increased.
Forcing her lips into a line to prevent a smile, Rose faced forward again. She resisted the temptation to row faster, because that would only encourage Chal further. Sometimes the girl could be such a ... a ... little girl. Not for the first time, Rose wondered if this was what it was like to be a parent. And not for the first time, she regretted the thought. Because she would never know.
You ever seen a pregnant gunwitch? The question rose from the past to mock her again.
Rose gritted her teeth and stopped that line of thought. Now was not the time. What was done was done.
The pirogue went faster. The rushing water nearly pulled the oar out of Rose's hand.
She gave up on rowing, braced the oar on the bow in front of her and looked back at Chal again. The wind whipped loose strands of Rose's hair across her face and pulled against the metal clasp that held back the rest.
Chal met her gaze and laughed.
In spite of herself, in spite of bad memories, in spite of the unexpected and unwelcome summons from General Tendring, Rose laughed as well. She could not say precisely why she laughed. Whatever the reason, the laughter was a welcome release. Even if it lasted only seconds.
As her laughter subsided, the pirogue settled into the water again, its speed diminishing.
Rose faced forward again and resumed her needless rowing. "I'm just trying to protect you," she said with a quick look back over her shoulder.
Chal's teeth flashed in a smile. "And I you," the girl said. "The waters move the boat, so you row to hide what they do. The storm clouds follow you. So I help you outrun them."
"Some storms you can't outrun," Rose said...
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