The third installment of my winning entry for The Sandy writing contest. Find part 2 here.

 

CHAPTER TWO

As Iris approached the mahogany desk in the Captain’s quarters, Rachel placed the ring and confiscated dagger on its surface. At the sight of the ring, Iris clasped her hands tightly behind her back in an effort to restrain her excited grasp.

Danton strode in with his usual swagger, hands deep in the pockets of his brown, pinstriped trousers, tweed jacket swaying loosely about his waist. At ten paces from her desk, the Master-At-Arms came to a dead stop, his eyes fixed on the hilt of the knife she had taken from the fight.

“Danton?” Rachel said, but he seemed not to hear her. “Monsieur DuSalle?”

Iris laid a hand on his arm and his entire body recoiled. A trained killer’s reflex tightened his face and shoulders, but only briefly. He had not lost himself in thought so much as to lash out at a friend, but the Frenchman’s knuckles were white in his clenched fists.

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The second installment of my winning entry for The Sandy writing contest. Find part 1 here.

 

Without so much as consideration for what price she might get for it, she scooped it back into its bag and shoved it in her pocket. She grabbed her cloak before throwing open the door and bolting out of her quarters. As she raced down the gangplank, Iris called to her, but Rachel had no time to waste. The ring had to go. She would simply return it to Mrs. Tweed and forget the whole thing had happened. Rachel hated magical items. She would not allow it to remain in her possession. Iris would be livid when she learned of this, but Rachel’s tolerance of Iris’s obsession with Aether Manipulation did not extend to this degree. As the Captain, it was her right to say what would and would not be on board her ship. The argument about the legality of transporting such things was hardly the issue. Nowhere in the twelve years she’d been Captain had she run across such an item. No, she would not allow it this time.

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I thought perhaps folks might like to see what a first place winner looks like. Specifically, what I submitted to The Sandy that netted me the top score in the Fantasy/Science Fiction, the second highest overall score (only one scored higher, and only by 1 point), and a full manuscript request from Jim Frenkel. I’m so proud of this story! It has a little bit of everything for everyone; romance, adventure, action, bad guys, steampunk tech, a vast array of multicultural characters, and a touch of magic. Even if you’re not sold on the whole steampunk thing, this is still a story you can get into!

In the interest of space, I’m breaking up the excerpt into multiple parts, so you’ll have to read multiple posts to get the whole thing. Without further ado, may I present part 1 of the Antigone’s Wrath excerpt…

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