The House That Bernard Wellingsworth Built by Michael Harris Eli Wellingsworth travels from upstate New York to Manchester, Engla... [5,645 words]
Tales Of The Horror Inducing Kind by Michael Harris Three short stories documented by a horror enthusiast whose attempting to col... [12,838 words]
Evil's Fingers by Michael Harris After a young boy by the name of Timmy Hutchinson falls into a pit and is rescued, circumstances... [7,440 words]
Dragonfly Mile by D G Williford Whimsical flight of fantasy reality as a young woman tries to find her lost... you tell me... [191 words]
The Crown Of Hypocrisy by Collins At my church, me and my classmates were given an asignment to pretend to be a newpaper c... [905 words]
When Oil Wells Will Be Dry�.. by Partha Pratim Majumder In the felicitation ceremony of the ace rock climber / mountaineer , a question s... [700 words]
The Stone Of Immortality
The Portrait Of A Ukrainian Lady by Abdelilah Bouasria This is a short story about the influence of cultural difference on the unrave... [1,836 words]
The Moral Of The Story by Higgins If your golf game was disappointing, you can always say "It was a nice day in the countr... [1,868 words]
Snakeyes Part Two by David Con The battle begins. [305 words]
Snakeyes - Part One by David Con A futuristic martyr plays games with death for recognition and money. [366 words]
Reunion by Inchara - [2,989 words]
Playing Games by Clint Stutts Jase Riza has been picked up for a crime he did not commit. The detective interrogating him is h... [2,491 words]
Plane Inspection by Shelley J Alongi Aviation series story 6B. A plane, inspection, and dinner put Andrew's decision about Anne int... [1,493 words]
Nth Floor by Jack M Brown Welcome to Tower. Edward's just been employed in an office on the 100th floor, but he finds that the ... [2,614 words]
Leaving Home Twice by Amber A Whitman - [316 words]
Georgie Girl by Amber A Whitman - [329 words]
Flyby Of The Insect-O-Cuter by Jack M Brown For five employees of a restaurant, their shift plays out very differently as stran... [4,552 words]
Dealing With Mother by Amber A Whitman This is a story I have written about the relationship I have with my mother. ... [436 words]
Come Around, Go Around by Carter Z Tachikawa On Mars, another Holocaust is beginning... [1,529 words]
City Of The Lost by Shaun Stone - [259 words]
Christmas Wedding by Jannah Akira Ryan loves Vieann but due to a silly fight they broke up. Then, Ryan found out that Vieann ma... [1,804 words]
Aware by Clint Stutts Carl finds himself on a table, blind, immobile, and unable to talk. He doesn't know how he got there. A... [1,402 words]
A Walk With Terror by Lucy Midnight Dear Reader, This story is based upon a true event that happened to me. Although the names... [1,238 words]
A Likely Story by Higgins Charlie Kelly comes to grips with the police. [846 words]
Why? Why? Why? by Brian C Davis Short and reflective story of a young man broiled in internal conflict and self-doubt. [645 words]
The Passenger by Paul Simon Gregory A short story from the point of view of a spectral being that manipulates strangers into acting o... [778 words]
The Eye by P J Francis - [138 words]
The Dog by P J Francis - [258 words]
The Birds by Wael El-Manzalawy A short story about the dream of freedom. [240 words]
Spears And Swords by Jackolai Craiut The story of three young orphaned cubs, the son of a wolf leader, the son of a leopard king, ... [186 words]
Snow Falling by Ashley Burdett A poem about a young girl whose father is sent to war. it talks about how she feels when he is gon... [580 words]
Saturday by Tweez A couple, a car trip, a new life. [1,160 words]
Not Such A Funny Fool by Aardvark Anteater Lacie comes to a horrifying realisation only to then discover is may not be as horrifying... [1,332 words]
Mommy, Was I A Mistake? by Skyler Drevan Hold me when I'm here and love me when I'm gone. [768 words]
Max's Antics by Higgins A brief tale of a wealthy alcoholic. [553 words]
Make Mine A Boilermaker by Higgins A brief story of a construction worker who goes into business. [559 words]
Life's Essence by P J Francis - [123 words]
Late Night Ranter by Michael Hunter Haven't written here in 4 years. Suddenly felt this urge to write. Maybe cause I have homew... [314 words]
How Joe C. Lost His Finger by A Panos This story just goes to show that sometimes, people only read because there are stil... [648 words]
Henry's Hammer by Bradley Kabbash Short story about a teenager who discovers he's the descendant of John Henry the legendary railr... [8,571 words]
Headboards And Tombstones by Kevin Myrick The fourth story in the Sierra Madre Series/Stories, this one is about the boyfriend ... [2,898 words]
Global Part Two by E Rocco Caldwell One way around the problem of made organs and real organs is a line straight line! [585 words]
Global Part Three by E Rocco Caldwell Clones can bleed and have emotions and what's worst they can have babies..... [792 words]
Global Part One by E Rocco Caldwell It's in the near future and human organs are in great demand...to make money you have to get th... [655 words]
Global Part Four by E Rocco Caldwell Some clones are like bad pennies...they keep turning up even when you don't want them to! [610 words]
Fireworks At Christmas by Kevin Myrick This is the fifth story in the continuing series called the Sierra Madre Stories. [3,274 words]
Dinner Without Glances by Tweez Five friends sit down to eat together with a cloud hanging over them. [320 words]
Conversations With A Hate Monger by Skyler Drevan A tale of the ramblings of a bigot. Make your own judgements. [1,090 words]
Blue Heaven Cubicle by David Lloyd First draft of a short story I'm working on...forgive the obvious mistakes, will edit when ... [8,008 words]
Baby-Sitter's Menace! by C M J Wood About a babysitter fearing attack from a hunted man, after getting a visit from the polic... [4,418 words]
A Ride On The New York City Subway by Skyler Drevan If you live or have traveled on our lovely subway systems here, you would to... [1,115 words]
A Night At The Cineplex by Skyler Drevan Sometimes I feel like watching a flick, sometimes I feel like this. [957 words]
A Battered Woman Looks In The Mirror by Skyler Drevan What does she see? [912 words]
Wedding Bells by Inchara It is a interesting story about the hunt for a suitable groom. [2,176 words]
Way To Go George by Richard Kelly A man dying from cancer discovers a unique way to find meaning in life during the little time ... [5,946 words]
The White Room by P J Francis - [892 words]
The Antichrist Of The Blue Moon by Abbie Angel My name is Abbie and I am a runaway. I think I met the Antichrist and that is m... [1,409 words]
Mole M. Speaks by Higgins An alcoholic who once played minor league baseball speaks to the members of the Royal Palm Room ... [1,147 words]
Manipulated By The Seer by La Longue Carabine More of an extract than a short story. Please review it. [534 words]
Magic Man by Abbie Angel - [1,008 words]
Hell's Gate by Abbie Angel A sad story about a fire burning underground since 1962. [681 words]
Eastbound Wanderer by Abbie Angel A runaway's Journey. [543 words]
Beyond A Doubt by J Shartzer He was more interested in that strange girl... [2,339 words]
Atlanta by Daddyslittlegirl - [701 words]
Go to page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 [26] 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
| |
TITLE (EDIT)
The Stone Of Immortality |
DESCRIPTION
Do you want to live forever?
[1,145 words] |
AUTHOR
Susan Brassfield Cogan |
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
Author of MURDER ON THE WATERFRONT,
Read a review from OVER MY DEAD BODY:
http://www.overmydeadbody.com/ladymarg.htm
Order now from Amazon.com http://countess.notlong.com
Please visit my website: http://www.coganbooks.net
[September 2005] |
AUTHOR'S E-MAIL ADDRESS
[email protected] |
AUTHOR'S OTHER TITLES (12)
A Rainy Night In Baghdad (Short Stories) This rain is the piss of Satan! [812 words]
Jubilee, A Novel (Novels) Paris is in flames and the hungry guillotine waits . . . [4,571 words]
Life, Death, And A Guitar (Short Stories) Life can turn on a dime and sometimes the guitar doesn't make it. [480 words] [Crime]
Murder On The Waterfront (Novels) Lady Margaret is an artist and amateur sleuth, Monahan is a hardboiled detective. Together they solve a murder with international implications. [2,358 words]
Nanotech (Short Stories) Alien technology is not for everyone! [971 words]
Path To The Top Of The M Ountain (Short Stories) You never know who is walking beside you. [500 words]
Pick A Pocket Of Sunshine (Short Stories) What a beautiful day for petty crime! [379 words]
She Dances Down By The River (Short Stories) Danger in the firelight. [453 words]
The Assassin (Short Stories) What lurks in the chill of the night? [440 words]
The Honor Of A Lady (Short Stories) Steel is drawn when the honor of a lady is besmirched. [321 words] [Humor]
The King's Best Soldier (Short Stories) Beric races for home, haunted by a Dakhanni demon. [1,270 words]
Wicked They Come (Short Stories) What is making that darned noise? [2,930 words] [Science Fiction]
|
The Stone Of Immortality
Susan Brassfield Cogan
It was daybreak when Roland topped the hill and saw the witch's cottage emerging from the mist in the valley below. Roland contemplated the cottage with some trepidation even though the heavy thatching and the low stone walls looked ordinary, almost idyllic. His horse snorted and dropped his head. Roland patted the animal's neck. He knew Aonghus would carry him anywhere--but the horse would prefer not to bear his master into a valley that smelled so strongly of magic. Horses don't often get their wishes, any more than Roland did himself. Roland urged Aonghus forward. Smoke trickled up from the chimney of the cottage but there didn't seem to be anyone about except a few chickens scratching in the yard.
As he approached, a girl emerged from the doorway. She carried a large, flat bowl and from it and began tossing handfuls of corn to the chickens who gathered excitedly pecking at the grains and flocking around her ankles. She started when she caught sight of him and forgetting the chickens, stood still, watching him approach.
"Good morning, Maiden," Roland called when he was close enough. "Is your mother about?"
"Good Morning, Sir. I will fetch her for you." With that she cast the rest of the grain out to the chickens and then turned and skipped into the cottage like a faun. He dismounted and nervously toyed with Aonghus's reins.
A few moments later a tall, handsome woman appeared. She seemed neither young nor old. Her deep brown hair was plaited into three braids and wound about with charms and ribbons. She greeted him directly and frankly but did not invite him in, nor offer him anything to eat or drink. This did not quiet Roland's misgivings, he was accustomed to peasant women who were intimidated by men riding up on large war horses with swords dangling from their belts. This woman radiated quiet assurance and strength as if he were the peasant and she the great lady. After a moment of polite speech, he got to his point.
"My father sent me to you. It is told among the people that you possess the stone of immortality. He has sent me to fetch this stone from you." Roland felt blunt and uncouth in the face of this woman's grace and nobility, but his father had told him to say just those words.
The woman smiled. "You are correct that we possess such a stone, but I will not give it to you. I have seen your father from afar. I know that he wishes to not share the fate of all men, but he will and he must." The directness of her reply set him back on his heels. Nevertheless, he gathered himself and barreled ahead.
"My father told me you would say that, and bade me tell you that you will die if you do not give me the stone." Roland drew his sword. A touch of cold fear shivered his spine, yet his palms were sweating. He wasn't sure if he could bring himself to strike her. The woman did not cower or even flinch. She gazed at him coolly and the smile did not leave her lips.
"Come! You must speak with my mother," she said. "You are obviously very determined." She stepped into the cottage, then turned and said over her shoulder, "but you may not bring a weapon into this house."
The sword slipped from his fingers. Astonished, he bent and picked it up. He dropped it again. He stared at it a moment, his heart beating wildly in his breast. He left it where it lay and followed the woman through the door.
Inside, the cottage smelled of spices and woodsmoke. He felt folded into a pervasive sense of hominess laced with a faint, sharp tang that could only be the taste of magic. The sweet young girl stood by the hearth, stirring porridge. Near her sat a very old woman, whose loose white hair flowed about her like a shawl. She was unbent and bright of eye, but frail seeming and wrapped about with a heavy cloak decorated with bits of fur and much fanciful embroidery.
"Come here, young man." Her voice was thin, but strong. She did not invite him to sit. He approached, his knees like water. "I have a message for your father." She stretched out a scrawny white hand covered with blue veins. In the withered palm was a smooth gray stone. "Take my hand," she said. Roland did not wish to bend, for fear that it would seem like a bow, so he crouched after the manner of soldiers.
Roland tried to take the stone from her palm, but it slipped from his fingers, much as his sword had done. After a couple of tries, he gave up and did as he was bid, clasping his hand over hers.
What he saw then, he never told to anyone, not even his father. Wordless pictures, laced with fear, marched before his eyes. He saw his father, a hale man of middle years wither and die. He saw himself age, come into the flower of his manhood and then wither. Roland's son was now but a babe but he saw the boy grow into a man, become a fell warrior, strong in arm and ruddy of face and then shrink, slowly descending into rotten old age. He saw the same thing over and over and over. He knew that he would someday not even be a distant memory in the minds of his far descendants who would wear strange clothing, speak strange tongues and live in strange lands far west of the sea. The ancient eyes of the old woman were black chips of obsidian. He fought to stop the visions, but they would not stop. As if from a distance he heard himself howling with terror. Struggle as he might, he could not loose his hand from that of the crone.
Sometimes, years after, when he was alone or distracted, sometimes as he fell asleep at night, the pictures would return, and he would helplessly squeeze his eyes shut to make the memory of those pictures and that morning go away. Again and again he saw his father, he saw himself, he saw his sons, and grandsons and their sons and grandsons. He saw them all wither and die in the tides of time.
He knew when spell broke it was because she was done with him. He tore his hand away from the old woman's and stumbled blindly out the door. He collided with Aonghus, who sprang into a gallop almost before Ronald was in the saddle. Roland wanted nothing in the world except to put distance between himself and the stone and the women. He rode hard until Aonghus was covered with lather and could move his limbs no more.
As far as he knew, his sword forever lay in the dooryard among the chickens.
|
READER'S REVIEWS (1)
DISCLAIMER: STORYMANIA DOES NOT PROVIDE AND IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWS. ALL REVIEWS ARE PROVIDED BY NON-ASSOCIATED VISITORS, REGARDLESS OF THE WAY THEY CALL THEMSELVES.
"It has been a while since I read your work...again this is well written. Is this the Roland of the crusades? " -- e. rocco caldwell.
TO DELETE UNWANTED REVIEWS CLICK HERE! (SELECT "MANAGE TITLE REVIEWS" ACTION) |
|
Submit Your Review for The Stone Of Immortality
Required fields are marked with (*).
Your e-mail address will not be displayed.
|
|
Submit Your Rating for The Stone Of Immortality
|
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2003 Susan Brassfield Cogan |
STORYMANIA PUBLICATION DATE
September 2004 |
NUMBER OF TIMES TITLE VIEWED
2933
|
|
