Tag: Eclipsed by Shadow

#29- A prehistoric encounter

A sudden thump on the rock announced one of the creatures, and Meagan was looking into the intense blue eyes of the staring girl. Meagan backed against the cliff wall. “Hello. Nice to see you again.” – Eclipsed by Shadow (excerpt)

Meagan sat up on the ledge, peering periodically over the side at the creatures laid out like slugs on a sidewalk. She shuddered each time and sat back. Of course, having an Angel for a horse makes something like this quite normal, she rationalized. The whole experience was like a … a gift. Yes! A not-very-good one. Maybe now was the time to find Promise, while the slugs were asleep.

“Oh!”

A sudden thump on the rock announced one of the creatures, and Meagan was looking into the intense blue eyes of the staring girl. Meagan backed against the cliff wall. “Hello. Nice to see you again.” She looked up. There were no heads, at least none visible. “Why aren’t you sleeping like the others?”

The girl stared back silently, but made no noise or motion.

I want to go home, Meagan thought desperately. She glanced cautiously over the edge. Only bones, ash and lingering smoke remained of the bonfire. Pecking birds scoured the rocks. Meagan turned back to the girl. “This is all my fault and I know you can’t understand, but I am very, very sorry … oh, please don’t be mad!”

The girl watched silently, moving her eyebrows to mimic Meagan’s.

“It won’t be hard to start over,” Meagan said reasonably. “The horses are still here … or, well, they were before you ate them. But you could find more and, and, build a corral. It’s simple once you know how. Horses are horses. Your family or whatever that is could do something with their lives instead of—” Her hand went to her mouth. “I sound just like my mother.”

The girl’s hand went to her own mouth, her eyes wide and unaccusing.

People would have to go through history all over again, Meagan thought dismally. No, she could never face the guilt—she simply had to find Promise and put things back.

Excerpted from Eclipsed by Shadow, the award-winning 1st volume of “The Legend of the Great Horse” trilogy. (Hrdbk pg. 92)

Book II: The Golden Spark will be published Fall 2010.

Read the 1st Chapter online!

Copyright © 2008 John Royce

How to Hunt a Horse

Sneaking around is the rule for horse-hunters… and it ain’t easy. As anyone who has spent time with horses knows, our silent partner is quite alert to potential lions in the flower-pots. The horse’s creed is “he who quickly runs away, lives to run another day,” and he instinctively knows his survival depends upon a good headstart.

Mostly, you don’t.  Horses are prey in the wild, but few predators dare confrontation with a healthy equine. You could call horses “extreme” prey.

stubbs, horse frightened by lion, 1770

The opening historical scene of Eclipsed by Shadow is set in prehistoric times, highlighting the earliest relationship between man and horse: hunter and hunted.

It was not our most enjoyable association, casting humans in the shabby role of trickster … and leaving the horses not too happy either.

The horse has few natural predators

Lions and wolf packs are the only major predators with horse on the menu, and they mostly avoid contact. As a horse’s kick can crush an adult lion’s skull — something we could call a ‘game-changer’ — the horse’s enemies remain on the lookout for immature, elderly or sick equines.

If hooves are the danger in horse-hunting, getting close to the animal is the difficulty. A horse may not have the sprinting take-off of a gazelle, but with a short headstart no predator on earth can catch him.

The horse’s anatomy is a balance between power and swiftness: his heavy body is balanced on thin, well-leveraged limbs that take a few strides to reach full speed but allow him to gallop for miles. The horse simply outclasses all predators at any real distance.

So sneaking around is the rule for horse-hunters … and it ain’t easy. As anyone who has spent time with horses knows, our silent partner is quite alert to potential lions in the flower-pots. The horse instinctively knows his survival depends upon a good headstart.
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Copyright © 2010  John Allen Royce, Jr.

#28- Where am I?

Meagan climbed to her feet and looked around in astonishment. She stood on a ledge overlooking wide, empty fields. – Eclipsed by Shadow (excerpt)

In the silence came a familiar rumbling. The ground was beginning to vibrate.

Meagan climbed to her feet and looked around in astonishment. She stood on a ledge overlooking wide, empty fields. A canyon corridor opened here, onto the ledge.

Where am I?

She started to call again to the children above, but the vibration suddenly broke free into rushing sound. Rounding the angle of the canyon wall, a galloping herd of horses swept towards her in panicked fright, thundering echoes off the canyon walls.

Meagan darted to the cracked rock wall and clawed up the side as the sound of horses exploded behind her. Whinnies echoed through the corridor. The first horses to see the cliff’s edge skidded before being pushed into the abyss by the horses behind.

In seconds, the train of sliding horses passed, leaving the last animals milling in confusion. Hanging against the canyon wall, Meagan stared disbelieving into the empty dust.

Excerpted from Eclipsed by Shadow, the award-winning 1st volume of “The Legend of the Great Horse” trilogy. (Hrdbk pg. 88)

Book II: The Golden Spark will be published Fall 2010.

Read the 1st Chapter online!

Copyright © 2008 John Royce