The Northern Problem and Other Stories
By: Laura Seeber
Blurb
Five stories tell of a world teetering on the brink of chaos. Five people who fight to dream, to love, to scheme, and to survive. Five glimpses into a time when a life was shaped by spirits just as much as the sword. It is a world where the lines between a truth and a lie, life and death, and love and obsession shift like the wind.
The Northern Problem and Other Stories offer a glimpse into the lives of those that would later come together in The Spring and Autumn Murders. Before passion, murder and intrigue would bring them together, the very same would threaten to tear their world apart.
Excerpt
from “The Story of Daiyu” in The Northern Problem and Other
Stories
Chuluun
stumbled into the ger, and stood for a moment, watching his wife
Odval sleeping soundly, her arm wrapped loosely around her daughter.
He touched Daiyu’s hair softly, and watched her breath escape from
her mouth for a few moments. He saw her eyes dance beneath her
eyelids, knowing full well that she was dreaming of the hunt.
He
smiled slightly. She was nothing like him, indeed.
He
watched as she rolled over in her sleep, pulling herself away from
her mother’s grasp, a small snore escaping from her as she did so.
Once she had settled back down into slumber, Chuluun reached down and
gently shook his wife awake.
“Odval,”
he whispered softly. “Wake up, my love.”
Odval
stirred slightly and opened her eyes. She turned to look up at her
husband.
“What
is it, Chuluun?” she asked, reaching for him and pulling him down
into an embrace.
“I
think I have found someone worthy of little Daiyu when it comes
time,” he said. He felt his wife shift around and beneath him as
he sank into the furs beside her.
“Who?”
“The
young hunter Altan,” he said thoughtfully. “The men spoke of
her while they were around the fire. His words spoke to her
protection.”
“I
know his family. His parents were good and just when they were
alive. His uncle is a wise man.”
Chuluun
nodded in the darkness.
“But
there is time,” he said with a yawn. “I will speak with Altan
and his uncle in the morning, and see if they are agreeable with the
idea, when the time comes. For now though, little Daiyu will
continue to stay with us.”
“Good,”
murmured Odval as she drifted off to sleep. “There are too many
lessons for the young girl to learn before marriage.”
Daiyu
slowly opened her eyes and searched the darkness, trying to remember
the face of this young hunter that would become her husband.
Excerpt
from “The Northern Problem” in The Northern Problem and Other
Stories
The
next morning, Kai awoke to the sound of movement around him. He laid
there for a few more moments, his mind processing the sounds. There
was the sound of footsteps, assured and calm walking behind him.
There was the clang as someone dropped a spear tip onto the hard
ground. There were the muffled groans of someone trying his best to
wake up without looking like a fool. There was the neighing and
snorting of the horses as they got their morning meal.
Good.
They weren’t under attack. Those muffled groans would have turned
into excited squeals by now if they were.
He
opened his eyes and sat up, moving the animal skins off of his body
and reaching for his tunic. It stank of yesterday’s long march,
but it would have to do. There hadn’t been time, or access to
water to wash his clothes. Kai looked at the padded armor that he
had placed on the ground beside him last night. It smelled of smoke,
of body odor, and once he brought it closer, the smell of rotted meat
assailed his nose.
“This
is going to be fun,” he muttered as he got dressed for the day.
Looking around him, he saw the faces of the other soldiers, frowning
and grimacing involuntarily as they donned the same clothes that he
did. Kai shook his head and wondered if the enemy would know that
they were coming simple by sniffing the air.
Of
course, if they held to tradition, this wouldn’t be a surprise
attack. The messenger sent to the northern frontier would make sure
that the enemy knew that a force, thousands strong was coming to make
war upon them. True, they only numbered in the hundreds, but what’s
a little exaggeration among rivals, right? Kai shook his head. He
wasn’t sure exactly what was in store for him and his men when they
reached the northern frontier, but he doubted that it was something
more than they could handle.
Kai
pulled on his boot on, and wrapped the pads around his legs securely.
Now neither the autumn chill of the mountains or a slash from a
spear was likely to penetrate his armor. True, a well shot arrow
would make short work of things, but his shield would certainly stop
any of those. He doubted though that any of the dog people had
weapons that would match the strength and might that was descending
upon them. After all, they were drastically outnumbered, and out
matched.
Excerpt
From “Windhorses” in The Northern Problem and Other Stories
For
some time Baichu laid awake listening to the sounds around her. The
wind moved through the trees that surrounded the clearing, and she
heard the leaves as they resisted, tore, spun and finally landed on
the ground outside her tent. Occasionally the horses shifted and
neighed, a rolling thunder in the distance making them nervous.
Baichu smiled to herself. The horses were scared of the storm.
Baichu
remembered that the storm and the rains had frightened her as a young
child. She imagined that they had frightened her father, but he
would never admit that now. Her mother was probably a little bit
frightened as well, but now she rested with the spirits, so it was
all right.
She
closed her eyes and breathed deeply just as the first few pregnant
drops of rain began to fall. Perhaps tonight would be different,
she thought.
^ ^
^
Despite
her wish, the dreams came that night as they had before. Baichu felt
herself rising up from the furs that surrounded her, felt her feet
hit the ground softly. Her hand moved and the fur that draped over
the tent seemed to move an instant before she touched it. It felt as
she was flowing, passing out into the rain, something both driving
and pulling her.
For a
moment, she thought of her father. She knew that he would be angry,
even fearful at her absence. He would curse the night, not
understanding that there was no choice. The rain and the lightening
called to her, just as the mountains called to him.
The
ground beneath her feet was wet and slick, opening its pores to the
rain, bringing the wetness down into its depths, and then spilling it
back out when it became too much to bear. Soon Baichu felt what it
felt as the rain plummeted into her skin and then was released.
She
knew the rain, but did not suffer from it. The lightning and thunder
coursed through the sky above her, and yet she did not cower at their
brilliance. The storm that raged around her was her own, and she
belonged to it.
A
voice came to her out of the darkness, soft and low, rumbling like
the river in her memory of the day. It spoke to her in words
unintelligible, but their meaning was clear. It was time to come
home. Soon other voices called out to her, joining the chorus.
Baichu hesitated, her heart unsure of the next step.
Still,
she felt her feet moving forward, toward the river. The pull was
stronger now, and the murmurings louder, more insistent. They
pleaded with her, welcomed her, and drew her towards the water’s
edge.
Baichu
knelt down, the ground becoming soft and cool against her knees and
dipped her hand into the water. She watched as the droplets clung to
her fingers, and rolled down her hand as she lifted up to the night
sky. She watched as the water lapped and tumbled on the shoreline,
coming closer and closer. Once again she reached out, and as before
the water responded, reaching out to her. Baichu shifted her hand
slightly and the water followed, almost hungry for her touch.
The
lightening broke the sky above her and the light illuminated the
shore near the river. For an instant she saw what was not meant to
be seen, and her face softened with a small smile. The river would
take her where she belonged. It would take her home.
Baichu
rose and stepped calmly into the river, the water wrapping, pressing
and churning into her. She felt her body being pushed and directed,
the flow of the river overpowering what will she had left. Soon it
would be over. The dreams would finally end and the world would be
set right. Baichu breathed deeply one last time just before the
water sliced over her head.
“NO!”
Baichu
felt a thunderous crash behind her, and the water shifted and swirled
around her, small bubbles and a dark figure formed behind. She felt
arms, solid and strong snaking around her waist, fur and muscles
tightening against her small frame. She felt her body being thrown
up into the night sky, her lungs once again filling with air,
sputtering as the water left her once again.
“Baichu,”
said a voice, both hoarse and soft as she was pulled from the water,
the arms still wrapped around her. “Why? Why do you want to leave
me?”
Author
Info
Laura
Seeber has worked as a geologist, an environmental consultant, and a
freelance writer. She currently divides her time between her own
environmental consulting business, handling various ghostwriting and
freelance writing projects, and her own fiction writing. Her
interests include history, outdoor activities, martial arts,
mysteries, and non-fiction material. The Spring and Autumn Murders
is her first novel. She currently lives in Illinois with her
husband, Michael.
Author
Links
Link to Follow the tour, http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2013/06/now-booking-tasty-review-tour-for_7.html
Thanks for featuring a few scenes from my book- I'm so happy that you did!
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