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Good Knight Sweet Love / the Keening by Skip
Slocum
Story overview:
Being a descendent of Odin has powers that must be controlled. But
coming of age gets even more complicated when Matt unexpectedly finds
love while walking the path to manhood. The Keening was a gift from
Odin to serve the first born of each generation but it must be kept a
secret in this Celtic world of kings and evils. The Keening changes
with everyone it comes to so not even Grandpa knows what to expect
when it grows in Matt.
The amulet called The Eye of Odin also has secrets…
The time line for this story in around the 1300s somewhere in western
Europe.
The following is an excerpt from the book:
Sleep pulled away from Matt's dreams as he opened his eyes. Grandpa's
snoring was the only sound in the small cottage. Mom didn't like being
alone and she didn't like trying to start the morning fire from a
flint so while Matt and Grandpa were away she left a lamp burning on
the table all night. This was easier to claim a flame from in the
mornings to start the fire. So the lamp wouldn't burn dry from the
hours while they slept she kept the wick short over time the lamp
became a habit. The mouse of a flame only gave enough light so the
darkness didn't drown them in total black. The hard shadows in the
rafters held still and the hanging herbs looked like shadows of up
side down trees on the wall. The balls of cheese Sarah hung in nets
looked like rocks in slings waiting to be launched at castle walls.
Matt felt rested so he knew the morning was close, quietly he got out
of bed and sat on the hearth. Scooping the ash from last nights fire
Matt filled the bucket. The floor was cold and he lifted his toes as
he worked and steadied himself on his heels trying to touch as little
of the floor as possible.
With a small fortress built in the stones fire place Matt dipped a
long splinter into the oil of the lamp then let the mouse ignite it.
Like an angry war lord burning a village he touched the flame to the
tinder in the fortress. When the flame stretched up through the peak
of the leaning wood Matt pulled his feet up on the hearth to be the
first to witness the warmth.
The light blasted through some of the shadows and the ones that were
left began to dance on the walls and ceiling. Matt shivered one last
time as the cold ran away and he starred into the flames. He
remembered his trip to the village. All the things he saw and did in
the last week preformed in his head like a play. Out of order and all
ah jumble the different little dramas melted together and Megan.
The picture of Megan in his head warmed him better than the fire and
he smiled as he listened to her voice and smelled her presence.
Out of nowhere his mother appeared beside him and Megan flew away like
a frightened bird. With a chuckle in her voice Mom asked, "Where were
you just now?" Matt was embarrassed by his mother being so close to
him while he thought of his angel and it made him sputter for words,
"Oh, nothing."
"Nothing?"
"I mean nowhere, just thinking"
"I could see that, what's her name?"
"What do you mean?"
Sarah giggled "I've seen that look before"
Mom petted his head and pulled the hair away from his eyes. "I wasn't
born on this mountain, you know" Matt wasn't sure what to say but he
didn't want to tell her about Megan so he just sat there like he had
food stuck in his throat. His mother recognized his reluctance to tell
her about the little girl that was stealing her son so she changed the
subject and left it alone.
Grandpa rescued the boy with a, "Good morning". Matt was relived by
the interruption and so very glad Mom didn't push for an answer.
Grandpa explained to her all the events of the trip like he had been
called before the king. Mom listened to him as she cooked and served
thin slices of ham and cold milk with rolled fry cakes.
After breakfast Matt knelt and opened the bundles they brought home.
Mom swooned over the bolt of cloth he handed her like someone handed
her a new born baby. As they showed her the bundled thread and trim
she hadn't asked for she kissed them and it was plain that this was
like her birthday. Then when Matt pulled the second bolt of cloth from
the bag she cried. Matt thought she was upset over the money he had
spent, "I thought you would like it."
"Oh sweetie, I do, I love it but it must have cost a fortune."
Proudly Grandpa puffed up and said, "It doesn't matter what it cost
does it Matt."
"No it doesn't" Matt agreed wholeheartedly with him. Then Grandpa
pulled the pouch of gold from his bag and handed it to Matt so he
could be the one to present it to Mom.
She frowned with a question on her mind as Matt handed it to her until
she heard the jingle of the gold and coins inside. "More, you have
more" With surprise and joy she playfully accused them of becoming
Highway-men.
Both Matt and Grandpa were proud of the part they played in her joy
and she sang to herself as she worked that day. But they didn't ask
her about Matt going to the village for the winter. Instead they hung
around the smoke house and wondered just how to bring it up to her.
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