Since today is Mother’s Day, this sample from The Bones of the Earth is an interaction between the main character, Javor, and his mother, Ketia (remember, no matter how outlandish they may seem to you, all the names are historical).
This is from a flashback, where Javor remembers his mother talking to him on the evening before his sixteenth birthday.
He could see her delicate, clever hands taking out a wooden box from somewhere in the hut—her hiding spot. He could see her hand brushing her long hair over her shoulder, then lifting the wooden lid with an air of reverence and expectation. It was evening, and it was dark in the hut. Ketia lit one candle, so Javor knew she thought was she was about to show him was important. She looked into his eyes, and he knew that she expected Javor to be thrilled about whatever was in the box.
“Mama, why am I so different from both you and Papa?” Javor asked.
Ketia was used to Javor’s sudden shifts in focus. “We’re all a little different from our parents, Javor.”
“Yes, but Hrech looks like his mother, and a little like his father. So does Elli. But I’m so much taller than you and Papa.”
“My grandfather was a very tall man, taller than you,” she answered. “You’ll still grow a little, so you could reach his height. And I want to show you something he gave to me. He told me to give it to my most deserving son. Now hush.
“Grandfather Medvediu was the biggest man in the town—the family lived in a real town in those days, far to the south of here. Not only was he big, he was the most handsome. All the ladies of the town said so. His golden hair gleamed in the sun. Like yours, Javor.
“Grandfather was a hero. He was in the Emperor’s army, and when he was young he went to fight against the Persians.” This was Javor’s favourite story. He had heard it regularly since he could remember and never tired of it.
“Grandfather Medvediu was a very brave man, and in the wars he won some treasures. Some he sold on his way home, but some he kept.”
“Did he really kill a giant, Mama?” Javor asked as he always did at this point in the story.
“Oh, yes. He was the bravest soldier in the army. One day, Grandfather Medvediu’s group found themselves in the mighty Caucasus Mountains.” Ketia’s voice always took on a dreamy quality at this point. “A giant had been harassing the people of the Caucasus. It was a huge ogre who stole sheep and killed shepherds. It would come into the villages and demand food.
“All the Emperor’s soldiers were afraid to face the giant, but not your great-grandfather. He took a sword and his armour and he climbed up the mountain to the giant’s cave. He challenged the giant: ‘Hey, ugly! Come and fight someone who knows how to fight,’ he said. And the giant came out. It was twice as tall as Grandfather, and it carried an enormous club. It swung that club right at Grandfather’s head, but your great-grandfather ducked and drew his sword.”
“Their fight went on for a day and a night, but finally your tireless great-grandfather dealt a killing blow. He almost cut the giant’s head completely off, and when its body fell off that mountainside into a deep canyon, no one could find it.
“The giant’s cave was filled with treasures, but most of them were slick with the ogre’s slimy touch. Grandfather Medvediu did find two things that were fit for human touch.”
This was new—an element in the story that Ketia had never told him before. She pulled out a bundle wrapped in a soft white cloth from the box. Javor leaned forward for a closer look until he could feel the heat from the candle against his cheek. He held his breath while Ketia opened the cloth to reveal a long dagger with a whitish handle carved to resemble a fish. Javor took it in his hand and carefully felt the edge; it was sharper than any blade he had ever seen and glinted in the candlelight. The side of the blade was engraved with a spiral pattern and many small markings. “Runes,” said his mother. “They’re magical.” But that was all she knew.
There was a second item in the cloth: a flat piece of grey metal, about the size of Javor’s fist, but with an odd shape: ovoid, but with a flat side. It looks like a fish’s scale. Or a snake’s. It had a chain attached to a loop on top. Its centre was depressed and carved into a strange pattern. Around the edge were small figures, more runes; Javor had never seen writing, had never even heard of it. “These are magical, Javor. And since you will be a man tomorrow, I am showing them to you for the first time. They are my heirlooms, and when I die they will be yours. My grandfather told me that together, they would protect me against evil. And that is why the three of us are alive today, Javor, in such an evil world.” She took the dagger and the amulet, wrapped them carefully in the cloth and replaced them in the little wooden box.
That excerpt is from Initiation Rites: Part One of The Bones of the Earth. For more, you can read the entire first chapter here.
You can also get of Initiation Rites for free from Amazon, Smashwords, iBooks or B&N.
Or, you could buy the whole of The Bones of the Earth from Amazon.