The Reaper Witch
Book Five
Chimney swifts twittered and darted about in the air above the blackened walls of Castle Goll. With a duet of plummeting screams, Demonica and Spitemorta suddenly tumbled out of the air where Spitemorta’s bower should have been, landing with arm-flailing rag doll bounces in an explosion of deep soot and terrified chickens at the bottom of the castle’s gonne powder crater.
“Aagh! Aagh!” cried out Spitemorta in anguished gasps, struggling to pull away from her legs on her elbows. “Damn it! Grandmother! Help!”
Demonica opened her eyes. When she had recovered enough to breathe again, she lifted her ears out of the feather bed of lampblack ash.
“Please, Grandmother!” wailed Spitemorta. “I hurt!”
Demonica sat up, suddenly feeling about herself for the Heart. “Ha!” she cried. “Splendid! We just might be in good shape.”
“No we’re not!” whimpered Spitemorta. “My legs! I hurt!”
Demonica got onto her knees and stumped over for a look. “Well I should say,” she said, whisking at herself. “Your legs are certainly bent in places that never have knees. And that crumpled armor simply complicated your fall, didn’t it?”
“Please, damn you! Use the Heart!”
Demonica got to her feet, straightened her skirts and continued whisking. “You’ll just have to be patient, dear,” she said as if Spitemorta were merely waiting for a spoon of icing from a mixing bowl. She pulled out a pouch from her panniers and fiddled with its strings. She removed the Heart, studied it for a moment, then knelt with it and began running it along the length of Spitemorta’s broken legs.
“Well,” she said at last, as she stood up and put away the fading red crystal, “I can’t imagine why you need to go on caterwauling, dear. You can stand up now.” She turned aside at once and began studying the castle walls, standing charred before the deep blue sky without any remains of floors or roof.
Spitemorta thrust out her chin in bug-eyed silence. She grabbed up the Staff with trembling hands and thrust it at Demonica, blowing her apart with a concussion that fogged the entire crater with a blinding cloud of soot. “Witch!” she screamed in the echoes. “That’s for the rough landing, you know-it-all filth! That’s for my monster twins!
That’s for Abaddon and James getting away! That’s for Castle Goll!” She stopped shortand listened.
“Grandmother?” she hollered. “You can quit playing games, witch! Demonica?”
“Oh!” she said, going quiet at the sight of the Heart glowing from the ashes where Demonica had just been standing. She snatched it up at once and smiled, carefully fitting it into its socket on the end of the Staff.
Carol Marrs Phipps and Tom Phipps
Carol Marrs Phipps and Tom Phipps
Carol Marrs Phipps and Tom Phipps spent twenty years writing together and teaching on the Navajo, Apache, Hualapai and Paiute reservations in the Southwest before returning to their farm in Southern Illinois, where they now write epic fantasy full time. They have independently published seven books with more to come.
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isabel pietri 
Carol and Tom, I loved this excerpt! Isabel, thanks you for hosting today.
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Hi Michelle,
Thank you! We’re happy you enjoyed it! 🙂 We also appreciate your continued support on our blog tour. 🙂
Carol & Tom
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Isabel, thank YOU for hosting Carol and Tom today and giving me the perfect excuse to come visit your gorgeous blog. Not that I needed a reason, mind you, but it’s always good to have a new one! 😀
Carol and Tom, congratultions on such a great blog tour! Each post is better than the previous one and I’m having a blast! Can’t wait to see the grand finale tomorrow!
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Good morning Liz,
It’s truly heartening to have your great support throughout our very first blog tour, and your having a good time along the way makes it even better. Thank you for jumping in and being there for us.
Carol & Tom
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Isabel,
Thank you so much for hosting our Heart of the Staff Blog Tour today. We truly appreciate the opportunity to spend a little time here on your amazing blog.
Carol & Tom
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Reblogged this on Novels by Jennifer Hinsman.
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Another great excerpt! Enjoying your tour. 🙂
Isabel- Nice to visit your site again!
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Jennifer,
Thank you, Jennifer for the great support on our blog tour and for reblogging! Glad you have been enjoying the excerpts. 🙂
Carol & Tom
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Carol, this is awesome! I’m a little slow in my comments but I am following along! Hello, Tom, we’ve never met, but we simply adore your wife at RRBC! Isabel, thanks for the host! Keep it up, guys…you’re doing great on this tour! ~ Nonnie Jules
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Nonnie,
We’re really enjoying the tour. Everyone has been great and it has been a wonderful experience. Thanks so much for all of your hard work on our behalf and for you support and encouragement. 🙂
Carol & Tom
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I hope Carol and Tom , that you are having a great and rewarding tour. Thank you Isabel for hosting them.
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Joy,
Thank you , we are, and we’re very happy you have been following along and lending your great support. 🙂
Carol & Tom
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Another great post Carol and Tom. Hope you’re both enjoying this tour 🙂
Isabel, thanks so much for hosting Carol and Tom 🙂
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