The Narcofod

Excerpt:

“Be quiet,” Kato Whip whispered, realizing how easy it would be to bring everything down. An ominous buzzing came from deeper in the cavern. Motioning for the earthquake to follow, he tiptoed forward to where pale egg cases and mummified remains hung from monstrous webs tenting the walls. The buzzing arose from countless gigantic flies ensnared in the webs. Then he saw it, a large crystal ball suspended above a luminous pool. Clinging to the underside of the crystal, and nearly engulfing it with its long thick legs, was a giant spider.

The tarantula? Of “serpent and tarantula” infamy? The tarantula that, along with the serpent, had laid siege to Lady Dusk’s castle? The tarantula that, according to all, was sinister to a turn?

Whatever, it seemed a pathetic creature. Its integument was devoid of hairs and worn down to the barest luminous yellow membrane, a shadow-play screen upon which the internal organs squirmed and pulsed. Kato squinted hard, glimpsing something else in there, a small figure disturbingly human in form that ran back and forth, back and forth, inside the stomach.

The adventure continues…
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The adventure continues…
Subscribe to Gary W Shockley Audiobooks in iTunes, or go to garywshockley.com to see more options.

Excerpt:
“Now, Kato, tell me what I have drawn.”
“A circle and a triangle,” Kato said quickly. For that was indeed all that Sargasson had drawn.
“No quarrel there.” Sargasson tapped the circle. “Point out to me the circle’s corner.”
“Corner?” Kato looked from Sargasson to the circle, wondering if he heard right. “A circle doesn’t have a corner.”
“It did yesterday.”
Kato stared at Sargasson, then at the circle. “No,” he said, disbelieving. After a quick glance up and down the street, Kato knelt and looked closely at the circle. He wanted to say, “No!” more vehemently, but he did not.
Sargasson pointed to the triangle. “What about this?”
“The triangle?” Kato checked the road again, then said with panicky defiance, “Three corners. There, there, and there.” He pointed them out emphatically, then looked anxiously up at Sargasson.
Sargasson gave a comforting nod. “The triangle is fine. That is something we can hold onto.” He brought the hoe down at a point between circle and triangle. “But what of the figure that belongs here — the one with two corners? Draw it for me, Kato.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:58 — 35.7MB)

The adventure continues…
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Excerpt:
“Name’s Samantha. Yours?”
Deep in the shadowy booth sat a woman. She was middle-aged, with a weathered, hawkish face. Her leathery hands moved deftly, braiding the handle of a new whip.
“Kato,” he said. “Kato Whip.”
“Oh?” She stood up and came forward to rest her well-formed hands on the countertop. “Where’s your whip?”
He watched the sinews jumping in her arms. “I don’t have one.”
Her hawkish eyes narrowed. “With a name like that, you ought to.” She nodded at her merchandise. “Got all kinds. Horse, bull, riding, cat ‘o nine tails, chain, monofilament. You name it, I got it.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:58 — 35.7MB)

The adventure continues…
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Excerpt:
The grub looked sharply up, at last taking notice of them. Its tiny mouth opened. “Halt! Who goes there! Ahah, two sneaky wayfarers bent on slipping past me. Don’t you know who I am? A Wishmonger Monster, that’s who, sworn to stop all who would travel these woods. That is the purpose of our kind, the creed by which we live — to impede all travel in these Immortal Forests.”
Kato Whip stared at the grub, flabbergasted that it could talk. Would the trees start next?
“I know what you’re thinking,” the grub went on. “‘He’s not so tough. Why, he doesn’t even have any limbs!’ Well, go ahead then. Step right on past me. But first let me ask you a question: Does the word ‘pounce’ mean anything to you?” It wriggled menacingly.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:58 — 35.7MB)

Kato Whip has just set off after the sexy, mysterious and oh-so-wrong Diaphanous Woman, intent on tracking her down and setting her straight.

Excerpt:
“Go?” The man sheathed his daggers and sword, made adjustments to his other accouterments, and stood straight and tall, looking just the slightest bit beleaguered. “Aren’t you going to ask who I am?”
Kato did so in the barest whisper.
“The Connoisseur of Danger,” the man boomed, beginning to move about, gesturing with gusto as he spoke. “I’m quite famous in these parts, having dealt with a variety of evil-doers, mischief-makers, and what-not abominations, human and otherwise. Why, only last week I did away with the Concubine Sisters. Wicked, wicked women they. Fortunate for me, they were both pregnant at the time, which slowed their reflexes.”

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:58 — 35.9MB)