Tag Archives: winged riders

The Wings Take Shape – Part Nineteen – Finale

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And here it is, the final part of The Wings Take Shape!

If you’re new to the story, head to Part One and start from the beginning!

Last time on Wings, Sadie led the imprisoned Wings headed by Claire Claymonte to the city gates in order to escape. A presence Sadie had sensed took control of her body and she forced the others to flee without her, but not before gifting Claire and Jeffrey with the Totem spirits of Ursatrundle and Shadow-Dancer.

Meanwhile, Renee Mollen and her Totem-Bonded fled through the city with their families and other refugees intent on getting out of the city and away from the foreign military. They came upon Sadie just as the force that had taken control of her absorbed her completely and stole the powers of the cadshee, vomiting up what was left of Sadie before disappearing in a puff of smoke and peal of wicked laughter.

They escaped the city, but they didn’t make it unharmed. And now they must decide on their futures.

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The Wings Take Shape

Part Nineteen – Soldier On, Mad Wings

by Rick Cook Jr.

They fled Rothfort, some in their new forms and others barely holding onto the forms left to them. Renee didn’t know exactly what had happened at the city gates, but the result was clear enough.

The fight was long from over and whoever that man had been, they were not prepared to deal with him. Continue reading →

The Wings Take Shape – Part Eighteen

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After a brief week’s hiatus, Part Eighteen is here!

If you’re new to the story, head to Part One and start from the beginning!

Last time on Wings, Captain Renee Mollen and her Winged Riders assaulted the city of Rothfort, held by a foreign enemy. Their goal: free the city if possible. It became abundantly clear that they could not martial the strength to overthrow an entire army of foreign soldiers, so they regrouped and settled on freeing who they could and fleeing to regroup, starting with Renee and Marie’s family.

Wing Captain Claire Claymonte, having been taken hostage in the initial siege, was freed by Sadie, the Smokeshift, along with all the other soldiers held captive within the city, including Sadie’s husband Jeffrey Paige. She believed the plan was to take back their capital.

Read on…

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The Wings Take Shape

Part Eighteen – Coming to Terms

by Rick Cook Jr.

Sadie appeared in a puff of oily smoke, coalescing into her human form complete with clothing. Claire and the rest of the Winged Riders had not exactly waited patiently. They had secured weapons and armor where they could and were working towards the stables when Sadie found them.

She sighed and beckoned them forward. “It’s a fool thinks a Winged Rider lets others go into danger alone.”

Claire grinned. “Against our natures. What’s going on outside?” Continue reading →

The Wings Take Shape – Part Seventeen

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Part Seventeen coming at you!

If you’re new to the story, head to Part One and start from the beginning!

Last week on Wings, the preparation had begun for the assault on the besieged capital of their homeland. Rothfort was a fortress, but they had a dragon.

Renee and the rest of her Wings that had bonded with the animal spirits, the Totems, changed into their animal forms after agreeing to a hasty plan to free their families and any soldiers within the capital to fight back. It was a desperate move, but it had to be made. The longer the enemy controlled the city, the firmer their grasp on the country became.

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The Wings Take Shape

Part Seventeen – Assault

by Rick Cook Jr.

Deep in the heart of the military quarter, a woman heard a noise. Faint at first, so faint that Captain Claire Claymonte wasn’t even sure she was hearing it.

It had been a long few days in the prisons. They had beaten her. They had killed other Captains. She was sure she’d be next. Continue reading →

The Wings Take Shape – Part Sixteen

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Part Sixteen, and the beginning of the final act of The Wings Take Shape!

If you’re new to the story, head to Part One and start from the beginning!

Last time on Wings, Captain Renee Mollen, having survived betrayal at the hands of her new recruits by melding with the Totem spirit Swiftstrike (along with Marie), worked to convince her Winged Riders to take on other Totem spirits that Sadie had gathered to her.

After much discussion, she succeeded in granting all but three of the Totems to her soldiers Regina Hughes, Aldwin Tanner, Patricia Nightingale, Giselle Wander, and to the would-be-murderers Danver Cummins and Hilde Allworth.

She then hatched a plan with their newfound abilities against the foreign enemy at their capital city, Rothfort.

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The Wings Take Shape

Part Sixteen – Prep

by Rick Cook Jr.

They couldn’t storm Rothfort, of course. The foreign soldiers would take them down eventually, nine plus Sadie and a few able soldiers.

Jon knew it, Stalker knew it, but they came to the knowledge differently.

They crept through the Bloody Wood, each of the new Totem-Bonded still adjusting to having voices inside their heads. Nightingale refused to stay in human form, kept taking to the sky to glide as her Totem wished to do. Jon was glad for her. Continue reading →

The Wings Take Shape – Part Fifteen

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A late posting of the next part of the serial novella, The Wings Take Shape!

If you’re new to the story, head to Part One and start from the beginning!

Last time on Wings, Stalker and Jon were busy with Sadie gaining a new, deeper bond. While she waited, Renee let herself be pulled into a trap by Danver and Hilde, who told her they were recruiting for her new army. When she arrived, Hilde stabbed her in the back and Renee thought she was going to die.

Except the spirit of the Wolf Totem, Swiftstrike, entered her and Marie and joined them like Stalker did Jon. Now the Winged Riders have an advantage, if only they can figure out how to utilize it!

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The Wings Take Shape

Part Fifteen – The Totems Reborn

by Rick Cook Jr.

Marie hadn’t gotten used to the feeling yet. She and Renee spent hours talking to Swiftstrike, learning about him, sharing stories, thrilling in being able to communicate mentally more fully via Swiftstrike.

He wanted to Change, but Marie wasn’t sure she was ready to let him try.

I wish to run, he said. Continue reading →

The Wings Take Shape – Part Fourteen

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Part Fourteen of the serial novella The Wings Take Shape is coming at you!

If you’re new to the story, head to Part One and start from the beginning!

Last time on Wings, Stalker and Jon held counsel with Sadie and Renee, learning the truth of the Skinchangers and the enslaved Totems that made them possible. The cadshee had been a product of the Totems, animal spirit gods of the forest, and he enslaved them with their own power, infusing their spirits into the humans that would create the line of Skinchangers. Sadie, being the heir of the cadshee’s powers, agreed to try and free Stalker from Jon, giving her the freedom she so deeply desired.

It was not possible to split their souls, but Sadie discovered she could link them more permanently, giving Jon and Stalker equal control and consciousness. The essences of the other Totems within Jon were stripped away, joining with Sadie, all save for one that appeared to flee and disappear. Before they could enjoy their newfound symbiotic relationship, Renee screamed from down in the tunnels of the cadshee’s home.

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The Wings Take Shape

Part Fourteen – A Bond Breaks

by Rick Cook Jr.

“We should be up there,” Marie protested. Renee came back from the meeting with Jon and Sadie, worried all over that something awful was going to befall him. She hated being worried about Jon when she should be plotting to take back Rothfort, to liberate Roth Arden, but she couldn’t help it.

She said to those assembled, “It’s not our business. It’s Totem. It’s Skinchanger. We don’t have the right.” Continue reading →

The Wings Take Shape – Part Thirteen

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It’s time to slow down a little bit with The Wings Take Shape and drop some info on you all. The weekly serial novella is coming to a turning point today, and the mad dash to the end will begin next week!

If you’re new to the story, head to Part One and start from the beginning!

Last week on Wings, Stalker and Jon fought for dominance inside Jon’s Skinchanger body. He lost and Stalker faced off against what she considered the abomination that betrayed her and the other Totems. Sadie inherited the abilities of the cadshee when she killed him, and she used those powers to defend herself against Stalker. They fought until Sadie took Stalker into the sky and threatened to drop her, and only then did Stalker’s fear of heights and death overwhelm her desire for vengeance.

Jon asserted control once more and promised Stalker that they would figure this all out, and elected to stay in the form of the cougar for a while yet.

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The Wings Take Shape

Part Thirteen – Reparation

by Rick Cook Jr.

Jon and Stalker shared the cougar’s body as well as they could, but Stalker was twitchy with Sadie nearby, and Jon kept letting himself be distracted by Renee’s hand on his head.

They settled into Sadie’s burrow near the entrance. Marie kept everyone back while Sadie and Stalker had their conversations. Renee refused to be parted even though she couldn’t communicate with Jon, and Jon was glad for her.

“It’s hard to explain,” Sadie began, talking to Renee. “And perhaps Stalker would not like me to share all the details.”

We are a fallen race, abomination. Who cares if every fertile woman from here to the end of the woods knows about us? Continue reading →

The Wings Take Shape – Part Twelve

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A fight is a-brewing today on the continuation of The Wings Take Shape, Part Twelve!

If you’re new to the story, head to Part One and start from the beginning!

Previously on Wings, Jonathan tried to skinchange back into his human form, but Stalker, the cougar, refused to let him change once she found out that his Aunt Sadie was the abomination that had betrayed her and the other Totems so long ago, vowing to end the abomination’s life once and for all.

Meanwhile, Renee and Marie argued with Sadie, Jon’s ant, about what she could possibly do to help the war effort. They came to no solid conclusions except that Sadie was hesitant to even try for the sake of her Smokeshifting children. When at last Marie felt she was getting through to the woman, Sadie sensed Stalker’s presence drawing close, and felt that a conflict was coming.

Read on for more…

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The Wings Take Shape

Part Twelve – Totem Wrath

by Rick Cook Jr.

Stalker approached and she wasn’t alone. She had gathered to her every cougar in the Red Forest she could find, and followed the trail of Jon’s mate until she found the abomination’s next.

Except it wasn’t the creature. Not… entirely.

Something was different. He smelled different. And there were children.

Jon had tried explaining it inside their shared mind, but she refused to listen until now.

What has happened to the abomination, Jonathan? Continue reading →

The Wings Take Shape – Part Eleven

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It’s Tuesday and you know by now that means it’s time for another entry in the serial novella The Wings Take Shape!

If you’re new to the story, head to Part One and start from the beginning!

Previously on Wings, Captain Renee Mollen and her Winged Riders sought the village of Panagin’s Toll, Sadie the Skinchanger’s home. They found Sadie in a redwood den outside of town, much like the cadshee before her.

Jon, struggling against the Skinchanger form of Stalker and her ability to wrest control of her mind and body, tried to Change back to a human once he tracked down Renee and her Wings. Stalker had been cordial leading up to the moment he attempted to become human again, and she discovered that Sadie was a creature of smoke and oil. She roared and took control of him once more, fleeing into the forest intent on ending the creature of shadow and smoke once and for all. She called it the deceiver, a thief.

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The Wings Take Shape

Part Eleven – Abomination

by Rick Cook Jr

The entire village huddled beneath the redwood’s roots. Sadie’s den was much homier than the cadshee’s from several years back, but it was still under the earth and the people were scared.

Marie didn’t like it. She hated it, in fact. Renee conferred with Sadie somewhere out of sight while Marie and Regina took care of the soldiers and civilians. They rested peacefully for the first time in days. Wounds were cleaned and bandages changed. Stories told. The Winged Riders, having been at the capital when it was falling, had much to tell the citizenry of Panagin’s Toll. Continue reading →

The Wings Take Shape – Part Ten

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It’s Tuesday and the ongoing adventures of the Winged Riders continues with Part Ten!

If you’re new to the story, head to Part One and start from the beginning!

Last time on The Wings Take Shape, the Skinchanger Jon struggled with the form known as Stalker, a cougar. When taking the form to protect his squad from a night raid, he lost control and Stalker killed their Scout, Thomas Irons. He managed to control Stalker long enough to flee, leaving the Winged Riders to be captured.

Captain Renee Mollen and her Winged Riders escaped and fled to Sadie Sawyer Paige, looking for any advantage they could find, and her Smokeshifting ability was a big one. She found Sadie and learned that Jon may be lost to Stalker.

Meanwhile, Jon fought the will of Stalker, sometimes losing control of his body and his mind, sometimes gaining it back and forcing her will to his. He fought her when she suggested he kill innocent children just to feed, and fled back into the forest, intent on finding Renee and the others so he could shed his form and ask forgiveness.

On to Part Ten!

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The Wings Take Shape

Part Ten – Conflicting Thoughts

by Rick Cook Jr.

Stalker, Jon thought. He was in the Red Forest, creeping along, following the trail of Renee and the Winged Riders. His companion was silent.

Stalker, he prodded again. I know you can hear me talking.

Stalker bristled. You choose interesting words for what we do.

He snarled at a pack of wolves and they backed away from their hunt.

We can’t keep fighting for control like this.

Continue reading →