There it was.
No. There he was. The product of her labors, if not her labor. Created out of very little. Grown by technology and not her womb.
Yet he was the image of her own natural born son. The image of her husband. The differences were below the surface, DNA, invisible to the naked eye. All of it made him –
“Perfect.” The Raven dipped his head in a respectful bow. As he did she could see how many of his jet black feathers were now white. His body was fading and soon it would be time to complete the transfer.
The transfer was something she had no control over. It would all be up to the large Avian creature before her. Her part of the task was complete. “Thank you. Will you be the same?”
“No need to worry, young one. This will change everything. The memories will be blurry, the personality will change.”
“You think. You don’t know.” Velli’s brow furrowed, “This has never been done before. You don’t even know if it will work, do you?”
“Why are you asking questions you know the answer to? Is there a purpose in delaying the inevitable?” The bird hopped off his perch. Talons clicked along the metal and glass, until he paused over the head of the young man inside.
Right before her eyes several more feathers turned white. All she could do was look away. It was too difficult to watch.
“I thought you didn’t fear death. Besides, you don’t like me much as I recall.”
“Sue me. I have a weak spot for jackasses.” Velli smiled despite her concern, “Be done with it before you run out of power.”
“Farewell, Nirvelli.” That was the only warning before a flash of light filled the room. The buzz of magic was strong enough to rattle her teeth.
Then silence.
With a click the unit opened. “Hello, Mother.”
Velli moved forward, touching his cheeks as life filled them with color. “Hello.”
“Tam.”
“Son.”
*~*~*~*
Another Trifecta Writing Challenge !! As soon as I saw the word and coinciding definition for the week I knew what to write. This is an excerpt from The Raven…my current WIP that is book 4 in a series. I was pleased to have this little flash in the pan come out to exactly 333 words 😀 I am OCD in my challenges – I like them to be exact like that 😉
The Word is IMAGE
The meaning:
a : exact likeness : semblance <God created man in his own image — Genesis 1:27 (Revised Standard Version)>
b : a person strikingly like another person <she is the image of her mother>
*~*~*~*~*~*
Electrifying! Great piece for this prompt.
Thank you, Tara! I really enjoyed this one – it just hit me right away as what I needed to do. I’m glad you liked it 😀
I found it a bit difficult to understand what’s going on but that is probably because I’d need the context to really be able to follow. Still, an interesting way to work in the prompt.
Book 4? Wow!! Where can I get the first 3? I love this!
LOL. I’m working on the rewrite and editing of book 1 so I can begin the querying stages of getting it out to the public. If that doesn’t happen this series will see self-pub. It is a lot of fun…plenty of magic and mystery 😀
Loved this. Can’t wait to read the entire series.
Ooohhh. Very interesting. Playing God in a way. And the Raven is a very mysterious creature so add in some magic and you have a compelling character.
I hope her choice to create another version of the son she loved and lost won’t come back to bite her…but it probably will. What fun would be a book that works out perfectly? 🙂
Thanks very much, Carrie! I definitely have a bit of magic in this series! *G*
I find your interpretation of it interesting. Some of the things you read into it…*G*
And you’re right…no book that works out perfectly is fun. I call myself the Queen of Trauma Drama…I have such a sick need to abuse my characters ~giggle~
I enjoyed this very much.
Pamela
The conclusion is awesome. I loved how it connected that “it — he” connection from the first words with “Tam. Son”.
Thanks for contributing to this week’s Trifecta challenge. You gave us such an interesting response. I love the magic, and I can relate to having a weakness for jackasses. 🙂 Come back on Friday for the weekend challenge!
Ah, the Raven. My favourite mythological creature, that trickster. My children and I discuss her, and her cousin Crow, all the time.
I like the way you had the feathers turning white. It really added power to the story.