Sneak Peek: Never Mess With Fizzle

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Charles Yallowitz

Boris Vallejo. Gotta love Boris Vallejo art.

(Note:  This is from the book that I’m currently working on, so it has not been edited.  It’s just been a big Fizzle week, so I thought I’d give him a shining moment here.)

Fizzle darts around the clearing surrounding the castle, his invisible form unseen by the orcs and giltris resting only yards below him. Many of the orcs look to be suffering from exhaustion as they lie on the ground or slump over piles of stone. Several orcs are lying eerily still by their tools, their limbs splayed in the mud. The giltris are more energetic and lively, but Fizzle quickly notices some suspicious bones scattered about their side of the castle grounds. Dipping low to get a closer look, he realizes that they have begun cannibalizing each other to survive. Darting into the air again, Fizzle shudders at the thought of what these creatures have gone through. He cautiously hovers whenever a giltris with an acute sense of smell sniffs the sour breeze. The drite takes his time investigating the area, hoping to deliver a detailed description to his friends.

“Stop sitting around and get back to work!” shouts an angry voice from the orc side of the clearing. “Our enemies will be here soon!”

Fizzle zips over the castle and around the central tower to quietly land above the lowered drawbridge. Standing on the wide bridge is a young, brown-haired man wearing leather armor and pointing an elegant bastard sword at the orcs. He screams and yells at the workers until they get to their feet. When the refuse to move quickly, he storms off the bridge and beheads the nearest orc. The others jump to action, grabbing tools and stones to carry into the castle and up to the nearly completed battlements.

“Fizzle no like him,” the drite whispers, staring down at the yelling man. “Fizzle should made him go poof on sight.”

Fighting the temptation to cast a spell at the man, Fizzle flutters off the castle wall and goes exploring among the unfinished rooftops. They are slowly being built to resemble a series of small domes, but most of them have gaping holes in the center. The orcs are carefully climbing rickety ladders with stones and tools tied to their backs. A scream startles Fizzle and he whirls around to see an orc plummet to the ground, the worker’s ladder having snapped in half. The crunch of the orc’s body hitting the ground makes Fizzle feel sick and he flies over the castle wall.

Fizzle makes another pass around the giltris to watch them work on finishing the moat and fill it with water. Several wells have been dug into the ground to find enough water to fill the moat. A group of the lizardmen is nervously guarding a large cage with something big moving inside. The drite considers investigating, but decides that he has pushed his luck far enough for one night.

The whoosh of wind from above is the only sign that Fizzle is about to attack. It is enough to let the drite dart out of the path of the large creature. Dripping with blood, the leather-winged monster screeches as it wheels around to come at Fizzle again. Its mouth is filled with needle-like fangs that Fizzle barely manages to pull his tail away from. Soaring higher into the sky, the cryphax prepares to dive at its prey. It stops when it no longer senses the drite with its magic-seeing eyes. The creature flaps its wings as it cautiously scans the area for any sign of the invisible drite.

“Fizzle here!” shouts the drite as he races at the cryphax from behind.

The creature is about to spin around when its eyes spark and it awkwardly lurches to its left. Fizzle dips under its chomping mouth while his illusionary self passes harmlessly through its target. Before he is too far away, Fizzle whips the cryphax in the face with his tail. Yelping in pain, the monster falls a few feet before steadying itself. With a predatory hiss and a bleeding welt down the center of its face, the cryphax chases after Fizzle.

“You slow,” the drite calls back.

Fizzle is racing toward the castle when he is struck by a gusher of liquid that reeks of blood. He slams into the side of the tower and sticks to the side, his red-veined wings fluttering desperately. Before the cryphax can reach him, Fizzle unleashes a cloud of rainbow mist that hides him from view. His wings vibrate as he heats them enough to melt the glue-like substance holding him to the wall. A screech tears through the air moments before the cryphax slams face first into the wall next to Fizzle. The creature is still shaking its head in pain when Fizzle rockets into its side, sending it spinning over the castle.

Circling around the central tower, Fizzle races toward the distant swamp to return to his friends. He slows down and stops when he hears the cryphax following far behind. The drite turns around to see the creature flying toward him, its movements slowed by the large tear in one of its wings. Fizzle charges at the cryphax and flips to whip it in the head with his tail. Rapidly striking the creature with his tail, Fizzle eventually splits its head in two and sends it careening to the ground. It lands with a muffled thud, but it immediately stands on its wings and stares up at the hovering drite.

With a fury-filled screech, the cryphax bloats and grows to twice its original size. The halves of its head grow new halves, giving the creature an extra mouth of teeth. Its necks extend until they are six feet long and covered in dripping barbs. Blasting into the air, the cryphax heads for Fizzle, who swiftly retreats and dives toward the castle.

“It bigger. It faster. It meaner,” Fizzle says to himself as he tries to think of a way to kill the cryphax. “Slashing smashing no work.”

Fizzle soars around the lower wall of the castle, heading for the lowered drawbridge, when he sees the angry man waiting for him. With the aerial agility only a drite possesses, Fizzle evades his slashing sword and races through his legs. The man is about to turn around to give chase when the cryphax swoops around the corner. The creature is flying low enough that one of its wings takes the man’s wings out from beneath him. An angry scream echoes through the clearing as he falls into the half-filled moat with a dull splash.

“Fizzle have plan,” he whispers with a playful grin.

The cryphax begins gaining on Fizzle as they race toward the edge of the clearing and swerve back to the castle. Fizzle curls his tail when he feels the breath of the cryphax on his back and hears the chomping of its teeth. Looping toward the giltris side of the clearing, the drite surprises his pursuer with a burst of speed. The cryphax struggles to keep up, its necks straining forward while it hungrily snaps at the air.

Fizzle dives toward the giltris camp and aims for the guarded cage. Nervously holding his breath, he darts through the bars. He senses something big stir next to him before he is out the other side of the cage and racing away. Fizzle hears a loud crash as the cryphax slams into the cage, knocking it over. A blood-curdling screech erupts from the creature as the caged beast grabs it by the leg and pulls it through the bars. The screech is abruptly cut off by a chilling snap and the tearing of flesh.

“Fizzle no like scout,” the drite announces as he disappears into the relative safety of the surrounding swamplands.

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About Charles Yallowitz

Charles E. Yallowitz was born, raised, and educated in New York. Then he spent a few years in Florida, realized his fear of alligators, and moved back to the Empire State. When he isn't working hard on his epic fantasy stories, Charles can be found cooking or going on whatever adventure his son has planned for the day. 'Legends of Windemere' is his first series, but it certainly won't be his last.
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61 Responses to Sneak Peek: Never Mess With Fizzle

  1. Georgia's avatar Bastet says:
    May 16, 2013 at 10:39 am

    I like Fizzle! Shared on Facebook!

    Like

    Reply
  2. melissajanda's avatar melissajanda says:
    May 16, 2013 at 11:02 am

    I’ve been trying to finish reading the books on my TBR list but I keep getting distracted by the shiny, new things (i.e., your book). Guess I’ll set aside the list and make your book a priority. Fizzle is just too darn cute 🙂

    Like

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  3. Briana (Vedsted) Atkisson's avatar Briana Vedsted says:
    May 16, 2013 at 11:07 am

    Fizzle is just too cute!

    Like

    Reply
  4. beautifulorange's avatar beautifulorange says:
    May 16, 2013 at 11:50 am

    Stuffed Fizzle?! I vote yes.

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  5. Lilith Colbert's avatar Lilith Colbert says:
    May 16, 2013 at 2:17 pm

    FIZZLE ROCKS!!
    LILITH LIKE FIZZLE 😀

    Like

    Reply
  6. Ionia Froment's avatar ioniamartin says:
    May 16, 2013 at 9:10 pm

    Seriously? How did I not see this earlier today. Okay. I must meet him. Hey bartender…can you send that little guy over there with the long tail another of whatever he was just drinking?

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