Day 10: 9186 (102,619 -- novel 1 complete)

Yes, Kat Among the Pigeons is done. I have a list of notes for the edit, but over all, I'm pretty happy. I'm especially happy to have this done.

Tomorrow I will start another, much shorter and far more sedate second NaNo novel. And I'll be getting back to work on everything I've kind of ignored for the last ten days.

But I did it and I'm glad! So there!

I have only a small snippet for the last one:

Aletta yelled in fear. The soldiers released her at thier leader's shouted order, and he turned his weapon away from us. Aletta started to run, but I grabbed her leg and she sprawled down into the muck and mud, rolling away when a horse came so close it nearly caught her head. Tamerlane had run for his own horse --

So much happening all at once. I didn't even see that Tim had arrived until he slipped from a horse and pulled me up into his arms. I held to him, gasping for breath, for power, for anything that would let me live long enough to see what happened now. The world had shifted to a narrow dark corridor. I could not see beyond Tim's face, though I thought I felt George brush against my legs and heard Gaylord nearby.

Another set of hands rested on my shoulders. I shuddered at the touch, and then felt magic -- healing, warm, welcome.

Father.

When I had the strength to turn I looked back at him, shocked to see the worry in his face. He took me from Tim's hold and into his own for a moment -- and then, oddly, he gave me back. I didn't think he would approve of a human --

"You did well," he finally said. I looked to see soldiers scattering, but my father's men were following them, grabbing at wrists, tearing off strings -- they disappeared, one after another.

But I could see Aletta and another on a single horse, riding fast before the others.

"Katalyn?" my father said softly.

"We need to stop them," I said, waving toward the two. "We need to stop them quickly."

"We'll get to them soon enough. The trouble here -- this is very unstable."

"Now," I said. He looked at me, startled. "Now. There are dragons, father. We don't have much time."

"Dragons. Gods! My horse! We need horses!"