Snicker Snack by Francis Garriott (best book club books for discussion .TXT) 📕

Taking care not to glance at merciless Ispaldi, she ascended slowly through the shimmer so the golden sheen clung to every bit of her skin, reflecting and protecting her from Ispaldi’s withering light. She needed strength to negotiate the maze of Skrylax roots, but traces of the One Pear she had eaten long ago lingered on her tongue, fortifying her, so she never need eat again.
Ispaldi’s withering light carved shadows from the dead Skrylax, bleak on the Plain of Tears. Against her will, the memory of faithful Grodin romping beside her in a forest of living, glowing Skrylax intruded into her thoughts, draining her meager resolve. For the hundredth time she banished the thought of faithful Grodin dying like that, protecting her from the perfidious Soulflute. If only she could avoid the Nauseous Cloud a little longer, she could vindicate Grodin and soothe her conscience.
Peeking from behind a massive Skrylax, she spied the Nauseous Cloud hovering above the Wailing Pinnacle. Hiding her from the Nauseous Cloud, the harsh shadows became a shroud, as well as a guide so she could make it through the maze alive. As long as all her turns were to the left she would eventually come to the Reverse Stream beyond the Plain of Tears.
At every turn, taking care not to glance at merciless Ispaldi, she checked to make sure the Nauseous Cloud had not left its station above the Wailing Pinnacle. As soon as she found the Reverse Stream beyond the Plain of Tears everything would be fine. She patted the pouch enclosing Grodin’s heart still tied to her waist, ready to be dipped in the Reverse Stream.
After a perplexing twist of a Skrylax root she sensed she faced Ispaldi, so she hung her head, hoping the golden sheen clinging to her skin still protected her from Ispaldi’s withering light. As she stood a moment looking down, a sickness rose in her throat. The Nauseous Cloud had found her. The cloud’s Susurration of Inconsequence swirled about her and the nausea threatened to incapacitate her. Only by uttering the Glib Remonstrance could she survive. She prayed not to fade in the Susurration of Inconsequence, wrenching her thoughts back to faithful Grodin and her vow. Nothing else could save her. The memory of faithful Grodin unlocked the words of the Glib Remonstrance from her lips. With its utterance, the Nauseous Cloud was hurled away, far beyond the Plain of Tears, for a while.
Finally, coming to the Reverse Stream, murmuring the Chant of Serenity, she dipped Grodin’s heart in the gurgling liquid. Now she could freeze Grodin’s heart in the Vat of Mists, and Grodin would be erased from her thoughts and trouble her no more. She just hoped she could find her way back through the maze of Skrylax roots, always watching for the Nauseous Cloud and taking care not to glance at merciless Ispaldi.

Publication Date: 07-14-2011

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