Mortal End: A Simmering Pit of Jiggery Pokery

Chapter Two

"Look, Sir."  Savant dramatically stepped back and gestured like a concert pianist bowing to the inferno that was lighting up the night sky.

"Upon my soul.  God have mercy upon us."

Reflecting the flames, Ænus's glassy face appeared to glow a vivid red, as he gaped and gasped open mouthed at the vision he saw before him.

"Get the Watch, Poe!  Get the Watch," he spluttered flustered.

Panicked, Ænus instructed his manservant to raise the village forces, before the fire razed the village.

"I, myself shall knock up my neighbours and shew them to safety," he said. 

Poe rushed off on his gangly legs, as fast as they would take him, first out of the cemetery and then left towards the North side of the village, shouting at the top of his rasping voice, "Fire! Wake up! There's a fire!"

Within moments the villagers began to stir and open their doors, taking in the sight before them.  The flames were so bright that the village was all lit up, and the heat they expelled, was as if it was radiating from the centre of the earth.

"The rain'll put it out, " said Cesame Raw nonchalantly, Mortal End's Burgher, known for his sedentary ways.

Savant Poe stopped in his tracks and stared into Cesame Raw's bloated face.  "It's coming this way and fast. We need all the help we can get to gather water from the river.  If we can't put it out then the least we should do is protect our property from being cremated."

'Property' was the magic word for Cesame Raw.  He needed no more urging.

"Lettuce, stir yourself, " he called to his wife in his deep baritone voice that made his heavily bearded jowls quiver, "There is a fire in Phooka Wood.  The wind is blowing it towards the village.  Bring pails.  We need to douse everything or else it'll burn.  Quick! Fetch a pail of water."

Mrs Raw was up in no time, her over-abundant wig skewed on her head making her look more like the back end of a poodle than the first lady of Mortal End.

Within no time at all the commotion had sprung the community from their warm beds, forming a snake that slithered and slid along the riverbank as they drew the night black water from the Viscous, to douse the infernal heat.

© 2003 Toula Mavridou-Messer All rights reserved. ***Mortal End, Too is the second novel in the Mortal End series. There is an excerpt available on Wattpad to give you a taste of the storyline. I will post chapters regularly, but there are as yet unknown chapters, so this may take a while. You can sign up for my newsletter, follow me on Twitter (Princess Toula), or like my Facebook page. For more information, see my Amazon author page Author.to/ToulaMavridouMesser. Your support is very much appreciated. Thanks for reading! Toula Xx