Rainbow Snippets: A child’s fear response

_{^{Rainbow Snippets is a Facebook group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week and share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation.}}

I’m sharing snippets from In Pain and Blood for a while. The prologue is part of the new additions and stars Tracker. The rewrite is a little light on the romance side and a touch darker in other parts.

This week’s snippet follows on from last week’s where Tracker was on a hopeful search for the spellster girl.

The scorching on the ground suggested the source had burnt hot and fast, snuffing itself just as quickly as it had begun, taking allies alongside enemies. There was a definite ring shape to the blast, radiating from within the wagon. A child’s fear response. Or perhaps an act done in anger to the violence they witnessed to kind people.
It would’ve been quick. The wagon’s interior would’ve succumbed in a blink. The cattle seared in a single breath. People thrown off their feet by the blast and cooked where they lay.
It should never have gotten that far.
Dismounting, Tracker crept closer. He didn’t expect anything to erupt from the site’s charred bones, but approaching in any other manner felt wrong.

Tracker will be back next week with more from In Pain and Blood. In the meantime, check out these other snippets.