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    Graham's Grief: Graham the Gargoyle, #1
    Graham's Grief: Graham the Gargoyle, #1
    Graham's Grief: Graham the Gargoyle, #1
    Ebook99 pages1 hour

    Graham's Grief: Graham the Gargoyle, #1

    By Brian Clopper

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    About this ebook

    For Graham, his first flight is sure to be a disaster. Expectations are high for him to fly. Teased for his puny wings and fear of heights, his only friends are an equally picked-upon troll named Ot and his grandfather who has hardened so much he may not make it to Graham's rite of passage. When his grandfather must leave Cascade to ascend to his final resting place atop a church tower, Graham makes a heart-wrenching decision and sneaks through a dimensional portal with him, keenly aware he may have just trapped himself alone on Earth. Will he make it back in time to attempt his first flight? Will Blord, the village bully, prove to be too much of a thorn for the earnest young gargoyle? And what does his sister's volcano project have to do with saving his rocky hide? Revel in the answers as you read this heartwarming tale of friendship and faith.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrian Clopper
    Release dateMar 22, 2015
    ISBN9781507053157
    Graham's Grief: Graham the Gargoyle, #1

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      Book preview

      Graham's Grief - Brian Clopper

      Graham's Grief: Graham The Gargoyle 1

      © 2011 Brian Clopper

      Published by Behemoth Books

      on August 31, 2011

      Cover by Brian Clopper

      No part of this book may be reproduced without permission from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review.

      Been to the author's website yet?

      Check it out

      Contents

      Acknowledgments

      Prologue

      1. Terra Squirma

      2. Mudslinging Mayhem

      3. Family Volcano

      4. Parsons' Plateau

      5. Smoke and Mirrors and Pepper

      6. Looking Up

      7. Warm Heart, Warmer Wisdom

      8. Grounded

      9. Not So Uplifting Chat

      10. The Flying Mummy

      11. Youthful Conspiring

      12. Crossing Over

      13. Scaling New Heights

      14. A Friend in Deed

      15. The Gravity of the Situation

      16. First Flight

      Author’s Note

      Author's Website

      Acknowledgments

      Special thanks to Keith Robinson of UnearthlyTales.com for the excellent cover design, invaluable help in establishing my web presence, and beta reading expertise.

      Prologue

      THE SETTING: The MAGICAL REALM of CASCADE

      When mortal belief in magic began to die out, the magical and mythological creatures of Earth found their life forces fading. Rather than face apathy and extinction, they banded together and migrated to another dimension where their combined powers could sustain them, a magical haven called Cascade. There they thrived, and a multi-mystical society was born.

      Chapter 1

      Terra Squirma

      Graham Groodle tugged at the mukka root with both hands, his coarse skin giving him added grip. His brow, rimmed with horns, furrowed as he wrestled with the stubborn plant. Despite a downpour last night, the soil was still hard. If he wanted mukka root stew tonight, he’d need all his strength in his lean physique.

      He bit his bottom lip as he strained. His tiny wings fluttered, adding little to his exertion.

      His friend Ot Gleeblehut, a short stout troll, as if there were any other type, worked two rows down and almost had his basket filled. The troll yanked another root out of the ground, sending his spiky sprout of white hair atop his head springing back rather comically.

      Two more to go, the troll chimed in. His bright yellow skin was speckled with mud.

      Easy for you. That part of the garden looks much looser. I got the drier patch, Graham said. He wrapped his fingers tighter and pulled. The root slipped free too easily, and he knocked the back of one hand against his small chin tusks. The left tusk broke the skin. Graham stashed the root in his basket and sucked on his injury.

      Ot laughed. That’s one way to keep your chin up.

      His friend loved spouting off colorful sayings, a trait he inherited from his dad. Graham had not made many trips to the nearby village but enough to know that the troll father and son were close, much closer than he and his own father.

      He crawled forward, pleased to find the ground much wetter. His clawed toes sunk into the moist soil. He found the suction created by the mud comforting. He liked staying close to the ground. It made him feel safe. Being mired in such fertile soil helped him forget what was coming up on Friday.

      In four days he would have to take his First Flight. As a Level Five student, it was a rite of passage, required by all gargoyles halfway through the year in order to graduate. He was not ready to take to the air. He had done little preparation beyond the basic wing exercises. Why should he? He already knew his puny wings would let him down. While others his age used the launch platforms at school and around the village to practice their take-offs and landings, he had avoided all of them except one. Not that he had used that platform as it was designed. It had become more of place of solitude, somewhere he could get away from the pressure of being the son of one of the more outspoken council members.

      He pictured himself tumbling out of the sky rather than soaring deep into the clouds. He’d splash into the Isis River for sure, another First Flight failure. What did he need with taking to the air? He was doing fine here on terra firma. Just looking up at the sky made his stomach feel light and queasy.

      He reached down to pluck another mukka root out of the row. The lumpy pink vegetable was one of the main crops of the neighboring clan of trolls. The other gargoyles avoided the trolls, claiming they were dirty and stupid. They detested how Ot’s people clung to the ground and embraced the earth with such passion. Graham didn’t believe any of it, which was why he was spending this evening helping his friend. While the rest of his classmates worked away on their homework or practiced yet another flight, he was here harvesting roots for Ot’s family and his own.

      Graham eased out four more roots and placed them in his basket, dripping mud on his legs. Only need two more and my basket’s full. How are you doing? He stretched, flapping his tiny wings ever so slightly.

      The troll paused in his labors and wiped at his broad torso, cleaning off a small portion of earthen splatter. Yes, but I’m half as muddy as you are. Perhaps you should consider more finesse in your uprooting. Looks like a dip in the waterfall might be in order for at least one of us.

      He snickered. He knew Ot loved visiting the waterfall just a forest or two away but not because the troll was a meticulous bather. Trolls as a whole liked being close to Mother Earth. They enjoyed a little dirt on their skin. If they went to the waterfall, Ot, at the most, would simply dip his feet in and not much else. The dirtier he arrived home, the prouder his parents would be. Graham wished his own parents felt that way. He wiped at a large clump of mud, its dark coloration a sharp contrast to his own bright orange complexion.

      Ot stood and slapped his palms together, spraying his gray vest with mud. Supposed to rain again tomorrow. Want to go mud sliding?

      He sighed. Maybe.

      C’mon, since when do you not jump at the chance to get good and dirty?

      Graham scooped up an extra moist lump of mud and tossed it at Ot. The troll, moving surprisingly fast for someone so stubby and plump, dodged the mud pie. My goodness, your aim is terrible today. That’s the fourth time you’ve missed me.

      Graham rolled his eyes and worked on the last root before him. The plant’s purple leaves stood upright and were very large, a sure sign that he was about to unearth a succulent root. We can do one more basket, but then I have to go. Grandfather wants to tell me something important tonight.

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