Chapter 7: The Song of Murder
Selene turns to the birds for help and makes unruly allies in the crows. Vote on what happens next! You have extra time this week, we're taking a break next week so you can catch up on chapters!
Plot Twist: A Collaborative Novel is an interactive book project where you get to help decide what the characters say and do next. Check out the introduction to Plot Twist: A Collaborative Novel for all the juicy details on how this works.* And be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a step on this fun adventure.
Welcome back to Plot Twist!
Before we get to the story, I wanted to let you know that there won’t be a new chapter next week. I’m going to be traveling and unable to write it. So take that time to catch up on past chapters! You can find them all here.
Chapter 6 moved Selene, Ashley, and Willem into a creepy house full of taxidermies animals that’s based on a real cabin I once saw for sale near the mountain town of Idyllwild. I’d show you pics of the real thing, but I don’t want to haunt your nightmares!
Speaking of nightmares, you all decided very conclusively that the crows are going to be murderous. So when things get bloody, you only have yourself to blame!
Last week, you also helped vote on what happens when Selene talks to the crows. Looks like spies won out, so spies it is!
We also got this great comment from
– who is our star commenter and is helping SO MUCH with the plot and story. Thanks Lauren!
I love this idea of annoying, murderous, untrustworthy, vague crows! Let’s see if we can make them feel all of that in one chapter this week.
Ready to find out?!
Let’s dive in!
Chapter 7: The Song of Murder
As soon as the first note left her lips, a humming bird came zooming at Selene’s face, making her duck.
“Hello, hello, hello, hello, what do you want, want, want!” The bird sang as it flittered around her, its companions joining in a chorus of high pitched squeals.
“I was calling for the crows,” Selene shouted over the sound of their wingbeats and chirps.
“Silly, silly, silly Queeeeeen,” they all laughed. “You are much too high, too high, too high!”
Still ducking to avoid the sharp beaked menaces flying around her, Selene started singing again, this time in a deeper tone. The laughter of the hummingbirds turned to panicked screams as they all zoomed away just in time to avoid a massive bald eagle as it swooped down onto a branch near Selene.
“Your Majesty,” the eagle nodded its head in a slight bow.
Selene was so used to her mother being called that title she almost looked behind her to see if she was there. Instead, she sighed and looked up at the majestic animal in front of her. “I am so sorry to bother you, I can’t seem to get the right pitch.”
“It does take time,” the eagle replied graciously. “Maybe I can help. Who are you trying to call?”
“The crows,” Selene replied.
The eagle looked appalled. “Why would you call those vile beasts?”
“I need eyes.”
“I have eyes,” the eagle pointed out.
“I need the crows,” Selene insisted. The eagle shook her head, then turned to the sky and called, a melancholy tune that sounded like a death toll and rattled in her throat.
“Be careful what you ask for, Your Majesty,” the eagle cautioned as she took flight, heading in the opposite direction of the black cloud of feathers coming their way.
The sight was horrifying, the sound deafening, and Selene wanted to put her hands over her ears, close her eyes, and block them all out completely. But the crows hated signs of weakness, so she sat tall, proud, and regal, like she’d been trained to do.
A crow that was slightly larger than the others hopped forward, his beady eye staring menacingly at Selene. “You called a hummingbird to call an eagle to call the crows,” he and the murder surrounding him laughed. “Has your Kingdom truly fallen so far?”
“This is what happens when you let women rule,” the crow next to him cawed.
“No wonder the wards are falling,” another one cackled.
“Enough!” Selene ordered her magic turning the word into a command. She’d forgotten how much she truly hated crows. “My old home. Do you know it?”
“It wreaks of your magic still,” the large one said. “Growing more noxious every day.”
“Do you know the family that lives in there?” Selene asked.
“The child and mother smell like you,” he replied.
“I want eyes on them,” The Queen commanded. “If anyone comes close to their home, notify me. When they leave, tell me. Where they go, you follow.”
“That sounds like a lot of hard work,” the leader said. “And I’ve got a hungry flock.”
Selene nodded her head back towards the house, “there’s a cabin full of dead birds ripe for the picking.”
The crow jumped forward, pecking at The Queen for her insult. She almost jumped back before remembering herself. These crows could kill her. In seconds she would be pecked dry, her flesh torn apart, the whole flock drunk on her power. But the crows needed the coven to keep out even nastier birds, so she knew they would snarl but never truly attack.
“You shall have your usual fee,” The Queen declared. “No less, no more.”
The crows gathered, clucking away in a language Selene did not understand, until they seemed to reach an agreement. “We want three. One for each person in the home.”
There are three people in the home, Selene thought, her heart plummeting a bit. Of course, there would be another person. The child had said she had moms. Of course, Arielle was married. Why would she have waited for someone who was never planning on returning?
“You’ll get two,” Selene said, “And that’s more than generous.”
The crows conferred and then nodded in ascent. “So which one are we killing?”
“You will leave them all alone.” The crows all looked very disappointed at the Queen’s command. “Reconnaissance only.”
“Women are unfit to rule,” the leader said, opening his wings and taking flight, his flock following after, blocking out the light.
Selene sat there watching them go, thinking about the eagle’s warning. The crows were unpredictable, shady, and murderous. But they were also greedy, craving crystals full of magic that would send them soaring. She felt dirty, like a drug dealer, dangling a fix in front of an addict, but she needed spies beholden to her, not her mother.
A war was coming. Selene could feel it in the air here even more so than in San Diego. The wards were thinning. The Witch Hunters draining their power. The coven would fall.
And somehow, in the midst of it all, sat Arielle and her child.
Selene didn’t know how. She didn’t know why. She just knew that kid would be the key to everything. Selene could feel it the minute the child touched her arm and sparks flew between them.
Now, she just had to keep her mother away from her long enough to find out why.
Now it’s your turn!
For the next week, voting is open in the poll and comments are ready for your input! This is a collaborative effort, so the more you participate, the better the experience for everyone – and the more fun you have. Your voting and comments directly change the story!
Here are some other questions to get you started talking in the comments:
What did you love? Where were you excited? What do you want to see more of?
What didn’t resonate? What do you want to see less of? Where were you confused?
What predictions do you have for the characters? Where do you want to see the story going? What ideas did this spark in you?
Vote in the poll and comment below to help direct where the story goes next!
*PLEASE READ THE FINE PRINT BEFORE YOU COMMENT OR VOTE:
By participating in Plot Twist, you’re agreeing to give your input on a book that will be written by and credited to Lauren Marie Fleming. The final book will be available in ebook, print, audiobook, and other mediums with Lauren Marie Fleming listed as the sole author, copyright owner, and beneficiary. This project will be mentioned in the acknowledgments and anyone who comments on at least three posts will be listed as a collaborator. No compensation or copyright is granted for collaborators from any book sales or derivatives.
Loved the use of the senses. You really brought in visuals, smells, and sounds. This chapter was written in such a rich way. I’m very into the crows being obsessed with crystals for their magic. My favorite part was the eagle swooping in - but I’d say the eagle betrays her and that’s how the queen discovers the child. The eagle called the crows but tells her mom. I’d guess Selene will be furious and surprised since she actually got called by her title by the Eagle. But it will be one of those things where the Eagle is trying to save Selene as the true queen. Or maybe the Queen has an Eagle as a familiar who also gets called and overhears everything and that other Eagle is who tells the Queen. Or maybe it’s the mischievous little hummingbirds. I love that the crows try to hustle her for more crystals + a higher fee - I was like yes crows you are taking risks I’m sure the treasurery is large. I already love/hate them. I like the idea of Selene needing to practice bird songs - I’d say her buddy either the crush is well studied in songs and needs to teach her and somewhere in the singing/teaching there’s a surprise make out (though they agree they can’t go further but it creates an ongoing tension). I’d want that kiss to somehow change the course of things - some form of betrayal.