Join us for a weekly blog party in Six Sentence Stories, hosted by Denise and attended by some mighty fine, fun folk. Prompt word=SWING. Read, write and come back for more SIX SENTENCE STORIES.   (Link goes active Wed night).

And so the deal was struck, no papers signed, no ink,
The watchers called for protection spells:
Ones built on love and trust and luck.
Montay’d practiced widening shift, forms Ferah’d never kenned,
Per Jimman’s skilled direction: games in wild pleasure meant
Montay the fool was well and truly fucked.

 ***

Ferah held her brother, muscles straining through the night
While Watchers watched the watchers and the full moon shined its light.
From cat to seal to lamprey eel, and wolf and horse and bear,
From fish to dragon, mouse to crow—eldritch beast ‘most won the dare—
A dizzy pattern of lightning change, with more fae beasts than known,
The hour did swing to midnight, the Watchers’ number grown.

A final shift to iron bar
Burned brave young Ferah hard,
But her promise was her zeal;
The midnight hour arrived and calmed:
Ferah had won the deal.   

© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2026)

Please excuse my halting rhyme
It’s best I stick with prose
The story asked for poetry
But I’ve little talent or time!

(To be continued)