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SciFi & Fantasy Art / Gallery 504 of 882 / Barbara J. Wickham / Picture 1 of 121 / A Deal Made In Hell

"A Deal Made In Hell" by Barbara J. Wickham

SF&F Picture 1 out of 121 by Barbara J. Wickham

SciFi and Fantasy Art A Deal Made In Hell by Barbara J. Wickham

“May God have mercy on your soul,” she spat, dashing at him with inhuman speed as she activated the rocket boosters on her boots with a click of her forefinger and thumb nails. A trail of fire burnt a patch of Queen Anne’s lace to ash at her passing, and she leapt toward him. He braced himself, expecting her to use the power of her boosters to ram him, but she deactivated her boots with another cricket clap at the last moment and flipped backwards, kicking him not once but twice as each of her feet made contact with his chin.

He stumbled back and she charged him once more, pummeling him with move after move. It seemed that she had found her edge at last as her attacks began to make solid, undefended contact. She backed him once more into the field of lilies, now glittering with diamond drops of mist, where the glare of the sun on the pure white petals hurt his eyes but did her no harm with her sunglasses to shield her.

He stumbled and nearly fell, apparently weary from his battering, but again she performed her back flip double kick and sent him flying skyward. She jumped to meet him in the air, and grasping the collar of his leather vest in a tight fist, she brought both her feet to his stomach so that for the splittest of seconds she curled in a crouch against him. In that moment of freefall she activated the boots, blasting him to the ground as she flew up into the air. He skidded in a flurry of sparks and leaves and petals.

“You’re free to surrender now,” she called to him cheerily, flipping once in the air and turning to look at him as she hovered, her pistol now clasped in her hands.

Rook lay still amid the waving lilies and laughed, a scorch mark seared across the front of his jacket. A strange shadow began to creep up the outside of the greenhouse in tendrils and the light grew dimmer and dimmer. Panic seized Rubix and she blasted with all her might toward the roof, but the darkness rushed up to meet her and she couldn’t reach the top in time to break through. Blackness deeper than the deepest well, emptier than the night sky without stars, and evil as the eyes of Mephistopheles swallowed her whole.

Something grabbed her from the air and threw her toward the ground. In the brief second that her heels were above her head she saw by the flame of her boots the outline of a dark-winged, humanoid creature. Coupled with the poor lighting it was nigh on impossible to see with her sunglasses on the wrong setting, and when she opened fire she heard breaking glass as she missed her target and shot out a pane above her.

She deactivated her boots before they blasted her into the ground, and landed in a crouch. The darkness pressed upon her like a living, sentient being, trying to suffocate her in its grasp. She almost thought she heard its heartbeat, but discovered this to be her own, and almost thought she heard it breathe, but discovered this to be Rook when he grabbed her from behind in a stranglehold.

“Welcome to Hell, sinner.”

This thrilling excerpt is from, Trench Coats and Love Notes an amazing adventure written by the incredibly talented author and artist, Gloria Bowden. Rook is a mysterious character full of unfathomable motives and unmistakable ambitions. He has sacrificed one of his own eyes for the power to summon shadows to do his bidding. If you think that is cool, there is much, much more in store for you in his tale...

I highly recommend...no, make that command that you go right now and read this exciting story. It is chock-full of unforgettable characters, like Rook and more twists and turns than a slithering sidewinder. I guar-UN-tee that you will not be disappointed!

*Note: This is one half of an art trade and I have permission from the author and creator of the story and character to post this image at my gallery. Gloria has done an amazing picture of my character Maggie. Please have a look after you’ve read her story. You’ll also find incredible pics of the other characters from the story at her gallery. Great stuff!

Date	Name	Comment
27 Nov 2007	Stephen "Werepenguin" Cauley	Loading... Rook! He keeps popping up everywhere! Here's a guy I love to hate. What a user! What a scoundrel! What a.....a....a..phooey! Man, as much as I hate him, I must say that I love this piece. Course, what's new? I love all your art Barbara! I, too, became a fan of TC & LN here on Elfwood! Gloria's so talented isn't she? (Man I sound like I'm quoting from Happy Feet haha) Anywho, lovely piece with a bit too much feeling for me haha. You rock! As for you Rook......sticks out tongue Barbara J. Wickham replies: "Ooooooooh yes. Rook is one of those characters who inspires many complex feelings, but of course the strongest of those is an intense anger. How dare he play with Hut like this! I have much confidence in our stalwart heroine, but I'd still like to waloop Rook upside the head. Grrrr! Glo's created quite a classic villain here and her talent with story telling keeps amazing me more and more with each chapter. I'm so happy with the feedback I am getting on this pic. Everyone who has read the story seems to like what I've done here and I am absolutely thrilled. Thank you ever so much for commenting on this. I am beyond flattered by your praise of this and my other work. I'm in a bit of an artistic rut at the moment so your words are especially welcome!"
12 Dec 2007	Barbara J. Wickham	Loading... To Glass Slipper, aka Krista. Thank you so much for adding me and this pic as a favorite! That's sooooo sweet! hugs Barb Barbara J. Wickham replies: "~~"
12 Feb 2008	Glo 'the Bug' Bowden	Loading... Rook...grr... shakes fist His character has come a long way. But this piece still captures him so well! shivers Barbara J. Wickham replies: "Ya know, the further along I get in your story the less satisfied I am with this pic. He’s not nearly evil looking enough, by far! grrrr!"
15 Feb 2008	Glo 'the Bug' Bowden	Loading... But he just has the perfect, calculating expression on his face! Barbara J. Wickham replies: "Yeah, I guess there is that. As long as you don’t find the portrait wanting for anything, I am happy. "
21 Apr 2008	Krista Williams	Loading... Ooo! Pick me!!! Oh!!! Can I punch him?! Black eyes all around! gives Spoon a black eye Barbara J. Wickham replies: "You have an open invitation. Punch away!!!! lol Ya know, instead of plushies, we should have punching bags of all the villains. KAPOW Bwahahaha!"
23 Apr 2008	Glo 'the Bug' Bowden	Loading... Punching bags? Oo! Why didn’t I think of that? puts an eyepatch on a punching bag studies it for a second shrugs Eh. Close enough. gives "Rook" a couple ’a good whacks Barbara J. Wickham replies: "I used to have one of those inflatable clown punching bags. Honestly, the thing creeped me out-I never did like clowns. shiver That’s probably why I thought of it. looks around with a shifty expression Sometimes I swear that demented clown is still after me, seeking just one good punch in retaliation. whimper"
9 Jun 2008	Megan L. Torgersen	Loading... Oh man was that the scariest moment of my life....i mean...i’m no secret agent...COUGH! Seriously that scene gave me chills, and this picture adds on to that! shivers in spine EEK! But i was Totally Kicking his BUTT, till he cheated with those shadows....Dang, where was that Mysterious Tutu when i needed it?? hehe Barbara J. Wickham replies: "Yeah! Thank goodness for the Tutu of Infinite Pinkness! No shadows can beat us now! Bwahahahaha! I love the scene! You...ah...I mean, Ru really kicked some serious trash! He-he-he "
30 Nov 2008	Heart narsisia foxglove Salaman	Loading... wow... Barbara J. Wickham replies: "hehehe Thank you!"
23 May 2009	Sarah ´Ash´ Koch	Loading... I can’t believe i never commented on this....well i guess evil villians too deserve to be represented artistically....i just dont think i’ll ever have the want to do it....i really like how you did this picture...everything’s so dark and the eyes stand out...and i really like the bird...I suppose i’d sense something evil about this picture even if i hadn’t read the story...you did a very good job capturing Rook here and i’ll save the throtling for the other less serious picture.....believe me i wanted to kick his trash just as much as the next Agent in line when he was first introduced to the story....espically for playing with Gloria’s emotions like that.... Barbara J. Wickham replies: "Even though I despise the character, I loved doing his portrait. It was a challenge for me to build up the painting from a dark background and I learned a lot while doing this. The reward was the gloomy and mysterious mood created by him emerging from the shadows. Glowy eyes are just too cool! "
5 Aug 2009	Stephanie 'Pegacorna' Small	Loading... The Eyes are amazing. I love the color choice and how the eyes just seem to glow with something sinister. Barbara J. Wickham replies: "I created this pic by using the shadows to best effect, but even I didn’t realize how cool the eyes would look against all that darkness. I love it when something turns out better than expected. Thank you for your lovely comments, Stephanie!"
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