Excerpt: Unnamed Young Adult Fantasy Novel

Rosalie sighed and poked the campfire, sending a column of sparks hurtling up into the darkness. Locus was attempting to play that blasted instrument again. Even Warden was making horrible faces at the sounds coming out of his stringed box.

“Can’t you just give it a rest for a bit, Locus?” she finally asked. Lukina, unpacking blankets from the saddlebags, tossed her a grateful look from across the campsite.

“I’m sorry, I know it sounds bad. I just can’t figure out the scale. It’s not a normal progression; the notes aren’t even in order from lowest to highest pitch.”

“They are set in the way to make the notes sound when they should,” said Warden, for maybe the sixteenth time. Rosalie sighed again.

“It’s not logical; it’ll take some time to decipher.” Locus set the instrument aside to scribble in a little tablet of paper. “It’s utterly fascinating, though. If only he could show me how he plays…”

And that, for the twentieth time, at least. “Well, you know he can’t, so why not let it lie for a while? C’mon, break out the ol’ lute and let’s have a song or three.”

“I suppose. It’s just so unusual.” He gave the instrument back to Warden, who took it and caressed it lightly before setting it down at his side.

Probably apologizing to it for the awful music Locus was making with it, Rosalie thought, with a quiet snicker to herself. Locus had been obsessed with the musical instrument ever since they’d started on the road, asking Warden about its creation, about how he played it, and so on...