Some Magic on the Table
I'm going for a magical start to the holiday season, here in the lair today, with the offering of a short excerpt from a little something I wrote a while back. Enjoy, my Book Monsters!
Hello, hello!
How is life treating my favorite story lovers this week? I missed posting last week, but we’ll just say life got a little hectic. It still is, in fact, so this missive will be a short one. I wanted to wish you all well as we head toward the start of the holiday season and give you a tiny reading gift to show my thanks for you being here with me in this little space we’ve carved out for ourselves to meet and love on fiction together.
Before we head into story land, though, here is a collection of quotes I put together a year ago that all exemplify the spirit of gratitude. Feel free to share them around with those you are thankful to have in your life.
*There’s also a video version on my Quotes Board on Pinterest if you want to watch instead.
Now for a dip into fantasy:
This excerpt comes from a novella I had in an holiday anthology a couple years ago. It hasn’t seen the light of day since, but I’ve thought about revisiting these characters time and time again and adding to their story. The beginning features a setting and some characters from my Tides of Atlantis world, that you’ll recognize if you’ve read any of those books. I think I’d probably noodle some things if I ever do decide to make more of this selection, so I’m only putting up the opening. As the story progresses from the point I’ll drop off, there’s a decidedly holiday feel and a fun meeting of ancient magical worlds. (As well as a little bit of spice, of course! ;) ) All these elements are what made me think of this story again, and why I thought I’d share a snippet of it with you here in the lair. So, without further ado, here you have it:
Opening excerpt from Where Magic Meets
Keeper Mountain, Colorado
Rhian rode in a state of the art elevator in the repurposed mine shaft inside Keeper Mountain with her favorite couple among the group of human followers sworn to her goddess. Of course, they had no idea she was there. The tall, handsome blonde man and the dark-haired female beauty piqued her interest. They worked together, delivering and analyzing prophecy from the gods. Tension loomed so thick in the small space between these two she could have pierced it with her dagger.
Rhian smiled, passing a glance between the humans. She could have laughed out loud at how they tried to hide their obvious feelings for one another. Not that they would hear it if she did. She could be neither seen nor heard, tucked safely scrimside within a pocket of the veil between worlds. The proverbial fly on the wall—a moon fae from Queen Arianrhod’s highest court in Emainia. The state she enjoyed in that moment was only available to fae-kind at certain times of year, when the solstices drew near. As fate would have it, the earth realm happened to be drawing close to the winter solstice, her favorite. Even this austere, military undercover group she visited in secret had let the festive mood of the season take hold in their bunker. Yes, the humans world’s holiday spirit was alive and well deep within Keeper Mountain.
Her mission here—to check on her queen’s descendant and see that the woman wasn’t being pressured by Poseidon to give over her birthright to Olympus. Emanians had enough of their own problems to worry about, what with the instability between worlds. But Arianrhod’s interest in her human granddaughter would not be made light of, and so Rhian had been sent to make sure that all was well.
She’d spent the day hovering in the scrim, watching the ones called the Time Keepers operate inside their mountain base. Now, she could finally leave this gods forsaken realm and head back to her moon land home.
“So, you’re leaving soon?”
The brunette spoke to the man.
He nodded. “In the morning, with Anthony.”
The woman exhaled.
“Tell me again why it’s a good idea for the two of you to travel overseas right now, Trent?” He sighed, starting to turn his head away from her. Quick, the woman pulled his eyes back to her with her hand on his chin. “When the safest place for either of you is here on the mountain?”
The man dropped his head, chuckling as he gave her a lopsided grin. Gods, what a hottie! How was this female able to keep her hands off him, Rhian wondered? Especially since it was so obvious neither of them wanted her too.
“You worried about me, Les?”
The brunette rolled her eyes, looking at the panel of buttons in the elevator.
“Ass.” She muttered under her breath. The man laugh all the more.
“Oh, geez, get a room, you too!” Rhian said out loud, safe from their hearing.
The elevator finally stopped ascending. Its two vault-like doors slid apart, opening at a landing that led into a huge garage filled with motorcycles.
“I’m outside,” the man said, cocking his head toward the far end of the garage.
The woman nodded. “Me too.”
Rhian followed behind them. Even though she could have left this world by now, she really wanted to do something to bring these two together. She didn’t know why she cared, except that a spritely wave of mischief had stolen over her as she’d listened to them banter.
They walked through a big, heavy door sealed into the side of the mountain. It opened using body and voice scans. Soon, they were moving through a tunnel that led to a hidden outside door which covered the entrance to the Keepers’ bunker under the façade of a deserted mine shaft. As soon as the wooden door shut behind them, Rhian snickered at the sign on the front of it, that read “Stay Out, Stay Alive!”
“How dramatic.” She giggled, rolling her eyes. As she looked up from the sign, something caught her eye in the branches of one of the fir trees that served as an even thicker cover to the secret opening of the mountain. “That’s definitely not natural.”
She smiled wide at the same time a brisk midnight breeze blew through the frosted boughs and both humans turned their heads, catching sight of exactly what had piqued her interest.
The man pointed up at the branch the sprig of imposter foliage dangled from.
“Is that… ?” he started to ask.
“Mistletoe.” The woman affirmed. “Esmé’s been hanging the stuff up anywhere she can. I think she’s hoping to catch your dad unaware under a batch of it.”
The man shook his head in befuddlement.
“Oh, for goodness sakes!” Rhian huffed. “You two are hopeless. I wonder…” She scrunched up her pixie face, focusing hard on the scrim. It must be growing thin pretty early this year, because it was hard to see, even for her. If it was thin enough, she might just be able to slip through it and help these two disaster cases out. Closing her eyes, she gave a little push with her mind then stepped through the scrim fully into the earth realm. “Huh,” she chuffed, “like butter.”
With her fae powers, she created a gust of snow-laden wind strong enough to conceal herself with and bumped the humans right under the mistletoe. Then she disappeared into the trees to watch.
The woman’s feet slipped in the snow. The man caught her in his arms before she fell. “Yes, yes… very good,” Rhian whispered now that she was standing in their realm, “Good aim, pixie, if I do say so myself.” She blew on her nails, admiring her handiwork.
Human custom said the pair had to kiss now. She wondered if they would.
The humans laughed together. Then the man brought his hands up to brush snow from the woman’s hair and face. His hands stopped, cupping both of her cheeks.
“Mmm, yeah, smooth… very smooth.” Rhian nodded, continuing her commentary under her breath. “Go in for the kill, Romeo, what are you waiting for?”
The man looked down at the woman, his beautiful, baby blue eyes twinkling starlight. She stared back, mesmerized.
“Do the lean thing.” Rhian gave the air a tiny pulse and the couple’s bodies moved closer to one another. Their frosty breath puffed out in heated clouds in the cold, piney air. Closer, closer… Almost there.
Brrmmm!!
A loud engine ripped through the dark. Garish light intruded on the moment even further as a rider rolled up on a motorcycle. The pair jerked apart instantly.
“Oh, c’mon!!” Rhian shouted. Both humans’ heads turned in her direction. She pulled back into the trees. She hadn’t meant for that to be out loud. Hopefully, the bike had given her some cover. They shrugged together, then turned to the rider, another of the Keepers.
Rhian rolled her eyes when they walked over to greet the newcomer.
“Alright, I’m done here.” She said to herself, then made to push back through the scrim and into the veil. With any luck, she’d be home in time for supper. Her stomach growled at the thought. She hadn’t eaten since she left the fae realm that morning.
This time when she pushed, though, nothing happened.
***
“What the… ?!”
Rhian stumbled around, moving in a complete circle as she tried to find her way back through the scrim. Nothing. It was completely closed off. A terrible feeling came over her. What if she was trapped here in the human realm with no way back?
“No, that can’t be,” she rationalized.
She’d been through the veil many times. Only, those times had always been nearer a sacred day. But it had opened so easily a moment ago when she’d pushed through. Why would it be sealed up tight now? It didn’t make any sense. She didn’t realize she’d been wandering the whole time she’d been trying to work the matter out. Stopping her feet, she looked up to find herself in a different part of the forest, the opening of the Time Keepers’ mountain was nowhere in sight!
A crackle to her left made her jump. She snapped her head toward the sound. More crackling from different directions disturbed the air further.
“Well, well, well,” a voice echoed off the cold forest floor, “what do we have here?”
Something wet hit Rhian’s cheek. Snowflakes drifted in front of her as she stared into the dark. Moonlight strained through the heavily needled tree branches, enough light piercing through to reveal several humans materializing from out of the woods.
“This one glows like a lantern,” another voice said. “What is it?”
Rhian concentrated hard, trying to dim her fae aura. The area grew darker instantly.
“Does it matter?” The first speaker said. “It’s ‘other’, so it’s dead.”
A chill rippled up Rhian’s spine. She’d heard of humans that hunted fae in the earth realm. She never expected she’d encounter them herself. A bright light suddenly blinded her where she stood.
“Aw, look at its little pointed ear, Chris.” A female voice whined into the icy woods. “I’ve never killed an elf before.”
A male chuckle sounded.
“First time for everything, Nicks.”
The glaring light came closer as the group of humans closed in. It took no time at all for Rhian to see she was at a supreme disadvantage. Very few of her fae powers worked right here for some reason. She couldn’t fade out or go invisible, so she did the only thing she could think of… She ran.
***
With her pursuers hot on her heels, Rhian fled through the forest. As soon as she’d turned tail, the human hunters sprang into action, running after her with their metal weapons at the ready. At least she still boasted agility and strength, even if her sifting abilities didn’t work right on Earth.
What the hell was up with that? She shouldn’t even be here right now. Before, when she’d gotten it in her head to play with the lovesick humans, she hadn’t even expected to make it through the veil. Something weird was going on. Right now, though, she had a band of vicious fae murderers to escape.
Bright light flashed from behind her, illuminating a path through the trees. The ability to see where she stepped brought little relief, though. It meant the hunters were right behind her.
“I have it!” She heard one of them say. “It’s right in front of me. If I can get a clear shot…”
A scratchy, mechanical noise broke over the sound of Rhian’s panting breaths as she ran.
“Take it!” One of the human males yelled.
Loud gunfire rang out through the night. On and on Rhian ran through the darkness, dodging rocks and tree limbs, trying not to trip. A few times her feet slipped in the silky dirt / needle mix, not to mention the frozen snow of these earthly Rocky Mountains. A fitting name for the range, she thought. The never-ending labyrinth didn’t make for any kind of easy stroll or hike, not even for her agile limbs.
Her endurance waned, a new feeling for her to be sure. It didn’t match the skin prickling awareness that came over her at the next turn in the path, however. A cold, snowy blast of wind burst through the clearing. Fierce and ominous power accompanied it, the likes of which she’d never experienced. It wasn’t any kind of magic she’d ever encountered before that filled the area in that instant. The sounds of the ones chasing her stopped all at once. Either she’d lost them or this new presence terrified them as much as it did her. All the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end right before a deep and resonant growl rolled up through her bones. It sounded like it stemmed from deep within the hard, cold ground. Rhian shuddered. Before her eyes, a black wall of shadow materialized out of the trees.
“Shit!” She heard someone say. “Whu- what is that?”
She turned to see the group of humans run away a split second before that harsh, night shadow blasted her way then closed all around her. After that, she saw only darkness.
***
Rhian bolted upright with a gasp, still encompassed by the dark of night, but with a trickle of moonlight spilling over her lap from somewhere. She looked down to find her legs covered by a heavy blanket. She sat in a bed. Blinking her eyes, she tried to see something, anything to clue her in as to where she’d ended up. The last thing she could remember were the faces of the ones who’d hunted her through the forest right before an unseen force had yanked her away.
Throwing back the covers, she stood, her bare feet hitting a cold as ice floor. On wooden limbs and with her head full of fog, she stumbled toward that little bit of moonlight illuminating the darkness. It pulled her toward it, a drawing sensation that grabbed at her middle and chest.
“Emania.”
She breathed the word.
Solstice was here. Moon Land magic called her, but she couldn’t figure out how to get to it. She wasn’t where she needed to be… in the fae realm. Whipping her head around, all her eyes found were shadows.
“Where am I?”
And how had she gotten here… what brought her? The pull in her chest strengthened, pulling her out of the room, making her frantic to get out of this place.
“Goddess,” she called. “Arianrhod... help me.”
She needed the goddess to bring her back through the veil…
She had to get out in the open where the moon’s light could touch her. Forcing her sluggish legs to move, she turned to her left then bolted through the darkness. Her shin knocked into something hard, but she ignored the blaze of pain from it and kept going. Bursting through the first door she came to, freezing night air blasted her in the face as she ran outside.
Somewhere in the distance an animal howled. The sound filled the air, rolling up her spine and rattling her bones. That same fearsome power from before tore through the night. Terror gripped her at the same time the call of solstice and the fae wrenched her insides. Blind in the dark, she ran even harder, pine branches scratching her face, pulling at her hair. Her feet were too numb from the cold to feel, but she knew she was damaging them on the rocks and ice. That was the last thought she spared her extremities before she broke through the thick wall of pawing branches. Light from the moon washed over her, silver-bright, as she skidded past the vicious evergreens. She only had a split second to register the sheer drop off she hurtled toward before her feet slipped over the frozen ground, then into open space.
“Aaa—!!”
Her scream cut off, the sound of it swallowed once more by shadow as that frightening, powerful wind wrapped around her. This time she stayed aware, her eyes open wide as the force whooshed her through the dark at incredible speed. Something strong held her close… a solid body, covering her entirely, shielding her from the cold. In fact, she felt warm. Only for an instant, though, before she was abruptly dropped back onto the bed she’d stumbled out of mere moments ago. Her head snapped up as she fought to get a glimpse of whatever had grabbed her for the second time. A brush of heat grazed her cheek, like skin on skin.
“Stay.” Something… Someone whispered, or growled rather, the sound so soft and low she couldn’t be certain she’d heard it at all.
Rhian jerked, blinking her eyes. A twin flash of gold starlight blazed in her direction for the briefest second, or maybe she imagined that too. Her hair blew back from her face as the strange shadow wind rushed out of the room and the door slammed shut.
***********
First published as Where magic Meets in the Christmas Nibbles Charity Anthology 2021. All rights reserved.
Thanks for reading! Who wants to see Leslie and Trent kiss? *Raises hand* Who knows? Maybe this author has more in store for them too. ;)
To all my US friends who will be celebrating next week, Happy Thanksgiving! And season’s greetings to you all, beautiful Monsters! Till next time…
Stay in the magic!
Amanda V Shane