Excerpt

The TimeLight Awakenings

Chapter Twenty

Had she only glanced towards the servants’ entrance in the parlor, she would have noticed an indigo figure immobile at the wall, brushed by afternoon shadows. As it was, a pair of eyes studied Grandma Dawn’s poised, familiar bearing in retreat, until her footfalls faded. Then, carefully opening the servant’s door, the latest Bristol House visitor slipped inside to begin a soundless descent to the basement.

Excerpt

Maiden of a Darkness Shining

Part One – Inroads to a Shadowed World

Aria backed away, her lips uttering Lyrica, her hands once more weaving their iMagiNaciale spell.

    Stunned, not a giant moved as the grave closed around their boisterous leader and sealed tight. The next instant, the ground trembled and the tomb exploded open, and roaring forth in a gush of molten rock was the raging Mákayesh. Now much greater in size, his outstretched arm, craning neck, and struggling form were attempting to rise in an effort to extricate himself from the soil. But he was disallowed his freedom by the restraining arms of the dead Dohrdúnn—the oversized clothed skeleton holding Mákayesh fast to his earthly keep. The magma congealed and began to glow with WhiteLight, the images bound in stone for an eternity to come.

Excerpt

Maiden of a Darkness Shining

Part Three – A Nearling Arises

    Rising to her feet, cloak flowing fully behind her, Heather boldly faced off against the enemy. Bolts screaming by, blades whizzing past, she waited until a descending Turlakk fully revealed himself from behind a high, shielding bough. On rigid wing, he power-dived toward the girl with eyes bloody red, mouth wide and screeching, gun blazing in streaking, errant strobes. Heather sighted the repulsive target and squeezed the trigger.

Excerpt Chapter Twenty-Six

     “Ah, there you are my little Maiden child,” muttered Mistraya from her windblown compartment. “And her friend, too. How accommodating. Standing still in the open like that makes you wonderfully easy targets. But how would you know? Alas, I fear I must say goodbye to such a sweet and pretty pair. So endearing. And now, my young duo, it’s time for this chapter featuring the latest rendition of the Green-eyed Maiden to close. Unfortunately, ‘happily ever after’ will not take place at its conclusion. But rest assured, ‘The End’ will be your final sentence. And gleefully enough, I’m just the one to impose it.”

Descending above the grassy area, approaching the courtyard, Mistraya began her incantation, dennunciating quietly.

The oddly shaped object, airborne above the river, caught Heather’s attention, its aura widespread in lifeless emanation, sucking energy like a black hole. Approaching rapidly, a sudden flash sparked from the rectangular structure atop the winged creature.

“Molly, run!”

The girls broke into a sprint, as an arc of charged magic hurtled from the sky like lightning.

Excerpt Chapter Three

      As a result, the Bristol House, stately, orange, tan, and ivied, rose up and out of its surrounding gardens like a dignified man of noble bearing, splendidly attired in terraced hillsides, neatly trimmed hedges, liberal stretches of lawn, and dapples of trees. Further enhancing the mantle of finery were blooming vines; plots of hollyhocks, penstemon, lilies, and foxglove; and rows and rows of roses in the shape of tree and bush alike.

Excerpt Chapter Four

      Lowering herself onto the decking, lying on her back, Heather propped the small pack beneath her head as a pillow. Again elongating the gilded scope, she sought out her favorite constellation, Orion, above the leafy treetops. From her vantage point, she was able to glimpse part of him, his unmistakable sword and belt. Heather thought it strange how, in the open air and depending on her mood, the starlight warrior was either soaring through the sky or falling from its reaches.

Excerpt Chapter Twenty-Six

     Mistraya rose from her high-backed throne, the drapery of her gown coalescing, lost to the background. Striding away, she trailed a very long train that was magically elevated a finger’s width above the floor. The only indication of its presence was when it smothered the reflections of glowing yellow as it swept over them.

      Against the inky chamber, the woman’s very white skin shone out a ghostly purple, culminating in soft yellowish highlights at the tip of her nose and along her lower lip, while her violet-black eyes retreated, veiled beneath her handsomely arched brows. And there they smoldered, stoked by the embers of suppressed rage.

Excerpt Prologue

     Was it the moon of blue-green gazing in through her open window that beckoned the girl forth from her restless submersion in sleep? Or was it the cool autumn breeze sweeping past the graceful swag of drapery that stirred the girl, brushing her cheek? Or perhaps it was a different visitor altogether, a celestial voice that murmured invitingly from the luminous stretch of moonlight cast upon the floor. Whatever the alluring source or sources, the youngster’s long-lashed lids opened to the collective whisper of night. Throwing back the covers, she arose from the bed, and in her red-striped pajamas stepped into the gloom that quietly courted her.