Dragons, Elves and Myths, Oh My!

Heart Magic, by Mae Powers 
Etris sailed the dark waters of the Forbidden Sea, searching for his heart's magic, until he found her quite unexpectedly, in his own home port.

The River God's Bride , by Tysche Dwai
Beautiful Mei Lin longs for love. Can the dragon under the Moon Bridge fulfill her desires? A tale of Ancient China with a modern twist. 

Into the Woods , by Tamara James
Aiobhean's charges are missing. To find them she'll go into the wood and face the Dark Lord. Will love bring light to the Wood? 

Summoning Dangerously , by Bridghid Parkinson
Alaunra thought the mage's lifestyle might be glamorous until the Dragon War. After the treaty, could her newly developed spells bring love, comfort, or danger?    
 
Leading Lady , by Leigh Ellwood
A sci-fi actress is offered the role of a lifetime. Will she accept, even if it means moving to an alternate reality...with handsome elves?
 

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EXCERPTs

Dragons, Elves and Myths,Oh My!

Heart Magic

by

Mae Powers

Etris took a reflective glance back at the small yacht anchored at one of the docking bays. Even though she had not taken him to his heart's answers, the Heart-Mage was a fine ship. It had always brought him home safely. This large and luxurious vessel had seen him on this past, yearlong journey. Now during the rising heat of the mid-summer season, on the return home, he and his crew stopped to refit the ship with supplies, and to allow the crew a last-minute shore leave.

He glanced above the sea vessel to the muted sky. Just before Captain Zekk safely brought the Heart-Mage into port, the skies above had only been slightly cloudy, now they threatened to engulf the whole ocean town in their darkening mists. Crisp, thin bolts of lightning could be seen on the far western horizon that led endlessly out into the Forbidden Sea.

For a split second, Etris grinned at the vast body of water’s name. Those who sailed too far away from Landchor’s safe haven were often lost. It was as if this Land didn’t want her people to go too far. Catch a few fish, a few treasures, and bring them home to Landchor. He slung his small pack over his shoulder and headed down the gangplank. Etris liked the feeling of the rough wind on his unshaven face. It felt like the rumbling of fingers bristling through his hair, as if Aunt Telassa were tousling his hair with her soft hand.

He was looking forward to being home soon, though his year-long journey had not accomplished its mission. He remembered the day he'd started out on the journey to find his Heart-Magic. He had wanted to go sooner upon this life-filling quest, but there was always some excuse Uncle Daegus had for him not going. It was finally Aunt Telassa who made his uncle understand that Etris needed to go. Telassa and Daegus both had used their perspective magic powers to learn what kind of incident, trinket, or place would be instigative in bringing about the full use of his inherent powers. Although he could do some magic now, the men of his family line always had to have something in which to enhance their powers.

His own, his siblings foretold, had something to do with garnet jewels. He'd found garnet charms and jewelry during his yearlong travel, but nothing had sparked his powers to full-might. Now, at nearly thirty seasons of life and a lot more mature and travel weary, he realized he may never be a full-fledged Heart-Mage.

The River God's Bride  

by

Tysche Dwai

“Yes, Father. As you say.” Shang Mei Lin bowed her head with a sigh.

It was the day of the Dragon Boat races, and Mei Lin had been eagerly anticipating the festivities for months. This was the year of the Dragon – the second since her birth – and she was the symbol of the Dragon. No longer a child who could not fully enjoy the festival, she had been looking forward to seeing the races – perhaps flirting with the young oarsmen…

But she was ordered to stay home. Father had decreed that a proper young lady would not attend such an occasion without a chaperone and, as there was no older woman living in the household, there was no chaperone to be had.

Mei Lin hid her disappointment with a low bow and then fled to the garden. Here at least, she could vent her hurt anger without fear of repercussion. “Why must he be so cruel?” she raged at the ancient koi threading through the water lilies of the reflecting pool. “I am no longer a child. In fact, I have heard the whispers of ‘old-maid’when I pass on the village streets.”

Hers was a lonely existence, only child to a father who had wanted a son, and knew not what to do with the daughter thrust upon him when his beloved wife died in childbirth. Despite pressure from his own father, Shang Yan Pin had refused to remarry. It was the only romantic thing she had ever heard about her pragmatic father, and she had learned it from a maiden aunt.

Mei Lin continued down the garden path, her slippers tapping lightly on the uneven paving stones. She stepped carefully, practicing the mincing gait that her father told her was the mark of a true lady. But as she paused on the moon bridge to stare down into the flowing stream, she despaired of ever becoming a lady.

A tear slipped past her control and splashed into the stream below. One drop of salt in a flowing stream…

Into the Woods

by

Tamara James

Cold as ice, dry as old bone, the stone floor of the Sidhe High Court had no connection to the earth. A reflection of its Queen, the magic of air and ice ruled here.

Feardorcha, lord of earth and night, resisted the urge to call up the rich dark bounty hidden beneath layers of pale marble. “As you desire my Queen.”

Twenty-seven crystal steps separated Feardorcha from his second cousin, the High Queen of the Sidhe. Points of rune carved elder arrows notched bows made from willow, each poised, ready to deal with any threat. Twin warriors flanked the stairs.

The gazes of those around him made the skin across the back of his neck itch. The breathless whispers of the court vibrated against the peaked tips of his ears. Their words slithered down the thin channel formed by the slender curve of cartilage and in. Plots, plans of assassination, and speculation made him weary. Feardorcha longed for the solitude of his wood.

With one knee pressed to the floor, forearm across the other thigh Feardorcha was a target. To see his cousin’s face he would have to crane his neck back at an angle that bared his throat to the pale warriors. Unacceptable.

He dipped his head in a quick show of obeisance. Feardorcha disregarded the indrawn breaths of the court behind him. Permission to rise had not been granted.

Like the elegant wings of a Luna moth the Queen’s robes fluttered about her gaunt frame. Her skin was whiter than the Thassos marble that graced her hall. Slender pointed ears, straight moon kissed hair, and a hollow cheeked face that radiated youth and beauty. Feardorcha’s cousin was the embodiment of what humans though fae looked like, cold death.

Low and deep, Feardorcha’s voice enveloped the room. “I shall notify your guard when those blessed by the goddess reach the boarder between of my wood and the duir to the hill.”

Pure and cool as water released from a glacier her voice cascaded down the steps. “Very well.”

Summoning Dangerously  

by

Bridghid Parkinson

“Get away from me… now!” Alaunra screamed.

Because it was her magical creation, the stone golem did exactly as she ordered.

Mindless, she thought. She sat up from the table and started to get dressed. The stone golem had walked backward to the far wall and it gave only a blank stare from the carving on its face. In spite of the thick penis poking outward in front of him, it was lifeless. She refused to refer to the creature as a ‘he’ with any references that might indicate it was human.

Now, she was frustrated from simply attempting to relieve her frustrations.

The wonderful, magical life of a mage… she thought scornfully. God… if they only knew.

Alaunra worked hard to make her magical talents strong as a girl. When in training, none of the regular boys wanted to go out with her any more because they were afraid. They didn’t believe she would turn them into a horse, but they were afraid she could enchant them with a spell. Even the other young men in magical training appeared to be afraid—or they distrusted her—because she was the teacher’s pet. Of all people, they should have known but it was an uphill battle all of her life. The citizens had been intrigued with the romance of the magician’s lifestyle and the seers’ wisdom and she found out the hard way that it’s lonely work.

The Dragon War started when she was a girl and her talent was immediately put to use by apprenticing with the defenses mage. They were at war with the dragons for twenty years before the treaty was signed. In spite of the fact that the dragons were easily ten times larger than the humans, the humans have them matched in magic and outnumbered, four thousand to one. The war was declared a draw. The peace is tenuous but there is still covert work to make sure defensive capability doesn’t falter. The treaty states clearly that all wartime magic ends, especially research, but neither side can yet trust the other.

Leading Lady

by

Leigh Ellwood

 

Dina stared down at the black and white likeness of her younger self and poised a thick-tipped pen over the smooth curve of the photographed bare neck. “Hello, darling,” she greeted the wide-eyed man standing before her. “This is for whom, now?”

He couldn’t have been more than twenty-five. Thick, dirty blond hair hung in clumps over one brow. A large button covering one breast of his Metallica T-shirt informed the world that his phaser was always set for “stunning”. Dina imagined the collective sigh of relief settling around the room from any female conventioneers having seen that button.

“J-Jeremy,” he croaked.

“Jeremy. Thank you, Jeremy.” The syllables rolled off her tongue with seductive ease; she trilled the R with her trademark purr, the throaty growl that had sent thousands of Jeremys to enjoy euphoric wet dreams over the years. This Jeremy, looking so young, had to be a recent fan as opposed to the legion of first generation faithful, a fan who had come to know Mission: Jupiter through endless reruns on cable or through the recent DVD releases of the popular 70s science fiction series.

Either way, Dina thought, he’s here. He paid his ten bucks admission, and the five dollar charge for the glossy photo her assistant distributed from the stack at the next table. His presence paid for at least one drink she had enjoyed last night at the hotel bar.

He was cute, too. Maybe he’d be good for more than his money. Dina smiled to herself and crossed her legs tighter to counter the sudden desire flooding her pussy, rustling the star field print tablecloth in the process.

“I-I just wanted you to know,” Jeremy was saying as Dina scribbled a random platitude and a loopy signature on the photograph, “that you’re my favorite character on MJ.”

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