Special thanks to
the following authors who contributed their wonderful work to this book.
Megan Blue
Terry, is my baby girl. Although she works hard, she took time
out to write a special story for this edition of Short Stories 2005.
The story is inspiring and will eventually be included in a book series
about this unique couple. In this book, read - Rekindled Trust. Visit
this authors web page.
Betty Dravis,
is my dear friend as well as the author of the newly released children’s
book titled ‘The Toonies Invade Silicon Valley.’ To learn
more about this author, or to buy her book, visit her web site at www.jmbpub.com/betty.htm.
In this book read - Uncle Herman’s Harem, Switching Genres,
and The Snack. Visit
this authors web page.
Rosanna Filippello,
is a 10 year veteran police officer, single mother, and author of the
Angelo Mystery Series, including (book 1) ‘Angel of Death’
and (book 2) ‘Angel of Justice.’ Book 3, ‘Angel of Truth,’
is scheduled for release in November 2005. To learn more about this
author, or to buy her book, visit her web site at www.jmbpub.com/rosanna.htm.
In this book read- Blind Love. Visit
this authors web page.
Daniel Morrison,
is the author of the recently released novel, ‘Dream Shade,’
currently available on www.amazon.com. Daniel is not only an author,
but also an artist, and musician. In this book read - Poster Girl.
Tom Chatterton,
husband, photographer, poet, and an old friend from my BBS (electronic
bulletin board) days. He actually penned his story on line years ago,
and I pulled it out of the archives. To learn more about this author
visit his web site at www.amazingmassage.com. In this book read - The
Amazing Sixties.
Joe DeChristopher,
a friend, father, and Registered Nurse who loves to write. Joe and I
first met on my BBS where we penned an online medieval story together
titled ‘The Slave Traders.’ In this book read - I Remember
Love, and Ambush at Xoung Vin Pass.
Lori Martin,
a wife, mother of two, and a computer technician. Lori is currently
working on a new novel. In this book read - Feast and Famine.
Debbie Miyake,
is a wife, computer technician, and poet. In this book read - Storybook
Hero.
Preview
of Raven Blackwing
by Janet Sue Terry
Muirne Raisa showed
up at the stable for practice each of the next four days. She was always
alone. Most of the time Raven was alone.
“Where are
your guards?” He asked her on the fourth day.
“They are guarding
my room.”
“How did you
get away?”
“There is a
secret passage,” she said handing him a map. “Come visit me
tonight?”
Warning signals
went off in Raven’s head. He dare not get caught in her bedroom.
“I cannot,” he said through narrowed airways. His voice sounded
strange even to himself.
Muirne Raisa slapped
him hard across the face. “You would come for her,” she hissed.
“Who?”
He asked touching his cheek.
“Annette. Have
you already bedded her? Will you take her as your wife?”
Raven was confused.
Was she jealous of him?
“Talk,”
she cried clutching the front of his surcoat. “Will you marry her,
Raven?”
He grabbed her hands
and held them together in one of his larger ones. “No,” he
answered.
She collapsed onto
his chest sobbing. “Do you love her?”
Raven tilted her
face upward so he could study her eyes.
She pulled away
from him, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and raced back to
the castle.
Raven scratched
his head. He would never understand women.
The following morning
while Raven was exercising one of the horses, Muirne Raisa galloped
across the field to catch up to him. Once again, she had eluded her
guards. He stopped and frowned at her. “Who saddled your horse?
Where are your guards?”
She swung down from
the saddle and tethered the horse to a nearby branch. Raven was frustrated.
He could not leave her alone, nor could he stay. “Get back on your
horse. You have to stop running around on your own. It is dangerous.”
“Walk with
me.”
Raven had never
felt such anger. “Get back on your horse, princess.”
“Not until
you walk with me.”
“I’m warning
you,” he growled. “If you don’t mount your steed I will
tie you to the saddle and return you to the king.”
Raven’s horse
sensed his mood and began to stomp the earth in agitation.
“Why do you
hate me?” She asked, as tears spilled over and rolled down her
cheeks.
Raven dismounted,
tethered the horse to the same branch Muirne Raisa had tied hers to,
and stood towering over her. “I don’t hate you. But you must
conduct yourself as a lady, and stop acting like a cheap trollop seeking
a companion for the night.”
Muirne Raisa drew
back as though he had struck her. “Do you think so little of me,
Raven?”
“Are you so
dense Muirne Raisa that you can not see how much I want you?”
“Raven…”
“Please, milady,
for both our sakes get on your horse and go home.”
“Is that really
what you want?”
Raven balled up
his fists. It took all the strength he had to utter a lie. “Yes.”
Without a word,
she turned, swung up into her saddle, kicked her horse in the ribs,
and galloped toward the castle.
Raven sank onto
the ground and buried his face in his hands, his uncle’s words
echoing through his mind. “She is not for you.”
Passion had begun
to grow between them and it was only a matter of time before it erupted.
To avoid what he sensed was coming, Raven Blackwing decided to leave
Vandora.
He said good-bye
to his uncle, dismissed Annette, packed his few pieces of clothing,
and worked his last day at the stable. The sun was going down as he
made one last round to check on the horses. He heard the barn doors
close and assumed it was Annette. “It is no use,” he called
out. “I have made up my mind and I am leaving Vandora.”
He heard someone
gasp in surprise. Turning he saw the princess.
“You were leaving
without saying good-bye? How could you, Raven?”
He spread his hands.
“What do you want from me, Muirne Raisa?”
She remained silent.
“This is not
a game princess. Go back to your charmed life and try to fit the mold
that has been designed for you.”
She shook her head.
“Good-bye then,”
Raven said, heading toward the barn doors and his horse that waited
outside.
He was almost there when she threw herself in front of him. “Don’t
go,” she sobbed.
Raven ran trembling
fingers through his hair. “Do you have any idea how dangerous this
situation is?”
“Yes.”
“Then why do
you tempt me?”
She shrugged, wiping
tears away with the back of her hand. “Why are you leaving me?”
He clutched her
shoulders and shook her. “I’m in love with you. I’m so
much in love with you, that I want to kill William with my bare hands
every time he touches you.”
She swayed against
him and he lost control. He swooped her up into his arms and carried
her up the ladder to the loft, and dropped down beside her on the cushion
of hay...
