Book Lists

 

Black Widows I and II

 
        Glenada had traveled on his horse, Atrax, for three days into an unexplored territory. He was mapping a route to find an alternative way to travel to the towns on the other side of the continent to find work, instead of traveling through the mountains.
 
            Glenada was a gladiator and he was thirsty, so he picked up his canteen of water and took a sip. The young man with green eyes, black hair and bristly face could see that Atrax was getting spooked from the trees. The twenty-year old gladiator could feel the heat from the sun and felt sweat drip from his forehead. He was wearing a black tunic with a black colored armor covering his chest. His muscular arms could be revealed and he wore a black cape that extended to his knees, just over his tunic. There was no river or lake in the area and he hoped that there would be some sort of settlement where he could lodge to continue mapping his rout.  
            The forest was thick and the trees were close together; a lot of them were intertwined into each other. He continued on foot and found a big house made of stone and brick. It was the size of a mansion with a strange roof made of leaves and branches.
 
            “Who do you suppose lives here?” he whispered to his horse.
 
            Glenada tied his horse to a nearby tree branch and walked to the front door. There was a gold bell with a sign inscribed; guests ring bell.
            A few minutes went by and after ringing the bell a girl that looked about six years old answered. She had black hair tied in braided pigtails with grey eyes and wore a strange black dress.  
 
            “Is your mother home?” he asked.
            “Yes,” she answered with a straight face that turned into a creepy smile.
            Then an older girl with long black hair and grey eyes walked up to the door, “hello, my name is Cora and this is my little sister Tara.”
            “My name is Glenada and I’m exploring this region. I’m from the town of Oxford.”
 
            Cora was quiet because she was looking at his mighty arms and then she turned to look at the gladiator’s tan face. He looked at her strangely and wondered why she was feasting her eyes over him like a piece of meat. She nodded her head and smiled at the gladiator, which gave him chills.
 
            “Yes,” she began. “You must join us for supper, my mother is downstairs teaching my sister Malaria how to mend an incision.
            “It wouldn’t be for long, I would be gone the next morning,” he answered
            “Oh, but I’m sure you would want to stay longer than that, come in,” she insisted with a smile.    
            Glenada walked into their home and straight ahead of him was fancy furniture made of wood with sewn pillows created with complex designs of black widows.  He saw a fireplace and on the edge of the fireplace were life size human statues, one a man and the other a woman, made of wood. They were both naked and holding up a stone ledge above the fireplace that was full of stone and crystal knick knacks.

To be continued. . . . . .

Available on "Blue Dragon Fantasy; Faded Memories and Short Stories" and "The Legacy Anthology". Coming soon to Nook.

Black Widows II 

            Charles and Rachel were traveling in a wagon and horse through the unexplored woods of Copper Toe. They were out of work actors that had saved hundreds of gold coins doing stand up comedy shows. They were from Crescent Kingdom and passed a small cottage. The small cottage belonged to a man named Duncan and Stenyada.
            Duncan claimed that he was a prince, but Stenyada would always tell him what to do. They freaked out when they saw that Stenyada was able to move things along the floor. Rachel wanted to leave and after a day or two they decided to move on. Strangely as they drove away they heard the lovers quarrel and heard Duncan crying in pain.
            Then the lovers came across a strange old man named Thomas, who had three kids that were about five years old. He claimed that he was a magician and that he could make all their dreams come true. After a few days of camping with the creepy old man, Rachel wanted to leave because he flashed her with his trunk. Charles got angry with Thomas and beat him up with a paddle. Rachel felt relieved that she didn’t have nightmares of Thomas because she felt like he was taking control of her mind.
            Now they were on a journey to see what was in the unexplored woods. The couple were barely able to pass through the trees that were growing onto the trail. When they were able to make it through,  they stopped to see a strange house. The house was two stories, made of brick and stone with a roof made of leaves and branches. It was mid-day and the lovers were getting restless because of the long journey.
 
            “Well, well what do we have here?” asked Charles.
            “Do you think they would let us stay for the night?” asked Rachel.
            “I hope so, but I’m hoping we could get fed,” he replied.
 
            They parked the carriage near the white picket fence and they both approached the door. Rachel looked around the yard and saw beautiful white Lady Slippers. There was also white roses and white daffodils, but why were there no other colored flowers? Rachel wondered.  Charles saw a gold bell with the sign that inscribed a message; guests ring bell.
            Charles rang the bell and after a few minutes the door opened and they saw a little girl. The little girl had gray eyes, braided pig tails and wore a brown dress.
            “Hi little girl,” said Rachel as she kneeled eye level with the presumed six year old. “Is your mommy home?”
            The little girl said nothing and just stood there looking at them with her creepy gray eyes. Then suddenly the door opened wider and there was an older woman at the door. She was odd as well because she looked like the little girl except she was older.
 
            “Hello, my name is Cora and this is my little sister Tara, she doesn’t talk much.”
            “Hi, “replied Rachel.  “We were wondering if we could spend the night?”
            “Of course, why don’t you come in,” smiled Cora.
           
            They walked in and could smell food being cooked and right away they saw two other women upstairs. They were dressed the same way, in brown dresses with white aprons they were pulling food out of the stove made of rock. The couple walked upstairs to the living area where they could see paintings of spider webs and giant black spiders. Then Rachel saw the two statues of a naked man and woman holding up a ledge of knick knacks. There was an eerie feeling that came over Rachel and held Charles' hand because it was creepy. Then the women came out of the kitchen to join Cora and Tara to meet their new guests.
 
            “You have a beautiful home,” replied Charles.
            “Thank you, my name is Scarlet and this is my daughter Malaria.”
            “Would you like to join us for super?” asked Malaria.
            “Oh would we ever,” laughed Rachel as she forgot about the creepy statues and joined together at the table.
 
            They feasted upon the meat that looked like beef, potatoes and gravy with vegetables.  The couple had two helpings before asking questions, they didn’t want to upset the host. Charles noticed the females were looking at him with their grey eyes and smiling as though they had plans.
            “So who built your house?” asked Rachel.
            “Men,” answered Scarlet with a cold and dissatisfied tone as she looked at the couple.
            “Men,” repeated Charles. “Where’s your husband?”
            “He left,” answered Scarlet.
            “Well that’s terrible,” replied Rachel. “He left you with three kids to raise, he deserves retribution.”
            “We do what we can to survive by trading with peddlers and travelers,” smiled Scarlet as she continued to eat.

To be Continued. . . . . . . 

Available on "Blue Dragon Fantasy; Faded Memories and Short Stories" and "The Legacy Anthology". Coming soon to Nook.

Available Books