Excerpts

Ravenswynd Legends - Chapter 13


     He stared at me, face to face, and I watched in awe as his eyes began to change.  He looked like a predator, focused and intense just before leaping for its prey.  A dark red ring begin to encircle his pupils, and then the entire iris changed colors - first from deep black to brown, and then finally to red.  He appeared famished, and until that moment I never realized one could emit such a look.  He licked his lips in a slow and deliberate motion, as though he could taste me already, his tongue pausing the shortest miniscule of a second on each sharp tooth.  Closing his crimson red eyes, he eased my head to the left with his free hand, exposing my neck.  Ripples of adrenaline coursed through my veins as I lay pinned down; no escape possible - my throat so vulnerable now, clearly defenseless and open to his attack.  A low growl came from deep within his chest and a shiver washed over him...

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Ravenswynd Legends-  Chapter 4


      As he walked toward our table, my view of the room blurred and swirled and faded into the background, so that all I could see were his eyes.  His eyes!  They penetrated to the deepest part of my soul.  Bursting in, fracturing me.  So intense that I thought I would crumble like a building in an earthquake.  They were beautiful and dark; changing color with every step he took.  He made his way closer to our table.  In slow motion, it seemed, still mesmerizing me with his gaze.  My hands trembled as he continued his fixed stare, and yet, I could not tear my eyes away. I stared back as though pulled by his gravity.  He drew me in like a seductive predator.  They would not let me go.  My heart pounded and my mouth had become dry.  One thing I knew for sure:  as long as I lived, I would never forget those eyes.  

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From Ravenswynd Legends

 (Chapter 13)

I was suffocating...   

For one brief moment nausea welled up, then a moment or two of sweating, fearing what was next, and then I was utterly cold.  My hands and feet were numb, and I began to twitch and tremble as the cold emptiness enveloped me.  A dreadful weakness followed - my body heaved upwards, and I knew my life had begun to ebb away.  My heart beat slowed.  The thumping grew dimmer,  and slower still.   And then I heard no sounds at all...

     I felt no pain, fear or angst.   A deep, restful, and unforgettable serenity washed over me.   My entire being relaxed as though I was floating - no longer a prisoner of this world.  One last thing entered my mind, and that was the face of my (name withheld).  He longingly and lovingly caressed my cheek, and then my body and my mind became tranquil, void of all thought and care.  Everything went absolutely and completely black.

                                                          * * * * * * * *

      Within the darkness came a peace I had never felt before.  No sounds, no tastes, no feelings, or scents.  First, only a dim awareness of myself- my spirit or my soul, my mind or my being, it all felt the same - it was still me.  Then, little by little, all of my memories came back.  I traced my whole life:  from childhood to college, as a movie screen in my mind, I saw everything.   And then, (name withheld) came to my mind’s eye.  Pure, unfathomable feelings of love flowed over me.  I knew he loved me - all of me: my past, my present, and my future.  It was undeniably, beautiful.

  “Drink, my sweet Elizabeth.  Drink of my élan vital as I have of yours.”  With the sound of his soft whisper came the realization that I was not dead.  As he cradled my head in his hand, lifting it up with a gentle touch, I became aware of his sweet, spicy scent.

    

Something pressed up against my lips and all at once a new aroma filled my senses.  The warm liquid spilled into my mouth.  It was dense and sweet and then it coated my throat like a velvety smoothness.  It warmed my insides immediately and gave me the sensation of being aware, having life, and waking up for the first time after a long, deep sleep.  I never knew being alive could feel so incredibly marvelous.  I lifted my hands to his hand, feeling the warmth of his skin as he gripped the goblet.  I pulled his hand closer and tipped the cup up, drinking in more and more of his vital essence, his life force...his blood.

    

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 From Chapter 1 of Ravenswynd Legends:  An earlier version of this excerpt is also on my Writer's Page on Facebook.  Feel free to read both versions, and comment...


{ Elizabeth and Melinda are twin sisters, and Fiona is their best friend.  They have spent the day together at the mall:shopping, taking in a movie, and eating...}

     Our laughter echoed as the three of us walked through the long corridor side by side- Melinda in the middle.  I tilted my head to the right and, as I started to say something, someone swept by my left side leaving my arm with a strange electric tingle. 

     I turned to look and gasped.  It was a man.  A beautiful man.  An astounding man.  My voice froze.  I stopped dead in my tracks.  My feet were iron; the floor a magnet, holding me in metallic silence.   I couldn’t blink, couldn’t pull my gaze away. Time solidified. I could only focus on him as he walked.  Away.  Away from me.

     “Lizzy?”  Came a quiet question.

      I didn’t answer.  I just kept watching.  His gait was smooth and refined and effortless.  His long dark coat drifted, weightless.  He held his head high and steady.  I never saw his face.  Just the back of him, but it was enough to leave an impression.  An impression of grandeur.  Of elegance.  And his hair!  It flowed far past his shoulders.  Long and straight and shiny and black.  It was breathtakingly beautiful.

     “What?”  Melinda’s voice broke in loudly. They were back at my sides again.  “Put your eyes back into their sockets, Elizabeth!”

     Still mute, I raised my arm and pointed at the precise moment he turned the corner and disappeared out of view.  I took a deep breath and let out a slow sigh.

     “Wow.” 

     “There’s no one there, Lizzy,” Fiona said glancing down the hallway.

     She eyed Lindy with a puzzled look and asked, “Did you see anyone?”

     “Nope,” Lindy’s voice snapped after a quick glance.

     I couldn’t believe they had missed him.  His hair was nearly as long as mine. There was an absolute resplendency about him.

     “Are you two blind?”  My voice was subdued by unexplained sadness.

     Melinda raised her eyebrows and shrugged, saying, “I wasn’t paying attention.  I gotta get this stuff washed off my hands.  I’m all sticky.”  She took a few steps backwards, pushed open the door to the ladies’ room and left us standing alone. 

     “Who did you see, Lizzy?”  Fiona asked.  “Stop pointing!  And close your mouth.  It looks silly hanging open like that.”  She reached over and with a soft touch, eased my arm down to my side.

     More often than not, my friend was kind beyond measure.  I wondered why she acted so mean and why they seemed to think I had been seeing things.  I knew what I had seen. 

     “I don’t know,” I continued to gaze into the empty hallway. “But…he…was… amazing.”  I sighed.  “It doesn’t matter; he’s gone.”  I closed my eyes trying to shake off his image from my mind, but it didn’t work.  He was there to stay.  I glanced at Fiona.  She looked confused as her eyes narrowed.  I glanced down the hallway again.  It was more than empty now; it was hollow.  What the flaming hell was wrong with me?  And what was it about him anyway?  I hadn't even seen his face! 

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Ravenswynd Dreams

From chapter 10

“Don’t make a move or I’ll slit your throat.”  The harsh, raspy demand snarled from the back seat.  The abrasive hand over my mouth gripped painfully tighter; the icy metal on my neck pressed hazardously deeper.  “This knife is very sharp,” he added.  The razor-edge bit into my skin as a warning and seconds later, a small, warm trickle of blood slithered all the way down between my breasts.  I froze solid, unable to move, scream, or breathe; once again reminded of the glaring truth: becoming a vampire didn’t mean there was nothing to fear any more.  And sharp objects were the one thing we all dreaded, especially when wielded anywhere near our necks.