November Sale:
RED MAGIC, Book 1 of the Magic Colours series:
$.99 at most e-book retailers:
The enigmatic, treacherous Rossmann shows Caterina a magical place, one that he has known since his childhood...
His tone was encouraging--and his light
was receding--so, having no other choice, Caterina dropped to her knees and
followed. After a few twists and turns
of scuffling, claustrophobic crawling after his outline, she saw him get to his
feet. When she reached the same spot, he
extended a hand to help her up.
The candle flickered. Caterina saw that
they were at the bottom of a dripping, and, except for the dim candle light,
utterly black, fissure. Rossmann was
turning, shining the candle on the walls, seeking and finally finding the mouth
of yet another hole.
"Inside of this one is what the old
ones painted. It's just as I told you
the night Star dropped her foal. You‑‑of
all people‑‑must see."
"What? I thought you were showing me an
escape."
"It's through here." On hands and knees, neatly balancing the
light, Rossmann disappeared again. His
enthusiasm for the tour they were making seemed high, innocent. Cat swallowed back her fear, got down on her
knees again and awkwardly followed him.
After a blessedly short crawl, she found
Rossmann and the light again. He had
already got to his feet and held the candle high.
As soon as Cat looked up, she forgot her
fear. The walls of this tiny space were
covered with paintings, paintings of animals.
The colors were bright and fresh, the execution spirited. She recognized cattle, elk, deer and
horses, but besides these more ordinary creatures, there were animals she'd
never seen before. One, very large, was
bulky, furry and seemed to be sporting a trunk. "An‑‑an‑‑elephant?" She'd had to make a brief mental search to
find the name of the creature.
"Here? On these
plains?"
"Yes," Rossmann answered. "So it seems. It must have been much wetter then. Elephants are very big, you know, eat very
much."
"Have you seen elephants, Herr
Rossmann?"
"Yes. They are wise, perhaps the wisest of
creatures, and they are very, very dangerous to their keepers."
"Where did you see them?"
His small bright eyes turned on her,
dark and sardonic. "In Africa ," he said.
"I thought these lands were your
home place."
"They are, but I've traveled." The mystery of Rossmann seemed never
ending.
Cat returned to studying the beauty and
energy portrayed on the walls, tried to ignore the persistent unsettled feeling
she'd had from the moment they'd entered the cave.
Among, and sometimes atop, the gamboling
animals were hand prints, spirals and squiggly lines. In spite of the fresh, bright colors, Cat
instinctively felt that this had been painted a very long time ago.
"This is the Cave of the Red
Horse," said Rossmann. "It's a
place a woman with your gift should see."
He raised the candle high and threw
light upon a painting Cat hadn't noticed.
Almost directly overhead, a huge red horse
galloped. A long legged foal was in full
stretch, close by its mother's side.
"Oh! She's beautiful!" Cat exclaimed.
"Oh! She's beautiful!" Cat exclaimed.
After a moment, Rossmann's eyes lowered
from contemplation of the ceiling.
"Yes. She's the guardian of the cave, the center of
power. Long ago a witch lived here. It was said that if a man took her, he'd be a
Lord with many sons, many cattle and horses.
If her magic resisted him, though, he must die..."
Red Magic
$.99 / November
http://www.bookswelove.net/authors/waldron-juliet/
