THE SKY TURNED TO FLAME
By Her Concordate Highness, Princess Yssabeth of Molinor
[A character from the princess story THE RELUCTANT PRINCESS]
Cikath of Chorazin, witch of power,
Was suddenly free from the narrow tower,
Dragged from her cell to the great hall to try
To conjure up victory -- or die!
The men had marched at the call of Prince Dorange,
Eager to fight ’neath the Black and the Orange.
Dorange’s brother lay claim to the crown;
Nor words nor love would make him stand down.
Three princelings joined the Pretender’s alliance
And threw down the gauntlet of defiance.
The women watched from the parapet wall
Sure the treacherous league would fall.
They heard the clash -- horns blared for retreat!
The messenger gasped and died at their feet.
Claire wept for the fate of her prince so sweet
And weighed which was worse: the witch or defeat.
Cikath sent for her cauldron, box, and spoon,
A vile thing from an impaling log hewn.
Lady Claire stood guard with dagger in hand
As Cikath the dark incantation began.
Offerings from Flora and Fauna and Gaia
Thickened the brew as the flames grew higher.
A prescription of power, a litany rotten
Of demons delighted and old gods forgotten:
A spell to breed panic, despair and fear,
To shatter resolve and melt sword and spear.
Sly, from her pocket, one ingredient more
And two prickly herbs from her mystical store --
“A blatchet of sharse and a crocklefern
“Will teach the coldest fire to burn!”
Then in! Hair torn from Dorange’s pate
When he came to her cell to question her late.
So all was done save a last tragic part,
Lady Claire’s loving, willing heart.
Soft pleas to Heaven for her prince’s life
Were the final words spoken by Dorange’s wife.
Black smoke writhed like torture whips!
Cikath raised a spoonful to her lips
For a kiss of desire to ignite the fire
Of the magicks in the mixture dire.
From the pot there arose an ophidian hiss
As if the world’s first serpent were free in Bliss.
She called it by name and sent it to maim;
Beyond the window, the sky turned to flame!
The image formed in her far-seeing eye
How, that night, five armies did die.
Across the woods, on the killing ground,
Death like fiery stones rained down.
She saw the smoke and blood of battle,
Heard each prayer and dying rattle.
The smile on her face was wholly malicious
In this hour of her triumph delicious.
She laughed and capered and waved her spoon
And danced by the light of the bleeding moon.
Her heart held no mercy for carnage done
And souls sent screaming to Hell -- save one.
She saw not, but sensed, a light far below.
He’d be here as fast as his strength would go,
The battle deserted, the throne forgot,
Rivals and duty and honor for naught.
He’d step over Claire’s corpse to bring her a ring,
Her captor, tormentor, prince -- nay, King!
Elizabeth N. "Betty" Stinson of Woodruff, SC, pen name "Nasa C. Chapman," writes in the mystery, fantasy, horror, and occult genres in ratings from family friendly to not.
WITCH'S PROGRESS
WITCH'S PROGRESS is her series about the life, loves, and supernatural adventures of Enola Simon, Grey Witch -- "good when she can be, bad when she has to be."
WITCH'S PROGRESS begins with the novel SPEAKING OF WITCH wherein Enola vows to find her true love "any way I can," even if it means teaming up with the family of teenaged witches who kidnapped her for their own occult reasons.
SISTER WRAITH is a ghost story/murder mystery "side-quel" that introduces characters with whom Enola will interact later. Several people are invited to an isolated house in the North Carolina mountains and soon wonder if their hostess plans to kill them all!
"SISTER WRAITH" Rap
There was a little miss who had a big sis
And they lived in a house in the forest.
On a cold night the doll broke her neck in a fall
And had a demise quite horrid.
Now the little girl's grown, in the house on her own,
And her brain's bred a secret agenda:
She'll bring back all who might've caused the fall,
Find her sister's killer, and avenge her.
Her parents come to the house, each with a new spouse,
Her mother's best friend the diva,
The sister's roommate, her beau and his date,
The handyman -- and only he will believe her.
The poor girl will swear a restless wraith is in there --
Her sibling, and oh, how she's missed her!
The night's young of course, Death rides his pale horse,
And seven more will join the sister.
A PRIVATE HORROR is a short, ghastly work inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's universe.
TELL US OF THE NIGHT is about a vampire and his wife, keepin' on keepin' on.
THE HUNGRY LAKE relates the murderous history of a small mountain lake in North Carolina and the lodge and castle on its shores that were mystically poisoned by it. When the lodge is reopened, bringing new potential victims, Enola is summoned by a college for the paranormally gifted to deal with the centuries-old source, but first she has to recover from a lust spell inflicted on her by a man she thought she knew.
In CHRISTMAS AT THE CASTLE, Enola atones for a personal mistake from the last time she tried to cure the vampire of TELL US OF THE NIGHT and makes a mid-course correction in her life. The mystery man from THE HUNGRY LAKE surprises her at a party.
It's yee-haw action in MOUNTAINS OF BLOOD, where Enola gets amnesia and is accused of murder. She has to recover her memory in time to save a trucker and his very pregnant young wife who are caught in the feud between the angry people of a tiny mountain town and the wife's furtive backwoods clan. This clan worships a vampiric creature that wants the baby.
LOVE OUT OF TIME is a magical time-travelling story. At last, Enola finds her true love -- sort of.
Written for Woodruff, SC, HERITAGE OF DEATH is a ghost story/murder mystery about the deaths of several of the fictional town of Netherton's leading citizens. What deep dark secret unites them and makes them targets? What is it about the rehearsal of a play at the Municipal Auditorium that raises the vengeful specter of a young woman?
THE CLASS OF ZERO-ZERO has Netherton High School students trying to save themselves and the world from a menace created at the Big Bang! Wait 'til you hear the school's Alma Mater!
MY HOUSE can be called "The Amityville Horror" as Disney might have told it. A family moves into an old house in Netherton and finds a room where people disappear.
FAR HARBOR is a gothic soap opera in the WITCH'S PROGRESS series, but here it takes on a life of its own. This romantic ghost story is set in Charleston, SC, about a cursed sea captain and a ballerina who might be the reincarnation of his lost love. Can Captain John Markham make beautiful Olivia Weyland fall in love with him in the three days he has ashore from his ghost ship, or will he sail in limbo for another century with Death his only companion? If she agrees to go with him, will they both be damned? Scenes of present-day Charleston vary with vignettes from two past centuries. This story is dedicated to Elizabeth's mother, who grew up in Charleston and was a dancer.
BRENDA'S SECRET
BRENDA'S SECRET is minimally related to WITCH'S PROGRESS. This is a family-friendly fantasy adventure about a young woman who suddenly gets her lifelong wish for a super power then quickly realizes how dangerous it might be for her. She teams up with her mother's cousin, Evan Santelle, a retired magician, to create a special act where she can use her superpower in a way that looks like stage magic. She's out for the fame and fortune, but Evan guides her from schlub to superheroine, using her power for the good of others.
BRENDA'S SECRET has two planned sequels and is suitable for a TV series. And don't forget the action figures and "Brenda's Secret" Barbie!
UNNAMED TIME TRAVEL EPIC
An international military and scientific team, planning to survive the Earth-ruining second coming of the asteroid Apophis, discovers a way to travel in time and return when it's safe. They find they're caught in the process and cross eons instead of a few years. As the planet evolves without them, they realize that their only hope is to find a way to go back. The commander of the team becomes a pivotal figure in the history of the time travel method.
PRINCESS STORIES
PRINCESS STORIES, romantic fantasy adventures, are unrelated except as they fit into the overall universe of these stories.
THE LOST PRINCESS is the dark, epic retelling of a famous fairy tale in an antediluvian sword-and-sorcery world like that of Conan the Barbarian.
THE RELUCTANT PRINCESS is a romantic fantasy about an American girl who reluctantly agrees to marry the prince of a tiny European country, a man who done her wrong. This is basically the same land seen in THE LOST PRINCESS but set in the present with scenes in the medieval past.
PRINCESS OF THE LIVING DEAD tells about the American fiancee of a Br*t*sh prince, her connection to an ancient queen of Albion, and a magic sword only she can wield.
AND THERE ARE MANY MORE AMONG AND AFTER THESE!
Producers, get in touch at hollywoodruffstar@yahoo.com.
Elizabeth N. Stinson
Woodruff, SC
hollywoodruffstar@yahoo.com
Thank you!
Just for fun, go visit http://www.outropolis.com and learn about a neat place to live.
