Someone Dies Tonight

Witches scream
fires bright
someone will die tonight.
Chaos reigns
while demons play
there is only one god tonight.
Devil spawn
chant deep magic
as shadows stretch in firelight
dark secrets revealed,
someone will die tonight
Struggling, pleading
deaf ears it falls
Crying out to a god
with words they were taught
who seems to care naught.
You are naïve,
they say
You have hope where hope is no more,
they say.
Give in
give him
your undying devotion
your hope
your soul.
Give him everything you are
you were
will be,
no one will die tonight.
One last chance
one last phrase,
no one will die tonight.
Silence ensues
breath held tight,
cracking flame breaks the night
With one last word
one last phrase,
someone died tonight.

© 2021 Heidi Barnes

Broken Promises – Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Almost ever culture speaks of soulmates. That one person who in essence carries the other half of your soul, and until you find them you are never complete. Some spend their entire lives looking for that missing piece, never resting, never being at peace. For Kara the term soulmate means just what it says, only her soul belonged to more than one being. She was the center where light and darkness orbited, keeping the delicate balance that the universe existed within in perfect harmony. Now that delicate balance was threatening to unravel.

Resting his forehead on hers, Tanis released a long sigh. “Caius and I may not agree on a lot of things but this I can guarantee. You may have started the bonding process with Aden, but we will never allow you to finish it.”

“Tanis…,” Kara breathed in disbelief, her heart constricting with what he was telling her. What it would do to her and Aden if the ritual was never completed. The constant need pushing at them, tormenting them. Years of being separated and the pain of that separation would be nothing compared what they would endure if they did not finish what was started.

“No, Kara,” Tanis interrupted. “I’m sorry, but I can’t allow him to have even a small part of you. You belong to us. There is no nor ever will be another.”

Tangling his hand in her hair to hold her in place, Tanis kissed Kara with every ounce of passion and love he felt for the female in his arms. As the power began to build, the ties that bound them weave through them, tightening, strengthening, as he felt Kara melt into him all thought left except one. He was home.

Crushing her to him, his kiss demanding as it was giving he flashed them to the bedroom. They had been apart for two thousand years. Two thousand years of not feeling the touch of her hands on him. The touch of her soul next to his. Their clothes gone, his weight on her feeling like heaven, with fingers, hands, lips, they relearned the feel the taste of each other’s bodies. Kara’s cries as her body trembled under his touch were like music to his ears. When she screamed her orgasm, writhing in pleasure as wave after wave washed over her the ritual began. Only after he milked every drop and she lay panting, boneless, completely spent, did he crawl up her body to claim her mouth again.

“You are mine, Kara. Now and always,” he whispered huskily in her ear in a language so old only the Gods themselves remembered it. Sucking on her lobe, he slowly slid inside her, both of their bodies shuddering in ecstasy. “I will love you, cherish you, honor you, and protect you with my life.” He punctuated every word with a thrust.

“I will love you, cherish you, honor you, and protect you with my life,” Kara repeated, her voice breathless as her nails dug into his back, the pleasure mounting with each word, each desperate thrust.

In a burst of power, they flew over the edge together, their souls twining, bonding tighter, cells, bodies becoming one. Metal unable to slow it, space unable to stop it, that power spread touching everything in its path. The universe stopped for one breath of a second. Then it was if the universe sighed in relief and once again began to move forward.

Tanis collapsed on top of Kara gasping, her arms and legs wrapping around him as she clung to him. It was a ritual as old as the words they spoke that they completed every time they came together. Once again bringing the universe closer to harmony. There was only one more piece to the puzzle that needed to be put into place. One more player to begin and finish what had been started. The darkness to Tanis’s light.

“Bravo. Bravo,” a voice that was a familiar as it was foreign purred. Hands slowly clapping broke through the afterglow of their lovemaking freezing them in place. “Now for my turn,” the voice growled.

Kara cried out when Tanis was ripped from her arms and slammed against the wall across from the bed, his arm and legs spread eagle unable to move. Kara started to scramble to the end of the bed to help him only to freeze when she remembered who it was standing in the doorway glaring at her with glowing red eyes. This was not the darkness to Tanis’s light, the other part of her soul, her beloved. This was the demon who had tormented her in her mortal life, who had bound her with spells and curses to him as tightly as she was now bound to Tanis.

The necklace locked around her neck pulsed once, a shock of pain washing away the remnants of their lovemaking. A warning of what she would endure if she did not remember her place. Slowly, her frighten eyes locked on Tanis’s angry ones, her body shaking, with deliberate care she moved backwards until she was on her knees, her hands on her thighs facing upwards, back straight, eyes downcast.

Tanis could see Kara was shaking with fear, her face devoid of any color as the demon walked towards her. Reaching out a hand, he slowly pet her hair, his hand moving down her shoulder continuing down her arm.

“Very good, my dear,” he purred as he fingertips brushed across her ribs to her breast. “You remember your place.”

“Get your hands off of her!” Tanis snarled struggling to free himself from the invisible bonds that trapped him against the wall.

The demon’s red eyes remained on Kara’s face, watching as she reacted to his touch, the terror that he felt coursing through her unable to dampen the pleasure. The Gods had blessed her with a body that responded to the touch of another being. Any touch from any being, be it male, female or creature from another race. He smiled as her body shivered from his touch. The thought that she wanted him tighten things lower in the body the demon inhabited he thought long dead. Unfortunately, it was not yet time to claim what was rightfully his.

A noise pulled his attention from the female on her knees to the wall opposite her. The demon looked at Tanis, amusement dancing in his eyes as he watched him vainly struggle with the invisible bonds that held him in place. Eyes flashing with power, he began walking towards Tanis.

“Oh, I have plans to do much more than simply touch her, brother,” he sneered, his voice echoing with malice and power. “I plan to use her torture you in ways you could never imagined. Then, when you are broken and bleeding on the floor unable to protect your precious Kara, I will rip her soul from yours and make her mine. And you will lie there watching, powerless to help her as I take her to over and over.”

“She will never give you what you want,” Tanis spat.

“I do not need her to give me her power. I am evil incarnate,” he announced loudly to the room, raising his hands to his sides as he turned around in a circle. Once he faced Tanis again he lowered his arms, a sneer on his face. “All I need is her body under mine as I wrap my essence around hers. Then, when she is utterly and completely mine, I will throw you in the darkest hellhole I can find where you can rot for all eternity,” he snarled in Tanis’s face, his eyes glowing red as the two men glared at each other.

“I will kill you first,” Tanis ground out between his teeth, putting all the power he had behind his voice. The sheer amount sent everyone within the destroyer to their knees, holding their hands to their heads crying out in pain. Everyone but the three in the bedroom.

The demon merely smiled.

“Let the games begin.”

Chapter 18
Chapter 20

Copyright © 2019 Heidi Barnes

Suzi’s Birthday Gift – 2018

As some of you know, a friend of mine and I like to play a little with writing on the spot. Suzanne Carey’s character is a fairy by the name of Suzi. I play a witch that lives in the forest. We take turns writing pieces of the story. The fun part is she is on the other side of the continent from me. We don’t Skype or talk about what is going to happen next as we write. We see what the other has written and go from there. There is an entire story around these two that still has to be finish at some point. In the meantime, we have these little surprise visits. Here is this year’s birthday party Suzi is surprising me with.

 

Suzi’s Birthday Gift

 

Waking up to the sound of the chirping birds, Suzi gave a loud yawn and a big stretch. Not very fairy like, but no one could hear her in the hole of the tree she called home. Conveniently located in Heidi’s back yard. Filled with excitement, Suzi jumped out of bed and began to plan for her favorite day. Heidi’s birthday!!

Now last year she admittedly went a little too far, but not on purpose. When Suzi tried to do good things it somehow managed to get out of hand. But this year was going to be different. This year Suzi was going to be very low key and have complete control. That was the plan anyway.

Sitting at the entrance of her cubbyhole, Suzi tapped her chin, thinking… thinking… thinking. All the sudden she leaped up excitedly, bumping her head as she jumped.

“Ouch!” she exclaimed as she rubbed the top of her head. Shaking it off, she fluttered to the nearest branch and scanned the yard. Finally seeing what she was looking for, she took off in full flight until she caught up to her prey.

A beautiful monarch butterfly was fluttering around the garden, looking for food when it rudely knocked over by an out of control fairy. Landing on the ground, the butterfly righted herself then turned to Suzi.

“What in the world is wrong with you!” she sputtered in an indignant voice.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean too. I just wanted to talk to you.”

“What could you possibly want to speak to me about?” she asked with a slight sneer in her voice.

“Well,” Suzi nervously asked. “Would you be willing to call a few of your friends to help celebrate Heidi’s birthday with me? I want to keep it low key and not to flashy this year. And I think maybe 10 or 20 of your closest friends would be just right.” Suzi was so busy chatting away about how mellow a few butterflies would be, she didn’t notice how insulted Madame Monarch was getting.

“So,” She fumed. “This Little nit witted fairy doesn’t think we aren’t beautiful enough to cause a great stir?! Well, we will see about that!!” Interrupting Suzi’s excited chatter with a loud clearing of her voice, the butterfly asked, “Time and Place?”

“Oh! Wonderful!” Suzi squealed. “Right by this big tree at noon! Thank you so much!” But Madame Monarch was already gone. Oh, ok Suzi thought. I’ll just get the rest of the party decorations ready.

Taking out her wand, she went about setting up a long table filled with all the foods she knew Heidi liked. Over to the left she created a huge dolphin sculpture made of ice. She loved how it sparked in the sun! She liked it so much she also added a mermaid ice sculpture and a lobster one for good measure. Over to the right she set up a champagne fountain with hundreds of the finest crystal glasses. So sparkly!! And everyone knows how much fairies love sparkly things.

Inside the house:

Peace and quiet. Such a wonderful thing. Yet it felt…wrong. I hadn’t had peace and quiet on my birthday in years.

A flash of concern went through my mind that something had terrible had happened to Suzi, but then I dismissed it. She was perfectly fine when I had seen her last night fluttering into her house. So why was it so quiet this morning?

Not entirely sure I should, I cracked an eye open. Nothing. Sitting up in bed, I looked around thinking maybe movement would trigger whatever ‘surprise’ Suzi had cooked up this year. Nope. Nothing. Not a dragon, or deluge or exploding volcano. No natives running for the hills, no out of control animals, the house was still standing – miracle in itself – nothing. Nada. Zip. Now I was worried.

Climbing out of bed, I raced into the living room. Not a dust mote out of place. Was I really going to have a birthday without some sort of earth shattering catastrophe? I wasn’t sure if I should be relieved or upset. Although the day was still young.

Now I was terrified.

Taking calming breaths, berating myself for my vivid imagination, I decided maybe I should take advantage of the quiet and enjoy a nice soothing bath.

Outside:

Almost done, Suzi thought.

Looking at the sky Suzi could see by the position of the sun that it was almost noon, so needing to add a final touch before the main show showed up, she lifted her wand and added a few hundred balloons, making them suspended in midair.

Viewing her creation, she was almost satisfied when she noticed there was no cake, so with a flick of her wand she added a six-tiered cake, decorated with edible flowers and shiny jewels. Finally satisfied she flew into the open window in search of Heidi.

Spotting her in the bathroom taking a nice warm bubble bath, ear plugs in her ears, eyes closed, listening to her favorite music. Wanting to get Heidi’s attention she pulled out one of her earbuds and yelled, “Heidi!!” in her ear. Heidi nearly jumped out of her skin, she was so startled, sending water all over the bathroom floor.

“What the hell!!!” Heidi sputtered.

Wiping the water out of her eyes, then shaking off, Suzi replied, “Hurry up! I have a surprise for you!!!”

 Grumbling in irritation, Heidi yelled, “Get out of my bathroom!! Now!!”

“But…”

“NOW!!!!”

Dropping her head Suzi fluttered away dejectedly, and landed on the food table, picking candy off the cake and eating it.

About 15 minutes later Heidi came out of the house and found Suzi sadly eating stuff off the cake. Realizing she might have been a little too rough on the little fairy she said, “I’m sorry I yelled at you, but to be fair you should know by now that I don’t react well to loud sudden noises in the quiet. How many times have I almost singed your wings in retaliation to what I thought was an attack?”

“I know,” Suzi muttered. “I just wanted to surprise you. Look what I did!”

I looked around, amazed not only by the beauty of the ice sculptures and the cake, but by the calmness of it all. Maybe this time would be different, peaceful, non-traumatic.

“It’s very beautiful, Suzi. You’ve outdone yourself this year.” Smiling, I wandered over to the sculpture of the mermaid, marveling at the detail. The dolphin was just as lifelike. The lobster I wasn’t sure what to make of, but the detailing was no less. “When did you learn to ice sculpt?”

Noticeably happier, and feeling the beginnings of too much sugar, Suzi exclaimed, “Oh, ice sculpting is a simple flick of the wrist! I can even animate the sculptures! Watch!”

And so, with a flick of her wand, all the sculptures came to life, water everywhere. Unfortunately, just as the water started spraying a cloud of thousands of butterflies came glittering in. Butterflies hate water. The ensuing panic was epic. Thousands of butterflies swarmed all over the place, knocking down the decorations, getting tangled in the balloon strings, smashing into the cake. The scene was pure pandemonium.

Wiping water out of my eyes, careful not to crush any of the butterflies in the process, I smiled. Now this was a Suzi surprise. Sighing, I looked around me, trying to figure out what was missing. Deluge, check; mayhem, check; out of control animals, check. What was missing?

Then it hit me.

Finding Suzi trying to wrangle in the butterflies with her wet wings making it difficult to fly, I caught her eye. She looked so dejected. I was about to fix that. With a smirk that she did not understand, I raised my right hand and snapped my fingers. Instantly my house caught on fire.

“There. That’s better.”

Smelling the smoke Suzi looked over at the house.

“OMG! How… I didn’t… Oh lord!”

The fire started sparking, causing the balloons that were filled with helium to explode, causing the sky in the back yard to be filled with fire. The poor butterflies were dropping to the ground like charred pieces of paper. Searching for Heidi, Suzi was visibly terrified. Waving her wand, Suzi shot a bolt of electricity into the sky causing billowing clouds to gather, then with a massive clap of thunder the clouds let loose a torrent of water.

Laughing, I put my arms out and turned into a circle as the ground turned into a muddy mess at my feet. Slipping, I fell hard on my ass. Blinking at the sudden jarring, I looked around at all the charred butterflies.

“Well, that won’t do.”

Snapping my fingers again, my wand appeared in my hand. Frowning as I sifted through the multitude of spells in my head, I settle on one and lifted my wand. Chanting under my breath, I flicked my wand and the carcasses disappeared. Satisfied knowing they were alive and well some place safe, I tried to push to my feet only to slip back down in the mud, my clothes dragging me down.

Seeing Heidi struggle, on her birthday no less, Suzi flicked her wand and shut off the clouds. As the rain stopped the clouds parted and the sun once again shone through, and miracles of miracles a big beautiful rainbow arched itself over the smoky, chaired remains of the house. With a delicate shrug of her shoulders, a soggy Suzi flutter over to Heidi, landing on her shoulder.

“Happy birthday Heidi!”

“Oh, the fun isn’t over yet.” With a mischievous grin and another flick of my wrist, Suzi was sitting in the mud next to me, the same size minus the wings. “Wouldn’t want to damage something so delicate,” I explain to the bewildered looking fairy.

Pushing myself to my feet, leaving Suzi sitting in the mud, I stumbled over to the cake that somehow made it through the carnage relatively unscathed. Taking a knife, I cut a piece and put it on a plate. Picking up a fork, I took a generous bite and groan at the decadent taste of chocolate in my mouth.

“My favorite,” I groan.

Now unsure I want to go through with my plan, I decide to zap the top layer to a safe place for later enjoyment. On second thought, I zapped the next layer for good measure. Then, just as Suzi was managing to gain her unsteady footing, I scoop out a rather large handful of cake and launch it at her, hitting her just to the left of her nose. Smirking I wait.

Hmmm, Suzi thought. Okay…

Slipping and sliding over to the cake table, Suzi took out her wand and with a steady hand pointed at the cake, levitating it off the plate, directing it about a foot over Heidi’s head and snap…down it dropped, landing on top of her. The look on Heidi’s face was priceless and Suzi couldn’t contain her laughter. She laughed so hard she lost her balance, falling down into the mud. But she didn’t care, because in her opinion this was the best birthday ever.

 Copyright © 2018 Heidi Barnes & Suzanne Carey

Suz’s WP site is suzannevcarey.wordpress.com

Suzi’s Holiday Surprise…ish

Sitting in her favorite tree Suzi leans against the bark, overlooking Heidi’s house. “No bodies home” she’s thinking. “Perfect time for setting up her epic Xmas/ New Year’s surprise!!” Sitting forward she runs her chin as she contemplates what to do… all the sudden Suzi jumps to her feet. “Got it!!” she yells, startling the bird on the next branch over. “Oops, sorry.”

Rubbing her hands gleefully she begins her plans.

Looking over the newly manicured lawn, she sees there is not enough space for what she has planned, so grabbing her wand she takes to the sky and circling the yard she systematically removes all the trees and bushes, leaving the entire property bare. “YES!!” She thought… now the fun begins!

Barely being able to hide her excitement Suzi begins to “redecorate” Heidi’s lane for the epic surprise. Wanting to do something completely different, Suzi waves her wand and BAM a volcano appears in the upper left-hand corner of the yard. Next to the volcano 2 big palm trees. Looking at the trees she decided to add coconuts, bananas and 12 monkeys. Then around the volcano and the trees she added pink sand and a large body of water. The moneys were having a wonderful time and Suzi stopped a moment to laugh at their antics.

Looking at the water she Suzi decided a water fountain in the middle would be quite nice, so with I flick of her wrist. Voilà! A big water fountain. Hmmm… that’s a big fountain. Ok… now some lighting. Oh! Tiki torches! Perfect! Again with a flick, 6 torches appear on the edge of the sand.

Looking around, Suzi was almost satisfied with her gift… but something was missing… hmmm… music!!! Thinking for a moment she added a gazebo on the lower right-hand corner of the yard and put in a oom-pa-pa band. Cool! And for an added touch Suzi added a handful of tropical birds, 3 more trees, a lion and his lioness, two adorable, rambunctious cubs, and last but not least three Yorkies.

Waiting until after the sun set, the full moon rose, the stars lit up the sky…the stage was set, almost. With a flick of her wand Suzi lit up the torches and signaled for the band to start. The trombonist hit the first note… ooooh no…

Just then Heidi drove up. Getting out of her car she stops dead in her tracks with her mouth hanging wide open. What the…!!!!

Just as Suzi was fluttering over to greet Heidi, a large shriek rent the night air, following by several more, increasing in volume. Oh lord, the birds were screeching in agitation. Rushing to see what was happening all Suzi could do was stare in silence at the utter chaos around her.

Apparently, the music startled the birds, causing the monkeys to get agitated and in their pancaked state started throwing the coconuts and bananas. One of the coconuts hit the lion and he roared angrily, causing his mate to roar in kind. The cubs thought it was great fun and started chasing the monkeys around. Not wanting to be left out, the Yorkies started yapping at full volume, and in their excitement started to pee all over the side of the house.

Dropped her wand in dismay, one of the monkeys grabbed it and imitating what he saw Suzi do, flicked the wand and caused the volcano to erupt! Just as Heidi was starting to back away, a coconut whizzed by her head, barely missing her, and went through her picture window. Another one flew by and lodged itself in the trombone, causing the band members head to almost explode.

The volcano was now shooting mile high flames and the lava was beginning to run red rivers… right… toward… the … house! Ooooh crap. Calling back her wand, the monkey who stole it looked down in his hands with dismay, let out a loud shriek of disapproval and started throwing bananas. One flew by Suzi, but unfortunately hit Heidi Square in the head.

Suzi had to laugh… the look said it all. So now the animals were running wild all over the neighborhood, the volcano was spewing fire and lava all over the place, and OMG!! The fireworks!! BOOM, Whiz! Shoom!! “Take cover!!” Suzi shouted over the loud din as she flew behind the tree.

The only thing left was the water fountain in the middle of the body of water. Taking out her wand, Suzi got ready to direct the water from the fountain towards the volcano, but a frightened bird hit Suzi’s arm as it flew bye, throwing her flick off course and causing the water to hit the broken window and filling the house with water. Well at least it won’t burn down… Suzi though… “um… I stand corrected.”

Blinking, Heidi tried to figure out why her vision was blurry and what the cacophony around her was. The last thing she remembered was pulling up to her house and feeling as if something was…out of sorts. It was a feeling she had had before, and it sent a sense of dread throughout her body. “Oh, please the power that be, no,” she muttered. Then….

As a what looked eerily like a flaming ball of fire soared over her head it all came back to her. The birds, the band, the VOLCANO! Sitting up, her head spun almost sending her back into the darkness. When the world righted, and she saw what her beautiful backyard had been turned into, she wished she had.

Monkeys were jumping from tree to tree, screaming as below lion cubs tried to catch them when they came to close to the ground. The trees that were not in were on fire. Stampeding past her was a group of four men, two of who were dragging another half-conscious man in between them, eyes wide, skin white, screaming, “Run! Get out of the way!” When she saw what was following them she understood the hurry. A massive male lion was chasing them, and behind him….

“SUZI!!!”

Sudden yapping from her left turned her attention to three Yorkies harassing a monkey. Or was the monkey harassing them? Frowning, she shook her head in confusion. What the hell was going on? Suddenly everything went still. As if someone pushed a pause button on a remote. Afraid to look, but unable to help herself, she looked towards the volcano that had suddenly become quiet. Lava still flowed down its sides, catching everything it touched on fire, but the flying boulders of fire had stopped.

“That can’t be good,” she muttered.

Scrambling to her feet, Heidi saw she wasn’t the only one staring at the deadly monstrosity in her backyard. Every animal stood stone still staring at it with wide eyes. No, not good at all. Thank the gods that the nearest neighbor was miles away. As the pressure in the air built, pressing in on her eardrums, even her skin, she frantically scanned the area for the culprit of this newest disaster

“Suzi! I know you are here,” she growled. “You need to come out here and help me clean up this mess before….” That was when she noticed her house, or what was left of it. “SUZI! Get out here NOW!!!”

Fluttering from around the only standing tree, Suzi sheepishly smiled and in the bravest voice she could muster replied. Merry Christmas and happy New Year!

“I’ll just … um… start cleaning up this mess.”

“Yes, that would be nice, but it will take the two of us,” Heidi said as calmly as she could, pulling out her wand. Looking wistfully back at the bonfire that used to be her house, she turned to the wildfire in front of her. “You remember how to make it rain, right?”

“Yes ma’am.” Taking her wand in hand, Suzi aimed toward the sky, but instead of a medium rain a deluge poured down from the sky, drenching everything and everyone in seconds

Standing in mud, completely drenched, her hair hanging heavy down her back, shoulders, and face, Heidi sighed. Reaching up, she pulled her hair back from her face so she could see. “Well, at least the fire is out.” She looked up at the volcano that was reading itself to implode. “For now. We need to stop that volcano before it blows us back to the dark ages. Any ideas?”

Creating a tornado, Suzi directed it over the water that now covered the entire yard, hoping it would collect all the water and she would then aim it into the volcano.

Well…that was the plan, but ya know what they say about the best laid plans….

The ground began to shake. The pressure grew. The animals suddenly came alive and scattered in all directions. Heidi dove out of the way of the lioness and her cubs, landing hard on the now dry dirt.

Now was her chance. Digging into her pocket, Suzi grabbed her magic dust pouch and headed for the volcano. Taking a hand full of dust, she dropped it over the volcano and poof it disappeared from sight. Not really knowing where she sent the volcano, she could only hope it was someplace uninhabited.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Heidi sits up and surveys the damage. Here and there wisps of smoke rose up into the night air. Everything as far as the eye could see in the dark was charred black. Pushing a stray strand of hair from her face the breeze blew, she realized that the sudden absence of moisture left her hair a curly frizzy mess. If only that was the mess to clean up. Looking sideways up at Suzi, who hovered just out of reach, once again looking sheepish, Heidi asked, “Anything else I should know about? Piranha in the Koi pond? Venomous snakes in my….” Heidi glanced behind her at the rubble. “Never mind.” Pushing herself to her feet with a groan, she brushed off her wrinkled slightly tighter clothes, pushed her hair into something that resembled sanity and took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders.

“This is going to take a while to clean up and put right. We better get started.”

Each taking their individual wands, Heidi and Suzi worked their way around the yard and replaced all the grass, the trees and the shrubs. Meeting at the charred remains of what used to be the house, Suzi dropped her head and in a tear strained voice said “I’m so sorry Heidi. I just wanted to make up for the lost holidays.”

Taking a look at the tiny tear streaked, ash covered little fairy, Heidi felt the anger drain out of her.

Lifting up her wand, Suzi wound up what little power she had left and in a brilliant flash of light recreated the original house. Falling out of the sky, she landed on her butt with a tiny thud.

Sitting down heavily next to her in the dirt, Heidi sighed. “I know, and I’m not mad. Nobody was seriously hurt, I think. Hey,” she nudged the fairy. “How about a bath and some dinner. I’ll order from the Thai place in town. They deliver way out here.”

Looking up at Heidi in gratitude, Suzi picked herself up and crawled into Heidi’s outstretched hand. Curling up into a little ball, she sighed in relief and closed her eyes.

Smiling, Heidi carefully got to her feet and walked into the house. In one of the guestrooms she had a specially made fairy alcove for just such an occasion. Although Suzi didn’t know about it because it was a Christmas present. After tucking her in, Heidi took a shower and went to bed, too exhausted to eat, happy to have survived the night in one piece. Tomorrow….well she would see.

Copyright © 2018 Suzanne Carey & Heidi Barnes

I hoped you enjoyed one of many antics of Suzi and her surprises. This is a fun exercise in writing where Suzanne plays Suzi the Fairy and I play myself only as a witch of sorts. Suzanne lives on the east coast and I live on the west coast. We play on Facebook messenger, and usually it’s Suzi the Fairy that starts the well intended mischief. I have other little stories that I thought I posted on this site, but as I look I see I haven’t. I’ll have to find them and put them here and add a link to them as they are written on my page A Little Bit of Fiction. There is very little editing done to these stories. Some punctuation, formatting and spelling. Everything else is as it was written. Thank you for reading. 🙂

 

A Little Story – Obsession

This story takes place between Deceptions and Absolution in my Obsession Series. I had hinted at it, but there really had not been any fleshing out of what had happened. I was thinking about that and this is what came to me. It’s more about Kirsten and Cody, but I thought it might be of some interest, short that it is. I have longer tid-bits. I’m just not sure if I want to post them yet.

If you haven’t read the Obsession series yet, this shouldn’t give too much away.

 

A Kidnapping Attempt

 

It was one of those rare moments Kirsten was left alone when they traveled off the island. Granted she was in the penthouse of one of the most luxurious secure hotels in Italy, but it had already been proven that secure did not necessarily mean safe. That little nugget of information was driven home with gut wrenching clarity.

Kirsten’s hands went to her stomach, gently laying over where her child had once been. Where her body had healed to where she felt no more pain, her mind was far from whole. The doctor had just given her and Alex the go ahead to try for another child, but Kirsten was not ready, and Alex loved her enough that he did not push. To be honest, neither one of them were ready to put their hearts out there again and risk the chance of having it crushed.

Focusing on the vista before her, Kirsten brought herself back to the present. The past was past, and even though memories and grief tried to crush her more than she cared to admit, Kirsten had vowed not to dwell on what could not be changed. Today Alex had an important meeting that would last most of the day, promising to be home by dinner. As one of Alex’s right-hand men, Cody had gone out on some business errands and would be back in the afternoon. Kirsten decided to take the time to recover from her jetlag and catch up on some of her own paperwork. This was not the first time she had been to Italy in the last year, and it probably would not be the last. On this trip they would be staying a full month. Plenty of time to sightsee.

At the moment, she was standing on the enormous balcony enjoying the magnificent view. Sighing, Kirstein leaned against the railing. Closing her yes, she let herself fall into the warm breeze and ocean smells, for a short time forgetting the real reason she was here. Not because it was a choice, or because of work, but because one man decided he wanted her therefore no one else could have her. Something that was part of her past, present and future. Something she could not escape so she was trying to make the best of.

Opening her eyes, Kristen wondered how her mother was. There had been enough tabloid articles and pictures of Alexi Tremmel’s mystery wife that she at least knew Kirsten was alive. That was the only way Kristen could stay calm when Alex would refuse her at least a phone call. Glancing back into the room she knew if she called now there would be no one to stop her. Frowning, she turned back to the vista outside. Maybe she should start being truthful with herself and admit she did not want to call because she was afraid to find out that her mother wasn’t worried about her. That they weren’t still looking for her, or the worst, that Jeremy had given up trying to find her and rescue her from her gilded cage. That he had found someone else to love.

Choking back a sob, Emma blinked back tears as a wave of grief threatened to overwhelm her.

“Kirsten?”

The concern in Cody’s voice was too much. With a sob, she turned and launched herself into his arms.

“Whoa! Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked holding her gently as he stroked her hair, trying to soothe her. When she only continued to cry he started to realize what was wrong. It was not the first time in the last year she had given into her emotions. Cody was surprised it did not happen more often considering all that she had lost. There were times he was barely holding it together. The only solace he had was the woman in his arms. The woman he loved but could never have.

Gently, Cody led Kirsten to the couch. Once he was seated, she curled up in his lap. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she buried her face in the cook and tried to calm down. Holding her legs with one arm, Cody soothingly rubbed her back. Any other time he would worry about Alex walking in on them and thinking the worst, but after the incident at the cabin, both men had agreed when Kirsten was this upset jealousy went to the wayside.

When she began to quiet Cody softly asked, “What happened?”

“I was thinking about my mother and how she was doing. If she still worried about me or had they moved on with their lives without me,” she finished with a sniffle.

They. That was the telling word. It wasn’t so much her mother Kirsten grieved over, but Jeremy. Cody knew the answer to her question and it twisted his gut painfully. While he could not tell her the whole truth, he could relieve some of her anxiety.

“He hasn’t forgotten you,” Cody assured.

“How do you know?” Kirsten hiccupped.

“Because Alex keeps close tabs on his whereabouts so he can make sure to stop Jeremy’s attempts to rescue you,” he answered putting his lips to her hair. He hated lying to her, but it was a necessary evil to keep them both safe. Where he did not want to hurt Kirsten by hurting Jeremy, in his mind Jeremy was the expendable one.

They were silent for a while, each taking comfort in the other. A luxury not often afforded them.

“There’s a little café I have been wanting to take you to. Do you feel up to it?”

Nodding, Kirsten sat up, wiping her eyes as she slid off his lap onto the couch next to him. Cody felt the loss of her heat instantly and it sadden him. More than it should have.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“For what?” Cody asked smiling as he pulled some of the hair that was stuck to her face and tucking it behind her ear.

“I’m not prone to crying fits, yet in the last couple of years they seem to sneak up on me more and more.”

“I think you have had ample reason to have more than a few breakdowns, Kirsten,” he frowned. “We haven’t made your life easy.”

“Someone looking in from the outside would think my life is ideal. I have a husband who adores and spoils me. I have friends who are there for me and would give their lives for me as I would them.” Kirsten took Cody’s hand in hers and squeezed it. “Friends I cannot lose,” she whispered.

“Kirsten.” The word was a silent plea for understanding, for forgiveness. It was filled with a longing that Kirsten understood all to well. Slowly, gently, she extracted her hand from his. They are walking for a very fine line. One that could get them both killed.

“But my life isn’t ideal,” she whispered hoarsely, the tears once again threatening to fall.

“No, it isn’t.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts, each comforted by the other’s presence because they knew that was all that was asked. There was no hidden agenda, no jealousy, no expectations.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out shakily, Kirsten wiped her hands up and down her thighs.

“You said something about lunch.” The cheerfulness she was trying to exclude fell flat, but Cody understood. Time to put on their game face and move on.

“They have a sandwich I know you will love,” he said standing when she did.

“Better than the one back home?” she asked doubtfully.

“I’ll let you decide,” he smiled.

 

An hour later:

“What do you think?” Cody asked as he watched Kirsten chew her bite of sandwich.

“It’s good,” she answered thoughtfully, hold one hand over her full mouth so she would not flash her half-chewed food.

“Just good, huh,” Cody frowned. Taking his Pastrami on Rye in both hands, he took a bite, chewing thoughtfully.

Swallowing, Kirsten followed it with a sip of her wine. “I really like it,” she assured looking at her club sandwich. “It’s just not…better,” she offered looking at Cody with a small smile.

“Hmmm,” Cody answered frowning as he chewed. Shaking his head, he reached for his wine. “You’re wrong,” he declared before taking a drink.

Kirsten choked on her sandwich. “What do you mean I’m wrong?” she rasped indignantly.

Cody shrugged. “Your wrong,” he repeated as if it was a known fact. “What is complicated about that. You just are.”

Kirsten started at him with wide-eyed disbelief as he continued to eat as if she were not there with her jaw on the table. Glancing to her right, she spied one of their security detail doing his best not to smirk. When Kirsten narrowed her eyes on Taylor, he lost the battle. When she stuck her tongue out at him, he burst out laughing. Mica, a newer addition who took his job guarding Kirsten very seriously, was sitting on the other side of the table from Taylor on the phone frowning at him in annoyance.

“Jackass,” Kirsten muttered turning her attention back to her sandwich. She would have reprimanded him for not doing his job, but she knew he could not help it. Along with the fact he was the best of the best and that they had extra men posted around the café, Taylor was quick to laugh and enjoyed teasing Kirsten unmercifully when Alex was not around. Since so few would even attempt to talk to Kirsten, she did not mind and usually encouraged him by bantering back and forth.

When he heard her call him jackass, his grin widen. “I live to be the blister on your….”

“Taylor,” Mica snapped as he pulled his phone from his ear, stopping what Kirsten knew was something very inappropriate.

“What?” Taylor asked with mock innocence.

Growling at the man with narrowed eyes, Mica turned to Cody and Kirsten, who were both smiling. “We need to leave. Now,” he emphasized by standing abruptly and throwing money down on his table.

All humor fled as Taylor followed Mica to his feet, his eyes scanning the crowd for signs of danger.

“What happened?” Cody demanded as he and Kirsten pushed to their feet.

“We got a tip there was a kidnap attempt about to happen,” Peter’s explained as he and two others who had materialized out of nowhere surrounding them. Taking Kirsten’s arm Cody directed her towards the street.

“Do you know by who?” Cody asked as they dodged tables, chairs, and people.

“Whoever called had a voice distorter. They said it was Bannatyne,” Peter’s answered as he followed, gun drawn but discreetly hidden down by his side. No need to scare the public just yet. It would just make his job of getting his two charges to the safety of the car that much harder.

“Shit,” Cody hissed under his breath.

They had reached the sidewalk when the first gunshot rang out, shattering a cup on the table near Kirsten. Instinctively ducking, the men around her showed their hardware as they headed for the car that had screeched to a halt a few feet away from them, pushing through the screaming and running mob.

Once Kirsten was safely in the car, Cody turned to Peter’s. “Find that bitch and bring her to me,” he snarled.

“With pleasure,” Peter’s grimaced as a bullet whizzed past them.

Following Kirsten into the car, Cody slammed the door shut, barking, “Go!” Pulling his phone from his pocket, he hit speed dial and put the phone to his ear.

“I still say it’s better,” he commented calmly into the silence.

Kirsten frowned at him, not understanding what he was talking about and having a hard time making her brain work after the near miss they just experienced. When it finally dawned on her he was talking about the sandwiches, she burst out laughing. That is what Alex heard as he answered his phone to find out that Annalisa Bannatyne was once again trying to kill his wife.

Chasing Rabbits by Suzanne Carey

Sitting on a tree branch, Suzi clutched her stomach, gasping for breath, laughing so hard she nearly fell out of the tree. The rabbits were back and Heidi was mad. All her lovely new plants… rabbit food. But the situation got even funnier when she called her dog Jack to chase away the furry varmints, […]

via Chasing Rabbits — suzannevcarey

I put a link on my original story to Suz’s post, but I thought I’d repost in case those who have already read my post missed it.

How do I Tell Them?

“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” ~ William Wordsworth


I see your face

I hear your words

My heart is filled

with emotions not my own

yet still familiar

a part of me.

Who are you?

What do you want from me?

How do I trust

what is not my own?

How do I convey

what I understand as love

hate

sadness

longing

joy

so that others understand

the depth of who you are

and believe?

©2017 Heidi Barnes

This poem was inspired by a writing prompt from the website Writing Outside the Lines. It made me think about my characters and trying to put into words what they are telling and showing me so that my readers see and feel it too.


Sometimes Only the Paper Listens

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Source Unknown

 

 

When the words won’t stop pestering me, or they are words no one else will listen to or can be said out loud, paper becomes my best friend. My confident. The words must come out in some form or nothing else will get done, let alone with any kind of  efficiency or quality. The only thing one must be wary of are those who cannot keep thier mittens to themselves. The ones who must know everything, cannot stand it when something is kept from them, never heard the phrase, “Curiosity killed the cat.” Then the paper you trusted so well becomes the betrayer. Yes the paper maybe be the only one who listens, but it can also speak, and once words are spoken they can never be taken back.

© 2017 Heidi Barnes

This was inspired by a prompt on Writing Outside the Lines by Annie.

Just a Tea Party

It was an everyday tea party. Nothing seemed amiss with the world, or at least our little corner of it. The sun was shining. The blue of the sky so brilliant that it dazzled the eye. Large white fluffy clouds intermittently drifted across looking like large cotton balls, yet never seemed to float across the face of the sun. The light breeze was warm, stirring the bogavia and large white mums that climbed the trellises around us. Large hats in different pastels to match expensive sheath dresses and matching patent heals. Laughter, small talk, red lipstick smiles, the eyes obscured by large rimmed hats.

Just an everyday tea party in an empty life where nothing goes wrong, yet anything can happen.

A spark in the darkness. Such a little thing. Almost unnoticeable, unless you know where to look. Time moves on, the spark grows into a flame. Coaxed to life by winds of change. Some change is good, some bad. Only time can tell as the emptiness fills whether the flame will light the way, or burn into chaos and ruin.

Feed the flame. Embrace it. Let it burn the emptiness away. What do you have to lose when you have nothing to begin with anyways?

Just an everyday tea party. Large rimmed pastel hats, small talk and laughter.

Blood red lips curve into a smile. The time is right, the pieces in place. The inspecting mass naively compliant. The hat slowly lifts, the smile smug, knowing what is to come and relishing the outcome. Finally eyes come into view. The deepest blue of sapphire flash in the light of the sun. In a nothing life where everything is possible, chaos begins tonight.

Copyright 2016 Heidi Barnes

This in answer to a prompt of mine. Word Bank Prompt. Please, take some time, take a look, and see what tale the words spin for you.

Word Bank Prompt

A word bank. I love to write to word banks. One came to me just now. No prompting, just appeared. I know they are usually only four or five words, but I have seven.

tea, spark, wind, time, anything, nothing, empty

Use them all or only a few. I am interested to see what you may come up with. I will see what comes to me and post.

Have a wonderful day.

Heidi