LesLumens

Are you ready for some weird sex? LOL The second story in my new series "The Ancient Peoples" is only a final text-to-audio listen away from going gold, so I thought I'd post a preview. This is a direct sequel to "Serpentine Destiny" with the same main character, Aris. Though there's a general recap, allowing this story to stand alone, you'll have a much richer experience if you've read the previous story. As I've mentioned in other threads, I consider this series to be loosely connected, and inhabiting the same universe as both my Magic of the Wood series, and my new Fey Folk series. Fairies have shown up in Magic of the Wood. Nymphs are mentioned in Serpentine Destiny. Though they'll likely never directly cross-over, they are part of the same universe. That said, here's a brief preview: =============================== Aris awakened in near pitch blackness. Confused at first by the unfamiliar surroundings, it took him a moment to get his bearings. It was then that he realized what had awakened him. The ring on his finger had grown warm, and was subtly vibrating. He fumbled about in the darkness, located his phone, and tapped the screen to see it was after two a.m. As the screen dimmed, he heard something. The song was beautiful, but haunting, and coming from the direction of Cade and Tabor’s camp. As he listened and wondered, a thought suddenly popped into his head, and he knew it had arisen from the magical ring. Harpies. The song was the song of a Harpy, and his ring was protecting him from its beckoning, charming call. It was also warning him without words not to approach. He was fearful for the two men in the other camp, but if any of the legends were true, there would be little he could do, should he choose to try to help them. The song faded, and his stomach went sour. A dozen grisly possibilities of what could be happening down the trail flitted through his head. He slipped out of his confining sleeping bag, but remained in his tent. After a few minutes, an altogether different sound reached his ears. The moans, whimpers, grunts, and groans could have been something else, but Aris somehow knew they were the sounds of sex. The sounds grew louder, more frequent, and then were punctuated by a series of screeches and primal growls. Afterward, there was silence for a time. Aris slowly and quietly unzipped his tent, and then peeked out in the direction of the other camp. He could see and hear nothing, though his ring remained warm and continued to signal a warning. The heat and warning sensation both increased suddenly. The Harpies had noticed him, and they were approaching. Something told him that the creatures feared fire. He should build up his fire and remain near it. He scrambled from the tent, found his wood pile, and blew on the coals remaining in the fire pit. A sigh of relief escaped him when the fire began to crackle, catching the larger pieces of wood. Not a second too soon. He caught a flash of movement in his peripheral vision. It was little more than a brief vanishing of the stars in the sky above, but it was there. He heard the beating of huge wings, and saw another indistinct, shadowy figure swoop overhead. Aris watched the sky, stirred the fire, and added more wood. A whoosh of air passing over wings sounded – much closer – followed by the sound of something landing on the pine needles and twigs. Aris quickly turned toward the sound, and saw them. The creatures had human female torsos and heads – their small, firm, teardrop shaped breasts bared. Their skin tone was a dark, almost nutty brown. Their lips and nipples were even darker, though with a tinge of red. Their golden eyes reflected the firelight, detracting somewhat from the undeniable beauty of their faces. The one had a long mane of gray hair, though he had a sense it was not the gray of age. The other sported equally long tresses of mixed brown and white strands. What looked like human arms ended at the elbow, replaced by wings. The gray-haired Harpy’s wings were reddish brown on top, but gray and black spotted on the underside. The other had wings with brown tops, and undersides decorated with brown and white spots. Aris thought there had to be magic involved in their ability to fly, because their wings – though impressive – did not seem large enough to actually hold them aloft. Both sported a fan-shaped tail, colored in similar patterns to their wings. Below their absent navels, feathers covered them. From the knees up, these feathers were small, and fluttered in the slight breeze as though downy. At the knee, the feathers grew larger, and stiffer, creating a fringe. At about mid-shin, the feathers vanished, replaced by the scaly, three-toed feet of a bird, with impressive black talons.

Here's a quick preview of a story that's been almost complete for quite some time, but which I'd abandoned. When I looked at it last weekend, I had no idea why I'd given up on it. LOL It will be part of a new series of stories featuring the Fey, along with "Sylph Esteem" and others to come. ========================== Diane walked into the front room of her apartment, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and smoothing her fingers through her blonde locks. After three weeks of a hard push at work, she finally had a long weekend as a reward, and she was determined not to sleep it away. That didn’t mean she was awake enough to start breakfast, though. She picked up the remote to the television and sat down. A moment later, she screamed when the couch suddenly tilted forward, and to the left. Upon catching her balance – and her breath – she muttered, “What the hell?†Sure enough, when she got down on her knees and looked, one of the legs had broken off the couch. The last couple of weeks had been filled with such small disasters. The day before, the showerhead had fallen off as soon as she turned on the water. The coffee maker had fallen victim to the curse the day before that. From broken heels to leaking pens, it had seemed as if the world was conspiring to drive her even crazier while she battled exhaustion from work. Well, I’m awake now, she thought. The fright had chased the last vestiges of drowsiness from her in a split second, so off to the kitchen she went. After breakfast, there was one task that couldn’t be ignored any longer. She’d put on her last pair of comfortable panties before going to bed. There were a few racier garments left in the drawer, but those were for special occasions, and not everyday use. The laundry needed to be taken care of before she could truly begin to enjoy her long weekend. She carefully checked the hoses on the washer before turning it on. A loose one spraying water everywhere had been the first of the string of disasters, and she really didn’t want a repeat of that. Once the first load was in, she returned to the front room to see if there was anything she could do about the couch while she waited on the washer. Along the way, the sight of a package sitting on the table changed her mind. It was from her grandmother, and had arrived while she was at work the day before. Curiosity overwhelmed her. She picked it up and took it to a chair, where she sat down slowly, wary of a repeat of the couch trying to dump her in the floor. The tape yielded to her nails without much trouble, and the first thing she saw was a handwritten note from her grandmother. When I called the other day and you told me about your string of bad luck, I knew you would need this. Keep an open mind and trust your grandmother, Diane. Blessed be, the note read. Though the family didn’t speak of it, everyone knew that her grandmother practiced Wicca, and had picked up the craft from her own mother, who had in turn learned it from her mother. Diane’s aunt and mother had broken the long-running string, but her grandmother had been trying to influence her for years in hopes of reviving the family tradition in the next generation. Diane shook her head and chuckled while she looked to see what else was inside. Beneath the note were several purple cloth-wrapped bundles. Each had a D stitched into it with silver thread, facing upward, demonstrating that they were gifts meant for her to keep. When she unfolded the first, she found a white candle that her grandmother had no doubt made herself. She could smell vanilla and other enticing scents when she brought the candle to her nose. The remaining bundles were three similar candles as well as four brass holders. Upon removing all the candles, Diane saw the lid of a beautifully carved wooden box with a silver latch and hinges. As with the cloth wraps, her initial was carved into the center of the lid. Inside the shallow box, sitting on a purple velvet cushion, were five white crystals. They were semi-transparent, and caught flickering rainbows of light within their facets. The box was beautiful, and the candles smelled wonderful, so she appreciated the gift, even if not in the way her grandmother had intended. In the very bottom of the box was a thin, hand-bound book. It was a little larger than a hardcover novel, and the binding was covered in purple cloth stitched with strange symbols on the borders, surrounding her initial in the middle. Diane lifted the book from the box, opened it, and gasped in surprise. The last thing she’d ever have expected to see in a gift from her grandmother was a detailed drawing of a naked man. Of course, it wasn’t just any naked man. His skin was a rosy, magenta color for one thing. He also had horns and pointed ears sticking out of long, black hair. Despite these strange features, he had a handsome face and a lean, muscled body. His unusually large penis was drawn erect, and flowers in a vase next to him seemed to be there to indicate a scale of perhaps two inches high. At the top of the page, in flowing, calligraphic script was the word Gremlins.

Enjoying it while it lasts http://www.darkniciad.com/hotlink_pics/blessing_no1.jpg

Here's the full first scene of "Blessing of the Wood" as a preview of the story, which should go into editing soon. ============================= A sparrow perched on the windowsill, bathed in golden sunlight, singing of its joy in a new day – both of which were stabbing into Ella’s brain, even though her eyes were still closed. She whimpered and pulled the pillow over her face, but it didn’t help. The housewarming party for the home she shared with her twin sister had been one for the ages, but she was paying the price. A click and a creak accompanied the door opening, followed by shuffling footsteps and a pitiful groan. “Could you just smother me?†Ella muttered to her sister. “Only if you do me first,†Terra answered as she sat down on the foot of the bed. Ella experimentally lifted the pillow and discovered that her sister had closed the curtains. The light was still too bright, but subdued enough that she felt safe to push the pillow away. She raked her fingers through her dark blonde hair and made a face because it was sticking out in every which direction. A look around through squinted eyes didn’t reveal her phone, so she asked, “What time is it?†“Almost noon.†“I swear I’m never doing this again.†Terra let out a half-hearted chuckle. “You always say that.†“So do you.†“It was a great party, though.†“The best.†Ella sat up, though it made her head pound and her vision swim. The lemony smell of furniture polish that lingered in the house after the final marathon cleaning was turning her stomach. “Have you seen John?†she asked. Terra pointed at the nightstand and said, “There’s a note. It probably says the same thing mine does. They went into town to get us Excedrin, since we didn’t have any in the house.†“Guess we should have told them, huh?†“Guess they should have told us they were going instead of leaving us notes,†Terra countered. She started to chuckle, but it cut off in a pained groan as she covered her eyes. “Time to go, before my head explodes. Do you see my phone?†Ella asked. Her twin slid off the bed and said, “Here’s the cord.†When she traced it from the outlet to one of Ella’s discarded shoes, she found the phone beneath. Ella took the phone and tapped out a hasty message to her husband-to-be, “Gone 2 Gma’s pool.†With a little help from her sister, Ella crawled out of bed and started through the house. It had once been their great grandfather’s – and a family friend’s before that – but the family had secretly renovated the place for them when they both announced their engagements. After the work, the downstairs was essentially two apartments joined by a central living room, kitchen, and dining room. The arrangement gave both twins their own space on opposite ends of the house, but acknowledged that they would never be very far apart. The sunlight streaming into the front room through a huge bay window felt like lasers burning into Ella’s head. The state of the room also provided a pointed reminder that they still had to clean up from the party. Salvation was close at hand, however. The twins hurried as best they could in their delicate state to the front door, across the porch, and down the stairs. The moment their bare feet touched the grass, their headaches began to fade. Caring not a whit that they were dressed in nothing more than t-shirts and panties, they crossed the lawn to the woods. The trail they followed was one they knew well, and every step along it brought a new surge of energy. Anyone else would have seen nothing more than a wall of trees and undergrowth surprisingly thick for the first week of April. Such was the magic of their great-grandmother’s woods that it hid its secrets. The scent of honeysuckle filled the air. Squirrels, rabbits, and chipmunks scurried everywhere. With the symptoms of their overindulgence already nothing more than a memory, the singing of birds was a joyful accompaniment to their walk. Flowers bloomed, adding splashes of vibrant color to the myriad shades of green and brown lining their path. It was a place of peace and oneness with nature that was as much their home as any manmade structure. Golden sunlight breaking through the canopy and a silvery laugh marked the end of their journey. “Morning, Grandma. Morning, Grandpa,†Ella said – dropping the great – when she entered the clearing. The dryad Xantina stood amidst the ferns at the edge of her crystal-clear pool waiting for them. Intimately connected to her family, she’d known the twins were coming as soon as they did. She appeared no older than the sisters, and had no shame for her nudity. With skin that shone golden in the light and hair the color of new leaves, she was a stunning and beautiful sight. “Take away your coverings and come swim with me,†the nymph declared, and then turned to dive gracefully into the pool. Ella was all too glad to do so. Their great-grandfather Daniel chuckled as the twins undressed. Once a mortal man, the love and magic of his dryad mate had granted him a body of nature that could remain at her side long after his natural span. Though he had green hair and skin that resembled the bark of a tree, he otherwise looked like a handsome, fit, nude man in his twenties. “From the way you girls’ hair looks, I take it the party was a success,†he said. “The best,†Ella confirmed, and her twin echoed her a moment later. “And the old place is working out for you?†he asked. “It’s perfect,†Ella said. “Thank you, Grandpa.†“No need for thanks. I hated to see the place sitting empty,†he said, and then snapped a hand up to block the side of his face. Their great-grandmother’s splash still soaked him. Xantina pouted, “Talk later.†“Yes, dear,†Daniel chuckled, and then stood up. “So, while you have company for a while, I’m going to go borrow a newspaper and catch up.†Terra said, “Tell Grandma we said hello,†knowing it was his daughter’s paper he was going to borrow. “Will do. Have fun.†Ella took advantage of the distraction. She darted toward the pool and laughed when her sister called out, “Cheater!†A moment later, she hit the water in a flawless dive and surfaced on the far side of the pool. Her sister was only a second behind her, but the splash she launched when she surfaced found only air. Ella popped back up from below the water, and her splash caught Terra full in the face. It was on. The girls called a truce several minutes later when they were both panting for breath and laughing too hard to continue. It was then that Ella saw John and Nathan coming down the trail. They were new to the family secret, and entered the clearing with poorly concealed nervousness. Both sisters had been afraid to tell their beaus about their heritage, and had only found the courage out of necessity when the two friends had proposed to them at the same time at the end of the previous summer. A nudge from Terra indicated that her sister wanted to play a different game. Careful to address both young men, Ella asked, “Feeling better?†Nathan revealed his surprise when he answered, “Yeah, a lot.†“How?†John asked. “Magic,†Terra said, and wiggled her fingers. “Guess we dragged ourselves out of bed and to the store for nothing, huh?†John said. Terra said, “Uh huh. Best hangover cure ever.†Nathan laughed and said, “Can’t argue with that.†“So...†Ella said, and then paused dramatically, “Why are you two still dressed again?†The boys inevitably blushed. The commonplace nudity of the family was something they weren’t remotely used to yet. They did kick off their shoes to begin stripping, though. Ella was used to the state of undress, but that didn’t stop her from admiring John as he disrobed – and peeking at Nathan. They were two of a kind – leanly muscled and well-endowed. They were just as beautiful on the inside as well. John was the most caring, considerate, and good-humored man Ella had ever met. Not for the first time, she thanked her lucky stars that she’d outgrown her fixation on jocks to discover him before someone else snatched him up. Nathan had been a friend to her and her sister all their life, and had patiently waited until the day Terra finally recognized the love hiding right under her nose. Caught up in a flood of memories – and arousal – she started when her sister whispered, “Hey.†“Sorry,†Ella whispered back. The sisters locked eyes, took a deep breath, and then ducked down under the water. Once below the surface, Ella swam to the right to reverse position with Terra, and then kicked off the bank toward the opposite shore. Once there, they turned to face their beaus. Ella could see in John’s eyes that he knew what was afoot. The twins simultaneously said, “Come on in, John.†Nathan held up his hands and said, “I know better than to give you any hints,†when John looked to him for help. Nathan had always been able to tell them apart. Xantina laughed, recognizing the game her great-granddaughters were playing. She caught John’s eye, which only deepened his blush, and said, “Look with this.†She held a hand over her heart, and then lifted it to cover her eyes. “Not with these.†John blew out a long breath as he took the couple of steps through the ferns to the edge of the pool. After filling his lungs with air again, he dived in. Ella’s heart sang when he veered toward her, though she did her best not to show it when he came up in front of her. Terra’s voice held a faux warning when she said, “Are you sure? You’re about to kiss my sister.†The game was over when he looked deep into Ella’s eyes and said, “I’m sure, Terra.†Ella threw her arms around him and kissed him hard.

Just dropping a more permanent record of what I said in the shoutbox. I've finally finished the first draft of everything in "Blessing of the Wood" except for the final sex scene. With all of the difficult story bits out of the way, it's simply a matter of writing time to wrap this one up -- at last! Late for Earth Day, but considering my recent track record, better late than never is quite the apt phrase.