Dark Is Her Nature

by Judith Berens

  Alison pulled the next four pieces from her bag and handed them to Kathleen, Ethan, Emma, and Peter.

  “Those are trinkets you can put on your necklaces or keep in your pocket. Kathleen, yours is for beauty; it will keep you forever young. Ethan, yours is for bravery, Peter, curiosity, and Emma’s is for kindness.”

  “Thank you.” Emma smiled.

  Alison handed Izzie a small box, and she pulled out a long silver chain with a star pendant. She looked at Alison with curiosity.

  “My mother always told me that no matter how far apart we were, when we looked at the sky we would see the same stars. I have one that matches yours.”

  Alison pulled the star from under her sweater and smiled. Izzie nodded and smiled back, putting hers on and holding the star in her palm. Alison pulled the last gift out handing it to Luke and he unwrapped it to find a leather-bound journal.

  “That journal is magic. Anytime you feel angry or upset because people tell you that you don’t belong, write about it in that journal. It will write back to you with comforting words.”

  “That’s so cool! Thank you.”

  Everyone exchanged hugs and settled down in their chairs, then Ethan stretched and announced, “Well, enough of this sappy shit, let’s eat!”

  The whole table laughed and began to talk excitedly, spending their first Christmas dinner together in their new home away from home.

  29

  It was finally the last day of school and the mansion was abuzz with students greeting their parents. They were all leaving for Christmas break—all except Izzie, who wasn’t exactly sure what was happening. She just knew she would be with Ms. Berens. Kathleen, Emma, and Aya had already gone downstairs with their luggage to wait for their parents. Alison folded up her sweater from the night before and put it in her suitcase. Izzie stood at the foot of her bed looking at the empty closet.

  Alison locked up her suitcase, making sure to carefully set it on the floor. The egg was wrapped up inside. She really didn’t want to take it with her, but she didn’t know where else to put it while she was gone. She went to Izzie and put her hands on her shoulders.

  “You’ll be fine. You get to spend the holiday with a real family, though I’m not sure what you should expect.”

  Izzie displayed her best smile and nodded. “I’m sure it will be fine. And it’s only for a couple of weeks, anyway.”

  “That’s right. Before you know it, you will be back on that bed rolling your eyes at Kathleen and watching Aya move dolls with her mind.”

  Izzie laughed and grasped her star pendant. “Thanks for being such a good friend.”

  “Thank you, too. Now, come downstairs and meet the mess I will be spending the holiday with.” Alison smiled and picked up her suitcase, draping her coat and scarf over it.

  The two girls made their way through the crowds of parents and students. When they reached the bottom of the steps Kathleen ran over, throwing her arms around both of them.

  “My parents are ready to go, but I couldn’t leave without saying goodbye.”

  Izzie grunted as she tried to catch her breath. “Have fun in the islands.”

  Kathleen pulled back, grinning. “Thanks. I’ll bring you back a tiki statue.”

  Alison pulled her eyebrows together, slightly confused and Kathleen bounced away as her parents waved goodbye to the two of them. Izzie sighed and went over to Ms. Berens. Alison followed close behind, setting her suitcase carefully on the floor.

  The headmistress turned to Alison. “You have done wonderfully this semester, minus the mishap in the city. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, Alison. I’ll take good care of Izzie.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Berens. You have a good holiday as well.”

  Just then the front doors blew open and white powdery snow blew across the floor of the foyer. Brownstone and Shay rushed in, closing the doors quickly behind them and ignoring the people staring at them. Alison chuckled and shook her head as they scanned the room. Brownstone looked ready for a mission in his tight brown shirt, brown leather jacket, and army fatigue pants with boots. Shay was dressed similarly, only instead of her usual tight tank top she was wearing a black high-neck fleece sweater with a Christmas-tree pin on the shoulder.

  Izzie leaned over to Alison. “Can I assume they are with you?”

  “Yep.” Alison laughed.

  “Hey, kiddo,” Brownstone said, patting her on the shoulder.

  Shay wrapped her arms around Alison and squeezed, her pin poking into Alison’s skin. “How are you? You look fantastic. Do you like my pin? I’m trying to fit in here.”

  “Very festive.” Alison chuckled. “And we are a group of misfit toys, so I think you will be just fine.”

  “Shay, James, this is Izzie. She’s like my best friend here.” Brownstone and Shay shook her hand, although the bounty hunter eyed the Light Elf suspiciously.

  Izzie and Ms. Berens had to talk to some other people, so Alison took Shay and James through the classrooms, explaining what she had learned so far. She stopped and showed them the list of grades posted at the top of the stairs and Brownstone gloated at all the A’s next to Alison’s name.

  When they were about ready to leave, Brownstone and Shay shook their heads and looked at each other. Alison had seen that look before, and she knew there was something they needed to tell her, so she pulled them into the dining hall and shut the doors behind them. The place was empty, since breakfast was over and everyone was leaving for the day. A plate appeared on the table where her hand was, but she waved it away.

  “No food, thank you.” She turned back to Shay and Brownstone. “Okay, what’s up? I can see it.”

  Brownstone cleared his throat. “The Harriken are still active.”

  Alison stumbled back from them and looked around the room. The Harriken were the Asian Gang that had killed her mother, but the last she had heard before she left for school they were no longer active. Fear blew through her every time she heard their name. All she could see was her mother’s face, and all she could feel was the anger boiling over. She couldn’t let it get to her, though. She had come too far. The first half of the school year had changed the way she saw things and going back would be a mistake. She took in a deep breath and shut her eyes, remembering the bravery she’d displayed in the underground city. She turned back to Shay and Brownstone and nodded.

  “Okay, what does that mean for me?”

  “Nothing really,” Brownstone replied. “Just that we will have to head somewhere that isn’t LA, at least for this holiday.”

  Shay elbowed Brownstone in the side and forced a smile at Alison. “Of course, we will figure out a way to make it like Christmas. Right, Brownstone?”

  “Oh, yes,” he agreed with a blank look on his face.

  Alison knew neither one of them had any idea what to do for Christmas. They had no experience with it, and from the look of Shay’s pin, she was trying to get an idea from department stores. Alison lifted an eyebrow as they stared at each other.

  “We can hang that green stuff wherever we go.” Shay pointed her finger. “And decorate a tree.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Brownstone nodded. “There are trees everywhere.”

  Alison tried to hold back a giggle.

  “And we can have a Christmas pizza for dinner.” Shay nodded astutely.

  “Or maybe Christmas barbeque.” Brownstone sounded completely out of his element.

  Alison sighed and turned toward the doors. “Come on, guys, we’ll figure it out as we go.”

  Back in the entry hall Alison wrapped her arms gently around Izzie, who had come back to see her off, and gave her a squeeze. She whispered in her ear, “You are going to be fine. By the looks of it, I’m the one who’s gonna be eating Christmas barbeque and decorating a redwood.”

  Izzie pulled back, confused. Alison shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Don’t ask.”

  Izzie giggled and nodded. “I think someone else wants to say goodbye.”

  Alison followed Izzi
e’s stare over to the corner where Horace was standing, wearing a Santa Hat and smiling. Alison laughed and nodded at Izzie before grabbing her bright orange scarf off her suitcase. She went to Horace and looked around at all the decorations, leaning forward and looking out at the lawn. Christmas trees lined the drive, the lights glimmering against the deep white powdery snow.

  “You got your white Christmas.”

  Horace nodded. “I sure did. Are those your people?”

  Alison looked over her shoulder at Shay and Brownstone, who were standing awkwardly next to her suitcase. “Yes, I suppose they are my people.”

  Horace nodded with a smile. “We can’t always pick our family.”

  “Very true.” Alison lifted the scarf and draped it around Horace’s neck. “And you, sir, need to stay warm while I am gone. This is not Austin, Texas. And thank the fairies for me. The trees are amazing.”

  “I will.” Horace glanced at Ms. Berens who nodded to him. He pulled a small yellow stone from his pocket and reached out, putting it in Alison’s palm. “If you need anything while you are gone, just hold this stone and send your energy through it. We will get the signal. Okay? Not just for this holiday, but anytime you are away.”

  Alison looked down at the stone and nodded, putting it into her pocket. She leaned forward and gave Horace a hug. “I’ll miss you. Take those walks without me.”

  “Yeah right.” he laughed. “No students mean long nights of sleep.”

  Alison laughed. “I’ll see you in a couple of weeks. Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas.”

  Alison went to Shay and Brownstone and picked up her suitcase, careful of the egg inside. She looked back at Izzie and smiled. The cold air hit her as Brownstone opened the front door and she stepped out into the snow.

  At the car, Brownstone took her suitcase with a grunt and carefully put it into the trunk. She looked out over the hills and pastures, seeing the souls of the small magical beings celebrating in their own way. The energy of the fairies danced through the leaves of the trees, giving Alison her own little light show.

  Shay walked up beside her and looked out at the forest, unable to see the energy streams. “Whatcha looking at?”

  “Nothing.” Alison smiled. “Let’s go get some Christmas pizza.”

  FINIS

  James Brownstone Series

  Did you know that James Brownstone had his own series? Grab book one, Feared by Hell at Amazon.

  Available at Amazon

  Author Notes - Martha Carr

  Written May 31, 2018

  Will the real Judith Berens please stand up?

  Okay, that’s myself and Michael Anderle. We wanted to give everyone a break from seeing our names splashed across a cover – do a little homage to the Berens women of Oriceran and a nod to the wonderful, Judith Anderle (Michael’s stupendous other half).

  I’m six weeks away (give or take) from moving into my new home that Oriceran built and is way beyond where I ever hoped to get to in this lifetime. It’s not a mansion as mansions go – but it is to me.

  Got me thinking about 2008 and the Great Recession when I had everything in storage at one point and was living in a hotel while I followed around a former South African Navy Diver and diamond mine owner to write his life story. I had just gone skydiving for the first time, accompanying him on one of his favorite past times and was back at the hotel.

  I was in the elevator and had the hotel key and the rental car key in my hand and that was it. No fixed address. Felt kind of liberating, mostly because I knew this was just a moment in time. Looking back, it’s remarkable that I didn’t catastrophize into the future wondering how I’d crawl back to having a household. Wasn’t worried.

  Some of that may come from growing up poor and making a dollar stretch in remarkable ways. The rest of it was a choice to just not worry and enjoy the present moment. I think right before that job I was hired to work on a book about the most possessed house in America, according to the American Catholic Church. (It’s in Pittsburgh). One of their leading exorcists did a prayer of protection over me for 30 minutes before I was allowed to go into the house and even then I was warned – might not be enough.

  Money might have been short, but adventure was always there.

  Reminds me a story my late father told me about growing up in Richmond, Virginia during the Great Depression. He delivered newspapers in the afternoon to the tent city that had sprung up along Cary Street filled with formerly middle class families who were reduced to nothing. (Yes, papers were considered a necessity and families would buy one together… different times) Some of the time he was expected at cotillion right after he was done pitching papers. He didn’t have much either, but they were an old Virginia family and he was still expected to attend cotillion. (Precursor to debutante falderol senior year of high school). He’d ride his bike through the tent city in his hand-me-down tux, throwing papers to families worried about food and shelter. His mother, my grandmother, took in boarders to make ends meet.

  His daughter, her granddaughter will soon be standing in a very nice, new house with a lot of nice touches – all because of a swearing troll and a magical Jasper elf – and now a regular cast of characters – and Michael Anderle. My dreams, hard work and a lot of great fans got me here.

  Way back then as my dad pedaled his bike… or my grandmother took in boarders… and years ago when I stood their holding only those two keys… there was no way to know what twists and turns the story was going to take. Imagine if any of us had given up because it didn’t look the way we imagined in that moment. So many great adventures – so many more to come. Thank you everyone!

  Author Notes - Michael Anderle

  Written June 2, 2018

  First, THANK YOU for not only reading this story, but reading our author notes as well! If this is the first book of mine you’ve read, an ADDITIONAL thank you for trying us out!

  Allison is a special girl in my life. She is the young woman that broke into my life over a year ago and would forever change multiple lives.

  She is, in fact, the one who was the catalyst for what became the Oriceran Universe.

  You see, I have another series called The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone (for those that don’t know) and it was Allison that took him out of his comfortable life catching bounties and propelled him into existence.

  It was the short, short story of Allison meeting James Brownstone that was the impetus for me talking with Martha Carr about writing a series (which became a Universe) together.

  Dozens of books later, we are releasing the book about the young woman that cared for a scared dog and made a fateful call to his owner.

  From that phone call came collaborations with many wonderful and talented authors including: Martha Carr, Sarah Noffke, Abby Lynn Knorr, SM (Sarah) Boyce, Flint Maxwell and others.

  I hope you have fallen for Allison as I have.

  Drizzt

  My first experience with a Drow hero is Drizzt Do’Urdin in The Icewind Dale trilogy published between 1988 and 1990. Ever since then, I’ve LOVED the idea of a Drow hero, yet I’ve never had a reason to write one.

  Until Allison.

  The relationship between Allison and James Brownstone cannot be more convoluted if one tried (and I did). However, it could not be more normal and loving with how much they care about each other. Along with Shay, they are going to be one family that can rock the world(s) and the world in between for those who need them, and for each other if they can get over their own issues.

  Don’t make her angry

  For those who would think the blind girl is a push-over, I suggest you don’t make her angry.

  You won’t like it very much if Allison gets angry.

  I’d say her dark side might come out, but I’ll just change that to say her Drow side might show…

  See you next book!

  Ad Aeternitatem,

  Michael Anderle

  Other Revelation of Oriceran Universe Books

&nbs
p; The Leira Chronicles

  * Martha Carr and Michael Anderle *

  Waking Magic (1) - Release of Magic (2) - Protection of Magic (3) - Rule of Magic (4) - Dealing in Magic (5) - Theft of Magic (6) - Enemies of Magic (7) - Guardians of Magic (8)

  The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone

  * Michael Anderle *

  Feared by Hell (01) - Rejected by Heaven (02) - Eye For An Eye (03) - Bring the Pain

  I Fear No Evil

  * Martha Carr and Michael Anderle *

  Kill the Willing (01) - Bury the Past, But Shoot it First

  School of Necessary Magic

  * Martha Carr and Michael Anderle *

  Dark Is Her Nature (01)

  The Soul Stone Mage Series

  * Sarah Noffke and Martha Carr *

  House of Enchanted (1) - The Dark Forest (2) - Mountain of Truth (3) - Land of Terran (4) - New Egypt (5) - Lancothy (6) - Virgo (7)

  The Kacy Chronicles

  * A.L. Knorr and Martha Carr *

  Descendant (1) - Ascendant (2) - Combatant (3) - Transcendent (4)

  The Midwest Magic Chronicles

  * Flint Maxwell and Martha Carr*

  The Midwest Witch (1) - The Midwest Wanderer (2) - The Midwest Whisperer (3) - The Midwest War (4)

  The Fairhaven Chronicles

  * with S.M. Boyce *

  Glow (1) - Shimmer (2) - Ember (3) - Nightfall (4)

  Books by Michael Anderle

  For a complete list of books by Michael Anderle, please visit

  www.lmbpn.com/ma-books/