‘Good morning and welcome to my home,’ Ceri said.
The male fairy flitted forward. He was a handsome little fellow, but then most fairies were. He was also pretty well hung for someone not much larger than four inches in height. His skin was a deep brown, and he had scarlet hair and red wings. ‘Ceridwyn Brent, I am Thordrial Wintergreen, eldest brother of Gloriandel Wintergreen.’ He had a slightly nasal voice, though Ceri suspected if her were to lower his nose it might sound better. ‘My sister has requested that you, Lilith Carpenter, and… Michael be given invitations as her personal guests at her wedding to Joshia Darksun.’ He turned in the air and waved irritably at the larger fae who reached into his jacket to produce three envelopes. One was handed to each of them. ‘I will need a reply,’ Thordrial added. ‘Verbal will be sufficient.’
Ceri blinked at him. ‘Uh, yes, of course we’ll come.’
‘Very good.’ There was a distinct tone to his voice which suggested he thought no such thing. He turned and headed for the door, the Sidhe hurrying to open it for them. A second later they were gone.
‘Shit!’ Lily said. ‘She’s going through with it. She’s really going to get married!’
‘To someone she ran away from her home to avoid!’ Ceri added, her voice rising in pitch.
‘Well, we have to stop it. We have to… to plan something.’
‘Uh…’ Michael began and both girls looked at him. He had actually opened his envelope and read the card inside. ‘There’s not a lot of time to plan. The wedding is at Imbolc.’
‘What?!’ Ceri shrieked. ‘That starts at sunset tomorrow.’
‘Uh-huh. She’s marrying at noon after the main celebrations for the festival are over.’
Ceri stared at him. They had less than two days to save Twill from an arranged marriage.
###
About the Author
I was born in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall so perhaps a bit of history rubbed off. Ancient history obviously, and border history, right on the edge of the Empire. I always preferred the Dark Ages anyway; there’s so much more room for imagination when people aren’t writing down every last detail. So my idea of a good fantasy novel involved dirt and leather, not shining plate armour and Hollywood-medieval manners. The same applies to my sci-fi, really; I prefer gritty over shiny.
Oddly, then, one of the first fantasy novels I remember reading was The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper (later made into a terrible juvenile movie). These days we would call Cooper’s series Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy and looking back on it, it influenced me a lot. It has that mix of modern day life, hidden history, and magic which failed to hit popular culture until the early days of Buffy and Anne Rice. Of course, Cooper’s characters spend their time around places I could actually visit in Cornwall, and South East England, and mid-Wales. In fact, when I went to university in Aberystwyth, it was partially because some of Cooper’s books were set a few miles to the north around Tywyn.
I got into writing through roleplaying, however, so my early work was related to the kind of roleplaying game I was interested in. I wrote “high fantasy” when I was playing Dungeons & Dragons. I wrote a lot of superhero fiction when I was playing City of Heroes. I still loved the idea of a modern world with magic in it and I’ve been trying to write a novel based on this for a long time. As with any form of expression, practice is the key and I can look back on all the aborted attempts at books, and the more successful short stories, as steps along the path to the Thaumatology Series.
Writing, sadly, is not my main source of income. By day, I’m a computer programmer. I work for a telecommunications company in Manchester, England. My favourite authors are Terry Pratchett, Susan Cooper, and (recently) Kim Harrison. Kim’s Hollows books were what finally spurred me to publish something, even if the trail to here came by way of Susan, back in school, several decades ago.
For More Information
The Thaumatology Blog: http://thaumatology.wordpress.com
Other Books in the Series
Thaumatology 101 - B006IYIESW
Demon’s Moon - B006JPN7A0
Legacy - B006OKR8PK
Dragon’s Blood - B0072S1DOU
Disturbia - B007GNICZO
Hammer of Witches - B007YG2I44
Eagle’s Shadow - B008E17TYW
Ancient - B00923F8AS
Dragonfall - B00AKV95XW
Anthologies in the Thaumatology Universe
Tales from High Towers’ Study - B006ZAJ7TY
Tales from the Dubh Linn - B0080XPD88
Table of Contents
Part One: Aftermath
Part Two: The Succubus in the High Castle
Part Three: The Science of Hell
Part Four: Fairy Tales
Part Five: Wild, Wild South
Part Six: The Castle of Bones
Part Seven: Home Again, Home Again
Thaumatology 10 - The Other Side of Hell Page 21
