by Travis McBee
He let go of the switch, expecting to hear the snotty replies of an air force pilot telling him to mind his own business. Instead the only thing that trickled out of the speaker was a steady stream of static.
He glanced towards the radar screen and saw that the objects were still there and were descending on the sleepy town of Pleasant Valley.
“This is Pleasant Valley airport, identify yourself,” he stammered into the microphone once again and once again nothing but static returned.
He sat the microphone back on his desk and glanced wearily at the telephone. He had been ordered to call in anything unusual to his supervisor but he was hesitant to wake the perpetually angry man.
He glanced at the radar screen again and saw the object directly over town. He sighed away his discretion, reached across the desk to the phone, and began to dial.
End of book one
About the Author
Travis McBee is the younger of two children. He wrote Bridgeworld during his sophomore year of college at North Georgia College and State University where he studies history. In his spare time he enjoys playing rugby, watching football, and backpacking. Bridgeworld is his first novel.
Excerpt from Andraste
A Young Adult Fantasy
By Marisa Mills
One
Andraste sat whittling on the battlements, overlooking the thick forests of Nymphia. The elf flicked her ears back. All elves could move their ears- similar to the way cats do, in order to better perceive sounds, and Andraste was no exception. The sharp footfalls confirmed that someone was coming, and from how loud they were, Andraste had a feeling she knew who. Turning back to the piece of wood in her hand, she began carving again.
“Andraste, I know you're up there! I'm not that blind.”
Andraste knew that voice well; the bards would probably liken it to that of a nightingale. That’s Radiance. Curses!
Radiance came to stand beside her on the battlements. The elf’s curly red hair blew in her face as she stood with her hands on her hips. Andraste stood, too, her brown and silver hair flying in her face, and she tried to shove it away from her eyes. Radiance looked at her with her brownish-green eyes and that smug look she had in her left eye. It was the “I’m not letting you get out of this” look. Her right eye was blind, and she usually took care to cover it with her bangs to keep people from asking why it looked the way it did, but the wind was blowing too hard for that to work. Instead, her hair flew all over the place, like autumn leaves did in the wind. Actually, her hair was almost the color of autumn leaves when Andraste thought about it. Or maybe copper was a better comparison. “Andraste, you’re up here whittling.”
Andraste shrugged, glancing at her half-finished phoenix before tossing the wood away. Someone else- most likely one of the guards- would probably pick it up and finish it later. “Your power of observation is incredible,” she replied.
“Don’t be so sarcastic. Aunt Xandrina says that’s a teenager thing, and you’re not quite there yet.”
“Two more years.”
“Well, Xandrina says we need to get ready for the party tonight,” Radiance stated. “And she told me to come find you.”
“I can’t pretend to be sick?”
Radiance laughed. “No, you were sick at the last one. I don’t know why you hate these parties so much.”
“Oh, yes,” Andraste ranted sarcastically as they walked down the battlements. “Because listening to a foreign dignitary drone on and on is so fascinating.”
Radiance laughed again, a high-pitched sound that made Andraste mentally wince. Radiance’s voice might be like a nightingale, but her laugh was more like a mockingbird. “Oh, come on! Every male that comes has his eye on the famous Warrior Princess Andraste and her ‘intense amethyst eyes’.”
Andraste blushed. “Wasn’t that Lord Vigilance who said that? If I remember correctly, I dumped a glass of wine over his head.”
Radiance nodded. “Yes, you did, and I was busy talking to the Prince of Invaria, who was very fair, I’ll have you know. He looked slender with hair the color of wheat during the harvest and eyes like copper.”
The two were almost at the palace entrance. Radiance reached a hand out before they were even at the door, and Andraste pursed her lips. It was small signs like that that showed Andraste the flaws in her cousin’s eye sight. Radiance half-smiled and took a step forward before her fingers brushed the door. “That arrow did a job on my vision, didn’t it?” she asked. “I envy Brilliance; she’s still beautiful.”
“It’s just a small flaw in your vision,” Andraste said.
“Well, I have plenty of beauty to compensate for that, but still… I wish both my eyes at least looked the same,” Radiance said.
“Narcissist,” Andraste teased.
Radiance scowled at her. Andraste pushed the door open and entered the palace behind her. “Radiance…you know Aunt Xandrina would dismiss you from the warriors if you desired that, don’t you?”
“And?”
“Well…I mean, it’s a very small flaw in your vision, but you’d never have to fight again. Wouldn’t that make you happy?”
Her cousin shook her head. “I might be half-blind, but I’m still a Nymphian, Andraste.”
Andraste privately thought that ‘being a Nymphian’ was a poor excuse, but she understood what Radiance meant. “So-o,” Radiance said, dragging out the word longer than necessary. “I was looking at the guest list.”
“Oh no,” Andraste replied, suddenly focusing her attention on the embroidery of a tapestry. “The weavers did a good job on this, didn’t they?”
“I thought you might want to know Luminous is sending representatives.”
“Are they really?" Andraste asked, her ears tilting back. “Who are they sending? Is my mother coming?”
Radiance shook her head. “I'm sorry, Andraste. It’s an ambassador of theirs.”
“Oh.”
An elf in a silver gown came around the corner, her brown hair arranged into large curls atop her head. The woman walked gracefully with her head up in traditional, regal arrogance. Her steel-blue eyes looked vaguely distant as she spoke to the shorter elf beside her. “All right, as long as we have enough. That is all that matters-Andraste! Great, I was looking for you!”
“Radiance told me,” Andraste mumbled.
The elf sighed. “Dear, you need to get ready. It’s your duty.”
“I know, but I don’t have to like it being my duty,” Andraste replied. “It’s just boring!”
“Oh, Guardians, I know!” the elf agreed, throwing her arms in the air in a very un-queen like manner. “How do you think I feel having someone ask me every few seconds how the war is going, or if he can court you, or if I’m looking for a new mate? Oh, and do not forget those... those pompous Glishian representatives! All they talk about is their wine. It’s not even that good, and they treat it like it is some gift from Oishea herself!”
Andraste sighed. She has a point, the elf thought. “Do I have to wear a gown?”
The elf half-smiled. “Yes, you do. Ebhlin sewed it just for you, Andraste. Radiance has one, too.”
“Yes!” Radiance squealed. “Yes, yes, yes! Thanks, Aunt Xandrina.”
Xandrina nodded. “You’re welcome. Now, I have to go and be sure everything is perfect- even though we all know there will be a mistake of some sort. There always is. Oh, I have to find Ebhlin, too! I’ll send her your way.” The elf bustled down the hallway, stopping next to another elf. “Ah! Aisling, I was looking for you.”
“Maybe she’ll forget about Ebhlin,” Andraste remarked.
“I doubt it,” Radiance replied. “I'm sorry, Lady.”
“No you’re not, Bard,” Andraste shot back. “I wonder if it’s too late for me to come down with a sudden sickness. Maybe Irethel will take pity on me.”
“Now what fun is that?” Radiance asked. “I’ll only enjoy myself if you go. Besides, who will I talk to if you aren’t there?”
“Th
e Prince of Oceania, I guess.”
Radiance blushed. “There was nothing between us.”
“Mm… hm. Your sister said differently; she was very disapproving about the whole thing. She says you’re too young.” Radiance punched the elf in the shoulder, and Andraste hissed. “Ow! That one hurt, Bard! I took the end of a spear shaft there yesterday!”
The elf smirked. “It serves you right, Lady.”
Radiance laughed as Andraste rubbed her shoulder. “Well, do you want to go to the library and wait?”
“You’re just trying to avoid Ebhlin,” Radiance said.
“Lady!” someone interrupted.
“Oh Guardians,” Andraste muttered as another elf approached them.
“Hello, Seamstress!” Radiance exclaimed.
Andraste glowered at the elf before turning her attention back to the tailor, Ebhlin, who nodded. “Guardians, Lady! Queen Xandrina has requested you begin getting ready.”
“Do we really have to get dressed already?” Andraste asked.
“Well,” Ebhlin replied, “she wants you to look very nice tonight, and she’s getting me to make your hair look nice, too.”
“What?” Andraste asked.
Ebhlin nodded. “Have you ever done someone’s hair before?” Andraste asked. “Isn’t that usually what Grace does?”
“Yes, she did Brilliance’s hair one year,” Radiance said, “and it looked simply amazing!”
“Yes, yes; now come on! I need to get you your dresses!”
The elves followed Ebhlin, and Andraste sighed at Radiance’s excited mood. She practically bounced as she waited. “Here we are,” Ebhlin said, opening a chest when they finally arrived in the sewing room. “Andraste, yours is scarlet; Radiance, yours is blue.”
“It’s beautiful!” Radiance proclaimed, smiling brightly. “Yours is, too, Andraste! It’ll look wonderful with your lavender eyes.”
Andraste nodded dully. “It will look wonderful if I can get in it! This skirt is impossible!”
“Oh, Lady, you’ll be fine,” Ebhlin said, narrowing her blue eyes at the younger elf. “It’s a new style I’ve been modifying. I hear everyone dresses like that in western Nymphia, and it is supposed to impress the Lord and Lady of the Haerans.”
“Fabulous,” Andraste muttered.
“Now go, go! You need to get dressed quickly!”
Ebhlin ushered the elves out into the hallway, and Andraste and Radiance walked back to their rooms. “I’ll see you at sunset!” Radiance exclaimed, holding her dress tightly against her chest, as if it would simply vanish at any moment. “You’ll meet me out here, right?”
“Sure,” Andraste replied.
The bard gave the princess a quick one-armed hug before rushing into her room. “Radiance, you’re my best friend,” Andraste muttered, “but sometimes I just want to kill you.”
* * * * *
She sighed. I just knew there would be a huge skirt involved. I knew it.
Andraste finally managed to pull the dress on and lace up the front. Then, someone knocked on her door, and Andraste groaned. “Who is it?”
“It’s Ebhlin!”
“Come in then!”
When the elf entered the room, Andraste rolled her eyes. “Who in their right mind designed this dress? I feel like I’m drowning in fabric from my waist down!”
“Well, I don’t know,” Ebhlin said, “but everyone in western Nymphia is dressing like that now. Besides, I heard from Queen Xandrina we are having some guests tonight- and not the usual ones. Apparently, the king and queen of Firelapsia are coming.”
“So?” Andraste asked.
Ebhlin sighed and began unlacing and then lacing the front of the dress, so it looked better. “You should be nice. Firelapsia is a very powerful nation. Their human prince is also currently looking for a mate. He’s only a few years older than you-”
“That’s tight!” Andraste interrupted.
Ebhlin ignored her and continued. “So this could be a good opportunity for you. Sit!”
Andraste sat, feeling a little uncomfortable, and Ebhlin began unbraiding her hair. “Are you going to do mine like Xandrina’s is?” Andraste asked, thinking that if she was going to this party, she might as well look her best.
“No, your hair is just far too short. You ought to let it grow out some. Oh, I know, I know. You say it interferes with fighting. But it’s just so short.”
“It’s not too short. It stops just below my shoulder blades.”
“Radiance has waist-length hair.”
“Well, that’s Radiance. Do you have that pin the traders brought? The one with the rubies in it?”
“I do, and we’ll get to that later. I didn’t have this problem with Radiance.”
“Well, who else is coming?” Andraste asked, hoping to distract Ebhlin from complaining about her hair.
“Oh, yes, well, I’ve heard the Duke’s son - from the southern Corveantes of Nymphia- is coming, too. He is a good sort, they say, but I do not know if he is coming or not; it’s just a rumor. That might be something you want to look into, you know.”
“I doubt it.”
“Well, I think it’d be a splendid match! Guardians, girl, don’t you ever brush this hair?”
“I don’t think any of the warriors care how great my hair looks; and I do, actually.”
“Well, you need to maintain a good image. Who cares what the common warriors think! Royalty look at things like this, dear, and the royalty are the ones that matter! I just wish you cared more about this! I feel like you don’t.”
Andraste sighed as Ebhlin pulled back sharply on her hair. The elf fiddled with a golden swirl embroidered on her dress. She had to give Ebhlin that; she could embroider with the best of them. Her tapestries were hanging on at least half a dozen walls in the palace, and they were usually what guests first noticed about the palace. “Hm. Embroidery is a lovely skill for a young lady to have,” Ebhlin remarked, looking briefly over Andraste’s shoulder.
“What did they say at the war council this morning?” Andraste asked suddenly.
“Not much,” Ebhlin sighed. “Of course, there’s not much to say anymore. This winter will make five hundred years of war. The Sharae match us in numbers and strength presently. Queen Xandrina expects they’ll launch another campaign this spring… but you shouldn’t worry about that tonight!”
Andraste winced as Ebhlin pulled back a strand of her hair. “Now we’re almost done. Just don’t move! I’m going to get something to pin this last part of your hair up; I have an idea. I think this will work…”
Andraste listened to the elf rummaging through something behind her, and, against Ebhlin’s instructions not to move, the elf looked around at her reflection in a mirror. She leaned her head to one side and turned back around. She leaned her head to another side and smiled. It is a nice dress. I really wouldn’t mind wearing it if it weren’t for this blasted skirt. It’s so hard to walk. I’m not even sure I can sit in this- not in a chair, anyway; it’s so big!
The elf glanced down at her left hand, tracing a scar across her palm with her right. “Aw, this is perfect!” Ebhlin said. “You look … ravishing!”
Andraste stood and looked in the looking glass once more. I’m not as pretty as Radiance. She may have that one eye, but she’s beautiful. Brilliance is, too. I suppose I look fair enough, although it’s hard not to look nice in this. It is a nice color on me. Heh, I could hide a horse under this skirt, though.
“What are you thinking?” Ebhlin asked, interrupting her musings.
“I was thinking… I actually look kind of pretty,” Andraste admitted, not daring to repeat her thoughts about the horse. Ebhlin wouldn’t take that kindly at all.
“You should. Your mother was gorgeous, and your father was fair enough himself. Although, your mother was much more ladylike,” the elf said with some disapproval. “Still, your parents were fair enough, and so are you. You should think you’re pretty because you are.”
Ebhlin opened th
e door and Andraste stepped outside. A few moments later, Radiance joined her, her red hair gathered on her head, with a section of bangs covering her bad eye. Ironically, Andraste thought Radiance looked more like a princess than she, herself, did. The first Warrior Queen was said to have thick, red hair that went to her waist, and Radiance definitely had that. Radiance may have one blind eye, but the eye not hidden by her hair was a warm, brown-green, the color of the forest between summer and autumn. “Andraste, you look so beautiful!” Radiance exclaimed, in her high, very friendly voice.
“And you think you don’t look beautiful?” Andraste asked.
“Of course I’m beautiful!” Radiance laughed. “Except for my eye… but I think I covered it well enough.”
“You look fine.”
“Well, come on!” Radiance said, linking arms with Andraste. “It’s almost evening! There’s such a lovely sunset outside.”
The elves walked outside into the palace gardens. The grass sparkled from ground up mica that glittered in the grass. The entire place sparkled, giving the gardens a magical atmosphere. Columns wrapped in blue and silver matched the imported silk linens spread over the tables, and the trees sparkled from the colored glass orbs suspended from their branches. A fire was burning in a clearing on the courtyard, and elves began stacking wood near it. The carnations and roses in the gardens glowed and sparkled in all different colors like a miniature rainbow on the ground.
Andraste was astonished. “How did she do all this without magic?” Andraste whispered in her awe.
“Is it glass?” Radiance asked.
“No, it’s like the flower just… sparkles,” Andraste said, stroking a rose petal. “It doesn’t even feel different.”
“Queen Xandrina went all out for this party,” Radiance muttered. “This place looks beautiful…beyond beautiful! I suppose she hired some magicians to work on it, but it’s just…gorgeous! It’s…unbelievable!”
“It… really does. It looks magical.”
Radiance pulled Andraste aside as more people entered the garden. “Look what she did to the gates!”
