An Exciting Excerpt...      

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​​     Rosine took a deep breath and carefully slid the door open. Freezing wind bit into her skin as she poked her head from the room and peered down the hall. Wind inside the house?

 

What…? She steeled herself and crept down the hallway, bare feet absorbing the icy cold that seeped from the floor. The mountain air that swirled round the house drifted through the halls like fog through a valley. The polished wooden floors felt no better than ice beneath her feet.

 

She suddenly shivered, regretting not having grabbed something wear over her pajamas. As she rubbed her arms for warmth, her fingers went to her neck searching for the pendant that hung there. Relief washed over her as her fingers stumbled into the charm. Ishtar protect me…

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Iolanetta’s room was only a few doors down. I feel like a kid… Maybe I should go back…

 

Memories of a dozen clammy hands pulling her into the dark water surfaced in her mind. I don’t care… I can’t bear to be alone anymore.Rosine paused. For the briefest of instants, the sound of singing drifted through the halls. She looked up and down the hall in puzzlement. What was—?

 

It came again, swelling like a gust of wind. Rosine glanced up the hallway. It had come from the men’s rooms. She passed Iolanetta’s room, drawn by the strange song. The singer was female. She sang in a beautiful almost enchanting fashion with strange words Rosine was unable to understand. Rosine glanced down to her chest. Her heart beat with a strange excitement causing her pace to quicken. She came to a sudden stop as the sound of a door sliding open came from further up the hall.

 

Rounding the corner, she found Furdy some thirty feet away peeking from his door. He stared after the source of the enchanting music with wide eyes.Rosine followed his gaze and froze. There she was! The woman from the guy’s dreams! She walked down the hall moving toward the gardens, singing as she went. Rosine watched in dumbfounded awe. What is she?

 

The strange woman glowed with a soft yellow light that emanated from her skin. Her clothing softly flowed behind her like flags in a gentle breeze. Before Rosine knew what was going on, her feet began to move. Furdy had already begun to do the same scampering from his room and chasing after the apparition. He slipped round the corner leaving Rosine alone. She followed as quickly as she dared mind racing. What is this? Who is she?

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Cold air assaulted her body as she rounded the corner. The doors leading to the gardens were thrown wide open. Soft flurries of snow swept through the entrance blanketing the floor in white. He went out? In this weather?! She eyed her bare feet and groaned. Furdy! What has gotten into you?! She sighed heavily as a surge of concern assaulted her heart. I’ll just take a peek…

 

The moment her feet touched the snow, she regretted it. The cold powder bit at her toes and numbed her skin. The garden lay just ahead. The stream that supplied the hot springs wound through its center, spreading steam into the air as it battled to keep from freezing over. Cold, blue-green moonlight shone on the ground painting Rosine’s purple skin an eerie black. She quickly spotted the glowing woman on the far side of the garden with Furdy right behind. He was calling out to her, but she continued on as if he did not exist. Rosine followed fully intent to drag Furdy back to the safety of the house, but immediately slipped on a slick patch of Ice.

She slammed to the ground with a terrible thud! Ouch! She carefully stood again, nearly falling over as her numbed feet struggled to negotiate the frozen ground. Furdy and the ghostly woman were at garden exit. What is he thinking? She looked past the garden gate to the tall, cold mountains beyond. They jutted from the ground like the frozen teeth of a world-devouring monster. Where are they going in the middle of…?

Rosine froze. The story! Lured off into the… “Furdy stop!” she screamed. The furry fellow didn’t seem to hear her. Panic stabbed Rosine’s heart. He had nearly left the garden. “Furdy! Stop! Don’t follow her!”
A strange shadow suddenly fell over Rosine, blocking the light of the moons. She couldn’t turn around. Her eyes were locked on the ominous black shadow. It was a strange, terrifying thing twisting and writhing in the shape of some inhuman fiend. She jolted as a cold hand clapped on her shoulder. She whirled in panic and for the briefest of instants saw— Nothing… Her vison was suddenly torn away plunging her into darkness! She fell to the snow feeling her eyes. She saw nothing! Her hands felt warm and slick. Blood

 

!With the speed of a lightning strike, rough hands tore her from the ground and hurled her into the air!

She slammed into the cold ground struggling to breath. A cold boot slammed into her throat and crushed her! Rosine gasped for air, but none made it into her lungs. No! Help! Someone, help me!