I wait and wait until finally Ares graces me with his presence.
I play a little with the notepad perched on my lap, pencil trembling in my
hand. Carefully I follow his sturdy move designed to show off his tall lean
muscular frame. As he sits down on his Throne of Bones, I wait some more,
secretly hoping he would start the conversation. I was wrong, I received an
inspection from head to toe and the tugging at the corner of his mouth showed
he liked what he saw.
Taking a deep breath I picked up my courage and started the
interview:
Ares, thanks for
letting me interview you in your own home. It's nice and warm here on the
island. Any particular reason you're not staying on Olympus anymore?
Thank you for coming, Lisa always speaks so highly of you,
any friend of hers is welcome in my home. (Lounging back on his Throne of Bones
he lets his dark eyes wander around the well-lit cave with its burning torches
and massive hearth). It's not much but we like it. As to why we're no longer on Olympus, my Son,
Raven, has caused of a bit of trouble to the tune of nearly a hundred million
dead. (He sighs deeply and shakes his dark head) Not even a God can turn back
the hands of time but we—Raven, myself, and my Sister, Athena—will be going
into the Mortal World to see what damage control we can do. For now, the island
is home-base.
I heard Lisa has
finished another installment of the "Of War" series. I've had the
privilege of already reading it and I must admit it answers a lot of questions
from previous books. Were you ever aware how big a role you played in it? And
would you have changed anything if you had the power to do so?
No, I thought it was the ramblings of a desperate woman,
Shar, I mean. Even when I saw my Family in her mirror I thought it was a
hallucination. But she was beautiful and willing, oh so willing, so I gave her
what she wanted. (With a wide smile full of pride, he points to his crotch with
open hands). In return, she freed me. Would I change anything? No, as I said
not even a God can turn back the hands of time. As ugly as it may have been,
everything happened as it was meant to.
Do you think you'll
ever set foot in the Dark Kingdom, the home of Maggie? (Having read the book, I
now know how he blocked all this from his mind, he should remember it all again
too.)
No, I promised Shar that I would never return and, at this
point, I see no reason to go back on my word.
Does your wife know
you remember this?
(He sighs again and clears his throat) I don't know what she
remembers, my Wife is very secretive when it comes to such things.
What will happen if
Zeus ever finds out? I mean, he's convinced Maggie is from the Dark Kingdom. If
you read this book, one knows he is right.
(Unexpectedly, Ares stands up from his Throne of Bones
rising to his full height of 7 feet and looms down) My Wife is from the Golden
Lands like her mother and her mother before her. As for my Father he can go….(His nostrils
flare as he takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly) I think our time
here is done.
Ares leaves the room angry and I sit here stunned, cursing
myself for even bringing up his father in this interview. Knowing my time ran
out I set about packing up my stuff, just then I hear a soft rustling of
fabric. Turning around I see Maggie coming towards me.
Maggie: Don't think the interview went as well as you hoped?
It went fine until I
happen to mention Zeus.
Maggie: *laughs* That name alone can make him lose his
temper. Ares and his father can barely tolerate each other.
The door behind us opens as Ares rejoins us, his temper is
still very visible but he also cooled down. He rounded us both and stopped next
to Maggie.
So how do you feel
about this new book from Lisa "Women of War"?
Maggie: She always does such a wonderful job for us, doesn't
she, My Love?
Ares: (Opens his arm and waits for Maggie to come to him
before closing it around her shoulders and seeming to calm down a bit) Yes, she
does.
I can only imagine
how hard it is to read your own past, but doesn't it help to fill in some of
the blanks?
Maggie: I suppose it does, it was nice to see my father,
Norman MacLeod, again if only for a little while. (The smile on her pretty face
turns sad as she leans toward her Husband's brawny body and rests her head on
his broad chest) Of course, some things are best to lie still and forgotten.
Do you think if Raven
read this book he'd understand more why his uncle is trying so hard to be his
best friend?
Maggie: I think he already knows. I think somewhere deep
inside of him he's always known but was blind to it. (Her gray eyes swell and redden with tears
absently she dabs the first away from the corner.)
(I can see Maggie is having a hard time with this one so I
decide not to press for more answers as I finish packing up and say my farewell
to both of them.)
Format: (Print, EBook, or Both) Ebook
and Print
Links to buy: "Women of
War" releases 2/14/2013 to Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords, also in print to
Amazon.com. Signed paperbacks and hard covers may be ordered by going to
Author Links:
Twitter: @lb_darling
EXCERPT Rated PG—book is ADULTS ONLY:
"Not so fast ya bastard," Norman
shot. "You want my daughter? You'll have to fight me for her." He unsheathed his sword to brandish it
bravely at the Great Horned God.
Maggie's fluttering heart skipped several
beats. "Da! No!"
She tugged on his arm as hard as she could trying to pull him back
toward the gate that was suddenly closing.
"No, he'll kill you!"
Then Maggie understood why he brought her out here. If he won, she'd see his great victory and
know she didn't have to be afraid any longer.
But, if he lost, Cernunnos wouldn't go storming through the village to
get to her, killing and wounding every person he came across as he went. She stopped pulling and fell quiet.
"No."
Norman kept his eyes on Cernunnos even as
he sank to his knees to plant a kiss on her cheek. "Go over there, stay out of the way,
girl."
"I love you, Da."
"I love you too, now go."
Wiping away a tear, Maggie sprinted away
from the emerging battleground to stand near the cold stone wall surrounding
the castle and its small village of angry citizens.
Cernunnos clasped his hands to his bare
chest and over his heart as he sighed and shook his head. "How touching." He feigned wiping a tear from the corner of
his eye as he let out another mocking sigh. "Mortals, you're always so
sentimental." With an icy glower,
the cloudless night sky began to stir as clouds thickened, blocking out the
sparkling stars. He raised the Staff of
Life and pointed it at Norman.
"Why don'ya do it like a man?"
Norman challenged as he stood straight, tall and proud with his chest jutting
out bravely and the thick muscles of his arms standing at attention. He waited but Cernunnos didn't answer him so
Norman taunted him further. "Oh
that's right, you're not a man, you're an unholy abomination. A cowardly one at that, pickin' on little
girls."
While finding the offer tempting,
Cernunnos found Norman's defiance distasteful and egotistical. That made the irate father an unworthy
opponent. Letting a shockingly bright ball
of energy fly from the tip of the staff, he smirked. "That wasn't part of the
bargain." Norman tried to evade it
but he was too slow and the Great Horned God took off his head with one blow. The headless body of Norman MacLeod, sword
still in hand, crashed to the grassy land just outside the safety of the Castle
MacLeod as his head rolled down the hill toward the babbling brook.
In unison, inside the castle looking out
from a high window where Elizabeth watched her husband fall and outside the
castle where Maggie stood not ten feet away, they both screamed out in anguish;
"NO!" Elizabeth fled down the stairs on weak legs as Maggie ran to
her fallen father on legs just as weak.
She fell to her knees next to him, threw her little body over him and
began weeping as she held onto his lifeless hand.
Also to celebrate the release of this story Lisa would like to giveaway 1 ebook copy of "Women of War" to go with this post. Leave a comment, preferred device and your e-mail address, we'll pick a winner from one of you (my daughter's innocent hand will pick one) and I'll make sure you will get your copy. Closing on midnight friday 8 februari 2013 CET (hey I live in Belgium ;-) ), pick winner on Saturday and forward the winner to Lisa.
