Whispers
Anthology, Coming October 2018:
There’s a whisper in the wind. The whisper of
adventure, a whispered secret, the whisper of a tortured soul. What will
it be saying to you?
Visit Molly Daniels’s WEBSITE for publication details.
Visit Molly Daniels’s WEBSITE for publication details.
The Badass
Fairies of the Wabash by Molly Daniels (short story)
Trouble is brewing along the Wabash River. A
young fairy who’s recently released from Solitude, is rebelling against her new
duties in the Three Bridges area. When the High Council intervenes, will
things improve?
I’d like to introduce Opal, the misunderstood
fairy. Since she doesn’t get to defend herself in the story, I thought
I’d give her the chance to explain her side of the story. Ready, Opal?
I guess so. How did you get holier-than-thou
Diamond to release me from Stonehenge?
I reminded him you’d been locked inside for nearly two
years. Your punishment was supposed to only be a month. Were the Druids
kind to you?
No; they were horrible. Being locked in the ground
and trapped in stone was awful. Why couldn’t he have sent me back to
L’Arche, where I spent my Solitude? At least there I had access to the
water, and be above ground. My wings are so dusty. I don’t know
how long it will take to get the dirt from behind my ears. Have you ever
taken a dust bath? *shivers*
Let’s back up and bring the readers up to speed.
You saved a human’s life and were granted your own territory to patrol.
What went wrong?
For one thing, Turquoise (Opal’s supervisor) refused to
grant my request to be near the water. He sent me to patrol this boring
strip of highway with a lot of twists and turns, lined with cornfields,
soybeans, and trees. After three days of seeing nothing but four cars, a
herd of deer, various rodents, and uppity tree nymphs, I went off in search of
more action. How was I supposed to know some stupid human would try to
take a turn too fast and play chicken with an oak tree?
What is your connection to Chel?
That phony? He doesn’t even have the right to call
himself a fairy! He’s a Faxie, since his grandmother was a Pixie. I
discovered him mixing potions to hide the fact his powers are nearly useless.
At first, I simply helped test his concoctions, and discovered one of them
caused me to not care about anything. When he refused to give me more, I
blackmailed him Threatened to expose him to the High Council. But Tanza and
Tsavorite caught on….and Dominic blabbed when I interfered with his scheme to
get two humans to fall in love. Since when is that a fairy’s job? I
thought the Cupids were in charge of that department.
It was my understanding it was part of Torque’s ruse
to catch you.
(Sigh) It worked. Now my pretty pink wings
are more of a dusty rose; I’ve developed allergies and the skin between my
fingers itch; my glossy hair is limp. I want to return to L’Arche and
have the island gnomes pamper me.
Since you brought it up…..what is your disdain for
humans?
One of my first assignments was to protect a young
college boy. He was so earnest about his education, so dedicated to his
ambition….all I wanted to do was to be able to help him. This is stupid.
Quit using your psycho-babble on me.
Just because you made a mistake….Opal, everyone makes
mistakes at one point or another.
(Scoffs) Not the high-and-mighty High
Council. You saw what they did to me. I’m tired of everything going ‘just
right’. Why not liven up the action? I’ve found it’s more fun to create
chaos in the world, instead of peace. Peace is boooorrrring.
Opal….you’re seriously telling me you’d rather be bad
than good?
I’ve watched enough human TV to know the villians have
all the fun. Sometimes they even have the best wardrobes.
You don’t look very well-dressed-
That’s because Steven Spielburg hasn’t read this story
yet. You wait and see...he’ll cast Lana Parillo (Wicked Queen in Once Upon
A Time) or Angelina Joli to play me.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I sincerely doubt
that’s ever gonna happen. We’re a small independent press; I don’t see any
Hollywood producers ever taking notice of this tiny book of stories.
Maybe I’m in the wrong business….let me talk to Diamond,
and I’ll be your agent!
What about the fact you’re a fairy and only two inches
tall?
So I’ll have to have help….I’m sure Chel and I can figure
out a way to get a producer’s attention. Maybe hypnotize a human agent
for a few hours. Or go to Disney and pitch the idea.
I think this interview’s gotten out of hand. In the
meantime, Whispers is set to release sometime in the next month through
First City Books. Did you read the other stories in the book?
I think your other story, Spirit Pottery, is a little
hokey. Why couldn’t Zach (the ghost) have tossed Trevor down the stairs?
Or Caleb (the old soldier ghost) scared him out of the studio? But nooooo….it’s
all about loooove. (makes gagging noises). At least Brooke’s story is on
the right track.
You’re hopeless, Opal. Emerald? She’s ready to
return to her post. I’m finished with her for the moment.
Emerald? Why am I being released to
Emerald? He’s a hard-nosed, stick-up-his-butt, no nonsense jerk!
That was a condition for your release. You’re
under my supervision now. One misstep and it’s back to the druids
for you.
(sulks) It’s not fair.
Just goes to show, crime doesn’t pay.
“Whispers” is available through:
AMAZON
Connect with Molly
Daniels
Thanks for hosting me today, Bonnie!
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