Close Encounters of the Magical Kind Read online

  “My apologies,” Lord Phaedren was saying. “I challenged my shealk into showing off a little. I shouldn’t have suggested he come so close to the shore.”

  “No harm done,” Kri’Entu assured him. “It’s only water.”

  “As I was saying,” Sarah continued, turning back to Mikal once the hubbub died down, “it’s a long story. His mother was killed and his father wasn’t in any position to care for him. So Steve and I are going to take him back to Idaho.”

  Mikal’s eyes widened.

  “This is the griffin I heard you talking about with the Fae last night, isn’t it? Something about the mother dying but yet you actually talked to her somehow?”

  Sarah nodded, “That’s right. I didn’t realize you were listening to me.”

  “Sorry,” Mikal apologized, looking contrite. “I know I shouldn’t have, but I was bored.”

  “It’s okay,” Sarah assured him.

  “So what is ‘Ranal’?” Mikal asked.

  “Hmm, that’s not okay,” Sarah corrected, thinking hard. “Ranal is where the griffins go to die.”

  “I never knew such a place existed,” Lissa said, lowering her voice to a whisper.

  “It’s considered bad form to talk about such a place,” Steve said. “It’s governed by an entity that is a lot more powerful than any of us. As a griffin, you don’t want to anger him. He will prevent you from feeling the Pull, which will deny the griffin his Final Journey. Trust me, for a griffin, that’s bad.”

  “How do you know?” Mikal asked.

  “Because I inadvertently pissed him off,” Steve sighed. “Royally. I didn’t mean to. He was just doing his job and protecting his griffins. What I should have told him was that we were doing it to save the Fae.”

  “I wish we could have told Usol why we were really there,” Sarah added wistfully.

  “Why didn’t you?” Lissa asked.

  “Because if he knew what we were up to then he more than likely would have kicked us out of Ranal as soon as he did.”

  Steve looked up, “Usol, if you’re listening, we’re sorry. I’m sorry. We only harvested that one flower, and I made sure I only took the flower head, so the plant should still be alive. I know it angered you and I’m sorry. We didn’t have a choice. We did it to help some new friends.”

  Thunder rumbled loudly. Mikal and Lissa glanced up at the sky. There were a few clouds overhead but none of them were rainclouds. Sarah looked at her husband and mouthed, he heard you!

  “You’d be proud of us,” Steve continued, glancing up at the sky. “We just adopted a griffin. We essentially saved his life. Remember Nyx? This is her baby.”

  The rumbling thunder stopped instantly.

  Epilogue

  The party lasted well into the night. Balthor ended up having to renew his communication spell three more times so that the shealk wouldn’t feel left out. Kri’Entu and Ny’Callé stayed until the last guest finally went home, which in this case were Maelnar and his band of Kla Guur.

  The dwarves offered to help cleanup but were turned down. Constable Fensham assured everyone that he and his team of workers would tidy up the following morning. The wyverians left, having been completely unsuccessful in five rounds of races with the shealk, but each species having the utmost respect for the other. Lord Phaedren had admitted that each of the participating shealk were barely able to stay ahead of their flying counterparts. One even attributed the wyverians’ tenacity to that of a pursuing oskorlisk.

  Lissa and Mikal departed on their honeymoon just as soon as they were sure no one was looking. Sarah later found out that the newlyweds were planning an extended visit to their southern neighbors, the Straosians. She knew the king objected, but in the end it was Mikal’s decision.

  It was just past dusk. Shadows were creeping in, enveloping the tiny log cabin in a comfortable blanket of darkness. The soothing sounds of Greenquill Falls could be heard as the forest’s residents retired for the night, paving the way for the appearance of the nocturnals. In a matter of moments the small clearing was inundated with trills, hoots, chirps, and all manner of nighttime activity.

  Tucked safely away inside the cozy cabin, in the cabin’s only bedroom, slept the inhabitants. Draped across the cabin’s only bed, as though they had collapsed from sheer exhaustion before having a chance to change into their sleeping clothes, were Steve and Sarah. She was sleeping on the extreme edge of her side of the bed while Steve did the same for his. Nestled in between the sleeping humans was one corgi, on her back with all four paws in the air, and one griffin, in the exact same position.

  Author’s Note

  I cannot believe this marks the 9th fantasy story that I’ve released. What’s even crazier is, with the release of my 2nd mystery novel slated for later this same month, my total number of books will be pushed to 11. And… I’ve already got #12 planned out. It will be a mystery novel, the 3rd in the Corgi Case Files series. If any of you enjoy a good cozy mystery, I would encourage you to give them a try. It’s something completely different from epic fantasy and it’s considerably shorter.

  Now, I’ll clue you guys & gals in on something. Don’t hold me to it, but I’m going to try and modify my schedule one more time. I’ve been watching how fast I write, and how long it takes me to prep a title to get it published, and I’m thinking I can increase my releases. Essentially, if I buckle down, ignore distractions, and just write, I can typically write one of my mystery novels in about a month. Make it an epic fantasy and the time increases to two. So I’m going to shoot for alternating releases. Coming up will be the 3rd mystery, aptly titled ‘Case of the Holiday Hijinks’, just in time for Christmas. Then it’ll be a fantasy, encompassing January and February for writing time, then March for the next mystery, and so on. So, members of my Posse, are you ready to be put to some serious work? :)

  I’m often asked which books I’d recommend if by chance I’m taking too damn long in releasing my next title. See above. I hope to change that. Anyway, here are a few that I personally enjoy, having read all of them:

  The Blue Moon Detectives series by JH Sked

  The Klondaeg series, by Steve Thomas

  The Emperor’s Edge series, by Lindsay Buroker

  All of Dan Brown’s novels (you know, the DaVinci Code author?)

  Harry Potter series, by JK Rowling (not just for kids)

  I still do enjoy chatting with the fans. For anyone who’d like to look me up, ask a question or two, or would perhaps like some advice on releasing their own novel, feel free! I can be found on FaceBook, but more often than not you’ll find me keeping an eye on my blog, www.AuthorJMPoole.com. Ask away!

  I’d again like to remind you, the reader, of the importance of reviews. Nothing will help an indie author out more than by leaving a review wherever you purchased the book. I certainly would appreciate it, whether good or bad.

  That’s it for now! Stay tuned to the blog for news on announcements, contests, and book releases. There’s also a newsletter signup, in case you’d like me to notify you whenever something of note happens.

  Thanks again for all your support!

  J.

  October 2016

  Submissions

  I didn’t use too many fan submissions this time, but there were a couple of them:

  Archadius – Tanner Erb

  Thalian – Toni Trick

  Finndar – Wendy Egan

  Emerion – Marie Howells

  Bastillius – Deb Shapiro

  Have you ever wanted to name of fictitious character? Keep an eye on the blog. You never know when I’ll ask for help naming a human, or dragon, or griffin, or ?

 

 

 
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