that you make the very best of this opportunity. And a case of that excellent whiskey."
He laughed, sounding relieved. "I think I can arrange that. But we'd better get going. We've got a fair distance to travel if we want to reach the monastery by dusk."
"No, I don't feel like walking." As she spoke, Eleanor rose up the slope of the ridge, startling him. She braked and landed in front of them, then hunkered down. She climbed up and settled on the Wakiya's shoulders, then reached down and helped him climb on behind her. When they were both settled, him gripping her pack, Eleanor leapt up and soared out over the mountains.
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For more information on Sir Differel Van Helsing and the Caerleon Order, see the official site [https://www.sir-differel.com/].
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Bonus Story: Genderbent
Paperwork was the bane of Sir Differel's existence, or so she thought, especially considering that she had to write it out by hand, despite being the digital age. Fortunately, having a staff meant that all she needed to do was create penciled drafts that they would then type up for submission. However, composition had been a low priority when being trained as a child. She had to devote half her effort to simply figuring out how to say what she wanted to say in a manner that would fit in the fields provided on the forms. That meant frequent revision using an old fashioned eraser.
At one point she reached for it without looking and accidentally knocked it off her desk.
"Oh, bloody hell." She scowled as she reflected on all the petty nuisances she had to put up so far that morning. She pushed her chair back and searched around, but couldn't she it. Then she ducked down and looked under the desk. She spotted it all the way in the back.
"Of course." She got out of the chair, went down on her hands and knees, and crawled in after it. Even as she reached for it, she felt a slap on her backside.
"Hi'ya, Cousin!"
Startled, she reared up, and smacked the top of her head against the desk.
"Arrrgg! Bloody bugger bollocks!" She crawled backwards out from under and knelt upright as she held her head.
The Princess in Orange lay on top of her desk on her side, her torso propped up on one arm, and she beamed a lunatic grin. "Ohhhh, that must smart!"
Differel flashed an angry leer before she stood up. "What do you want?"
The Princess sat up on the edge of the desk and dangled her feet over the floor. "I just stopped by to commiserate."
That surprised her. As her anger drained away she realized she should be terrified. In their previous encounters, the Princess had nearly claimed her as an eternal plaything, had forced her to perform mammary intercourse with Billy the stableboy to save her people from a pornographic nightmare, had trapped her in an abandoned house filled with ravenous undead that sought to rape her and consume her flesh, had manipulated her into being a dragonslayer for a group of human-mouse hybrids, had sent her to an alternate reality to be the bride of a reanimated mummy, and had turned her and her frenemy Margaret Chesham into erotic Sailor Senshi ordered to arrest a space pirate on a pornographic pleasure planet run by her Vampire servant Vlad Drakulya. God and the Devil alone knew what new mischief she had planned.
"Silly willy Diffy! That write-up in The Sun about you playing a reverse Victor-Victoria."
"Hmph." The daily tabloid had published an article accusing her of being a man pretending to be a woman pretending to be a man. She just figured Rupert Murdoch had it in for her after she publicly dressed him down a few months back at a Conservative Party fundraiser for revealing state secrets.
"My solicitor is dealing with that."
"Still, it must be frustrating having people think you're a guy all the time."
"Yes, well, it is, but why do you care?"
The Princess fixed her with a wicked grin. " I can change that!"
It took a moment for the shilling to drop, and then her heart stuttered as her gut froze and her mind skipped a track. "Merciful God in Heaven, no!!" She tried to back away.
The Princess raised a hand and snapped her fingers. "Voila!"
A blinding flash of light engulfed her. She raised her arms to protect her face, but it passed in an instant. At first she thought nothing had happened, but then she felt a cool breeze blow over her body.
The Princess made a mirror appear in front of her out of thin air. "Check it out!"
Her gut turned to ice as she stared pop-eyed at her reflection. She wore a tiny slingshot bikini that left her practically naked. Furthermore, the Carcosan Royal had exaggerated her figure into a pronounced hourglass, with an overly-large bosom and wide hips framing an impossibly narrow waist.
"There! Now no one will ever mistake you for a man again. Ta-ta!"
"No, wait!" But the Princess vanished in a flash of orange light.
Vlad Drakulya appeared out of a burst of shadow only a moment later. "Is there a prob..." He started when he got a good look at her, then relaxed and favoured her with a lascivious leer. "Oh. This is unexpected. Still, I like your new look."
She felt her irritation flare and jammed her fists into her hips. "Just shut it, you bloody git, and fetch me a robe!"
He bowed. "Instantly, My Master." And he sank into the floor.
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About the Author
Kevin L. O'Brien was born with a pen in his hand.
Well, not quite, but he has been writing for as long as he can remember, at least since First Grade. Writing has always been his first, true love, but it hasn't always been his career. He worked for 15 years as a biomedical researcher, then for 3 years as a web designer. However, after 30 years of trying to be published in print with little success, he has decided to try his hand at self-publishing. Most of his works will be sold as ebooks through various online retailers, but he also plans to make some available for free exclusively on Goodreads.
He writes primarily speculative fiction--fantasy, science fiction, horror, and their sub-genres--but he also likes to try his hand at thrillers, suspense, mystery, and even westerns. However, his stories tend to have a fantasy element, no matter how subtle.
Most of his stories involve the following three main characters:
Medb hErenn [https://www.medbherenn.com/]--One-time queen of Ireland, she is over 3500 years old. A warrior and a sorceress, she cannot be harmed by any weapon made by the hand of man.
Eile and Sunny, Team Girl [https://www.teamgirlforever.com/]--They are two adorable, vivacious, fun-loving young women whose motto is ONWARD TO ADVENTURE!!! Yet trouble follows them like a love-sick puppy wherever they go.
Sir Differel Van Helsing [https://www.sir-differel.com/]--The descendent of Abraham Van Helsing and King Arthur, she heads the Caerleon Order, the premier monster-hunting organization of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. She commands Dracula, the most powerful vampire extant, and the greatsword Caliburn, better known as Excalibur.
He also writes a series of sword & sorcery stories set in an alternative universe known as the Lands of the Dreams of Men.
Kevin lives in Denver with his family and 4 cats.
For more information, see the Songs of the Seanchai [https://www.seanchaisongs.com/].
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Discover other titles by Kevin L. O'Brien:
A fidus Aranea, Adventurer's Honeymoon, Barbarians R Us, The Beast of Exmoor, The Christmas Vampires, Dark Vengeance, A Deliberation of Morality, The Denver Walker, Desperate Acts, Disposable Commodities, Do Unto Others, Far-Sight, Feline Savior, Felis ex Machina, Fun 'n' Games, The Golden Mushroom, Gourmand Hag, Gratuitous Crossover, Gruff Tolls, Immanuel, In an Octopus's Garden, Inseparable, Jigsaw Dragon, The Lions of Inganok, Man Friday, Masie's Mind, No Torrent Like Greed, Oak Do Hate, One-Percenter Vendetta, The Peril Gem, Post-Traumatic Redemption, The Price of Folly, Pride and Fall, Pyrrhic Victory, Redshirt, Rhapsody in Orange, The Road to Hell, Sacrificial Offering, Shenanigans, The Steel Gazelle, The Surrogate, Survival & Sacrifice, The
Temple of Ubasti, A Typical Friday Night
Enjoy these other titles at fine ebook retailers everywhere.
Available on Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/story/list/20075368
The Differential Damsel, Dribble & Maggot in the Land of Dreams, We Deliver, Youthful Indiscretion
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Connect with Kevin L. O'Brien Online:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KLOB_writer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.l.obrien.1
Website: https://www.seanchaisongs.com/
DeviantArt: https://teamgirl-differel.deviantart.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Kevin_L_OBrien
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Sample Excerpts
From "The Denver Walker"
Seven F-15E Strike Eagles flew in a diamond wedge formation over eastern Colorado. They had departed Buckley Airforce Base in Aurora where they were temporarily stationed. They were headed due east towards the Kansas border, and their intended target. Each was armed with eight AIM-120 AMRAAM medium range air-to-air missiles, modified to deliver fragmentation warheads, and an AIM-54 Phoenix long range air-to-air missile, as well as their standard 20 mm M61A1 gatling guns.
Approximately fifteen minutes behind them followed a single A-6E Intruder attack aircraft. It carried a single BGM-109 Tomahawk
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