The Dark and Forbidding Land

by Wesley Allison

  “Oh yes,” replied Mrs. Wissinger. “He is my husband’s cousin. Isn’t he wonderful?”

  “He is my fourth cousin once removed,” said her husband. “I only saw him once at a family reunion, and that was before his first book was published.”

  “You’ve read them of course,” said Terrence. “I have all five in my library. I’d like to have a signed edition some day.”

  Across the room, Mr. Parnorsham latched onto Miss Lusk’s arm as she passed by.

  “Thank you for inviting my wife and me. We don’t get a chance to socialize very often. I imagine the same thing is true for the Darwins.”

  The Darwins stood near the fireplace, listening in rapt attention along with Mr. Luebking and Professor Calliere as Lawrence Bratihn told the story of some adventure or another.

  “You know what you could use, Miss Lusk,” Mr. Parnorsham continued. “You could use a music box. It’s mechanical, it’s mathematical, it’s beautiful. In fact, I can’t think of anyone who would appreciate it more.”

  “I shall consider it,” replied Miss Lusk. “I do have a keen interest in music.”

  As the guests began to leave, Terrence pulled Lawrence Bratihn aside.

  “I want you to know, that when I go, you’re going back with me. We’ll both see again.”

  “Are you ready then? It’s quite a trip. You’re a newlywed. Are you going to take your new wife with you or leave her here?”

  Terrence waved the notion aside, though the other man couldn’t see him.

  “I’m ready to go. It’s not that. We have to have a high level priest and a high level wizard, and wizards tend to be expensive, and we have to have them together at the same time. It’s proving damned hard to schedule especially over long distance.”

  “If you can get it set up, I’ll be ready to go,” said Bratihn. “But I’ve made my peace. If I don’t ever get my sight back, it won’t be the end of the world.”

  “You’re a better man than I am, Lawrence.”

  Gaylene Dokkins left with her parents, but her brother stayed to walk home with his friends. After bidding thank you and good-bye to Miss Lusk he, Hero and Hertzal, and Senta walked east towards the Hertling home.

  “You know Hertzal, there’s more and more work at the dockyards,” said Graham. “I’ll bet you and I could get on there full time. Foreman jobs too.”

  “You think you’re old enough to be a foreman?” asked Senta.

  “Sure, and think of all the money. We’d be able to buy whatever we wanted.”

  “Like presents for a pretty girl?”

  “Um, maybe.”

  Hertzal elbowed him in the ribs.

  “Stop it. I know her birthday’s coming up.”

  Senta looked at him.

  “Don’t worry. I’m going to get you a present, but that’s not what I was thinking about buying.”

  “What do you want to buy then?”

  “I’m going to get a copy of Colonel Mormont's journal.”

  “What do you need that for?”

  “Remember what Hero read? He was talking about Tyrannosauruses hunting in packs. That’s something nobody around here knew about until this past week. Maybe there’s something else important in there. Kafira knows we’re not getting all the goods from the lizzies.”

  “Maybe we should all read Colonel Mormont’s journal,” said Senta.

  “I wish I’d thought of that,” said Hero in a small voice.

  * * * * *

  The official start of spring was just a week after Egeria Lusk’s tea party. The entire week was warm and lovely as was the week after. The week after that, a cold spell hit and there were a few snow flurries, but the cold weather didn’t stay around. It was little more than a memory of the winter that had been. Construction in the colony picked up to a feverish pace as immigrants continued to arrive from Greater Brechalon, Freedonia, and even a few from Mirsanna and more distant lands.

  The new Town Square became, as had been planned, the commercial hub of Port Dechantagne as scores of new houses were built to the south. The businesses there thrived. The pfennig store, which supplied the town with imports from toys to biscuits, grew busier. Mr. Parnorsham even managed to sell a few mechanical music players. The most successful establishment though was Finkler’s Bakery, which had so much business that they had to take on several employees, including Graham’s sister, Gaylene.

  The Zaeri community on the east side of town expanded faster than any other district. Hero’s sister Honor played a major part in getting the new settlers adjusted to their new homes. As spring turned into summer, the twins were able to help her more as they were both ahead in their studies. This last detail particularly irked both Graham and Senta, who since they had been shirking during much of the winter months, had to buckle down all the harder to catch up.

  More lizzies moved into Port Dechantagne to work at the docks, build roads and public works, and most of all to become servants in the homes of the humans. Cissy, Kheesie, Sirrek, and Tisson stayed on in their positions in the Dechantagne home and earned a degree of trust with the family. They became well known enough in the colony that many humans recognized them individually, as they did Miss Lusk’s major domo Chunney. Just before the end of spring, old Kendric the lizzie guide died. His remaining young disciples, including the diminutive Kendra moved out of Port Dechantagne and back to their distant villages. The positions of guides for the humans were filled by other lizzies.

  Iolana Calliere grew quickly and infused the Dechantagne-Calliere home with a new level of energy. She remained the only little one in the home though. Despite hopes and prayers, by the end of the summer, Yuah found that she was still not with child. To make matters worse, Terrence grew more distant, as he looked for the day he would return to Brech to have his sight restored.

  Saba Colbshallow and Eamon Shrubb became close friends and continued to be important members of the militia, until late the next year when another job opportunity arose. Though Eamon frequently pointed out that Saba needed a girlfriend, it was he who was struck down by love at first sight when he met a fetching young redhead from Brechalon. Saba, though single, oversaw the construction of his home, a small A-frame house just across the road from the Dechantagne estate. He ate many meals with his neighbors and could often watch Mrs. Dechantagne from his loft window as she walked through the gardens.

  Courtney Jex returned to Sumir and his fame increased when he painted a portrait of the Brech royal family. His painting of Zurfina occupied a spot in her bedroom, directly across from the stairway, where Senta or anyone else who entered would see it before anything else.

  Two weeks after the tea party, Senta celebrated her eleventh birthday. She received a beautiful white bonnet from Hero, a hand-carved wooden dragon from Hertzal, and a tortoise shell brush from Graham. Zurfina surprised her with a zoetrope, which when spun around, displayed the images of a man and woman dancing. And Bessemer gave her a toy facsimile of a pony made of wood and yarn, matching the gift that she had bought for him.

  Senta continued her magical studies and become proficient at advanced magic, though it was quite some time before she next attempted a fireball spell. As Graham had warned her, once Bessemer had learned to speak he grew more and more loquacious. Senta and the steel dragon became even closer, had long conversations while sitting on the sea shore during the day or beside the warmth of the cast iron stove at night, and by the time fall rolled around again, he had far surpassed her in their shared level five primer.

  The End

  About the Author

  Wesley Allison is a teacher and author living in Henderson, Nevada with his wife Victoria and his two grown children Becky and John. For more information about the author and upcoming books, visit http://amathar.blogspot.com.

  Books by Wesley Allison

  Look for them wherever fine ebooks are sold. Select titles are also available in traditional paper formats at the City of Amathar Blog and by special order from your favorite bookseller.


  Princess of Amathar

  Transported to the artificial world of Ecos, Earth man Alexander Ashton struggles to understand the society of his new friends the Amatharians. As he does so, he finds himself falling in love with their princess and being thrust into a millennium-long war with their mortal foes the reptilian Zoasians. Princess of Amathar is a sword-swinging novel of high adventure.

  His Robot Girlfriend

  Mike Smith's life was crap, living all alone, years after his wife had died and his children had grown up and moved away. Then he saw the commercial for the Daffodil. Far more than other robots, the Daffodil could become anything and everything he wanted it to be. Mike's life is about to change.

  His Robot Wife

  In His Robot Wife, the novella-length sequel to His Robot Girlfriend, it is the year 2037 and Mike has been married to his robot wife, Patience, for five years. Troubles are on the horizon though. Prop 22 promises to annul marriages between humans and robots. And Patience hasn’t quite been herself. Is there something wrong, or does she just need a software upgrade?

  His Robot Wife: Patience is a Virtue

  It is the year 2037, when men are men and robots are cute. Patience, the robot wife, has a new friend– Wanda. Wanda, another Daffodil, has been having difficulty bonding with her human, the recently divorced Ryan. She hopes that with Patience’s mentoring, she’ll be able to help Ryan accept her into his troubled life. But even Patience isn’t prepared for what happens when they take a joint vacation cruise to Antarctica. His Robot Wife: Patience is a Virtue is a science fiction story in a world where technology is more than just a pretty face.

  Eaglethorpe Buxton and the Elven Princess

  Eaglethorpe Buxton, famed adventurer and story-teller, friend to those in need of a friend and guardian to those in need of a guardian. He is a liar and braggart, not to be trusted, especially around pies. Who are we to believe? Buxton himself leads us through his world as he comes to the aid of… a poor orphan? An elven princess? Who can guess with Eaglethorpe himself telling the tale?

  Eaglethorpe Buxton and the Sorceress

  Eaglethorpe Buxton, famed adventurer and story-teller is back, this time to put on a play about a sorceress. When the sorceress, subject of his play arrives with fire in her eyes, Eaglethorpe must pretend to be his good friend Ellwood. Will he pull off this charade and survive? And what happens when the real Ellwood shows up? One can never tell, especially when Eaglethorpe tells the story.

  Senta and the Steel Dragon Book 0: Brechalon

  Brechalon is the novella-length prequel to The Voyage of the Minotaur and the books which follow in the story of Senta and the Steel Dragon. Meet the people who will change a world-- the Dechantagnes, wealthy siblings from a disgraced aristocratic family who plot their revenge; the imprisoned sorceress Zurfina; and Senta, the orphan girl who will one day rise to great fame and power.

  Senta and the Steel Dragon Book 1: The Voyage of the Minotaur

  In a world of steam power and rifles, where magic has not yet been forgotten, an expedition sets out to establish a colony in a lost world. The Voyage of the Minotaur is a story of adventure and magic, religion and prejudice, steam engines and dinosaurs, angels and lizardmen, machine guns and wizards, sorceresses, bustles and corsets, steam-powered computers, hot air balloons, and dragons.

  Senta and the Steel Dragon Book 2: The Dark and Forbidding Land

  Two years have passed since Senta, the sorceress Zurfina, and Bessemer the steel dragon arrived in the strange land of Birmisia. Now it is up to the settlers to build a home in this dark and forbidding land, ruled by terrifying dinosaurs and strange lizardmen. Ten year old Senta must discover which is the greater threat, a would-be wizard or the ever-increasing presence of the tyrannosaurus.

  Senta and the Steel Dragon Book 3: The Drache Girl

  More than three years have passed since the colonists arrived in Birmisia, and Port Dechantagne is a thriving colony, with the railway line almost complete. Twelve year old sorceress's apprentice Senta Bly, Police Constable Saba Colbshallow, and former maid Yuah Dechantagne must deal with wizards, prejudice, steam carriages, boys riding dinosaurs, and the mysterious activities of the lizardmen.

  Senta and the Steel Dragon Book 4: The Young Sorceress

  Everyone in Port Dechantagne seems to have an agenda of their own, from mysterious sorceress Zurfina, to agents from the enemy nation of Freedonia, to the kings and witchdoctors of the mysterious lizardmen. On the eve of her fifteenth birthday, sorceress’s apprentice Senta finds herself being pulled first one way and then the other. Will she actually have to split herself into four in order to deal with all her responsibilities?

  Senta and the Steel Dragon Book 5: The Two Dragons

  War has come the Birmisia. The newly settled colonists contemplate war on two fronts. The mysterious lizardmen from far away Tsahloose, led by their monstrous dragon god, threaten from the south. And from across the sea, the totalitarian kingdom of Freedonia threatens to invade their world with wizards and steam-powered war machines. Can even 17 year old Senta and her mistress Zurfina the Magnificent stop them? Find out in the thrilling conclusion to the Senta and the Steel Dragon Series.

  Tesla’s Stepdaughters

  In a world where men are almost extinct, someone is trying to kill history's greatest rock & roll band. Science Police Agent John Andrews must negotiate a complicated relationship with Ep!phanee, the band's lead singer; drummer Ruth De Molay, bassist Steffie Sin, and the redheaded clone lead guitarist Penny Dreadful, as he protects them and tries to discover who wants to kill the Ladybugs.

  Women of Power

  The life of a superhero is tough. All American Girl fights supervillains, alien invaders, and terrorists as she tries to get product endorsements and a magazine deal. That's nothing compared to her private life though. She's only just broken up with her super boyfriend Perihelion when he's scooped up by Omega Woman, and now rival Skygirl has moved into her territory.

  Blood Trade

  Vegas is going to hell-- literally. Werewolves run through the streets and the vampires are taking over. Former army ranger/Goth tattoo model/private eye Xochitl McKenna doesn't like it either, especially when it comes between her and her clients. But are the vampires and werewolves the greatest threat, or is it something or someone much closer to her? Warning: Adult Content.

  Astrid Maxxim and her Amazing Hoverbike

  From the 180,000 acre campus of Maxxim Industries, fourteen year old girl genius and inventor Astrid Maxxim works alongside her father, Dr. Roger Maxxim, on projects to make the world a better place. Her latest invention is a flying scooter—the hoverbike. Is it the target of an international spy ring, or are they after secret Project RG-7, or Astrid herself?