in so short a time."
"No, but I believe I finally understand something Father told me on my birthday."
"And what was that?"
"That no matter how much my responsibilities frighten me, they are mine and no one else's. I'm the only one who can bear them. So I have to find a way to conquer my fear, to derive strength from it, and to use it against my enemies."
She looked up at him. "But he also told me that I didn't have to accomplish this alone, that I could have help, if I wanted it. Would you help me? You, Mrs. Widget, and Mr. Holt?"
He stopped the cart and looked down at her. His face had a grave expression, but she saw a gleam of pride in his eyes. "My dear Differel, I believe I can speak for the others when I say, of course, we would be honoured to help you in any way."
His solemn tone filled her with sadness, but she also felt grateful. "Thank you." And she smiled.
"Don't mention it, Madam. Now, let's go home, and I'll make you some tea."
She couldn't help chuckling. "Is that your panacea for all of life's ills?"
He started the cart moving. "I've never known it to fail yet, Madam."
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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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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:
Enjoy these other titles at fine ebook retailers everywhere.
Available on Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/story/list/20075368
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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 "Barbarians R Us"
"Are you Rothgar the Reaver?"
The tall, massive woman watched the barbarian turn away from the counter of the open-air wine shop. He took a casual pose as he drained his goblet, and then wiped the palm of one hand across his clean-shaven chin. He stared hard at her with his ebony eyes.
"Who asks?" he growled in a deep and powerful bass voice.
"I am Medb hErenn." Her contralto voice was just as strong, but melodic. "These are Teehar'owan," she indicated the bird perched on her right shoulder; "Conaed, called Runt," nodding towards the Zoog crouched on her left shoulder; "and Cremedevoyageur of the feline messenger service." She indicated the young tomcat sitting at her feet.
He grunted, swatting at an errant fly. "Never heard of you, or your companions. What have you to do with me?"
"You have made a number of enemies in Ulthar."
The barbarian brushed aside a lock of blue-black hair that had fallen into his craggy face. "Should I care?"
"You owe Seidhloch the Moneylender two hundred and fifty silver tahlers, you wrecked three--no, four--taverns, you stole a purse of jewels and gold crowns from Scylla the Hetaira, you roughed up a number of guardsmen, you got drunk at The Laughing Cat and tried to assault Eibhlín Chron, then fled without paying your tab; I doubt I need to continue, those being just the highlights."
He hooked his thumbs into his metal-mesh belt. "And what does any of this have to do with you?"
"They asked me to collect damages from you."
He narrowed his eyes and stepped closer, until there was barely a dagger blade's width between them. "And do you believe you can do this?"
She gave him a cryptic smile. "Let us say they have well-placed confidence in my ability to accomplish these kinds of tasks."
He smiled coldly in return. "The fact that I was able to leave Ulthar, despite the number and severity of my exploits, should tell you that I will be difficult to get the better of." He reached up and ran the fingertips of his large and powerful hand along the line of her jaw. "Let me offer you an alternative. I shall be leaving in the morning. Come feast and drink with me today, then share my bed tonight. If you please me, I shall leave you a rich reward. You may then return to your friends and pay them off, and tell them any story you like." As he spoke, he dropped his hand down to her large, well-rounded bosom and grasped one of her breasts, squeezing the firm flesh.
She grinned at his audacity. "I am amused by your suggestion, for I intended to propose something similar. We shall have three challenges. If I win all three, you must accompany me back to Ulthar to make restitution. If, however, you win even just one, I shall let you have your way with me, and when I will return to Ulthar alone I will make restitution in your stead. Is that agreeable?"
He returned a predatory smirk. "It is. How shall we choose the contests?"
"You may select the first two, but I will choose the last."
He bellowed with laughter. "Agreed, and for the first test I choose a drinking contest."
She gestured with her free hand and nodded her head. "Lead the way."
And the barbarian trotted off down the street as she hung back to allow him to get ahead of her.
"I don't like this, Mistress," Teehar remarked. He was a crested, long-tailed bird the size of a jay, with gaudy red, blue, green, and gold plumage, and sharp scarlet eyes.
"Did you think this would be as easy as catching birds?"
"Mistress, please!"
She chuckled. "My apologies."
"Teehar is justified in his worry, Lady," advised Conaed. He was only half the normal size of his race, but his verdigris-speckled bronze coat was darker and his tarnished silver facial stripes were brighter than those of his brethren. His peat-brown eyes were huge compared to his face, and his nose was long and flexible, and festooned with wriggling pink tendrils at the tip. "Rothgar hath a reputation for being insatiable, whether it be food, drink, or women. Even with thy stamina, thee may not be able to best him."
"You
should have more faith in my appetites, Runt." And she laughed.
"I have no doubts," Creme volunteered. He had a rangy stocky build, with a bronze-striped, fawn-colored, short-hair coat, a salmon-pink nose, and dust-blue eyes. "But my people have an old saying: trust in Bast, but keep your mice caged. I have already spoken with the cats of the village. They will keep an eye on this barbarian, and should he try to slip away, they will hunt him down and subdue him."
"I appreciate your common-sense precautions, but by dawn tomorrow Rothgar will be under my control."
She saw Rothgar vanish inside a tavern, and she hurried to catch up.
From "Masie's Mind"
When Eile came down the stairs into the basement, she found Sunny standing outside the door to the Mystery Room, staring at it. She had been doing that a lot lately.
The house they shared technically wasn't theirs. Medb had bought it to have a place to stay whenever she came to Denver, but she made her home in Cairnsford, halfway between Denver and Colorado Springs. However, they needed a safe place to live, what with Sunny's parents being in hiding, and the house not only had a sophisticated alarm system, it was located within a highly secure gated community. So she let them stay there, ostensibly as housesitters, but really as permanent residents. In the end, however, they couldn't really help thinking of it as their own place.
She allowed them to decorate it as they saw fit, and provided funds to pay for it. They claimed one of the two master bedrooms on the second floor as their own, while reserving the other for Medb whenever she was in town. They then converted the remaining two bedrooms into guest rooms. Beyond that, they pretty much left it as it was, even though Medb had told them that she didn't care if they gutted the place and put in monkey bars and hammocks, as long as they didn't go over budget. She did, however, make a number of modifications to the original plan to suit her own purposes. One was converting the garage into a library, since they didn't drive and thus did not own a car. She also converted the conservatory into a music room, and split the family room into a combined game and media room. However, most of her modifications were done in the basement. One corner was converted into a safe room, with armored walls, floor, and ceiling. Fully a third of the space was taken up by a utility room that contained equipment Eile didn't recognize or even know what it was for. Only one corner was for their own use, and they converted it into an exercise room, where Eile practiced boxing and Sunny did her aerobics. The remaining space was devoted to the Mystery Room.
At least, that's what Sunny called it. It was Medb's private workroom, and she kept it locked with a palm reader. Sunny was just dying to know what was in it, but whenever she broached the subject, Medb refused to say, the last time telling her in no uncertain terms that it was none of her business. That ended the questions, but not her curiosity, and whenever she could, she would go down and just stare at the door, as if she could somehow will it to open and discover its secrets.
"There you are!" Eile said. "I've been waitin' for ya for fifteen minutes!"
Sunny jumped. "What? Oh! Ha-ha, sorry!" They had decided to spend some quality in the jacuzzi tub in the master bathroom, playing a game of Roman Matron and Body Slave. She had gone down to get the wine; the safe room doubled as a wine cellar, since it was temperature controlled.
"Well, the grapes are getting warm, so hurry it up!"
"I'll be up in a minute." She looked back at the door.
Eile sighed in exasperation. "Will you give it a rest already? Yer never gonna find out what's in there, not until Medb decides ta tell us, and I doubt she ever will."
"Aren't you curious?"
"Well, yeah, sure, but I don't obsess over it. It's probably nothing
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