Guns & Flame: The Sara Featherwood Adventures ~ Volume Three

by Guy Antibes

  ~

  In the morning after breakfast, Sara wandered through the overgrown gardens. She could see the year of neglect taking its toll on the park, but it could soon be put to right. Goldfields impressed her with its beauty. She even discovered some unique garden sculptures covered with vines. She brushed off a stone bench and sat down. Today might be a very emotional day. Memories of her mother flooded her mind. This was all hers! Sara wished her mother could be back at Goldfields to literally perform magic on the grounds. She tried to picture Sythea Featherwood caring for the plants. Sara still thought of her mother’s angry temperament. Perhaps without the pressure of making Brightlings work despite Ben Featherwood, her mother could relax. Sara would never know and that brought her a bit of pain.

  If her mother still lived, what would Ben Featherwood do when Sara reached her majority? How would Ben react? He didn’t’ do so well once he found out and, with Vesty, proceeded to rape the estate. Did her mother know that side of Ben for much of their marriage. Ben destroyed a bit more of their relationship bringing home Enos and then Seb. Her mother didn’t complain that much to Banna. Now that Sara knew most of the truth, she had to admire her mother’s relatively positive attitude. Sara never knew how miserable her mother must have felt. Once Seb came into the household, it seemed she had resigned herself to a life of trial. Her premature death might well have been a release. Sara had been left behind to pick up the pieces. How long did it take her? Three years of trial, of anger, of fear and, most of all, disappointment in men she thought of as fathers.

  Sara thought about the horror of Ben’s death. Now that a few weeks had passed since that awful day, she was glad that Ben’s demise had been taken out of her hands. She still had Ben and Seb as part of her family. Even though neither of the boys were blood relatives, they were still her family. Wells would take good care of them and of Brightlings. She smiled at the thought that they still treated her as their sister. Her decision to give them each a piece of Brightlings gave her comfort. They would be taken care of.

  She looked around at her estate and would feel comfortable entertaining the King of Parthy at Goldfields. Terrant Passcold couldn’t be a nicer man. She was proud to be her daughter and felt more comfortable thinking of him as her real father than her uncle. He had proved himself in so many ways. He funded the Women’s College. Perhaps the King had intended that as a legacy for Sara. Life didn’t work out that way. He had looked out for her and had hidden the weapons in her trunk. That act saved her life. She at least had the opportunity to tell him that. They had shared their little touches of magic with each other. Sara remembered the look of eagerness on Terrant’s face. Her eyes teared up, yet again. He turned out to be such a nice man.

  She hoped they would have the opportunity to share their relationship. Sara didn’t know how that would turn out. If Terrant chose, he could make her first in line to the throne. She would elevate to Princess. Sara shook her head. She would try to repress those thoughts. She could always abdicate in favor of Terrant’s son. She wouldn’t worry about that kind of thing now. Sara had no desire to live at court.

  Sara didn’t even need Goldfields. She could have been happy setting Doctor Hedge up at Brightlings to work on the kinds of projects she had in her mind, but this worked out so much better. She would build a new house on the grounds for Banna and Hedge. Sara hoped that they would be comfortable sharing the townhouse in Stonebridge.

  Sara wiped away tears of joy. Her life could have turned out so much worse than it did. She would always sport scars that might be scandalous on a lady, but she didn’t care. Those scars were well earned. Her Parthy bruises were nearly gone. Belonnia would leave different kinds of scars that would probably never heal. She thought of Meldey’s sacrifice every day.

  She took a deep breath and rose. Spending the rest of the day in the garden would make her an emotional wreck. She forced a smile and walked to the stables. There were few horses in the extensive stables.

  The carriage house intrigued her. She walked up the stairs to the living quarters above the garage. The door, like all on the estate, was currently unlocked. Sara wandered through the living quarters and thought that Willa could do much worse. The floor space exceeded both floors of the Duke’s guesthouse. The two of them would be quite comfortable.

  She descended and entered the expansive garage. She counted ten coaches. She examined each and every one.

  Sara looked for the maker and Brownhill had built them all. Klark would be proud, but then he probably knew his customers. She leaned against the wall, looking at a bright blue conveyance similar to the one that Vesty died in. All of the carriages were made so well. No wonder the decision to stay in Shattuk Downs or make his fortune in Parth conflicted Klark. Perhaps he sought a reason to settle down in Stonebridge and that might be why he wanted to marry. He might feel he needed it to cement his presence in Shattuk Downs or, since his father was now the Grand Duke, he might now be the one who could run the business.

  Sara touched the coachwork and appreciated the craftsmanship that won his father the title of Grand Duke. If his father could be as successful with Shattuk Downs as he was with coaches, the future looked bright.

  The light flashed in the garage as a door opened. Klark stood, breathless, looking at her.

  Sara felt self-conscious in a place that was so connected to him. “Your coaches are all so beautiful,” she said.

  “I know.” He ran his hand along the paintwork and found some dirt. “I should rub that down with a cloth,” he laughed, but his eyes betrayed his discomfort. “I thought about your question. Is my father settled in his new position? He’s not and I know why you asked it.” He stepped closer to her. Sara stayed glued to the spot. A hollow opened up in her stomach.

  He came close and put his hands on her shoulders. “We don’t have to get married. You’re not ready to settle down with me until you settle down with yourself. Am I right? You need to feel that you’ve got control of your life.”

  Klark did understand. The knowledge made her eyes water and she felt warm inside.

  “I just need some time,” she said. “I know I’ll never have total control over what I do, but I need more than I feel right now. I don’t know what I want my life to be like, but I’d like it to include you.” She put her hand to Klark’s face.

  “And I want to be with you,” Klark said.

  “Can we be friends? Very close friends and not marry? Not even talk about it until I’ve grown used to all this?” She looked around the room and then into his eyes.

  “I’m willing,” Klark said. “I love you under any circumstance. My feelings were too… rigid when we fought in Parth. With you here, we can see each other whenever we want. If we want to commit to something more, I’ll be ready, whenever you are.”

  That’s what Sara wanted to hear. She put her arms around his waist. “Can you put up with a Duchess?”

  “Only if she wears this.” Klark pulled the carriage necklace out of his pocket.

  Sara beamed as tears dropped from her eyes. “No commitments?” She desperately wanted to wear the necklace. It was as much of a commitment as she dared give him.

  “Only that you wear the necklace. I can’t think of a better place to return this around your neck, than here, in this place.” He looked at the carriages.

  “Only on one condition.”

  Klark raised an eyebrow.

  “You put it on me.” Sara could now put her last three years behind her, for now she’d be no one’s daughter: not Ben Featherwood’s not Duke Northcross’; not King Terrant’s. The past was now behind her and she’d truly looked forward to attacking the future on her own terms.

  Klark put his arms around her neck as held up her hair.

  Sara pulled him to her, took a deep breath and gave him a long, long lingering kiss.

  Guns & Flame

  A Sara Featherwood Adventure - Volume Three

  Copyright ©2014 Guy Antibes All rights reserved. No part of this book may be repr
oduced without the permission of the author.

  ~

  This is a work of fiction. The locations, places and characters it depicts are products of the author’s imagination including the use of fictitious names, places, and situations. Any resemblances to actual persons, locations, or places are purely coincidental.

  Published by CasiePress in Salt Lake City, UT, October, 2014

  www.casiepress.com

  Cover & Book Design: Kenneth Cassell

  ~

  ISBN-13: 978-1501022777

  ISBN-10: 1501022776

  A Bit About Guy

  With a lifelong passion for speculative fiction, Guy Antibes found that he rather enjoyed writing fantasy as well as reading it. So a career was born and Guy anxiously engaged in adding his own flavor of writing to the world. Guy lives in the western part of the United States and is happily married with enough children to meet or exceed the human replacement rate.

  You can contact Guy at his website: www.guyantibes.com.

  †

  Books by Guy Antibes

  The Power Bearer

  How Norra obtained the power and the extraordinary lengths she went through to rid herself of it.

  What’s a girl to do when all of the wizards in her world are after her? She runs. But this girl runs towards the source of her power, not away from it. Along the way she picks up, among others, a wizard, a ghost, a highwaywoman and a sentient cloud. Through thick and thin, they help Norra towards her goal of finding a solution in a far off land that no one in her world has even heard of.

  YOUNG ADULT EPIC FANTASY

  The World of the Sword of Spells

  Warrior Mage

  The gods gave Brull a Sword of Spells and proclaimed him as the world’s only Warrior Mage. One big problem, there aren’t any wars. What’s a guy to do? Brull becomes a magician bounty hunter until the big day when he learns he not only has to fight a war with the magicians of his world, but fight the god that the magicians are all working to bring into being. He finds out if he has what it takes inWarrior Mage.

  EPIC FANTASY

  Sword of Spells

  Read about Brull’s beginnings and earlier adventures as a bounty hunter of magicians in theSword of Spells anthology.

  EPIC FANTASY

  Panix: Magician Spy

  Panix has life by the tail. A new wife, a new job in a new land that has few magicians and none of his caliber. His ideal life takes some unexpected downturns and Panix finds himself employed as a spy. He has no training, but must make things up as he goes if he is to survive the politics, betrayal, war and, at the end, his own behavior.

  FANTASY ADVENTURE

  The Sara Featherwood Adventures

  Set in Shattuk Downs, a reclusive land in the kingdom of Parthy. Sara Featherwood could be a Jane Austen heroine with a sword in her hand. There are no magicians, wizards, dragons, elves or dwarves in Shattuk Downs, but there is intrigue, nobility, a little magic, hidden secrets, and plenty of adventure with a touch of romance in this fictional world. YOUNG ADULT/COLLEGE FANTASY - WOMEN’S ADVENTURE

  Knife & Flame

  When Sara Featherwood’s mother dies, her sixteen-year-old life is thrown into turmoil at Brightlings Manor in a remote district of Shattuk Downs. Life becomes worse when her father, the Squire, sets his roving eye on her best friend. Dreading her new life, Sara escapes to the Obridge Women’s School. Seeking solace in education doesn’t work as her world becomes embroiled with spies, revolution, and to top it all off, her best friend becomes her worst enemy.

  Sword & Flame

  If you were a young woman who had just saved the family’s estate from ruin, you’d think your father would be proud, wouldn’t you? Sara Featherwood is thrown out of her childhood home and now faces life on her own terms at age seventeen. She returns to the Tarrey Abbey Women’s School and is drafted to help with the establishment of the first Women’s College in the kingdom of Parthy. Now in the King’s capital of Parth, life confronts Sara as she learns about family secrets, which threaten to disrupt her life and about resurgent political turmoil back home that turns her scholarly pursuits upside down as she must take action and use her magic to save her family and her beloved Shattuk Downs.

  Guns & Flame - This Volume

  At nineteen, Sara Featherwood has done all she can to help establish the first Women’s College in the kingdom of Parthy. That includes a pact with the kingdom’s Interior Minister, to go on a student exchange program as payment for eliminating opposition to the college. Little does Sara know that her trip to a rival country is not what it seems and as the secrets of the true purpose of her trip unravel, she utilizes her magic to escape through hostile territory with vital secrets, but as she does, she finds herself drawn back to Shattuk Downs and must confront awful truths about those close to her.

  The Guy Antibes 2014 Anthologies

  The Alien Hand

  An ancient artifact changes a young woman’s life forever. A glutton gladiator is marooned in a hostile desert. An investigator searches for magic on a ravaged world and finds something quite unexpected. A boy yearns for a special toy. A recent graduate has invented a unique tool for espionage. A member of a survey team must work with his ex-girlfriend in extremely dangerous circumstances. A doctor is exiled among the worst creatures he can imagine. SCIENCE FICTION

  The Purple Flames

  A reject from a Magical Academy finds purpose. A detective works on a reservation in New Mexico, except the reservation is for ghouls, demons, ghosts, zombies, and the paranormal. A succubus hunts out the last known nest of vampires on earth. The grisly story about the origins of Tonsil Tommy. In a post-apocalyptic world, two mutants find out about themselves when their lives are in imminent peril. STEAMPUNK & PARANORMAL FANTASY with a tinge of HORROR

  Angel in Bronze

  A statue comes to life and must come to terms with her sudden humanity. A wizard attempts to destroy a seven-hundred-year-old curse. A boy is appalled by the truth of his parents’ midnight disappearances. A captain’s coat is much more than it seems. A healer must decide if the maxim that he has held to his entire career is still valid. A fisherman must deal with the aftermath of the destruction of his village.

  FANTASY

  ~~~

  Guy Antibes books are available at book retailers in print and e-book formats.