Cover Art by Jason Pedersen

(An old excerpt from Legends of Windemere: Allure of the Gypsies)

The bakery at the entrance to Haven fills the air with the sweet aroma of fresh pastries. Aedyn can feel his mouth water as they pass the open door and he gets a peek at the young elven woman inside removing a tray of steaming cookies from the oven. A flower shop catches Nyx’s attention with its front yard covered in miniature willow trees. Nyx and Aedyn continue ogling the various stores and polished wood buildings until they come to a long building with a large oak behind it. The section of the structure that they come to first is a two-story wooden house with a hanging sign that lazily swings in the wind. A picture of three sparkling, emerald comets racing toward each other is emblazoned on the finely crafted sign. The rest of the structure is an abrupt change from the wooden house. It is a long, stone building with four chimneys that pump out a steady stream of white smoke. Nyx and Aedyn stop at the house section, but Nyx freezes with her fist an inch away from knocking on the door.

“What is wrong?” Aedyn asks with concern.

“I’m just a little nervous,” Nyx replies, her cheeks a little red. “I was never any good at meeting parents. I always come off as an unapproachable bitch.”

“You come off like that to everybody when you first meet them,” the priest points out.

“I’m just a strong personality,” Nyx snaps, her arms dropping to her side. “Why do I have to knock anyway? This is Luke’s house, so he should be the one to knock and introduce us to his parents.”

“I agree. Go knock on the door, Luke,” Aedyn sternly requests.

They turn around to find that Luke is nowhere to be seen. Nyx grits her teeth and angrily bangs her fist against the door. She freezes in nervous terror when she realizes what she’s done and the door begins to open. A short and slender woman pulls the door open with a delicate hand. Her eyes are a shimmering blue and reveal a youthful, energetic spirit that has not dimmed with age. A stream of bright, pristine blonde hair cascades over her shoulders and down to her waist. The woman’s face quickly melts into a warm smile when she sees the pair of half-elves on her doorstep.

“You two must be new to Haven. Are you lost?” the woman asks. She pushes some wrinkles out of her lavender silk shirt.

“No, ma’am, we were in the area and thought that we would stop by,” Nyx claims, looking around for any sign of Luke.

“Do I know you? You don’t look familiar,” states the woman.

“My name is Aedyn Karwyn and this is Nyx,” Aedyn politely says. “We are friends of Luke Callindor. He told us that this was his home.”

“Oh, you poor people. I am his mother, Vixen Callindor. I am very sorry for the trouble he has caused you. My son can be quite a handful,” Luke’s mom explains with a bright, but apologetic, smile. “Although, he’s been gone for a little over a year, so you won’t find him here. That is unless this is the area where he told you to meet him. If that is the case then he might be somewhere around town. Pardon my manners. Come in and relax.”

“Actually, we were here with your son and he disappeared on us while our backs were turned,” Nyx admits, unconcerned with any trouble she causes Luke.

“I’m so sorry that he did that to you. Both of you seem to be very nice people and he should know better than to cause trouble for others,” Vixen frets. She gently takes Nyx and Aedyn by their hands and both half-elves are surprised by her strong grip. “We should wait inside where there are chairs and refreshments. I still have some breakfast on the table since Ilan has a big project that he needs to finish by lunchtime. That man never eats when he has something on his mind. That is unless Luke has him stressed out. Then, my husband becomes a bottomless stomach. I hope you enjoy peppered eggs, potato pancakes, and lemon sweet rolls.”

Nyx and Aedyn enter the warm home, but stop in their tracks once they get inside and Vixen closes the door behind them. The finely crafted furniture and somewhat expensive paintings catch little of their attention as they stare at the kitchen table. Leaning over the table with his hand holding a chunk of bread is Luke. Specks of eggs and sweet roll are still on his face as he stares at everyone.

Luke swallows his food and grins impishly. “Hi, Mom . . . How’s Dad?”