(Previously on Immortal Wars.)
Disclaimer: Immortal Wars was the book I came up with and wrote in high school. I hadn’t even hit college by the time I wrote the first two books. That means I hadn’t developed my style yet, wasn’t good at self-editing, and the story was fairly basic. So, you’ve been warned that this is the ultimate author throwback segment for my blog and will show my author origins. FYI- I put the first book (The Summoning) through a Print-on-Demand publisher and the second one (Light, Blood, & Tears) never saw the light of day. Enjoy!
The Mandervale house is not really a house, but a huge mansion. It has three large stories of rooms that are decorated with expensive pictures and marble statues. The well-kept grounds around the mansion are almost as big as the local park, but the Mandervale property looks a lot more beautiful because of the several fountains and colorful gardens. Right now, Delila’s parents are out of the country on vacation and the hallways of this enormous building are supposed to be quiet.
“I can’t believe you had the gall to yell at me in a public place. Everybody there saw what you did to me. Some of them even have opinions that I care about. I was embarrassed. Who do you think you are?” says Delila as she paces the floor of the first floor living room. It is the only room that can be seen from the front door, so it has some of the more expensive pieces of art behind glass cases.
“Who do I think I am? I think I’m a person who is extremely tired of getting bossed around in front of his friends. One of which used to be your friend, but that’s an entirely different argument. Other people would have left you long ago because of your constant, irritating complaints. But I am not ready to give up,” mutters Steve, who is sitting on a big, white chair in the corner of the room.
“That still doesn’t explain why you had to yell at me. It hurts when you yell at me. I thought you loved me.” Without warning, the hazel-eyed brat breaks into silent tears and Steve rolls his eyes before he gets up to put his arms around her.
“I do love you. It’s just that you have to start treating others like they’re your equals.”
“But I treat you like you’re my equal.”
“You only do that when Ed and Kelly aren’t around to see that you are capable of acting nice. Don’t you think it’s about time you treated Ed and Kelly the way you usually treat me? You used to treat Kelly like a sister.”
“But . . . ”
“No buts. I know you don’t like them and they aren’t that crazy about you either. You could help to change that if you decided to be much nicer to them.”
“Okay. I’ll try to tone down the insults. But it won’t be easy.”
Steve smiles at her and lets go of the short girl’s waist once she calms down. He sits in the white, cushioned chair again and stares at an aquarium that takes up a whole wall. Delila quietly sits next to him and looks dreamily at the various fish swimming around in the clean, blue water. This is a peaceful habit that she has had since her early childhood. She has always had an intense fascination with water and its unique inhabitants. Finally, she decides to break the calming silence.
“Wouldn’t it be great to control water? Like those wizards and sorceresses in my fantasy books. Just having the power to create it and do anything you want with it. That would be so much fun,” mentions Delila.
“I guess it would. Honestly, I would prefer to read minds. That way I would never fail another test again in my life. But there are better things to be. It would be even better to be one of those superpowered aliens. Just flying around the galaxy in high technology spacecraft and fighting to save the galaxy,” states Steve.
“I should have known that you would want to be an alien. I swear that a lot of the time you act like you’re from another planet.”
“Well, it could be that humans were planted here by an alien race. That would mean that none of us are from this planet and we’re all aliens.”
“Whatever. I don’t really care. Oh! I just remembered something. It isn’t related to our conversation, but I just remembered. I have a gift for you. I found it in one of my jewelry boxes. I’ll be right back.”
Delila quickly gets up and leaves Steve to wonder what little surprise she has in store for him. When she returns after a couple of minutes, he is handed a silver chain with a golden thunderbird on it. Since Steve has always been interested in mythological creatures like the thunderbird and the phoenix, it was the perfect gift.
“This thing is beautiful, Delila. But I can’t take it. I don’t have anything to give you for it. Or the money to get you something in return.”
“You bought me those romantic white roses last week. This is just a little something in return. Now, take it before I decide to yell at you again,” whispers Delila. Before Steve can stop her, she puts the exquisite piece of jewelry around his neck. She makes sure to steal a kiss before pulling away.
“Thanks. I never had anything like this before. It must be great to be rich. You could probably buy just about anything you ever wanted,” remarks Steve.
“Not everything. There is one thing, which I can think of, that money can’t buy.”
“What in the world could that possibly be?”
“You.”
“That is probably the corniest line I’ve ever heard. Still, you could always try to buy me. I wouldn’t mind.”
A smile appears on Delila’s face as she playfully says, “You’re so silly.”
They lean toward each other to kiss. Right before their lips meet, a blinding flash of light appears and the form of a man in red armor stands before them.
Someone has invited you to speak about your book or a topic related to your book. Presentations require the most preparation, because—let’s face it—it’s all about you speaking to an audience. Your presentation might be short (ten to fifteen minutes) or much longer, depending on your material.
Legends of Windemere 