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    Crossroads of Sin and Other Stories
    Crossroads of Sin and Other Stories
    Crossroads of Sin and Other Stories
    Ebook165 pages2 hours

    Crossroads of Sin and Other Stories

    By D.H. Aire

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    About this ebook

    What price heroism in realities that do not value it?

    A footnote in history, during the Expulsion from Spain in 1492 the unsuccessful, never heard from again, voyage of an explorer named Columbus.

    For an anomaly in time and reality, a conundrum, save a timeline not her own? The only hope bringing a legend to life? But how was she going to get a Torah Scroll on the Santa Maria?

    On the streets of New York City, he walks, living pretty much off the grid, until every phone he passes rings, demanding the wizard’s aid.

    In the not so distant future, why struggle for the right to die with dignity, when you can be immortal?

    His family had a protector, a dragon watching over them, but was that a blessing or a curse?

    These are but some of the previously published stories by D.H. Aire, author of the Highmage’s Plight, Hands of the Highmage, the Terran Catalyst and theDare 2 Believe Series.

    Also included are articles on what’s inspired him and what he's learned on his journey as a writer.

    Includes a Never Before Published Story set in the World of Highmage’s Plight

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherD.H. Aire
    Release dateMay 4, 2017
    ISBN9781386055129
    Crossroads of Sin and Other Stories

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      Book preview

      Crossroads of Sin and Other Stories - D.H. Aire

      Copyright © 2017 D.H. Aire

      Cover design by Aleksandra Klepacka

      FIRST EDITION

      ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Your non-refundable purchase allows you to one legal copy of this work for your own personal use. You do not have resell or distribution rights without the prior written permission of both the publisher and copyright owner of this book. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload, or for a fee.

      Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination based on documented history, or used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

      Works by D.H. Aire

      The Highmage’s Plight Series

      Highmage’s Plight

      Merchants and Mages

      Human Mage

      Highmage

      Well Armed Brides

      Prophecies’ Pawns

      Paradox Lost

      Hands of the Highmage Series

      For Whom the Bell Trolls

      Of Elves and Unicorns* (forthcoming)

      Dare2Believe Series

      Dare 2 Believe

      Double Dare

      Triple Dare* (forthcoming)

      Double Double Dare* (forthcoming)

      Terran Catalyst Series

      The Terran Catalyst

      Plymouth and the Rock

      Rock and a Hard Place* (forthcoming)

      Want D.H. to email you when he publishes a new book or when one goes on sale? Go to dhr2believe.net and sign-up for his new releases notification list. Those are the only times he'll contact you. No spam.

      Crossroads of Sin and Other Stories

      Previously appeared in

      Immortal State, Atomic Avarice, 2012

      Good Breeding, Separate Worlds, August 2010*

      Bred in Captivity, Separate Worlds, October 2010*

      Family Dragon, Separate Worlds, December 2011*

      Crossroads of Sin, Real Lies, 2013

      Time to Sin, Flights of Fantasy, Vol. 1, 2012

      You Can’t Buy Your Dreams, How to Trick the Devil, 2015

      *Also appeared in Flights of Fantasy, Vol. 1, 2012

      Articles appeared in

      A Lesson in Character from Superman, Fictorians.com, April 2016.

      Importance of Reading a Book’s Contract, Writing.com’s FSFS Newsletter, February 2016

      Masks, Writing.com’s FSFS Newsletter, November 2016

      What’s a Book without a Cover? Writing.com’s FSFS Newsletter, January 2016

      You are Not Alone in the Writer’s Universe, The Highmage’s Blog, February 15, 2016

      Originally published online:

      Beethoven’s Fifth

      It’ll Take More than Charm

      Alas, He’s Fiction

      Never Before Published:

      The Dragon’s Curse

      A tale from the world of Highmage’s Plight

      Dedication

      To Sarah

      Acknowledgements

      I would like to gratefully acknowledge my copyeditor, Karen MacLeod, for assistance in offering editorial advice on this book. Additionally, I wish to express my appreciation to Aleksandra Klepacka for this book’s cover design. As ever, I also wish to thank my family and friends for all their support.

      Dare to Believe.

      D.H. Aire

      April 2017

      Preface

      Welcome to Crossroads of Sin and Other Stories. This collection, which, in addition to my previously published stories, includes some flash fiction pieces I’ve published online over the years and also includes a number of articles that I feel important to share. I’m sharing them here in case there is someone like I was: someone who wants to be a science fiction and fantasy author, or just publish, but fears rejection.

      This collection includes my first published science fiction story, Good Breeding, which I wrote fifteen years before it was published. I’ve been writing since I was a teenager and stopped submitting stories in my early twenties. When I was going through a difficult patch in my life, I discovered Writing.com, where I could post my stories for critiquing. There I learned people liked what I wrote, and worked hard to offer positive advice about things I could improve. I later honed Family Dragon on Writing.com, and made a change based on a reader’s concerned comment that is key to having reshaped the story.

      There was a monthly contest at the time, so I entered Good Breeding, which led to my winning First Place, and to the story’s publication. After that I began submitting again, and, no, I didn’t get paid for that story, but I no longer feared I didn’t have what it took to be a writer.

      I’ve since published a number of novels, two published by small presses and the rest self-published, which lead to my becoming a member of SFWA (the Science Fiction Writers of America).

      The signature story of this collection is Crossroads of Sin, which took a great deal of research, and I later entered it in the Writers of the Future Contest. If you’re looking for a place to test a short story and one’s writing skills, there’s no better place than Writers of the Future. The story earned an Honorable Mention, which is an accomplishment I’m still very proud of. What I’m more proud of is having taken a little known legend and making it come alive as a time travel tale.

      I have also included a never before published short story, The Dragon’s Curse, exclusive to this collection, set in the epic fantasy world of my Highmage’s Plight Series, which will take legend, reality, and dragons in new directions. That’s an underlying theme of this collection.

      So, welcome to the Crossroads of Sin and Other Stories.

      Dare to believe,

      D.H. Aire

      April 2017

      About the Stories

      Included among the stories are several flash fiction piece which appeared online: Beethoven’s Fifth, It’ll take more than Charm, and Alas, He’s Fiction.

      In Immortal State dying becomes a thing of the past or does it?

      In Good Breeding Garret Dees lives off the grid – until the day every telephone he passes on the street rings. Sometimes a wizard in the modern age has to leave the streets of New York City.

      In Bred in Captivity, Eddy and his fellow lesser talents are teens on their own adrift in the big city. They should be easy prey to the truly talented... But misjudge those clever enough to have fooled the Docs who discounted their talents at their peril. You see, among Eddy’s minor gifts, he can fly – sorta.

      In Family Dragon, a Chinese family rises to new heights with the blessing of the family’s dragon. Yet the blessing is also a curse.

      Meet an anomaly in time, a traveler who finds confronting the mystery of her saving a timeline not her own in Crossroads of Sin, saving three ships that were a mere footnote in the history of her world, where Cristobo Colon (also known as Christopher Columbus) was known for sailing over the edge of the Earth. Later, in a Time to Sin the traveler must prevent Rippers from devastating the timeline by confronting Old Jack himself, who is waiting for her.

      In You Can’t Buy Your Dreams you’ll meet the devil with an offer of the trip of a lifetime, a pill that will grant a young man his wish to be as famous for his music as his Dad. Only question is, will he survive the trip?

      Also included in this collection, but never before published, D.H. Aire offers a tale set in the world of his series, Highmage’s Plight, The Dragon’s Curse.

      Beethoven’s Fifth

      We forget the origin of sounds so known;

      begun with a legend, mythic and haunting,

      the Erlkoenig, king of elves, coming to thy door,

      fate calling, a-knocking like the a beating heart,

      Bom, bom, bom... bom... bom, bom, bom... bom,

      suddenly afraid to open that door,

      though sounds so known, so beautiful,

      yet terror is given reign,

      Bom, bom, bom... bom... bom, bom, bom... bom,

      perhaps tis inevitable death,

      dare I ask, dear Beethoven,

      or is it the Erlkoenig, knocking ere yet,

      Bom, bom, bom... bom... bom, bom, bom... bom.

      heart pounding, eyes going wide,

      thee hears voices crying out, demanding,

      tis but trick or treat, me think,

      Bom, bom, bom... bom... bom, bom, bom... bom.

      thy heart misses a beat,

      dear Beethoven, tis this fate at thy door,

      or only All Hallow Eve?

      Bom, bom, bom... bom... bom, bom, bom... BOM.

      Immortal State

      Gray faced the most painful decision in his legal career – perhaps in his entire life. He could set a precedent, but the price?

      How do you tell your children, who were losing their mother, that she was his client? That this is what she wanted. He held her frail hand. She was hooked up to a respirator, the only thing keeping breath in her body. Her mind was still active, yet failing. It was nearly impossible for her to communicate.

      Her pained gaze sought his, implored him.

      Michael, Alice, he said to the children as Cathy slipped a needle with pain medications into his wife’s catheter. It won’t be long now before they come for your mother. This isn’t the way either of us wanted to tell you.

      His wife nodded weakly as he told his children, Immortality is a lie.

      #

      The lobby was crowded. Gray accompanied his frail grandmother through the throng of people here to visit loved ones. Gentle, consoling music, played in the background, which made his grandmother smile as he wheeled her up to a somber, young representative.

      Mrs. Henderson, welcome to Immortal State. I understand you’re here to visit your husband for the first time and are considering the procedure yourself.

      Yes, that's right. My husband believed in the technology. My grandson – he’s graduating college soon, you know. He’s encouraging me to sign up, but I don't know – I guess I'm a bit old-fashioned.

      He’s right, you know. We offer the finest services here, Ma’am. Right this way. He pushed her wheelchair, following the markings on the floor to the bank of elevators. The young rep consulted his pad, We need to take one of these elevators.

      Looking out the windows, Gray commented, This place stretches for miles.

      Yes, sir, and your grandfather’s view is stunning.

      Ding. The doors opened and they boarded the elevator, whisking them away from the main entrance before slowing and beginning its descent. Their guide stated, Technology has made all this possible, Mrs. Henderson.

      There was a lovely floral scent in the air and Gray realized it was lavender.

      How many people are here? his grandmother asked.

      The count as of this morning is nearly ten million Americans.

      Has it really been only open ten years? she said.

      Eleven, Ma’am. Yellowstone National Immortal Park is three years older. They house almost thirty million residents.

      We took the elevator down from the top of the canyon over fifty levels, past hundreds of other

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