RACHAEL, a dark-eyed Spanish countess,marries a prominent Russian physician while faithfully harboring the legacy of a powerful, duopolistic father. TAALIA AND JUAN MARCUS, two Ecuadorian orphans, grow up in the United States and overcome traumas from dangers experienced in childhood. DEANNE, a competent head nurse of a hospital crisis unit, in private life gives up a lover in order to keep him and in the process enters the back end of a dark cave. NAOMI, an older sister, is dedicated to watching Thors back until he can stand safely on his ownthen she can finally live a life of her own. HIGH-MINDED TURNS INTO DEADLY, AND DEADLY INTO ANOTHER SIDE THAT WAITS THOR, a Green Berea veteran trained to be deadly, lives quietly in a New England suburb and receives secret assignments as the Presidents Man. (Keywords: glamour, charm, wish, enchantment, fate, tablet, clay, free, freebie, epic fantasy, ancient world, historical fantasy, alternate history, sword and sorcery, short story) 'The new baby does have Jon's eyes.' I want to tell my parents of the warding charm, but I can't: it'll make it too real. 'We had dinner with Jon's brother and their children,' I tell them. I pour new drops for them on their little clay feet. 'Welcome to the new day.' Yesterday's offering of oil has gone. 'Mother and Father,' I say, and bow to their statues. Dissatisfied, I pin it tighter, then wrap my breasts so tightly they ache. I wrap my loins and pin a strip in place. From our chest, I lift out linen strips: light blue today like the sky. It has to be from last night, when I was holding my new-born niece, and not looking where I was walking. I tie my sandals, and notice there's a scuff on one heel. I think the day promises to be warmer than yesterday. In our courtyard, the shadow of the eastern wall covers everything, except our water charm at the tip of its reed pole. My husband lies still, and his snore is restarting. At the curtain, I bunch the beads together so they won't rustle. I scoop up sandals and balance my charm box in the crook of an arm. Don't worry.' The bed creaks as it loses my weight. I lean over him, and find a stubble-free patch of cheek to kiss. A short-story of fate and destiny from the Lands of the Sweet Waters. But to make it hers, Emily must challenge fate. For Emily desires a gift more precious than charms, and more valuable than silver. Another Side of Destiny Emily has a secret she dare not tell her husband, one she won't even confide to the shades of her parents.

Another Side of Destiny by Harper Peace