John is a seasonal worker who often moved from one ranch to the next.
However, his newest job might become his undoing.
It isn't the ranch owner, a certified bad-ass witch, who turns out to be his opponent, but the very herd she keeps.
John can only trust himself. Not a good sign as he might be too curious for his own good.

This story takes place in the "Fashionable Witches" verse and can be read stand-alone.

Shadowsblade a Whateley Tale: Written by Shadowsblade

Created for war and forged in pain, dealing with demons within and without.

AFTER nine plus months off I am back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mare's Tales - Chapter 29

My older twins were now virtually twin sisters. We had spent some
important time shopping for Bernadette and she had passed her 'Rite of
Passage'. She now thought of herself as a girl and lived as one despite
having the all-important indicator of her dual sexuality. She mimicked
me in nearly everything and for all practical purposes was deemed to be
a girl. Her new passport had arrived so there would be no problems with
immigration or police.

Cover image from Unsplash

Again, I need to thank Malady for his help and ideas as I write this.

Your help is much appreciated!

Chapter 4.1

“Well, you son of a...”

We had returned upstairs, and when we arrived, we had a surprise! Sitting in Marc’s desk chair, talking to Amy, was Rachel. Her wings were carefully folded behind her, and her pixie dress appeared out of place inside a building.

Mare's Tales - Chapter 25 – by: Beverly Taff

Jane had chartered Captain Pedersen's little ship again and our group
prepared to meet the ship by prearrangement. Our little convoy of
wagons crouched together on the old stone quay as the last flurries of
winter snow swept down from the surrounding hills. The little harbour
offered excellent protection from the thundering seas as they crashed
against the dull black headlands but there was no escape from the
bitter moaning wind.

Dakota looks at herself in the full-length mirror in her and Terry’s bedroom. She tried one of those blue pills Rebecca took and couldn’t believe what it did to her body. It didn’t change how she looked, except increasing her breast size up one cup size, her hair was fuller and made her hips and buttocks look bigger.

To Return Home

Thanks to Malady for his help editing and for ideas.

Cover image from Unsplash

Chapter 3.5

The dryad had made its way back into the woods, out of sight. There weren’t many sounds, except the crying of Rachel as her world was turned upside down once again.

Daddy and John seemed to have put the loss of Ralph behind them, or at least realized that dwelling on it wouldn’t get us through this mess we were in. It seemed as though they were talking to the pixie. I wasn’t sure what they hoped to get from her, but I quietly joined them.

To Return Home

Thanks to Malady for his help editing and for ideas.

Cover image from Unsplash

3.3

I entered Jack and Sylvia’s lab, and found Sylvia alone, hunched over her work bench. She whirled like the proverbial kid with her hand in the cookie jar when she heard me. Speaking of her hands, she slipped something into her pocket, but I couldn’t tell what. She was a bit suspicious, but I put it down to me being suspicious of everything and everyone now, so I forced myself to ignore it.

To Return Home

Thanks to Malady for his help editing and for ideas.

Cover image from Unsplash

3.2

Daddy enlisted Jack and Sylvia to help him work on a way to repair the people’s bodies.

They found that the heinously fast changes that Amos favored, required a commensurate amount of bots inside a person. Structure changes to the skull as well as any in the brain, weren’t made with the health of the victim in mind. As the brain held the person, the repair project started with that. But, due to starting without the person’s original genes, they planned to work back from what they did have, reversing all of Amos’s changes.

To Return Home

Thanks to Malady for his help editing and for ideas.

Cover image from Unsplash

3.1

“Why me!?” John exploded.

“You are his brother,” came the dulcet tones of the construct speaking to us.

To Return Home

Thanks to Malady for his help editing and for ideas.

Cover image from Unsplash

2.6

As it’s been a little while since I last posted any of this story, I’m going to give a “When we last saw our protagonist…”

From Chapter 2.5

“You’re not acting predictably,” Paula told me.

“I just lost my husband,” I exploded. “Would you care to explain what is predictable about that?”

She sat down, and her demeanor softened. “My bots aren’t able to predict how you’re going to react to things right now.”

Paula turned her attention from me to Carla. “Are you saying you can communicate directly to your bots?”

I was shocked as well. “How can you do that?” I asked. “I asked mine a question a couple of days ago, but I could only talk to them in a dream.”

Carla appeared uncomfortable. “I suppose it’s something that I learned while Amos was in control.”

I shrank away in fear. “Don’t touch me!” I screamed, terrified. “Get away from me!”

“What’s going on!?” Carla was very confused now.

“He’s still here! He killed John, and he’s still in you!” I tried to back away having no control over my actions.

Paula grabbed me as I flailed my arms at my little sister. “Perhaps you should leave and let her calm down,” I heard her say.

I was crying uncontrollably now, the pain of the last few days taking over.

And now on to 2.6...

“It will be hard if thou is a girl named Richard me thinks”, Okami said with a smile, “ ye must choose a more apt name and also whether ye accept Inari's choice or that of the mages.”

…................

Reaffirmation 07

“Magister!” A woman's voice peeled out and a vision of perfection was stood in the doorway, “You had better bring that child in and sit her down instead of dragging her hither and yon” That woman could only be Circe and Richard wondered what the hades was happening and why was he now a little girl from his dreams.......

Reaffirmation 5