Collide: Birth of a New Race

By Perfectly Plotted Books

Have you ever wondered what happened to the Centaurian race? The tale begins with a blossoming friendship that turns into more than human Lanae Broma could ever imagine. Follow the story as the humans and centaurs battle over the territories and the emerging new life that compels them forward to their new future. It starts when Lanae meets up with real in the flesh centaurs and her life is never the same again.

Lanae forges ahead against her parent's wishes and before she knows it she's on a journey to an exciting new life without her parent's blessings. She forgoes all reasoning and follows her heart which brings her to a place where she witnesses first hand the changing of history.

Collide is a tale of hope and love, of betrayal and madness. Discover the truth about what became of the race of the centaurs.
Mythology meets fantasy in a warm and thrilling adventure that most humans will never experience.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Perfectly Plotted Books
• Release date: Aug 27, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311535054

Perfectly Plotted Books

Perfectly Plotted Books is a small publisher with an assortment of books in different genres.

Book preview

Collide

The Birth of a New Race

Lori Ann Ramsey

Smashwords edition.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Cover Photo by FotoSearch.com

Edited by Jansina

www.rivershorebooks.com

Published by Lori Ramsey

Cover by Lori Ramsey

Website: www.Lori-Ramsey.com

Copyright © 2014-2017 Lori Ann Ramsey

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1 - Collide

Chapter 2 - A Friendship is Born

Chapter 3 - Goodbye

Chapter 4 - Prophesies that Change Lives

Chapter 5 - Happy 16th, Lanae

Chapter 6 - Truth Will Out

Chapter 7 - Learning the Centaur Way

Chapter 8 - Threats

Chapter 9 - Reunited Connection

Chapter 10 - Strife and Discontent

Chapter 11 - Birthday Question

Chapter 12 - The Dress

Chapter 13 - Mr. Crank

Chapter 14 - Plans

Chapter 15 - Dress

Chapter 16 - Escape

Chapter 17 - New Life

Chapter 18 - Wedding Day

Chapter 19 - Honeymoon

Chapter 20 - Breeding Stable

Chapter 21 - Life

Chapter 22 - Blessed Surprises and Rude Awakenings

Chapter 23 - A New Race

Chapter 24 - Dedication of the New Race

Chapter 25 - Multiply

Chapter 26 - Battle Time

Chapter 27 - The Balance of Life

Chapter 28 - Journey Home

Chapter 29 - Set Sail

Chapter 30 - New Home

Chapter 31 - New Miracles and Sad Goodbyes

Epilogue

Dedication

To my husband Phillip, who constantly kidded me over the topic of this story. He wants to read it just because it’s about centaurs and humans.

Prologue

Tiny, 3-year-old Lanae Broma sat and played in her new backyard with careful attention from her often-hovering mother, Audra. Arthur, Audra’s husband of only two years, had acquired some 24 acres in Gallawayinga, much to Audra’s dislike. For her it was simply too close to savage territory than was comfortable. But Arthur assured her the centaurs would keep to their own lands and were not allowed passage unless they had official business; even then, they had to be escorted by the law to keep peace.

Little Lanae played happily near the briar patch that made up the border to the vast forest in the back. Oblivious to anything watching, she happily pat out mud pies as Arthur and Audra worked a way off, tilling on their garden soil. Audra felt comfortable being able to simply look up and see her tot, who played quietly in the dirt. She didn’t consider for a second that anything or anyone would be watching her so closely.

One particular day Lanae, oblivious to her mother’s concerns and never knowing a stranger, just happened to look up to see the face of a young boy. He was peering out at her underneath the overhang of the trees over the briar patch. It was late afternoon, and the sun cast long shadows behind the boy.

Lanae’s curly, red hair bounced over her forehead as she patted out pretend cakes, preparing supper for her family of baby dolls. The rustling in the briars startled her from her play, and she looked up with curiosity and spotted the face of the young boy. She opened her rosebud lips slightly and muttered a tiny hello. Her warmth spread to all who cared to gaze upon her brilliant, green eyes. The boy smiled and said hello back.

Lanae stood up on her fat, little legs and brushed the mud pie dirt from her hands onto her buttercup, yellow dress. Audra glanced up at her from the garden then went right back to work hoeing, satisfied that Lanae was just fine. Arthur engaged her in a conversation about what they could do with all the rocks and stones they were finding. Lanae toddled over to the briar patch and peered up at the tall, young boy.

What you name? her sweet lips formed, barely above a whisper. Perhaps she had instincts even then not to call attention to herself.

Hi, said the boy. I’m your secret friend. Shh...don’t tell anyone, ‘k?

Lanae shook her pretty, little head, curls bouncing. Her big eyes searched for a way to get into the briars to have a closer look at her new friend.

Sensing her determination, the boy said, Oh, I have to run. I will see you later. Remember, shh...it’s our secret. With that, he vanished into the thicket. Lanae nodded and waved her fat, little hand, whispering a goodbye.

***

Lanae often saw the boy in the same spot over the next three years, until she turned six. He only ever showed up when no one else was around. The large thicket and briar patch separated them, with Lanae always on the garden side and the boy on the forest side. He never told her his name, though he knew hers. If she ever ventured forward to get a better look, he would run off. But he still came to visit when he could, until one fall day after Lanae had turned seven.

Her parents decided to clean out the briar patch. Suspecting there were wild animals hiding in the patch, they took out every briar and bit of undergrowth. Now all the eye could see was clean forest lawn. Lanae didn’t see the boy again until her cousins came for a visit the next summer.

***

Bernice and Miles, ages 12 and 10, came to spend the summer. They were from the east: Thibadeau Falls. It was a good day and a half trek. Lanae was beside herself, happy to have her cousins arrive. Though they were older, she never let that stop her from trailing along for whatever they did. She loved that they were visiting, because her mother would be preoccupied with their parents and wouldn’t hover over her.

Bernice and Miles took Lanae on a trip along the Little Creek. They abandoned their shoes at the bank behind the house and merrily went along for—what seemed like—a long time. They finally found where the Little Creek ran into the Big Creek. Lanae was excited to be this far from home, down in a forbidden area. The centaurs’ territory was nearby. The cousins did not seem to mind, though. They said they were not scared.

They went on a little ways in Big Creek, until they came to a spot wide enough and deep enough to swim. Lanae peered around at the green trees that held a canopy overhead. A bluff line above the creek a little ways off from the other bank kept them from seeing farther into the forest. Lanae, Bernice, and Miles swam and frolicked in the water.

While Bernice and Miles busily tried to dunk each other, Lanae glanced up and saw two centaurs and a person on the ledge of the bluff above them. They peered down at her. They looked to be a family, for the boy’s silhouette resembled them. She wondered if this was the same boy she had visited with back in the upper garden on her land. They were too far off for her to tell. When Lanae finally got her cousins’ attention and told them to look, the three had disappeared.

Probably elk, Bernice said. Because she was so much older, she always knew what was going on and had an answer for everything. Lanae instinctively knew to keep quiet about what she had seen. She knew her mother would have thrown a fit.

Chapter 1 - Collide

It wasn’t until Lanae turned 12 that her parents allowed her enough freedom to go out and wander into the forest, with strict warnings to steer clear of any savages.

Do not go near Big Creek, her mother would say, or down the Pierce Road.

Everyone knew that Pierce Road led right into the centaur territory. In fact, the field that was the neutral zone was down Pierce Road. No humans dared to build a home near their land, except for one brave family who traveled a lot. Lanae’s parents’ land was very near Big Creek, and Lanae had only ever been allowed to go within their own fence.

However, today Lanae felt adventuresome. Instead of mounting Scurry, her four-year-old horse, she went on foot. Earlier she’d had to go down Pierce Road, and she had glimpsed the field. She had gone fishing in Big Creek with her aunt, uncle, and cousin when they were visiting last summer. Nevertheless, today she grew bored while her parents were in town picking up supplies for the garden; she had plans to venture over to Big Creek again.

She followed the Little Creek from her own backyard, knowing that it eventually led to the Big Creek. She figured that once she found Big Creek, she could take Pierce Road back out and head home. Simple plan. Easy. So she thought.

Lanae had not expected the creek to branch off so many times. As she looked around at the vast woods, she saw nothing but pines and oaks and cedars; everything looked the same yet was unfamiliar. She had been walking for hours.

She recalled the time her Uncle Bob had gone elk hunting and turned up lost for an entire day. He finally came out on a remote roadway miles away. She stopped to listen; the only sound came from the March wind brushing the top of the trees. She could always hear the faint sound of the distant homes, axes chopping wood, and dogs barking while in her own backyard, but not now.

She trekked on. Suddenly, she saw a line of bluffs loom up on the other side of the Big Creek. She gingerly hopped across the rocks to the creek edge. Could this be the spot where my cousins and I swam that summer?

The bluffs stood about two stories high, but to Lanae they looked to be over ten stories high. She spotted some strange writing on one side of the bluffs, among the smooth, cool stone. It wasn’t anything she recognized. Centaur writing! It had to be.

Lanae had an enchantment for the centaurs for as long as she could remember. She would ask her mother questions as a child, and the only answer she got back was they are savages. But that didn’t sway Lanae; she still yearned to know more about them.

She clambered over rocks toward a cave she spotted. She recalled her grandfather saying he had followed the Little Creek to the Big Creek, and the only thing he reported seeing was a small waterfall. He never mentioned a cave or bluffs. She trembled as she realized just how lost she was.

She turned back in the same direction she had come and stopped for a breather. My mother’s going to kill me, she thought as tears stung her eyes.

The sound of something rustling through the forest floor on the other side of a big hill caused her heart to pound. Whatever made the noise sounded very big.

She took two more steps up the hill and came face to face with two centaurs and a tall boy. Her eyes could not get any wider as she took them in and they her. Instead of bolting, she edged toward them. The look on their faces made her feel at ease. She had never been this close to one, let alone two. They were not nearly as tall as a horse, but a bit taller than her.

The big male had what appeared to be a leather vest over his muscled chest, with a leather, strap band tied around his left bicep, and underneath peeked a tattoo. He had a bow and a quiver of arrows thrown over his shoulder. His full, wavy, brown-speckled-with-gray hair almost reached his shoulders, and it flowed back as if he had been running.

The breathtakingly-beautiful lady centaur had long, reddish-brown hair with flecks of golden highlights peppered with an occasional white strand, which stayed gently pulled back. She had some sort of black, tiara band set over her forehead and coming down to a point just above and between her deep, emerald-green eyes. Her emerald-green, shimmering shirt draped over her shoulders and hung down with the same point to her hips. Her full lips and warm eyes softened her sharp nose and high cheekbones. She also had a leather band tied around her left bicep, with dangling, teardrop, clear stones. Diamonds? An oval sapphire stone hung around her neck.

The smaller boy had the same dark-brown hair, and his face looked to be a cross of the two adults. He had the lady’s eyes and her nose and mouth, but his hair and the shape of his face resembled the man. He had on a simple, leather vest, carried a much smaller bow, and his quiver only held two small arrows. His eyes peered at Lanae with a mixture of surprise and approval. The boy bore a striking resemblance to the same young boy who once visited a young Lanae peeking through the briars.

Centaurs, Lanae breathed, barely audible.

Are you lost, my dear? the lady centaur spoke first. Her voice was soft yet strong and friendly.

The big male took a step toward Lanae. He glanced over at the female and gave her a slight, quick, knowing smile. We won’t hurt you. If you are lost, we can help you find your way. We know these woods well. His deep voice had authority and a slight dialect that Lanae couldn’t place. Centaur dialect?

Lanae found her voice after a long moment. Um, yes, I’m lost. I, uh, live up in the Topomound territory, in the woods just outside of Pierce Road. She inched forward, wanting to get a closer look.

Oh, yes, we know where that is. The female smiled. I’m Maya, and this is Darmaeth. She held out her hand toward the big male.

And this is Darmaeus, our son. Darmaeth stepped back so the smaller boy could step up. Lanae gawked as she spotted the two centaur legs, but only two. The boy, though shorter than the centaurs, stood taller than her.

Hello, he said shyly.

Hi. Lanae smiled. She was so excited to meet real centaurs and she was curious about the boy, too. They weren’t savages at all. In fact, they seemed quite civilized.

Darmaeth leaned forward. If you want, I can carry you to the border, at the field, and let you off.

S...sure. Lanae hesitated a bit, shaken with excitement; she wanted to talk with them more. She wanted to know about the two-legged centaur.

Darmaeth helped Lanae onto his back. The four set off in a gentle trot toward the neutral field, the boy keeping up on his two legs.

Lanae seized the opportunity. Um, I would love to talk with you more. Can we meet again?

Maya smiled. Of course; we’d love to get to know you, too. How about tomorrow about two hours before dusk? We can meet at the field. That way you can take the road and not get lost. We patrol the area anyway. But please, keep our meeting a secret. It is important that no others know this and especially about our son Darmaeus.

He...? Lanae started to ask, blushing.

He is a special breed. He is our son, but born more adapted to his human side. There are about two dozen or so of us like him scattered around the lands. We keep this information from the humans for fear of him being captured, Maya said.

There are others like him? Lanae asked, her fascination growing.

Yes, but they are not known. This is part of a prophecy coming true, Maya said, glancing at her husband.

Please understand, we mean you no harm, Darmaeth said.

Lanae broke out into a huge smile. Instead of being scared, she wanted to spend as much time as possible with them.

Her parents’ preoccupancy with the garden coop kept them busy and away, leaving her to wander the property for hours each day, alone. Lucky for Lanae, the carriage only had room for two with the cart in the back always full of fruits and vegetables.

Lanae felt a new purpose as she walked home up the road. The sun was setting over the pastures, and the road was quiet. She stole down her own road and slipped into the house before her parents even noticed.

The next day could not come fast enough. She paid attention to the time the sun had set the night before so she would not be late with her appointment. She dared not tell her parents that she had actually met the centaurs. Her mother would be horrified.

They are savages, her mother would say. If you see one, run back home as fast as you can. If she knew that Lanae had met them, rode on the back of one, and had plans to see them again, she would probably lock her in her room.

Lanae shuddered at the thought and just kept up with the life she always had, doing her