The Fantastic Five

By Rita Schulz

These five fantastic tales will take you to planets at the edge of the galaxy, the 18th century with pirates, curses, and adventure, lands where magic thrives, and on a holiday with magical fey faced with a life and death decision about the future of their race.

An author of fantastic fiction invite you to share these incredible tales of adventure and magic which you will not want to put down.

The five tales are:

The Scarlet Curse
Spoken Words
A Little Old Fashioned
The Brownies Holiday
In the Land of Dragons

• Language: English
• Publisher: 53rd Street Publishing
• Release date: Jun 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781476343440

Rita Schulz

Rita lives on the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia with, Russ, her husband, who is also a fiction writer. She has written for years and is an alumnus of the Oregon Writers Network, and the Greater Vancouver Chapter of the Romance Writers of America. Her most recently published stories are Fire in Their Hearts with R.G. Hart from Champagne books, and Ladies of the Jolly Roger and Tales of the Fantastic, from 53rd Street Publishing. Please visit her website at http://www.ritacrossley.com to view her other works.  

Book preview

The Fantastic Five

The

Fantastic

Five

Rita Schulz

53rd Street Publishing

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Introduction

Untitled

Chapter 3

Untitled

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

About the Author

Also by Rita Schulz

Also available from 53rd Street Publishing

The

Fantastic

Five

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Edited by R. Edgewood

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Published by 53rd Street Publishing

Offices in Gibsons, B.C. Canada and Lincoln City, Oregon

The

Fantastic

Five

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Edited by R. Edgewood

---

Published by 53rd Street Publishing

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All stories copyright ©2012 Rita Schulz

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All rights reserved

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Cover art © Unholyvault, Dreamstime.com

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Cover designed by R. Edgewood

Cover design and layout ©2017 by 53rd Street Publishing

ISBN 978-1-927621-

45

-

5

53rd Street Publishing

Head office: Gibsons B.C. Canada

www.53rdstreetpublishing.com

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This is a work of fiction. Any similarities to persons living or dead are purely coincidental.

Dedication

To my husband, Russ, who supports me, encourages me, and most importantly is always there for me. Thank you for your devotion over the years.

Table of Contents

The Scarlet Curse

Spoken Words

A Little Old Fashioned

The Brownies Holiday

In The Land of Dragons

About the Author

Current Titles

Introduction

I've gotten together a collection of five fantastic, fun stories written by Rita Schulz Four are fantasies, three are by Rita Schulz, the fourth is a romantic fantasy under the name R. S. Meger. The remaining story is a science fiction tale by Rita Schulz. The stories range from a wise woman and a Changeling, a woman settling on a new planet, a cursed pirates daughter, Brownies on their Springer, to a university student who can sees dragons.

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I hope that you will enjoy reading them as much as I've enjoyed collecting them in this volume.

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R. Edgewood

Gibsons

BC

June

2017

The Scarlet Curse

Rita Meger

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Isat proud and straight on the shoulder of Captain Toby King as he walked up the wooden gangway to my new home, the Black Arrow .

The first mate, Jangles, stood at the top of the gangway leaning against the waist high wooden railing of the sleek schooner and glared at me as we walked past him. A bird hater, perhaps? I looked back at him briefly; his glare hadn’t been directed at me, but at the captain’s back. It wasn’t just a look it was a really menacing glare, a look filled with hatred. I felt the small feathers at the nap of my neck stand up and shook myself to get them to settle. He might be trouble for the captain or me. I would have to keep my eye

on

him

.

Jangles had been the new first mate aboard Captain Randy Black’s ship, the Royal Hound and when the Back Arrow had been captured there was some talk that he would be made captain, but Toby King was given the ship instead.

The Black Arrow was Captain Toby’s first ship and with me being an experienced sea woman and pirate he would need my help and advice, he just didn’t know

it

yet

.

The captain and I crossed the wide wooden deck to the stern of the ship. He quivered slightly and his shoulder muscles were tense under my claws, he was nervous. The ship was at anchor at Port Royal in the British Caribbean, the tall main mast with its black and white Jolly Roger snapped in the breeze, and everything looked to be in top shape. As we reached the stern we proceeded through the small wooden door into the captain’s quarters.

The captain’s quarter was a large room, one wall of small-paned windows in the stern of the ship let in streams of natural light. It had a large built in double-sized queen bed with a lovely, fluffy blue quilt. Against the wall for windows sat a large glossy dark wooden desk and in the center of the room was an old oak dinning table with high backed chairs. A chart table butted up next to the table was covered with at least a dozen charts.

Cap’n Toby set me on my perch.

It was in a good spot next to the desk, close enough so that I could see what the captain would be

working

on

.

He lit the glass lanterns in brackets on the wall and the oil lamp on the table making the room warm

and

cozy

.

I gave the thick wooden perch a test and walked back and forth for a bit and then pecked at the wood. I tasted it with my tongue. It was hard, smooth and the flavor reminded me walnut oil. It would do. Then I went over to my water and food bowls, they were both nice and shiny. Clean. I like that. I had always been a clean, tidy girl, it was a trait that came with me when I was turned into a parrot.

Well, Asia, my girl. What do you think about your new quarters? asked Cap’n Toby as he pulled off his navy blue dress jacket and hung it off a hook by

his

bed

.

I admit I enjoyed looking at the way his shirt fit smoothly over his broad shoulders and muscled chest and how his pants hugged his narrow hips. His dark grey eyes flashed in the soft light of the cabin. He glanced at me and there seemed to be humor behind his gaze. His smile made me happy, and warm and safe. Something I haven’t felt in a very

long

time

.

There was something special about him. I didn’t know him well, but I could sense that he was a kind, fair man, and an

honorable

one

.

He seemed like the kind of man that I could fall in love with. But while I was in the form of a bird having a life and love as a human was all just a hopeless dream.

A curse had been placed on me and I had been trying to break it ever since.

It happened almost one hundred years ago. I was just a simple fun loving girl who had a pirate father, Captain Johnny Blood, and loved the open sea. I had learned about navigation, how to read charts (something I loved to do), rigging a ship, and wielding a cutlass like a pirate would. The same way a girl landlubber would learn to cook, clean, and sew. Then I grew into a teenager and I discovered boys, when I got

older

,

men

.

One day, when the crew and I were on shore, I spied a very handsome man at the Captain’s Parrot, a pub we used to frequent. Well, we had been in port for a while longer than usual and Handsome and I got to know each other very well. Unfortunately I was just having some fun and he took the relationship seriously. Perhaps I did say maybe, or even yes, when he asked if I’d like to spend my life with him. But I was preoccupied at the time, he had just given me a lovely gold bracelet and my mind was focused on the delightful way he was

kissing

me

.

A week later when it was time to pull up anchor and leave, I looked down over the side of the ship and there he stood with his mother. My heart started beating hard against my chest and my stomach did a quick flip. They demanded to see me. Captain Blood or dear Dad, and I strolled down the gangway of the ship to the dock to talk to them. It turned out that Handsomes mother was a witch and because I had dishonored their family—apparently everyone showed up at the church except me, and I kind of laughed at them and refused to marry him—she put a curse on me and turned me into a bird, a scarlet McCaw.

The curse was that I would stay in that form until someone loved me so much that he would be willing to face death

for

me

.

After she cursed me she turned my father into a stone statue. I looked around for help and there wasn’t any. Icy fingers gripped my heart and squeezed it hard as I watched the statue tumble over and shatter. The witch picked me up, and snickering she walked away with me tucked under

her

arm

.

As she and her son strode down the docks she quickly handed me to the captain of a cargo ship that was shoving off and leaving port. Keep the bird close to you, she’s very special and good luck. Were the last words I heard from her. But the witch and her son, their laughter still haunts my mind when I think of

that

day

.

I discovered that the witch was right about one thing. I am good luck to the ship I’m on and can speak quite a number of words, but I can’t tell anyone about my curse. When I try my throat closes up and the words won’t

come

out

.

And now I was here on board the Black Arrow with a new captain, Cap’n Toby King, the latest in a long line of captains I’ve

belonged

to

.

Cap’n Toby looked at me and started to gently scratch the side of my neck. "Yes, I am very pleased you’re coming with me on this voyage. I have a little secret to tell you. This is a

pirate

ship

."

My head bobbed up and down in agreement. I knew this was a pirate ship, but sometimes in a new relationship captains state the obvious. I was happy to be on a pirate ship again. Over the years I have spent time on shore, on large wooden cargo ships, and once on a posh

passenger

ship

.

I took a liking to Toby, he was the typical tall, dark, and handsome pirate.

He was confidant, a good head taller than the average man and stood with his back straight, his head held high. His dark hair was wavy and he wore it long, pulled back from a broad forehead and tied at the nap of his neck. He had a patrician nose over a generous mouth.

He was a fine physical specimen of a man and I knew that he would father fine looking children..

As a McCaw parrot I have a very long life span, usually about one hundred years, but it seemed the curse had even extended that. I hadn’t aged. I didn’t even have any grey in my plumage (that I could see), and I still had strong nesting instincts.

I knew you and I would get along famously. I heard about the Scarlet Curse, but what I was interested in was that you always brought ships good luck. So when I saw you I made sure I would have you, he said as he walked to the desk. He laughed and pulled an ace of hearts from under the long, dark red sleeve of his shirt and flipped it onto

his

desk

.

I took a good look around the room and was starting to get hungry and a little thirsty. Maybe now was a good time to start Toby’s training? We would need to learn to communicate with each other and he would need to find out how to properly care for a McCaw, namely me. I walked up to my water cup and tapped on it, then did the same with the

food

cup

.

I looked at him and waited. This would be the real test to see if he could pick up on my non-verbal cues. If he could it would mean that we were in sync and it would be easier to work together.

Oh, Asia, my beautiful pet you must be hungry and thirsty. Wait a moment he said and opened

the

door

.

"Holt.