Alder and Ebony: Hawthorn & Ash

By Stacey Jaine McIntosh

Alder and Ebony is a compilation of fantasy drabbles and flash fiction from authors worldwide.
Within its pages you will find enchanting stories of myth, legends and fairytales woven throughout.
Dive into the magic and wonder of these 50+ tales in Volume Three.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stacey Jaine McIntosh
• Release date: Apr 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9798223057383

Stacey Jaine McIntosh

Stacey Jaine McIntosh is the author of ten short stories. "Freya" and "Blood Sacrifice" were published late 2011 and "Fallen Angel" published in 2012. "Life or Death", "Exiles of Eden" and "Morrighan" published in 2013. "Red" and "The Summer Girl" were published in June 2015 and "The Hunter Million" and "Shadows of Annwn" are due to be published later in 2015. She lives in Perth, Western Australia with her husband and four young children.

Book preview

Treaty Bride

VONNIE WINSLOW CRIST

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When Father decreed, she'd marry Dufayet Grimheart as part of the treaty between Wood Elves and Dwarves, Raven was angry.

Have I no say? she cried.

None. The welfare of our people outweighs your wishes.

Raven sighed. Father had always chosen kingly duties over fatherly ones, but she knew him to be correct. Duty to elfkind was more important than self.

When she strolled into the dwarfish throne room for her wedding, Raven was taken aback.

Though he bristled with weapons, the thickset Dufayet Grimheart had the kindest eyes she'd ever seen.

Heart racing, she thought, He is my beloved.

Nothing

DJ TYRER

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His parents had always warned him: Never go into the abandoned house at the end of the road. But Jimmy hadn’t listened. It was just too tempting, like being left alone with a jar of cookies and a stern injunction. So, he’d broken in to take a look.

Actually, it was rather disappointing. With sunlight flowing through broken windows and cracked walls, Jimmy found it barely spooky at all. It was almost bright and cheerful; he felt cheated. There wasn’t even a cellar!

Then, he noticed it, a slab in the floor of what once had been a fireplace. This was more like it: a mystery. He prised it up, tantalising images of treasures and horrors that might be concealed beneath it. Eagerly, he tore it free, desperate to see what he’d discovered.

Nothing. There was nothing beneath the slab but a shallow and empty space. Not even a woodlouse.

He returned home, shoulders sagging in disappointment.

Hey, Mum, he called, stepping into the kitchen.

She ignored him.

Mum?

She didn’t reply. It was as if he wasn’t there.

Jimmy ran up to his room and lay on his bed, not knowing what to think. Below him, there were sounds of agitation and distress. He ran downstairs.

His Mum was sobbing, his father white faced.

Where is he? Where is he? Mum cried over and over.

Where was he? What was happening?

It was as if he, too, were nothing.

The Lost Land of Lyonesse

STACEY JAINE MCINTOSH

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Lyonesse. The once grand home of Tristan, the immortalised lover of Isolde. Thought now to lie beneath the waves. Lost to the ravages of time, it’s beauty will never fade. And the church bells still toll for the ones who perished and make their graves at the bottom of the ocean.

As the tides recede some tell the story of a rider on a white horse coming out of a forest that once dwelt at the heart of the great city. Others take no stock in fairy stories, refusing to believe there ever was a land as grand as Lyonesse

The Black Rose

ANDREW KURTZ

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As Stan was walking home after a long, drawn-out day of work, he overheard a man screaming at the proprietor of the florist shop.  Afterward, the man dashed into the street and confronted Stan.

I need to find a black rose or I will be doomed! You must help me! the man pleaded, clenching his fists tightly around Stan's shirt collar.

The stranger had thick black dishevelled hair and tears were streaming down his face.

Before Stan could reply, the man vanished in a red cloud of smoke.

When the smoke cleared a nine-foot crimson demon with a long, forked tail and horns on his head stood in front of Stan.

Today is your lucky day. Would you like to be rich beyond your wildest dreams, in addition to being immortal? I can give you these things if in return you bring me one object, the demon offered.

Is this a joke? Are you wearing a costume? Where did that man disappear to? asked Stan.

"I am real and that man went to Hell.

Part of this deal is that if you fail to retrieve the object for me in one hour, then your soul is mine and you will burn in the infernal fires of Hell for all eternity," the demon laughed as flames appeared before Stan, who was immersed in a river of molten lava.

Help! Stan screamed and then he was back on the street.

Do you need more proof of my authenticity? the demon smirked.

I believe you. What is the object?  asked Stan while his knees violently shook?

A BLACK ROSE.  You will bring it to this spot when you find it. Remember, you only have one hour, the demon answered and disappeared into thin air.

How many black roses do you want? the elderly woman