Dressed in breeches and sandals, Joie rode through the forest of his ancestors. The illuminae filtered through the trees, sketching filigrees in the mulch below.The warrior was tall, with reddish brown skin, almond eyes and high cheekbones. Jet black hair hung loosely about his shoulders. Silver and turquoise rings dangled from his ears and wrists.Joie was half asleep, his muscular thighs loosely gripping the mare’s flanks, for she knew the way to their favorite stream better than he did. They reached the brook and he dismounted, kneeled and splashed water upon his face and neck, finally cupping a pool in his hands to drink.“Joseph…” He glanced around, instantly wary. The forest was teaming with supernatural life -- and not all of it friendly.Among the most dangerous were Wood Sprites -- forest succubae that took the form of human women to capture men. Their victims slowly starved to death, losing all grasp of time as they languished in their captor’s embrace.A mahogany shaded woman emerged from the grove of trees to his right. She had a wide nose, full lips and was dressed in a thigh length garment made entirely of overlapping feather. Her kinky hair was braided atop her head. Gold ornaments hung from her ears, neck and arms.She had the voluptuous body of a young girl. But her large dark eyes held knowledge no girl could ever possess, and she had all the earmarks of a preternatural creature -- though friend or enemy, Joie couldn’t tell.He decided not to stay and find out. In one fluid motion the warrior rose, and leaped on to his horse.IMMORTAL Copyright 2007 Valjeanne Jeffers-Thompson all rights reserved.I'm having so much fun, I skipped past the 15 page limit to one of my favorite passages. As always please feel free to leave comments and critiques (smile).
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