Wiccan Ritual Opens a Door to the Past

 

He slowly walked out of her reach. "I'm sorry."

 

“For what?” Shawn Michael demanded, stepping off the main path. He was quickly followed by Damien MacNab, Richard Connell,  and Keith Connell. “Explain yourself, boy!”

 

“I told you!” Keith volunteered, pointing at Shannon and Michael. “I told you they were together.”

 

Shannon Marie's gaze quickly darted from her father to the smirking Keith. Anger rose within. “Papa. Whatever he told you,” she jutted her chin in Keith's direction, “is a lie.”

 

“Shut up girl!” Richard snapped, sauntering into the glade. “He said you were together.”

 

“Harlot!” Keith smugly pointed at her; the condescension in his voice matched his father. “Just like your Seanhair!”

 

Shawn Michael snapped around; his left hand reaching for the dagger at his belt. “Richard, shut your bastard up!” The warning hung in the air between them, threatening to become more than a verbal battle.

 

“Michael?” Always the gentleman, Damien squared his shoulders and composed himself. With relaxed, yet directed long strides, he quickly crossed the distance between himself and his son. Damien reached out slightly and tilted his head so that their matching deep hazel eyes met. “Why were the two of you here together?”

 

“Father, we always come to honor Bridget.” Michael’s gaze did not waver.

 

Shannon was suddenly aware of how alike in manner and appearance they were. Without Damien’s beard, it was like the men were looking in mirror reflections of themselves; one towards the past and the other toward the future. Both were warriors; but whereas Damien had aged into a statesman, Michael still had the temperament and the physical stamina of a warrior and a hunter. Although their eyes were the same shape and color. Damien’s held wisdom. Michael’s were those of a seer who saw other times and places.

 

“I would never dishonor you or myself.” Michael continued. “Nor would I betray her father’s trust.” He turned toward Shawn. “Sir, your daughter and I have been friends for as long as I can remember. You never questioned us before. Why would you doubt us now?”

 

“We always have been together since we were children. Rachael and Scott used to come with us.” Shannon Marie interceded. “Since Scott was sent to the monastery, Rachael does not come anymore. Michael and I promise to always remember them to Bridget. We are honor-bound. Rachael gave me her offering.” She pulled the coins from her pocket.

 

“Pagan—“

 

“Shut up!” Shawn Michael snapped, cutting off Richard. The anger in his voice was sharper than the blade at his belt. “My daughter does not lie.”

 

“Neither does my”--

 

“Your son?” Richard cut Damien off. “Are you dishonoring your legit heirs by acknowledging your bastard?”

 

Shawn Michael crossed the few yards between himself and Shannon Marie. His voice softened when he spoke to her, yet the anger, which was only inches away, remained directed at the Connells. “Little Elf, what oath did you give.”

 

“The four of us made a blood oath on Bridget’s altar to be each other’s defenders and protectors.” Michael quickly answered, stepping toward the father and daughter pair. “We are one in her name.”

 

“Yes, Papa. It is true.” Shannon Marie looked up into her father’s eyes, trying to get him to understand how she felt about Michael without her being forced to put it into words. They were more than friends, yet they both knew that was all it would ever be. How could she speak what her heart felt in front of all of them when she could not say it out loud to the person who meant the most?  Angrily she looked at the Connells.

 

Arrogantly,  Keith stood beside his father,  his arms folded across his

chest. She hated him the most for his pretense. His parentage was no better than Michael’s, yet he presented himself as a son of rank.

“But it’s none of their concern. Michael is honorable. Neither of us would do anything to disgrace ourselves or our families.” She pointed at Keith. “He cannot say the same.”

 

"There was nothing more?" Damien demanded, stepping back and scratching his graying beard.

 

“Nothing worth speaking of.” Michael whispered and turned toward the altar. “I-we-it doesn’t matter. We have done nothing to shame ourselves or our families.”

 

Damien’s voice softened as he stepped around Michael and lifted his chin as if he were a small boy instead of a nearly grown man. “Speak the words of your heart.”

 

“I can’t Father. I don’t have the right.” Michael turned away and walked back to Bridget's altar. He stood there with his back to them all.

 

Damien's gaze followed his son, but his eyes quickly moved on to the stone formation that honored The Horned One, Cernuous. Scratching his beard, he seemed to be seeking an answer from the God. He blinked and shifted his weight to look at Shawn Michael. He slightly nodded. “Your daughter is an honorable young woman. So is my son. I believe both of them.”

 

Without hesitating, Shawn Michael returned the gesture. He faltered for a moment as if he were choosing his words carefully. “The Clans have their ways for good or bad. They cannot be changed. At least not from the inside. But not all of us are from the inside. Shannon Marie’s Seanhair is not of the Clans. When I married her daughter, we created a new tradition that was not quite Clan, not quite de Medici. I agree to release my claims to my wife’s family possessions. I gave her my family's name. As with the Clans’ traditions, my eldest daughter and her husband would inherit the clan title and honors...but Madam de Medici would name her heir. Do you understand?”

 

Shannon Marie did not. There was no reason for Papa to be speaking about the family business. Especially not now. Besides, Damien was Papa’s best friend. He knew all this already. None of it was a secret.

 

Damien slowly nodded his head.

 

Shawn Michael continued. “Some traditions can be broken without reproach. Others only bent. But some traditions cannot be broken. My daughter is of honorable blood. She deserves all her birthrights. Not everyone will accept Jacqueline De Medici's decisions and choices. They will try to take by force what they can’t have by law.”

 

“Strong friends and family alliances are shelter in such storms.” Damien interjected. “An honorable family, we would fight to the death to protect their own whether by blood or marriage. I speak for MacNab Clan and all our kin and all our kin’s kin when I say we are such an honorable family.”

 

“We have an agreement!” The elder Connell angrily barked.

 

“And it will be kept!” Shawn Michael matched his tone as he snapped around. “To bring peace between our clan, my eldest daughter and heir will marry yours. I will keep my word as long as you honor your end of the bargain. Shannon Marie has been and will be Madam de Medici's heir.”

 

“That wasn’t the agreement!” Connell growled advancing on Shawn Michael. "The estates go to the husband of the eldest daughter if there is no legit male heir. My son is entitled--"

 

“To the small estate, my father shall bestow on me.” Shawn Michael cut him off. “And the title.”

 

“Only you and yours thought that there was more. The rest knew the lay of the land.” Damien added, standing beside Shawn. “You were a fool to expect otherwise.”

 

“Tradition is tradition.” The elder Connell snarled. “Eldest child--legitimate child,” he corrected himself, “inherits the family title and property.”

 

Shannon Marie knew there was more to his meaning than his words conveyed. They were talking about clan agreements and marriage as if they were interchangeable. But Seanhair taught her that she would always have the right to choose with whom she shared her bed. Did not her older sister have the same right? Again she had the strange feeling of not being alone within herself--it felt as if a stranger was also looking out of her eyes and hearing as she heard.

 

This was important. Alyssa knew it was a turning point. A path had been chosen, yet she knew not what the options were. Nor was it her right to decide. Something had been just set in motion.

 

Shannon felt the stranger within her. From the beyond, words from another place echoed within her—“To another place to the other time take me back to the beginning of this crime. Let me see and understand the unfolding of this karmic plan. Show me now in this light how to make this wrong a right.”

 

Fear suddenly overwhelmed her. Shannon did not understand why this moment was so important. Why were Damien and Papa talking formally as if they were at court? They were friends. Always. For as long as she could remember, they had spoken openly as brothers. She looked at Michael; he was closed off to her. She wanted to reach out to Papa; she couldn't force her feet to move the few steps between them.

 

“I give you my word.” Damien continued, “The MacNab Clan honors the traditions of the other clans' families. We will respect the understanding between the Cullen clan and Madam de Medici.”

 

Shawn Michael slowly nodded.

 

Damien MacNab returned the gesture. “I'll make the arrangements with Laird MacDonald to make the first announcement.” He turned toward Bridget’s altar. “Michael, come here.”

 

Michael immediately bowed in reverence to Bridget and returned to his father’s side. Damien leaned forward and whispered into his ear. For a moment, Michael stepped back, looking first at Bridget’s altar and then at Shannon.

 

Damien stepped closer and continued to speak in a voice so low it did not carry across the field. As he finished, Michael slowly nodded but said nothing.

 

Shannon Marie saw regret and sadness in his eyes. Their eyes met briefly. Michael turned away and looked at Bridget’s altar. It was like he was mourning part of himself. Disappointment and grief radiated from him.

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When love is forever, death is only the beginning: will it lead to forgiveness or revenge?

  

Never Can Say Good-bye tells the parallel storylines of the past and the present as the reincarnated souls are forced to decide between forgiveness and seeking the revenge they were denied in the past.

INT. RAMSDELL LIVING ROOM: NIGHT

Amanda talks on the phone.  Michael nervously paces.  He touches the repaired damage on the grand piano.    

                AMANDA

        (frustrated)

    I already asked him. She doesn't let people get close to her.  

Amanda watches Michael.  He stares up at Sara Jane's portrait.

                AMANDA (CONT.)

    Daniel, I have to call you back.

She hangs up the phone.

                MICHAEL

        (without turning around)

    The memories are getting more intense.

                AMANDA

    I knew they would.

                MICHAEL

    I have to know the whole truth. 

                AMANDA

    You will when it is time.

                MICHAEL

        (touching the piano)

     This is Sara Jane's.

Amanda nods.

                MICHAEL (CONT.)

    She loved music. 

                AMANDA

    Both her and Mother. It was their secret language. They were so close.  Sometimes I would get               jealous. They would always just seem to know and find a way to include me.  They'd make up a silly     rhythm...

Amanda becomes momentarily lost in the pleasant memory.

                MICHAEL

    She loved the guitar I bought her.

        (indicating the piano)

    But this was special to her.

                AMANDA

    It was a gift from Mother.  Father was furious when she took it with her.  But it was hers to take. 

                MICHAEL

        (pleading)

    Where is she?

                AMANDA

    It's not my place to interfere.   

                MICHAEL

    Where is Sara Jane?

                AMANDA

    I can't answer that.

                MICHAEL

        (angrily)

    Can't or won't?

                AMANDA

    Sara Jane might not be ready to deal with the past.  I'm not even sure you are.

                MICHAEL

    What if she can't forgive me?  What if she can't love me again. She begged. I couldn't let her leave.  

                AMANDA

    Could you now, if it was best for her?

                MICHAEL

    I don't know.

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Magical Fantasy Novel Brings Romance to Your Summer

Alyssa attends a local Pagan festival to read Tarot Cards as a way of raising funds for a local animal rescue organization. When a group of drunken men invade the festival, attacking the attendee and destroying the booths, she and others stand up to them only to learn that they are off-duty deputy sheriffs. Unwilling to let their bad behavior slide, they file complaints only to learn that the leader of the pack is Justin Nevel, the Sheriff's nephew. Although she is one of many who complain, Nevel focuses his need for revenge on Alyssa. His harassment quickly escalates. When friends and co-workers stand up for her, his intimidation spreads to them. In an attempt to understand why she was singled out, Alyssa performs a magical ritual. But instead of receiving an answer, she is taken back to a Scottish parish and the life when she was known as Shannon Marie Cullen. The granddaughter and heir of Jacqueline Marie Katherine de Medici, Shannon Marie lived both in and out of clan tradition. However, unlike their older sisters, she and her younger sister, Rachael, were spared the limitations and intrigues of court. Raised more like sons than daughters, they were wild and free. Both saw life as a challenge to be met and conquered. Yet there was one sadness that Shannon Marie was forced to accept or so she thought.. Clan tradition stood between her and Michael being together, which led to him choosing the path of the Goddess. She loved him enough to honor his decision until the obstacles between them suddenly vanished. She selfishly agrees to the marriage. Instead of joy, their union brings about betrayal, bloodshed, and murder. As the memories of her past life awakened, Alyssa melds with her former self. Watching the events before her death unfolds, she began to understand how the manipulation of others followed them through the ages until they are forced to again meet. In the past, one man loved her, yet her selfishness betrayed his trust. One man hated her for who she was and for what he could never have. Both have again entered her life. Have they learned enough to put finally put the past to rest or will they again make the same choices that led to murder and revenge?

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When love is forever, death is only the beginning.

Imprisoned in her family's home, the spirit of a murdered child waits for her parents to free her. But they have reincarnated and have moved on to new lives as has her killer. Randi must bring them back together so that they can forgive themselves and make amends. If she succeeds, they will all heal and she will be freed to also reincarnate. If she fails and they seek the revenge they were denied in the past, they will all be damn.

The past and the present intertwine to create an innovative spin on the ghostly genre as the characters are led down a path of love, guilt, betrayal, revenge, and murder.

When love is forever,

death is only the beginning.

Visit the website to learn more by clicking here.

Not For Ourselves is a robust novel that spans lifetimes in the most unique way possible by weaving a tale of revolving reincarnation.

Not For Ourselves

A Book Review

By Cate Cavanagh

Theresa Chaze has once again proven herself to be a premier Wiccan author of amazing skill and creativity! Not For Ourselves is a robust novel that spans lifetimes in the most unique way possible by weaving a tale of revolving reincarnation.

Readers knowledgeable of the Craft will find this approach familiar yet refreshing in depiction as we witness the flashing back and forth of a character in the present reliving moments of a previous life whose errors have followed her through many incarnations including the present.

Through Alyssa’s eyes we see how conflicted relationships are fast forwarded to the present as she comes to recognize antagonists of her past life tormenting her in the present. Alyssa’s biggest challenge is to rejoin her past self and seek to correct the error that sent her span of lives into the condemnation of karmic debt.

A victim of stalking and terrorism by a local police officer Alyssa is forced to send her cats to live with her sister, Michelle. Reporting this officer (Nevel) is useless as the blue wall converges about him, rendering him protected against prosecution. As her torment continues week after week and month after month the result is the loss of her job as well what has become her fragile sanity. Despite this she fosters enough strength to vlog a diary of what is happening as well as publishing his threatening phone calls. When he and a fellow officer come to her house with false charges and threats, Alyssa finds her cause has been followed by the FBI for some time. Angry that they allowed her to live in constant fear she searches for a way to find peace again and to come away with her goddess given power once more!

Complicating matters is James, the FBI agent that rescues her and Wayne the attorney helping his father deliver hay to the reclaimed horse farm that Alyssa resumes on her path to recovery. But is Wayne in town to defend her tormentors?

So thorough is Theresa’s research she writes of how Alyssa houses an injured possum rather than have him free to roam the stable because its feces can cause serious, life threatening illness. As a horsewoman, I was very impressed with this authenticity.

Authentic as well as her description of projecting oneself into a past life and back again. Authentic as well is how she depicts the physical, mental, and emotional turmoil that rapid astral traveling can be. Those of us of the Craft have experienced this and it is very impressive that Theresa set before her the daunting challenge to recreate not just the physical sensations of trying to undo past errors but the very important tenets of the Wiccan path.

Upon completion of Not For Ourselves, those of the Craft will be sated knowing that someone like Theresa writes a true representation of this treasured belief system while opening a whole new realm of reading experience for the average reader.

Kudos to you Theresa Chaze! Well done!

Available on Amazon as a Kindle and in paperback as well as a PDF on the author's website.

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Author Uses Paranormal Genre to Understand and Heal Through Sexual Assault

What do you do when life hands you lemons. Authors make lemonade by writing the challenges into their work. Theresa Chaze is no different. Written as a way to cope with and to understand the sexual assault, Not for Ourselves tells the tale of a woman, who is attacked and tormented by men she met for the first time at a Pagan Festival. Unable to comprehend why they chose her, she performs a magical ritual that was designed to help her understand why they would want to destroy a stranger's life. All though it is fictionalized story, it reflects how the assault and the months of harassment afterward shattered her life and nearly turned Chaze into a shut-in

Before October 18, 2006, Chaze was confident gregarious woman, who faced life with moxie and courage. Her writing career had begun to take off with the launch of her novels and screenplays. She sought out adventures and blazed her own trails through life. All that ended on October 18, 2006. The person she was died that night and she became someone she didn't recognize. Before, she forgave easily. At midnight her slate was wiped clean and everyone, including herself, had a fresh start for the new day. All that changed. The fear overshadowed her life. Leaving her home sent her into panic attacks that triggered severe asthma episodes. The fear became a rage that she turned both inward and onto others. There were many times in the next two years that she had the razor blade out and the note was written. Good friends keeping careful watch over her is the only reason she didn't follow through. Instead of asking for justice, she sought vengeance on those who had harmed her. When Chaze lost her ability to function, she sought help and was diagnosed with PTSD, After years of therapy, Chaze has glued the shards of her former self together to create a life that once again based on love, light, and hope. Writing Not For Ourselves helped her complete the healing process

.
Alyssa attends a local Pagan festival to read Tarot Cards as a way of raising funds for a local animal rescue organization. When a group of drunken men invade the festival, attacking the attendee and destroying the booths, she and others stand up to them only to learn that they are off-duty deputy sheriffs. Unwilling to let their bad behavior slide, they file complaints only to learn that the leader of the pack is the Justin Nevel, the Sheriff's nephew. Although she is one of many who complain, Nevel focuses his need for revenge on Alyssa. His harassment quickly escalates. When friends and co-workers stand up for her, his intimidation spreads to them. In an attempt to understand why she was singled out, Alyssa performs a magical ritual. But instead of receiving an answer, she is taken back to a Scottish parish and the life when she was known as Shannon Marie Cullen.

The granddaughter and heir of Jacqueline Marie Katherine de Medici, Shannon Marie lived both in and out of clan tradition. However, unlike their older sisters, she and her younger sister, Rachael, were spared the limitations and intrigues of court. Raised more like sons than daughters, they were wild and free. Both saw life as a challenge to be met and conquered. Yet there was one sadness that Shannon Marie was forced to accept or so she thought. Clan tradition stood between her and Michael being together, which led to him choosing the path of the Goddess. She loved him enough to honor his decision until the obstacles between them suddenly vanished. She selfishly agrees to the marriage. Instead of joy, their union brings about betrayal, bloodshed, and murder

.
As the memories of her past life awakened, Alyssa melds with her former self. Watching the events before her death unfold, she began to understand how the manipulation of others followed them through the ages until they are forced to again meet. In the past, one man loved her, yet her selfishness betrayed his trust. One man hated her for who she was and for what he could never have. Both have again entered her life. Have they learned enough to put finally put the past to rest or will they again make the same choices that led to murder and revenge?

Not for Ourselves is available on Amazon as a Kindle and in paperback as well as a PDF on the author's website.

website

Amazon link

The formula for predicting successful films and television projects is a lie.

Never Can Say Good-bye video one sheet from Theresa Chaze on Vimeo.

Investors and distributors have been making decisions on which projects to support based on a formula that more often than not proves to be inaccurate at the box office. True profitability comes from innovation that is based on the courage of being first. Those, who follow a successful concept, are tardy to the party. Never Can Say Good=bye takes the ghostly genre to a place it has never gone before. Join our team and become a leader, who changes the direction of the industry.



Imprisoned in her family's home, the spirit of a murdered child waits for her parents to free her. But they have reincarnated as has her killer. Randi must bring them back together so that they can forgive themselves and make amends. If she succeeds, they will all heal and she will be freed to also reincarnate. If she fails, their need for revenge will damn them all.

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#featurefilms #paranormal #ghost #supernatural #producing #marketing #filminvestment #filmdistribution

Ghostly Karma

I'm updating the character descriptions for Never Can Say Good-bye.

The 40 something actress portraying the character of Lynne in the paranormal thriller Never Can Say Good-bye needs to walk a fine line of conscious knowledge and subconscious motivation. Lynne's soul also reincarnated very quickly. But unlike the others, she returned out of love and the need to help others heal. Although she has no conscious memories of the past life, it has influenced her relationships and led her to be a motivating force in the karmic balancing. Those she loved before were in torment, because of the lies they believed when they died. By gently guiding Elizabeth and Michael to forgiveness as well as supporting Amanda's healing process, she sets some of the wrongs back to right.

Never Can Say Good-bye is a paranormal feature that intertwines the past with the present to create an innovative spin on the ghostly genre.

Imprisoned in her family's home, the spirit of a murdered child waits for her parents to free her. But they have moved on to new lives as has her killer. Randi must bring them back together, so that they can forgive themselves and make amends. If she succeeds, they will all heal and she will be freed to also reincarnate. If she fails, their need for revenge will damn them all.

Paranormal thriller with an innovate spin on the ghostly genre from Theresa Chaze on Vimeo.

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Intertwining the past and the present to create an innovative spin on the ghostly genre

Paranormal thriller with an innovate spin on the ghostly genre from Theresa Chaze on Vimeo.

Imprisoned in her family's home, the spirit of a murdered child waits for her parents to free her. But they have moved on to new lives as has her killer. Randi must bring them back together, so that they can forgive themselves and make amends. If she succeeds, they will all heal and she will be freed to also reincarnate. If she fails, their need for revenge will damn them all.

Combining two concepts, Never Can Say Good-bye creates an innovative spin on the ghostly genre. With a tagline, “When love is forever, death is only the beginning,” it is comparable to Ghost and The Others.

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Will Karma save her or kill her?

A chance encounter opens a karmic door that awakens memories of a previous lifetime when a breaking with a clan tradition led to power struggles and murder. This time as in the last Alyssa finds herself the target of a violent obsession by a man, who again sees her as a bane to his existence. Using his badge as the shield and a weapon, he sets out to once again kill her. Will a love from the past be able to save her this time or will the violent obsession once again kill her and all she loves? Nict for Ure Selfe (Not for Ourselves) is a suspenseful tale of betrayal and murder brought about by changing times and greedy men.

Nict for Ure Selfe (Not for Ourselves): a magical fantasy novel from Theresa Chaze on Vimeo.

Available along with my other books on my website and as an Amazon Kindle.

More than a ghost story

The ghost of a murdered child bring his parents back together after they have reincarnated. He needs them to remember their lives together and forgive. If he succeeds, they will all heal and he will be freed to also reincarnate. If he fails, their need for revenge will damn them all

Never Can Say Good-bye is a Paranormal Thriller, which is comparable to Ghost, The Others, and the original Dark Shadows TV series.

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Nict for Ure Selfe (Not for Ourselves): a novel excerpt

"Nict For Ure Selfe." (Not For Ourselves)

Theresa Chaze

 

Chapter One

Alyssa struck the match.  Instantly, the end burst into flame.  She held it to the wick of the white candle until it ignited.  Pinching off the match head, she placed on the table. Taking a deep breath, she flipped her long chestnut color braid back over her shoulder; it bounced and swung around her waist. Focusing on her intent, she started the ritual. "Goddesses--Maiden, Mother, Crone I call to thee and ask that you appear to me."

Picking up the candle, she held it above the surface of the water.  Its glow illuminated just beyond the rim of the black bowl and reflected off the clear surface.  "On this darkest of night, grant me the portal to make things right.  Let me see clearly the moments of the past, so that I may understand what is happening at last."

Tapping the edge with the candlestick, the glass on glass echoed throughout the dark

room. The vibration rippled through the water.  "As I created a wave in the glass, so I ask you help me with my task." 

She set the candlestick next to the bowl and placed her hands on either side palms down.  "Let me see where his hatred of me had begun, so that his vengeance can be undone.  Why he stalks me I know not why, yet I know the answer lies in times gone by.  Take me back to the time and place, so that I may end the conflict with haste and grace." 

Picking up the four raven feathers, she held them above the candle.  "Goddesses of the raven and night, who left these feathers as a symbol of your might.  I call you now to come me, to create a justice that even the blind may see.  I call your forth to this land to guide the karmic hand.  For those who have done harm to me, let their reckoning begin now--so mote it be."

Placing the feathers equal distance around the bowl, Alyssa paused for a moment to let their energy settle around her. Stretching her neck side to side, she took a deep breath and allowed her Priestess training to relax her body into a meditative state.  The outer world fell away as she sank deeper within herself and started climbing the stairs to her own soul.  Into the darkness, the staircase spiraled upward, until she reached the iridescent platform where her Akashic record was held. 

Suspended in the darkness of endless time, Alyssa looked for a guide to help her.  But she was alone.  In the past, there had always been someone there to act as a guide to help her face the challenge. Uncertain, she stepped up to the pedestal.  If she was to atone for a past error, she would be give direction.  However, if she was merely a player as another strutted and fretted through a karmic lesson, then she could do little more than watch. 

The book lay open before her.  On it, fate continued to write. "Book of all my lives, show me karmic tie that echoes into this life."  The pages flipped, stopping twice before it came to rest on the life named Shannon Marie Cullen.

The image of an auburn haired young woman lifted up off the page and hovered above. Her heart shaped face still had the softness of youth.  Yet the hazel eyes sparkled with old wisdom.  She wore her hair pulled back into a long, single braid.   Although she seemed familiar, Alyssa felt no emotional connection to her.  There was no bond or sense of being between them.  Only a faint familiarity like a tune whose melody echoes in the back of your mind, yet you cannot remember the words or the context in which you heard it.

She reached out to touch the image; it reached back.  Yet before their fingertips touched, Shannon Marie vanished only to be replaced by a three dimensional screening of wooded forest.  Rich and lush it sported multiple shades of green, tans and browns as the forest became fields and forest once again. 

As her perspective changed, Alyssa felt herself zooming to focus on the scene that was most important.  Yet it was more than just pictures and sounds.  The smell of the fields and rushing of the river below sparked memories and long sleeping emotions. 

No matter where her life led her, she could never find the safe sense of home. Fear always kept her from letting her roots grow too deep.  She had never understood. Her childhood was no better or worse than anyone else's.  Yet as her spirit drew closer, the familiarity once again made her crave the comfort of home.

Through breaks in the leaves, she saw two girls running quickly.  She knew who they were, yet she didn't feel connected.  Instead, like a moderated film, she watched them from above.  Instead recalling her own memories, the information flowed to her in unspoken words and images as if someone was narrating their story to catch her up with the story.

Shannon Marie ran breathlessly up the glen, quickly followed by her younger sister, Rachael.  Although a year and two months younger, Rachael looked more like Shannon Marie's twin. 

Both girls favored their Scottish heritage with their flaming hair and outspoken temperaments.  Their two older sisters, Elizabeth Marie and Katherine Anne favored their mother's French heritage both physically and in temperament.  Fair-haired beauties they openly used their feminine assets to manipulate others to get what they wanted. 

The plain spoken mannerism of the patriarch of the family along with his two youngest daughters frequently came into conflict with the matriarch and the eldest sisters' elitism as they boasted of their unclaimable link to the French throne.   They refused to see that no matter which man laid down with the mother, the child could lay no claim to parentage unless they were acknowledged by both the father and family. Jacqueline Marie Katherine de Medici may have lay with the King of France, but the daughter they created was conceived above the sheets--not beneath them.  Jacqueline refused to be silenced at court about the parentage of her growing child within her.  It was the reason Marie marked her for death. But instead of a curse on mother and unborn child, the midnight escaped to Scotland became a blessing as the people’s revolution sought out the privileged nobles.

In the highlands, Abigail Marie Katherine de Medici was born without a father; the fortune and power of the de Medici family hid the stain, but was never washed away.  Having valuable connections in the English and Italian courts, Jacqueline was received as her family station required.  Eventually she attained a small estate and fitted herself into the region.  

It is  available here on my website  and here as a kindle