My Pello Island books are free this weekend on Amazon.com. Cassia - Saturday and Sunday
Darius - Saturday, Sunday, and Monday
Antonia - Monday
An excerpt from Love's Destiny Pello Island 4
Nona stood in front of the window at Bergdorf-Goodman’s
looking at a deep red silk and satin evening gown. She had walked past the store three times,
but she kept coming back to this dress.
The sleeveless sheath was gathered to one side of the waist, creating a
sunburst across the abdomen. She closed
her eyes and created the gown in her mind and it materialized in her shopping
bag.
“At least this wasn’t a total waste of time,” she said. A passer-by briefly glanced at her and walked
on. She continued down the avenue, but
felt no enthusiasm. “What is wrong with
me?”
“Beats me, lady,” another passer-by said, and Nona dematerialized.
For Nona, shopping was the panacea for all her ills, but
with the portal closing soon, a general sense of malaise had cast a pall over
the mountain, and now it had followed her to Earth.
She materialized in Central Park and sat on a bench. She peeked inside her shopping bag at the red
dress and felt the soft fabric. She felt
nothing – not a twinge of excitement.
Leaving the bag on the bench, she began to walk through the park toward
the heart of the city. Food, she thought, I’ll get something to eat.
As she walked past Grand Central Station, she glanced at the
Mercury clock to check the time.
Something about the clock seemed strange, so she stopped and looked
closer. She had seen it hundreds of
times whenever she visited the city, so she was familiar with the
sculpture. The statue appeared totally
normal save for one small detail – Mercury’s outstretched hand appeared to be
crumbling as she watched. Tiny bits of
crushed rock falling like drops of water from a faucet were accumulating at the
statue’s base. Unless you were looking,
you’d never notice. Why would a statue
of solid rock suddenly begin to disintegrate?
Was it the subject of the piece or just the environment?
Nona hurriedly flew to Rockefeller Plaza. She had to see Atlas immediately to confirm
her suspicions. The bronze likeness of
Atlas holding up the world had been in the plaza for over seventy Earth years,
and as Nona approached it, she noticed layers of accumulated wax and lacquer
dulling its surface, but no significant deterioration. She breathed a sigh of relief, for he had
always looked a little dingy, but he seemed sound. She must have been wrong. She could relax and try to salvage her
excursion to the city.
But then her eye caught the gleam of clean metal at the base
of the statue where she saw a crack in the base, exposing the virgin metal
underneath. The crack was so tiny and
the shift so small that no one but the most fervent observer would notice
it. It confirmed Nona’s suspicions that,
for reasons she had yet to ascertain, the gods of Rome were being erased from
the mortal world. If the gods were
indeed disappearing, then there would be more evidence of it in Rome than
anywhere else on Earth. She had to find
out before confronting Jupiter, so she flew to the Eternal City.
Only hours ago, Nona had been engaged in a spirited
conversation with Venus, and she had told Nona that she was convinced if her
father closed the portal, all evidence of the gods’ existence would disappear
not only from Earth, but from Olympus as well.
“First Vulcan, now Cupid has disappeared,” she told
Nona. “He's my baby, and I love
him. I think he’s disappeared because of
Daddy’s edict, but Daddy just won’t listen.”
“When did this happen?” Nona asked.
“I was walking by the stream in the meadow and he was flying
next to me when he suddenly vanished. I
ran to Daddy, but you know him, he simply ignored me. He makes me so mad!”
“I’ve heard the rumors.
I know gods are taking sides.”
“Nona, don’t be naïve.
If he closes the portal, we’re all doomed. We are all in danger.”
“But what can we do?
He’s our king.”
“I’m fighting him.
I’m going to get Mars involved – he’s always fancied me – and Cupid has
created unique arrows to help influence those on Daddy’s side. I guess I'll
have to fire those arrows myself.”
“Is it fair to influence them that way?”
“What difference does it make if it’s fair or not? Do you want to disappear forever? No, my dear, we have to win this fight. I want my husband and son back.”
Until today, Nona hadn’t believed Jupiter’s decision to
close the portal would have such dire consequences, but seeing the dissolving
statue had given her pause and now Venus’ words hit her like a
thunderbolt. She didn’t want to
disappear forever. She wanted to bring
her golden spindle to life.
The traffic in Rome was appalling, but Nona simply flew over
the cars and headed straight for the temple of Venus in the Forum. The ancient columns had risen above the earth
for centuries and had survived terrible wars, but as Nona examined the tops of
the columns, she noticed bits of rock breaking off and flying away. The columns were also disintegrating, and it
wouldn’t be long before Venus’ name would be erased from mortal memory.
Nona alighted in the Forum and walked past the temples of
Mars, Vesta, Castor and Pollux, and every one
showed signs of ongoing disintegration.
Rocky crumbs covered the stony streets and a delicate spray of dust
filled the air. As she stood there, the
process was escalating, and Nona began to panic. What if she couldn’t go home? What if she disappeared right here and now?
She dematerialized and set a course for Olympus. She had to speak to Morta and tell her what
she had seen. Morta knew Jupiter well
and might be able to persuade him of the impending danger should he continue on
his present course. She could see the
clouds separating as the top of Mount Olympus came into view. As she set down in front of the little gray
palace, she breathed a sigh of relief and noted with pleasure the appearance of
a small Queen Anne chair placed directly in front of the palace door.
Thank you for stopping by.
