The Lady of the Star Wind is an epic portal fantasy…it starts in the Sectors…Alexandra (“Sandy”) is the heir to the Outlier empire throne but she flees to be with Mark, a soldier and lost love from her past.

Sandy and Mark have been transported to an unknown world. This snippet is from  quite a bit further in the novel, after they’ve left the mysterious mountain oasis, in the company of some new friends… Sandy, who picked up an odd stone key in the Oasis, was bitten by a snake, went into the green light with a woman unknown to her and now is sitting in a room she’s never seen before, with four women who seem to think Sandy is someone else…the Lady of the Star Wind…A new player, Haatrin, entered the chamber and scolded the Moon Sisters, after which an even more senior goddess, Nuet, arrived to scold them ALL. Amrell is a Moon Sister:

“We never meant to disturb Her,” Amrell said, biting her lip.

“Yet you took action in a place dedicated to me from ancient times.” The voice was like the crack of a whip. An elderly woman, clad in flowing garments of black, stood on the threshold, leaning heavily on an ebony cane, her withered hand clenched on the flared snake’s head carved at the top. Emerald eyes winked in the carving, and Sandy had the unsettling impression that the eyes fixated on her. “You feckless children summon me to attend to matters I resigned long ago and left behind.”

Thunder rumbled outside the room, and the sisters cringed away as the newcomer hobbled closer. Haatrin bowed her head but appeared less afraid, less gripped by awe than Amrell and her Moon Sisters. “Grandmother Nuet, this interruption is unfortunate but may also have potential. We may have a new Lady of the Star Wind.” She gestured toward Sandy as if presenting a rare treat.

Now the crone’s attention switched to Sandy. Her eyes were bottomless pools of black, sparks of gold flashing in the depths as Sandy stared. Instinctively, she bowed her head as she would have to her own grandmother, the empress. No question, but this newly arrived being commanded respect, whoever she might be. The name had a familiar sound as well. Remembering the altar in the abandoned village, Sandy speculated whether she drifted in a venom-induced dream, constructed from bits and pieces of her recent experiences. But this crone facing her could never be mistaken for a fertility goddess.

“Have you nothing to say?” Nuet’s voice was impatient.

“I think this is all a mistake.” The key hung heavy around Sandy’s neck, and she wished Mark stood at her side.

“The balance of the universe demands correction of true mistakes.” The elderly woman slammed the tip of her cane on the floor for emphasis and spoke as if making a pronouncement.

“I said we should let her die.” Tresa spoke boldly. “All the problems would be solved.”

The crone spun to glare at her, moving faster than Sandy would have dreamed possible, and thunder shook the room. “We don’t yet know the outcome,” Nuet said as the rumbles died away. “Haste only gets you in more trouble, youngest moon.” She raised a cautionary hand as Tresa opened her mouth. “Silence would be well considered at this moment. In fact, you’re dismissed, all of you. Having done your unthinking mischief, your presence is no longer desired.” She waved one hand in a curt, shooing motion. “Be grateful I don’t choose to reclaim my domain here. I might hurtle your namesakes away from this world as my first act.” Her voice echoed in the room, as if they stood in a much larger space.

Like children released from school, the sisters fled in a pack without backward glances, leaving Haatrin, Sandy, and Nuet, the crone.

Sandy studied her. Was it her imagination or did the woman stand taller, her spine not as bent? And her hair had definitely been a wild tangle of dull gray curls, but was now more silver blond, wavy rather than curly. The eyes were the same, deep and unfathomable, but the wrinkles surrounding them were now fewer, the cheeks rosier. The hand holding the cane was smooth, the blue veins nearly unnoticeable, where before the vessels throbbed and drew the eyes.

Haatrin stepped to Sandy’s side, taking her left wrist and gently rotating it to display the angry puncture wounds. “Here is Sherabti’s mark, Mother of Us All.”

The elder leaned closer, peering at the bite. “My servant is never mistaken, regardless of the foolishness of those girls. Sherabti saw potential.”

“And the woman and her mortal companions were in your temple,” Haatrin said as if citing a point in Sandy’s favor. “She made proper sacrifice.”

“We took shelter there from a sandstorm.” Sandy felt compelled to clarify. The stakes in this room were high, with her life and maybe Mark’s in danger. She didn’t want any further misunderstandings between these beings and herself. Had her simple gesture of helping Tia place water and fruit on the broken altar gotten her into this jeopardy? “Please, whatever’s going on here, don’t hurt Mark. Neither of us meant any harm or disrespect. Take your anger out on me if you must, but not him.” She might be angry with him for personal reasons, but she didn’t want the foolishness of the younger women to cause his injury or death.

Haatrin shook her head. “There cannot be the one without the other. If you’re the Lady, or to become her, he must be your warrior, your consort. Live or die in unison, the twined fate is inescapable if you claim these titles.”

“Potential and problems, this girl carries both,” said Nuet. She traced lines across Sandy’s palm, her touch cool. Sandy’s skin tingled where the woman’s fingertip had been, and faint golden runes glowed for a heartbeat. “The scales are not yet balanced and may tip either way.” Nuet stared at Sandy. “You’ll need my mirror. And yet the gift may not be enough.” Dropping Sandy’s hand, she stood tall, the vestiges of age dropping away like veils. Now she appeared luminescent, beautiful, compelling in a way that made Sandy want to fall on the floor and worship as the Moon Sisters had earlier. Locking her knees, Sandy refused to bend, fighting the compulsion to grovel. The Zhivanov family ruled, they didn’t make themselves subservient to others.

“You have the strength,” Nuet said, as if aware of Sandy’s inner resolve. “Can you apply it to the choices you and your consort make?”

VS: The Mirror of the Mother is a key piece of the puzzle in this novel and this scene is the first time it’s mentioned….the entire book was inspired by a 3000 year old Egyptian mirror I once saw in a museum…

The back of one of King Tut’s mirrors Author’s own photo

The story:

Are they merely luckless lovers … or a legend come back to life?

Mark Denaltieri, ex-Sector Special Forces, has been hired by the Outlier Empress to rescue her granddaughter, Princess Alessandra, from kidnappers. Since the Empress once had him tortured and banished, she’s the last person Mark wants to work for. But he takes the job. He’ll save Alessandra, his first love, and discover why she didn’t speak for him when he desperately needed her. Then he’ll be on his way, finally free of his past.

Alessandra would rather her rescuer was anyone but Mark–after all, he let her believe he was dead all this time. But when the couple are forced to flee her captors by Traveling via a strange crystal globe, they find themselves in a lovely Oasis on a desert planet, the old attraction sizzling between them again. 

They soon discover they are far from alone. The Oasis holds the entrance to another world, one in which the inhabitants are convinced Sandy and Mark are the Lady of the Star Wind and her Warrior, come to free them from an evil Queen. 

Mark and Sandy must work together to unearth an ancient mirror, and crown the true king of this land.  Can they fulfill the prophecy of the Lady and her Warrior … and this time, will their love survive the test?