Harm None: A Rowan Gant Investigation (46 page)

The red-haired priestess once again touched
flame to a candle—this time white—in the center of the circle then
turned and placed a gentle kiss on the lips of the priest. As they
parted, a young man with long, dark hair raised a small horn to his
own lips and blew hard into the end, sending a single wailing note
to resound from the hillsides. As the note faded on the still,
night air, the young man lowered the horn and announced to the
gathering, “The horn is sounded for Ariel.”

The other members answered him in unison, “So
be it.”

The priestess looked about the solemn group
and closed her bright green eyes. “That today, Ariel is not with
us, here in the Circle, saddens us all. Yet, we should try not to
feel sadness but joy, for is this not a sign that she has fulfilled
this life’s work? She is now free to move on, and we should not
fear, for we shall meet again. That will be our time for further
celebration.”

“Let us send forth our love and good wishes
to bear her across The Bridge,” the priest proceeded on from the
last words of the priestess. “May she return at any time she wishes
and be here with us. May she also guide the unfortunate victims who
shared her death as they move along their new paths. I ask the God
and Goddess to bless these five trees we have planted in honor of
the lives that have ended and the new lives that will begin.
Blessed Be!”

“So mote it be!” The chorus rang out from the
coven members, sedate but strong.

In the shadows, unnoticed by choice, a
translucent glimmer of a young strawberry-blonde woman clad in a
white lace gown stood watching the group. Her hair wafted gently
about on an ethereal breeze, a sparkling halo hovering around her
petite figure. She smiled as she felt their energy join and rise
into a powerful cone. Still, a small teardrop escaped her eye. The
coven’s mellifluous chant filled her ears as she turned and crossed
over The Bridge.

An active member of the HWA (Horror Writers
Association), M. R. Sellars is a relatively unassuming homebody who
considers himself just a “guy with a lot of nightmares and a word
processing program.” His first full-length novel, Harm None, hit
bookstore shelves in 2000 and he hasn’t stopped writing since. He
says that the biggest adjustment he has had to make with his
writing career is coping with the time spent away from his family
while traveling on promotional tours. Still, he approaches it with
the same humorously deadpan and occasionally acerbic wit that he
applies to life in general.

All of the current novels in Sellars’
continuing Rowan Gant Investigations saga have spent several
consecutive weeks on numerous bookstore bestseller lists as well as
a consistent showing on the Amazon.com Horror/Occult top 100.

Sellars currently resides in the Midwest with
his wife, daughter, and a host of what he describes as “rescued,
geriatric, special-needs felines.” At home, when not writing or
taking care of the household, he indulges his passions for cooking
and hanging out with friends.

M. R. Sellars can be found on the web at:

www.mrsellars.com

Brainpan Leakage the M. R. Sellars Satire
Blog

www.brainpanleakage.com

The Rowan Gant Investigations

HARM NONE

NEVER BURN A WITCH

PERFECT TRUST

THE LAW OF THREE

CRONE’S MOON

LOVE IS THE BOND

ALL ACTS OF PLEASURE

THE END OF DESIRE

BLOOD MOON

MIRANDA

(Available in both print and e-book editions)

Other

YOU’RE GONNA THINK I’M NUTS…

(Novelette included in Courting Morpheus
Horror Anthology)

MERRIE AXEMAS: A KILLER HOLIDAY TALE

(Special Edition E-Novella)