The Blended Lives Chronicles A Lady MoonWalker Series: Let the Journey Continue
Dear Readers,
A short time ago, I set out to share The Blended Lives Chronicles with you here on the blog, one chapter at a time. Unfortunately, life had other plans. Illness, recovery, the ongoing work of Patty’s Worlds, and trying to keep writing the series all competed for my attention. In the end, I simply didn’t do the job as well as I’d hoped.
Today, I’m happy to say I’m nearing the completion of the third book in the series, and it’s time to try again.
So, I invite you to buckle your seatbelts and prepare for an unforgettable journey into the future, the past, and everywhere in between. Whether you’re joining me for the first time or returning for another adventure, I’m delighted you’re here.
Let’s continue.
If you have not read the first installment here’s where you may do so.
The Blended Lives Chronicles:
A LADY MOONWALKER SERIES
BOOK ONE
SIDES OF THE ORDER
By Patty L. Fletcher
Independently published with assistance provided by
Dawn Blythe
Illustrations by Colleen Myles
Editing by Jo Pinto and Dawn Blythe
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, events and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright 2023 by Patty Fletcher
All Rights Reserved
ISBN:
About the book.
Words for alt text:
The cover is a deep, candy apple red, with the title, The Blended Lives Chronicles: Sides of the Order at the top in white text. At the bottom is the author’s name, Patty L. Fletcher, also typed in white. Above the author’s name and below the title of the book is a white skeleton key, taking up about 3/4 of the cover space.
Lady Laya MoonWalker is a well respected author and magazine owner and a high priestess in the magickal community. After a drawn-out battle with the forces of dark magik, she has come into her own. She lives and works on Planet Korponious, where she is the owner and creator of an Interplanetary Magazine called “Blended Lives Chronicles.” Her mission is to blend the lines of race, creed, and disability that separate so many and to elevate the recognition of the training and ability of Service Animals of all kinds to a new level. She has just been accepted into the Blended Lives Federation and now hopes to continue her work in a way like nothing known to her before.
Laya has created allot of wreckage along the way through her dark journey into the light, and now she wishes to set this to right. She has just received her best break ever. Frank Prince, the CEO of The Blended Lives Learning Center, has invited her to the Celtic New Year Convention and Witches Ball as a reporter to write a story on the progress of The Blended Lives Planetary Federation. She will be their guest speaker at the opening ceremonies.
When Laya arrives at the Celtic Convention, she finds herself face to face with an old and dear friend, Blended Lives Learning Center Instructor and member of the Order of the Night, Derrick Gibbous. As they begin to connect, causing old sparks to reignite, they are tossed into a nasty battle from which not everyone will escape. People are not as they seem, and not everyone supports the side for which they appear to work.
As their love for one another grows, so does the battle. Despite everything, Laya and Derrick are determined to see their work to unite beings of all kinds succeed.
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Patty-L.-Fletcher/author/B00Q9I7RWG?
If you’ve not read the first installment, please visit here to do so: https://pattysworlds.com/the-blended-lives-chronicles-a-lady-moonwalker-series-let-the-journey-begin/
Chapter One
Arrival
He stood watching through the observation window, his back to the wall, as a cacophony of voices speaking in multiple languages and many different animal noises surrounded him. Shuttles had been whizzing in and out of the bay all morning. It was nearing noon Casimian time, yet still she had not arrived.
Once again, he looked at the information he’d carefully written down after receiving his friend’s note from the shuttle port. 10 AM.
Where could she be? Had she changed her mind? Had something happened? Had she found out he would be there and decided not to come? All these questions whirled round in his excited mind.
Gods, Derrick. You’re acting like some stupid apprentice on his first assignment. He laughed nervously, then looked again over the heads of those standing in front of him, waiting on their own loved ones as another shuttle floated up and docked.
His heart skipped a beat when she and the cream-colored Labrador mix came into view, beauty radiating from them in soft, yet brilliant, waves.
She’d grown out her hair since he’d seen her last. He’d looked at photos, but he’d never imagined how gorgeous the long hair would make her. The photos simply didn’t do her justice. He continued watching, barely able to catch his breath, as she swung her heavily loaded tote bag over her shoulder. She nearly knocked a witch, who appeared as an old, frail woman, down in her hurry. The brightly colored retriever parrot on the witch’s shoulder squawked indignantly, and the beautiful woman turned and glared at the witch before commanding the big dog forward through the door. The wind blew her long dark hair, which had come loose from the multi-colored scarf she wore, all around her face.
“Beautiful, isn’t she?”
He jumped as Ken, one of his coworkers, walked up beside him.
“Jumpy, aren’t you?”
“Leave it,” Derrick snapped.
“Aww come on, just messin’ with you. It’s all in good fun. I know how much you’ve wanted to see her. Might just be your lucky weekend too. I don’t think she’s with anyone. Who knows…?”
“Shut up. She’ll hear you.”
Suddenly Derrick felt as if he were falling backward down a lift shaft, his arms pinwheeling for purchase and finding none. He’d known he’d missed her, but he hadn’t been prepared for the reaction seeing her again after all these years had caused.
He’d never forget the first time he’d met her. He laughed to himself as he remembered. Seems to me, she was late then too.
His mind drifted back as she and her Psychiatric/Dog Guide, King, crept down the line of guests and their rowdy animals toward the check-in counter.
She’d been scared to death. Her shuttle had been four hours late that evening. She’d been confused and completely out of her element. It had been easy then to gain her trust. She’d had no idea what to expect. He didn’t think she’d been farther than 300 miles from home in any direction before they’d met for the first time all those years ago.
Now, she was nothing of her former terrified self. Her steps were confident, her voice firm and sure as she turned slightly, looking over her shoulder toward the loudly squawking parrot. “Ma’am, get that raucous thing out of my ear before King here decides he’s waited long enough for lunch.”
As if on cue, King stretched his long neck, lifted his head, and with powerful jaws, snatched a drifting feather out of the air. Derrick and Ken laughed as she gave King a half-hearted correction. “Yes, mommy knows you’re hungry. But you mustn’t eat that annoying bird. Leave it!”
Turning back around, she spoke to the check-in girl who was still scrolling through the reservation information. “Listen sweetie, my name is High Priestess Lady Laya MoonWalker, and I have a large and quite private suite of rooms reserved. My room number—”
“Yes Mam, I’ve found it. Here is your key, and please forgive the slow response.”
“It’s all right, girl. Just learn from it. By the way? Was the dog crate I ordered delivered?”
“Yes mam, it’s in the room.”
Smiling, Laya said, “Very good. Thank you.”
She started down the hall toward the bank of lift cars, following King’s every suggested move.
Turning from watching her go with both a man’s and trainer’s eyes, Derrick saw she’d left her suitcase on the loading platform. He walked over, checked the tag on the handle, then programmed a service bot to take it to her room in 30 minutes.
Hmmm, that ought to give me time to chat with her for a few moments and either get kicked to the curb or allowed inside for an afternoon drink.
He took his portion of the delivery tag and dropped the other part onto the service counter. He glanced at the girl who busily scrolled and typed, greeted guests, and handed out key cards next to him. “Don’t let a Lady, High Priestess or not, rattle you. You’re not responsible for the slowness of your computers. We were all new once.”
“Yes sir,” the young girl answered, looking straight back into his eyes. “I believe, though terse, she said the same. Sir.”
“Indeed, Missy. Just passing a word of thanks.”
Turning his back on the counter, he growled, “Bloody pert girl. Someone ought to teach her some manners.”
Derrick moved quickly through the crowded lobby, filled to capacity with all manner of beings, both human and animal. He made his way toward the lift cars, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.
He cringed as one of his coworkers called, “She took lift number five. You’d best hurry. She looked like a woman on a mission. You never know; she might already have someone waiting.”
Ignoring the catcalls behind him, Derrick tried to recall lift number five, but it refused him. He growled in frustration as the computer’s voice stated, “I’m sorry, Instructor Gibbous, the lift has departed. Please choose another.”
“Hey Derrick, there’s one coming down now.”
Looking back, he saw that several of his friends and coworkers had gathered and were having a wonderful time at his expense. One of them even went as far as to tip his flask of Casimian Shine at him in a mock toast. He didn’t get a chance to respond to the scene, though, because someone in a power wheelchair, being guided by a miniature horse, came barreling out of a nearby doorway and almost bowled him over on a race to somewhere of vital importance. The horse neighed in extreme protest, and his friends’ laughter faded as he boarded the lift and the door slid closed.
Geez. He breathed out a deep sigh of relief. Horses! Miniature or not, helpful or not, damn things ought to have a speed limit.
Taking a deep breath to clear his thoughts and glancing at the number he’d copied, in a voice more solid than he felt, he commanded, “Room 108D, fourth floor.”
And the lift began to rise.
To be continued…
Patty L. Fletcher – Author and Content Promoter.
About Patty L. Fletcher
Updated November 2024
Patty L. Fletcher is a woman of passion and exploration.
She studies the art of manifestation and is a seeker of knowledge and the wisdom to know what to do with it when it’s learned.
To learn more visit: https://pattysworlds.com/about/
If you have made mistakes, even serious mistakes, you may have a fresh start from any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.
Mary Pickford