Free Fiery Gemstones (A Heston Witch Novella) by Cassandra DeBrown Page A

its face gleaming luminously in the faux gloom of the tree. From the time on the display she could tell that she’d been climbing for just over an hour. Glancing upwards she could just about make out the sun breaking through the topmost branches of the Eden tree.  She had more than half the tree to go, what with her recent unscheduled descent having set her back a bit.
    “It’s not about how fast I get there…” The singer in her ear reminded her. Right.
    She had to remember to tell Elvira how inspired her climb soundtrack was. It had been nice at the start but after an hour of hearing it loop over and over again she was a little sick of it. She pulled out her ear buds and stuffed them in her shorts pocket. She looked down at her feet and gingerly pulled her leg up until she could unlace her sneakers. One by one she let them drop to the ground. They fall for some minutes before they disappear from her sight.
    “Oops. Hope I didn’t hit anyone on the head.”
    She tried to peek downwards to see if she could make out her family standing at the base of the tree but the effect it was having on her stomach quickly dissuaded her from pursing that course of action for more than a couple of seconds.
    Besides they look like a bunch of ants from up here.
    Refusing to be daunted, she gave herself a quick pep talk. She could do this. She wasn’t the first and she couldn’t imagine that she’d be the last either. She took another swig of river water and then slung her water bottle around till it rested against the small of her back.
    “Okay. Upwards and onwards it is.”
    Sooner than she expected, she was at the top of the tree. She heaved a sigh of relief. She closed her eyes and breathed a thank you to whatever guardian spirits had kept her from taking a swan dive into the ground from so high up in the air. 
    Opening her eyes she turned her attention back to the tree. Right at the very top she could see a peach coloured pod just about the size of an apple. Tears sprang to her eyes as she started the chant she had been taught since she was knee-high and in diapers.
    We are Heston witches
    We are many
    We are one…

Note from the author.
     
    W hew. You made it all the way to here. What did you think? 
    I hope you had a nice time socialising with the women who have occupied most of my waking moments for a while now and some of my sleeping ones as well. Most of my precious books have been character driven but Fiery Gemstones was a new kind of adventure for me as I experimented with building the fictional Silverline City where my characters lived. Often scary, often frustrating and sometimes confusing, it challenged me and made me try and try and try again. I think I did a half decent job of it as well.
    The short story that started everything off follows the author’s note if you’d like to take a look (scroll down/turn a few pages ) . It’s also been featured on my blog cassandradebrown.wordpress.com.
    I hope you enjoyed this one and I promise we haven’t heard the last from the Heston Witches. If you would like to get in touch with me, let’s hook up on Twitter where my handle is @CassandraDeBrow. I also have a Facebook page with the same name and am active on Good Reads, Library Thing and Shelfari if you’d like to say hi there as well. Looking forward to hearing from you.
    Yours sincerely
    Cassandra DeBrown.
    Somewhere scr ibbling, doodling or typing ;)

THE HESTON WITCHES
     
    I don’t know where it comes from
    But there is magic in our veins
    A pure, undiluted and powerful magic
    A force to be reckoned with.
    We bend the laws of nature to our whim
    We are Heston witches,
    We are many,
    We are one.
     
    EVIE – GRANDMOTHER/ MATRIACH
    EDEN- DAUGHTER OF EVIE (SISTER 1)
    EDNA- DAUGHTER OF EVIE (SISTER 2)
    ETHOS- DAUGHTER OF EVIE (SISTER 3)
    ELVIRA – DAUGHTER OF EDEN
    ESTHER - DAUGHTER OF ETHOS
     
    WELCOME TO SILVERLINE CITY
    A reader’s guide to The Heston Witches
    POPULATION: 45, 473 souls.
    CURRENCY: Silver