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    Gothic Cavalcade
    Gothic Cavalcade
    Gothic Cavalcade
    Ebook56 pages44 minutes

    Gothic Cavalcade

    By A. F. Stewart

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Gothic romance meets Gothic horror inside a paranormal carnival and beyond...

    Meet Althea, a desperate woman running from a secretive and miserable past. She encounters Byron, a mysterious and handsome man with secrets of his own. He brings her to his home, the Masquerade Carnivale, and into the midst of his family. There Althea begins to feel safe, to trust, and to love. She finds friends, laughter and with Byron, romance. She thinks she has found a home, trusts she is protected, until the night Byron and his Family betray her.
    But do they? There is more beneath the surface at the Masquerade Carnivale, more to Althea’s past and to her future than she believes. One event puts Althea on a path for her reckoning, a path full of pain, fear and ultimately, revenge. A choice is coming for her, one that will change everything.

    The Masquerade Carnivale is beckoning... will she answer?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherA. F. Stewart
    Release dateSep 30, 2012
    ISBN9781301557257
    Gothic Cavalcade
    Author

    A. F. Stewart

    A steadfast and proud sci-fi and fantasy geek, A. F. Stewart was born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada and still calls it home. The youngest in a family of seven children, she always had an overly creative mind and an active imagination. She favours the dark and deadly when writing—her genres of choice being dark fantasy and horror—but she has been known to venture into the light on occasion. As an indie author she’s published novellas and story collections, with a few side trips into poetry and non-fiction.

    Read more from A. F. Stewart

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      Book preview

      Gothic Cavalcade - A. F. Stewart

      ~Gothic Cavalcade~

      A. F. Stewart

      Gothic Cavalcade

      A. F. Stewart

      Published by Smashwords Inc.

      Copyright © 2012 by A. F. Stewart.

      All rights reserved. Smashwords Edition.

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission of the author.

      This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

      Edited by Eagle Eye Editing

      Contents

      Opening Night

      Act 1: The Carnivale

      Act 2: Enter Byron

      First Intermission

      Act 3: The Family

      Second Intermission

      Act 4: The Return

      Third Intermission

      Act 5: The Uprising

      Dénouement

      Gothic Cavalcade: The Poem

      About the Author

      Opening Night

      ~

      The stars sparkled above the mist shrouded tents and caravans of the carnival. The night crackled with an odd vibration, as if a veil of peculiarity settled over the company. The Family gathered in the main tent, the surrounding canvas rippled lightly and the smell of old dirt and memories were in the air. Voices murmured in subdued tones, wariness was felt among the assembled.

      Mother had called.

      She stood watching them, and absently pushed a white tinged lock of hair from her face, to tuck it back into her mass of upswept grey hair. She seemed a docile older woman with a few of life’s lines etched on her face, but like much with Mother, her appearance hid secrets.

      Come into the circle, children. She spoke with a soft, commanding tone, and beckoned her brood into the band of strange rune stones that existed in lieu of a centre ring. One by one, they obeyed, and the family crowded around her, whispering among themselves until a gesture from her drew silence.

      I had a dream last night. A visitor is coming, a new member of the family. We will receive her and welcome her into our fold.

      Gasps of joyfulness rose in the air and excited voices chattered in a cacophony of sound.

      A new family member!

      How exciting, we haven’t had one for ages.

      Wondrous news.

      New blood, excellent.

      Marvellous, a new member for the family.

      Oh, just stupendous.

      Mother smiled, indulgent of her brood’s enthusiasm. She waited until the din subsided before speaking again. She will be here soon and we must prepare for her arrival. But first I must choose her companion, the one who will complete the rites.

      Mother looked over her now silent children. Her practised eye examined each one for the signs and fell at last upon a tall young man with dark hair.

      Byron. You will be the one. You will bring her into the circle and make her one of us.

      The young man bowed his head. Thank you, Mother, for the honour.

      It is your time. I know you will do well. Mother laughed and clapped her hands. Away with you all. We have work to do. The Masquerade Carnivale must welcome another apprentice.

      Act 1: The Carnivale

      ~

      Althea shivered under

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