Please welcome my birthday guest - Angel Martinez!
Hi everybody and Happy Birthday to Nicole! Forty is fabulous – own it! :D I thought I’d share a little flash fiction scene from my Brandywine Investigations world with Michael the fallen angel and his lover Zagreus, (Zack) who happens to be the son of Hades and Persephone in Greek mythology. What better milestone than Michael’s first birthday party?
Michael stared at the Happy Birthday, Michael banner stretched across the doors to the balcony and let out a shocked laugh. “But I don’t have a birthday.”
Zack wrapped strong arms around him from behind. “Yeah, yeah. Angels don’t have birthdays. Some of us aren’t too sure about ours either, but we all have birthday celebrations. Even if you came into being before there were days, you still did pop into being sometime.”
“So why today?”
Arm movement indicated Zack’s shrug. “It’s kinda the middle of May and you like May?”
Several pairs of divine eyes watched him anxiously. Michael didn’t really understand, but he couldn’t hurt their feelings. “It’s a wonderful idea. Should I…do anything?”
“Nope.” Zack’s youngest cousin, Dionysus, bounded over and took both his hands. “You just set your gorgeous ass—”
“Watch it!” Zack growled.
“Oh, I do, Zackie, believe me.” Dio skipped back a step and ducked the cushion Zack hurled at him. He winked at Michael. “Your boyfriend is a grouch. You sit here. We have, you know, stuff. And things.”
Hades, Zack’s recently divorced father, cleared his throat from where he stood wearing his customary frown. The younger gods settled as if someone had yanked invisible strings. “You’re more than welcome in my new home, Michael. As you have always been welcome. I suppose congratulations on your new…day are in order. Ah…Char?”
Cadaverous and threatening to those who didn’t know him, Michael had gotten over his fear of the ferryman long ago. Charon retrieved a package from behind the counter and offered it to Michael with an elegant bow and a sharp-toothed smile. “His lordship wished to give you a little something on your day. For your new house.”
“Thank you, sir,” Michael murmured as Charon set the box on his lap. He opened the black and silver paper with reverent care to reveal a box of gladiolus corms. “Oh! These will be perfect in the back garden. Thank you!”
“Those are, ah, the first set. New bulbs will arrive every month.” Hades rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable with the whole birthday celebration notion. “Appropriate to the season.”
“And something smaller from me to go with his lordship’s generosity.” Charon produced a bulb trowel decorated with black ribbon.
“Thanks, Char.” Michael gave him a quick hug in lieu of hugging Hades, since the Lord of the Underworld didn’t need to feel any more awkward.
Zack’s Auntie Hestia came to sit beside Michael on the sofa and handed him a beautifully wrapped package—paper in a ship and seagull design and ribbons perfectly curled. “For you, dear. It’s a lovely house you two bought by the seashore, but my nephew forgets that it gets chilly in the evenings and positively raw in the winters by the ocean.”
The box contained a beautiful cable knit cardigan, soft as lambswool. The gifts nearly overwhelmed Michael – the clever clockwork owl from Hermes, the beautiful swan-shaped andirons for their fireplace from Hephaestus, the pot of wild mint from Artemis – though he managed to regain his composure with Dionysus’s gift. The wild god of wine and orgies and given him a sleek dildo in bright blue. Hermes doubled over laughing, Zack glared at his cousin, and Lord Hades decided he had something to take care of in his office.
“What?” Dio spread his hands in bafflement, his wide velvet sleeves swinging like raven wings. “You can never have too many of those, right?”
Michael patted his arm. “It’s a lovely gift. Thank you. I’m sure Zack will appreciate it in a more, ah, private setting.”
He turned to Zack expectantly, since his hunting god lover had been shifting restlessly for the past twenty minutes.
“What? Agreeing to come see my dad wasn’t enough of a present?”
Michael elbowed him in the ribs, not as hard as he would have liked. “Not nice. You just look like you’re going to climb out of your skin.”
“Fine.” Zack pulled a small present from beneath the coffee table. “It just seems stupid after everyone else’s.”
The box contained a glass suncatcher – a bright red cardinal perched in a blooming forsythia.
Zack cleared his throat. “For the kitchen window. I thought it would be pretty.”
“It’s beautiful. Thank you.” Michael leaned in to kiss his cheek. “Her name is Priscilla.”
“Um, that’s a male cardinal, love.”
Michael gave him a stern look. “She disagrees and insists her name is Priscilla.”
“Got it. So you okay with this being your birthday from now on?”
“It just feels dishonest.” When Zack’s crooked grin slipped further, he hurried to add. “How about an un-birthday? Like the ones in Alice in Wonderland?”
Charon, engaged in distributing slices of chocolate cake to the guests, nodded sagely. “Very good, my young lords. Next year there will be tea, mice and reality-challenged rabbits.”
Michael stared at the Happy Birthday, Michael banner stretched across the doors to the balcony and let out a shocked laugh. “But I don’t have a birthday.”
Zack wrapped strong arms around him from behind. “Yeah, yeah. Angels don’t have birthdays. Some of us aren’t too sure about ours either, but we all have birthday celebrations. Even if you came into being before there were days, you still did pop into being sometime.”
“So why today?”
Arm movement indicated Zack’s shrug. “It’s kinda the middle of May and you like May?”
Several pairs of divine eyes watched him anxiously. Michael didn’t really understand, but he couldn’t hurt their feelings. “It’s a wonderful idea. Should I…do anything?”
“Nope.” Zack’s youngest cousin, Dionysus, bounded over and took both his hands. “You just set your gorgeous ass—”
“Watch it!” Zack growled.
“Oh, I do, Zackie, believe me.” Dio skipped back a step and ducked the cushion Zack hurled at him. He winked at Michael. “Your boyfriend is a grouch. You sit here. We have, you know, stuff. And things.”
Hades, Zack’s recently divorced father, cleared his throat from where he stood wearing his customary frown. The younger gods settled as if someone had yanked invisible strings. “You’re more than welcome in my new home, Michael. As you have always been welcome. I suppose congratulations on your new…day are in order. Ah…Char?”
Cadaverous and threatening to those who didn’t know him, Michael had gotten over his fear of the ferryman long ago. Charon retrieved a package from behind the counter and offered it to Michael with an elegant bow and a sharp-toothed smile. “His lordship wished to give you a little something on your day. For your new house.”
“Thank you, sir,” Michael murmured as Charon set the box on his lap. He opened the black and silver paper with reverent care to reveal a box of gladiolus corms. “Oh! These will be perfect in the back garden. Thank you!”
“Those are, ah, the first set. New bulbs will arrive every month.” Hades rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable with the whole birthday celebration notion. “Appropriate to the season.”
“And something smaller from me to go with his lordship’s generosity.” Charon produced a bulb trowel decorated with black ribbon.
“Thanks, Char.” Michael gave him a quick hug in lieu of hugging Hades, since the Lord of the Underworld didn’t need to feel any more awkward.
Zack’s Auntie Hestia came to sit beside Michael on the sofa and handed him a beautifully wrapped package—paper in a ship and seagull design and ribbons perfectly curled. “For you, dear. It’s a lovely house you two bought by the seashore, but my nephew forgets that it gets chilly in the evenings and positively raw in the winters by the ocean.”
The box contained a beautiful cable knit cardigan, soft as lambswool. The gifts nearly overwhelmed Michael – the clever clockwork owl from Hermes, the beautiful swan-shaped andirons for their fireplace from Hephaestus, the pot of wild mint from Artemis – though he managed to regain his composure with Dionysus’s gift. The wild god of wine and orgies and given him a sleek dildo in bright blue. Hermes doubled over laughing, Zack glared at his cousin, and Lord Hades decided he had something to take care of in his office.
“What?” Dio spread his hands in bafflement, his wide velvet sleeves swinging like raven wings. “You can never have too many of those, right?”
Michael patted his arm. “It’s a lovely gift. Thank you. I’m sure Zack will appreciate it in a more, ah, private setting.”
He turned to Zack expectantly, since his hunting god lover had been shifting restlessly for the past twenty minutes.
“What? Agreeing to come see my dad wasn’t enough of a present?”
Michael elbowed him in the ribs, not as hard as he would have liked. “Not nice. You just look like you’re going to climb out of your skin.”
“Fine.” Zack pulled a small present from beneath the coffee table. “It just seems stupid after everyone else’s.”
The box contained a glass suncatcher – a bright red cardinal perched in a blooming forsythia.
Zack cleared his throat. “For the kitchen window. I thought it would be pretty.”
“It’s beautiful. Thank you.” Michael leaned in to kiss his cheek. “Her name is Priscilla.”
“Um, that’s a male cardinal, love.”
Michael gave him a stern look. “She disagrees and insists her name is Priscilla.”
“Got it. So you okay with this being your birthday from now on?”
“It just feels dishonest.” When Zack’s crooked grin slipped further, he hurried to add. “How about an un-birthday? Like the ones in Alice in Wonderland?”
Charon, engaged in distributing slices of chocolate cake to the guests, nodded sagely. “Very good, my young lords. Next year there will be tea, mice and reality-challenged rabbits.”
Release Date: April 27, 2016
The omnibus edition of re-released titles contains Brandywine 1-3, each story expanded from the original versions.
Brandywine Investigations: Open for Business includes:
Canines, Crosshairs & Corpses: Brandywine Investigations #1
What's a Lord of the Dead to do? His bride of several thousand years has served him with divorce papers and she doesn't just want him out of her life, she wants the palace and the dog, too.
The omnibus edition of re-released titles contains Brandywine 1-3, each story expanded from the original versions.
Brandywine Investigations: Open for Business includes:
Canines, Crosshairs & Corpses: Brandywine Investigations #1
What's a Lord of the Dead to do? His bride of several thousand years has served him with divorce papers and she doesn't just want him out of her life, she wants the palace and the dog, too.
No Enemy But Time: Brandywine Investigations #2
Zagreus, the son of Hades, and his former guardian angel, Michael, live a quiet life of gardening, animal rescue, and playful sexual experimentation. But lately, strange misgivings have plagued Zack, a sense of something dark and powerful approaching. He will need to battle time itself or lose both his hard-won peace and the love of his immortal life.
Dragons, Diamonds & Discord: Brandywine Investigations #3
The most valuable pieces of jewelry are vanishing from the god Hermes’ Manhattan stores and the security feeds only pick up clouds of smoke. While the god of thieves, messengers, and commerce doesn’t appreciate someone stealing from him, he’s intrigued by this thief’s ingenuity and skill. When he enlists his family to trap his burglar, he gets the surprise of his immortal life.
About Angel Martinez:
While Angel Martinez is the erotic
fiction pen name of a writer of several genres, she writes both kinds of queer
fiction – Science Fiction and Fantasy. Currently living part time in the hectic
sprawl of northern Delaware, (and full time inside the author's head) Angel has
one husband, one son, two cats, a changing variety of other furred and scaled
companions, a love of all things beautiful and a terrible addiction to the consumption
of both knowledge and chocolate.
For more information on Angel’s work, please visit:
Website: http://angelmartinezauthor.weebly.com
For more information on Angel’s work, please visit:
Website: http://angelmartinezauthor.weebly.com
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/angelmartinez
Twitter: @AngelMartinezrr
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Awesome! Thanks for the flash fiction piece! I love this series.
ReplyDeleteAnother tempting reason to read (get) this series, I love the flash fiction and intrigued to learn more about them :)
ReplyDeleteGreat flash fiction I have just brought the omnibus and I'm looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteShirleyAnn(at)speakman40(dot)freeserve(dot)co(dot)uk
I love Angel's books. Some of her books are comfort reads for me. Thank you for the flash fiction!
ReplyDeletesusanaperez7140(at)gmail(dot)com