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LENGTH: Short Story
SENSUALITY: Sensual

Cover art (c) Kat Richards 2005
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On a dusky beach, Beltane fires flickering in the night, Damara and Shoner are strangers swept into a fairy tale time. There Shoner is a sea god and Damara a flower goddess, fated by the Old Ones to mate for spring renewal. They rebel against their constraints, but by defying the will of the gods, can they survive?

Rating: Contains sexual content.

BELTANE FIRE

By

Jane Toombs

© copyright by Jane Toombs, April 2005
Cover Art by Kat Richards, © copyright April 2005
New Concepts Publishing
Lake Park, GA 31636
www.newconceptspublishing.com

This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author's imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

"But, Damara, it's not just any old party--Terry and Sal belong to Life Extensions. And their place on the beach near Silver Sands is ideal for a May First Beltane celebration, bonfire and all."

Damara Ruskin reached way into the middle drawer of her office desk and removed the last few paper clips, dumped them in the canvas bag on the desktop, then looked at her friend Chelsea. "You know I'm not into New Age stuff."

Chelsea stooped, picked up a stray pen from the floor and pointed it at Damara. "Think of it as a farewell party for finally quitting B.B.& H. I just can't believe you actually retired at forty-one. You certainly don't look it. I'd kill for that golden hair of yours. Before you leave you simply must tell me who your hairdresser is and what color rinse she uses."

Damara touched her French twist. "I don't use a rinse--not yet, at least. As for retiring, believe me, the choice between being unemployed in San Diego and working my butt off for the company's new owners in Dallas was not at all difficult."

"So what're you going to do with your time?"

Damara made a show of stuffing papers from the top of her desk into the bag. What was she going to do? Her departure package meant she didn't have to hunt for another job right away. Relax on the beach? That'd get old fast. "Maybe I'll take up gardening."

Chelsea snorted. "In your tenth floor condo?"

"Whatever."

"Come on, celebrate with us. It'll be fun--Terry and Sal are so into Celtic traditions."

Which Damara wasn't. But since Chelsea had always been hard to discourage, she offered an equivocal, "I'll think about it." She didn't mention May 1st was her birthday and no one had offered to celebrate it with her.

* * * *

Shoner Trivent hadn't had the slightest intention of spending the first evening of May at some boring beach party where, if it could be believed, they were intending to dance around a maypole. He'd tossed the invitation a week ago. But with his catamaran up for repairs, a planned fishing trip canceled, and a permanent split from his latest girlfriend, he suddenly had no other plans. And, damn it, it was his birthday. His parents had called from where they were vacationing in Hawaii to wish him happy, his mother going on about how she couldn't imagine where the years had gone, was he actually forty-seven now?

Hell, he had trouble believing it himself.

He rummaged through the trash for the invitation so he'd know where to go if he decided some kind of a celebration on a birthday, no matter how distant from his interests, was better than nothing,

Life Extensions? He rolled his eyes.

* * * *

"Listen up, gang," Terry Salesa said, banging on a bongo drum to capture everyone's attention. "Beltane is mysterious and wonder-filled, a time of renewal, when the seeds of change and growth are planted."

Damara noticed the dark-haired man to her left looked as bored as she felt.

"Regeneration," Terry went on, "as symbolized by the fire Sal is lighting, a fire that purifies by burning away the dross."

"So we'll wind up as gold nuggets?" the man next to her said.

"Or ashes," she told him. Which earned her a look from a pair of cynical green eyes.

"One caution," Terry said. "On Beltane evening, you must remember not to look back.. Some say the dead follow, others, the inexplicable, equally dangerous. So, now cast inhibitions aside and we'll hie to the maypole."

Damara hung back when the others followed Terry. The dark-haired man, who hadn't moved, either, said, "I'm Shonor Trivent. I take it you're not a Celtic enthusiast."

"Not so's you'd notice." She smiled and told him her name. Probably forty or so, she decided, but tanned and buff, looking good in black shorts and T-shirt.

Nodding toward the picture on his shirt, she said, "I take it you're a catamaran enthusiast." Before he could answer, Chelsea hurried up, crying, "Oh, there you are, Damara. Come on, it's almost maypole time."

Ignoring her protests, Chelsea grabbed her hand. Looking at Shoner, Chelsea added, "You, too. After all, the maypole dance is a fertility symbol and so we need to alternate male and female." He shook his head, unmoving, but made no attempt to persuade Damara not to go. So, okay, he wasn't attracted to her type. She shrugged mentally. Who cared?

She allowed Chelsea to pull her away, but she was definitely not going to go dancing around any Celtic symbol. Before they reached the maypole, Damara freed her hand. "You go ahead, I need to use--" She waved a hand.

"Okay, see you later." Chelsea hurried off.

Damara turned in the opposite direction, away from the fire and the maypole, walked to the water's edge, kicked off her sandals and strolled along the beach. The sun had set, leaving a few ribbons of salmon and red decorating the darkening sky. Pinpoints of light winked here and there out on the dark ocean. Tiny waves, still chilly in May, rolled over her bare feet.

After a time she heard splashing behind her, someone else fleeing the Beltane scene. She paused and looked around to see who it was. Shoner? Yes, she thought so, but wasn't quite sure since he, standing in the foaming surf, was turned away from her, staring at something behind him. Damara blinked. What was that shimmering curtain that looked ready to engulf him? Surely some kind of illusion.

As she remembered Terry's warning about not to look back, a roar startled her. Before she had time to react, the shimmer turned into a giant wave that swallowed Shoner, then reached for her. She tried to flee, but the wave grabbed her and swept them both away.