"The Bull Is Dead."
Ariemme is a daughter of the Pasithea. But unlike her Mother, who can speak with bees and bulls, call the rains, and hear the cracking of the earth deep down, Ariemme barely understands the speech of birds and serpents. She is the least of her Mother's children.
But then the sacrificial bull is murdered by foul magic on the eve of the equinox. If the murderer is not found, the bull's Caretaker will pay with his own life. Only Ariemme, the least of her Mother's children, has the courage to find the foul witch. Only Ariemme can preserve the covenant between the people and the Maiden Goddess. Only Ariemme can save her father ….
The Maiden and the Marrow Witch is a fourteen thousand word novelette. This is a dark fantasy/murder mystery/coming of age fable set in a magical land of bulls and bees, blood and honey, death and sacrifice. [Forthcoming Spring 2024]
[Content Warning: mild gore, blood, bones, and references to harm to animals.]