Title: Witch in the Wind
Author: Damian Serbu
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: 06/11/2024
Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 87400
Genre: Fantasy, witches, pirates, Royal Navy, military, action/adventure, magic/magic users, religious extremism (Puritans)
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Description
A winter storm blows through Salem, Massachusetts, setting young witch Alexander MacBeth on a perilous path to adulthood as his dying mother gifts him an heirloom and pleads for him to use it to survive.
To do so, he will need to perfect his inherited witchcraft to protect himself from those who want him dead. In his journey to adulthood, he falls in love with dashing nobleman Crispin Nottingham. Abandoned by Crispin and pursued by the Puritans, he finds he must harness the wind to assist his escape and flee his homeland aboard a pirate ship led by the handsome captain, Henri the Twisted.
Struggling against distrustful pirates, an evil witch, and his continued longing for Crispin, Alexander sharpens his magical skills and falls into a romance with Henri. Chaos and danger confront him at every turn, even as he searches for love and belonging. A new sail on the horizon may signal hope or more danger than ever before—if Alexander can survive to meet his future.
Witch in the Wind
Damian Serbu © 2024
All Rights Reserved
The man squinted his eyes and sneered as he continued to move closer. Then he lunged forward and placed the sword at Alexander’s neck as he hovered above.
Alexander flinched but remained calm. “You don’t look like a Puritan.” Alexander held the captain’s gaze, the cold steel pressing against his neck. “Most of them don’t carry swords or lurk about in the forest. Or hold a weapon to my throat.”
The captain smiled, staring right at Alexander, but pressed his sword ever so slightly into Alexander’s skin. Despite his predicament, Alexander swooned. The man tilted his hat back with one hand but kept the sword in its position. His eyes glowed even more beautifully in person. His commanding presence might even outdo Crispin. His biceps bulged because of the tense pose, his strong legs flexed at the ready in front of Alexander’s face. Then, he smirked.
“Truth be told,” the captain said, “you don’t strike me as much of a Puritan either. Not with those clothes. Not hiding here alone in the woods. Not with your drawers undone.”
Alexander grinned despite the sword at his throat. “You caught me. An exile, hunted and wanted by those very Puritans.”
“Wanted? For what?”
Alexander threw caution to the wind. This was his only chance to convince the captain.
“Murder. And sodomy.”
Alexander smiled again when the captain raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
“I’m telling the truth. They tried to execute me for sodomy, and then I accidentally killed one of them to get away.”
This time, the captain roared with laughter. He released the sword from Alexander’s neck and stood tall, clutching the weapon as he stepped back but continued to chuckle.
“Aren’t you worried about my being a killer?” Alexander stayed motionless. The captain may have stepped away but his body language remained tense.
“I have quite a few acquaintances who’ve had to murder here and there. Why, I myself have done so. Out of necessity, mind you, much like yourself.” He pointed with his free hand at Alexander. The captain had lost a bit of his initial edge as he stood staring down at him. “You don’t strike me, on first glance, as someone who belongs to those ranks.”
“You don’t believe me?” Alexander asked.
“How’d you do it?”
Alexander paused. How much should he reveal, and how fast? “My murdering is a long story, which happened while I ran away from the authorities.”
The captain walked over and knelt in front of Alexander, the sword held tight in his hand, but at his side. “I’ve experienced stranger things in my life than a young beauty sitting in the woods by himself, on the run from religious folk. But this is certainly unique.”
“I’ve had an odd life. I’m searching for a new direction. Maybe take to the sea.”
The captain scratched his head. He sat down. “Explain yourself.”
“Well, I can’t stay around here, waiting for them to hang me. I’ve always fancied the sea. I figure maybe I could find a ship and make a new life. I’ve thought about becoming a pirate.”
Alexander studied the captain’s face during the long moment of silence. He knitted his brow but again his posture relaxed. He placed his sword on the ground, but his hand moved to the handle of a knife in his waistband.
“What might draw you to something as nasty as pirates?”
Alexander had gotten excited at their proximity, so he moved a bit to show himself. “For one thing, I hear pirates have different rules. A lot more freedom to act as they may.”
“You talking about sodomy again?”
“Maybe. What do you know of such things?”
“Sodomy or pirates?” The captain laughed heartily, reached out, and placed a hand on Alexander’s calf.
Excitement welled through Alexander. He closed his eyes to enjoy the moment, opening them to see the captain adjust himself below.
“I’m Alexander.” Alexander moved a foot toward the captain and touched his leg. He stopped when he gripped the knife more tightly.
“Henri,” he barely whispered and squinted at Alexander. “What’s your game?”
Alexander blushed. “I don’t know what you mean. Are you speaking pirate talk?”
“Why would you think I’m a pirate?”
This time Alexander laughed. He sat up, his face a few feet from Henri’s. “I’ve been watching you. I know.”
Henri clutched tighter at the knife and started to pull it out. Alexander reached over and touched his hand to stop him. He shook his head and smiled, then leaned forward and planted a kiss directly on the captain’s lips.
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Damian Serbu is an author of gay horror/speculative fiction. After over twenty years of teaching history at the collegiate level, he now writes full time. He lives in the Chicagoland area with his husband and two dogs.
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