Immortal Essence Box Set: Aligned, Exiled, Beguiled

Praise for the Immortal Essence series

“A fantastic short story, where the characters seem to jump off the page. Ms. Workman captivated me.”
Jek
Jamison

“I’m so glad there’s a full length novel that follows this short story. I loved this!”
Heartsong
reviews.

"The book was filled with adventure, secrets, and romance, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat." by LM Preston.

"I... felt like I was literally out of this world for a while." by Melissa Lemon.

"Loved it from the first page and was thrilled to be reading something so richly creative and engaging." by
Tahlia
Newland
.

"It's in Michael's and Venus' darkest hours that you can't put the book down." by Brenda Drake

"The twists and turns left me breathless and the writing is beautiful." by
Taryn
Taylor.

"I liked the way things were described, along with the dialogue." by The Golden Eagle.

"What a ride!" by Taffy Lovell.

"I love a book where the details fit together like pieces in a puzzle..." by Rachel Morgan.

"
I fell hard for her characters and found my self rooting for them." by Debbie Davis.

"Her journey and struggle capture the imagination long after the story ends." by Rosie Connolly.

"
RaShelle
does a wonderful job of creating the angst we all feel when life hands us lemons." by Gail.

"Writing that moves readers to ponder their hearts is good writing, and that's what readers will find with Workman. She's a dedicated
writer
,talented
, and passionate. Readers won't be disappointed. Her protagonist is strong willed, her antagonist is easy to hate, and her mentor is easy to love."
 
by Kathleen
Brebes
.

"Michael and Venus have probably been the best pairing/couple tha
t I've read about this year! GO
READ THIS BOOK! You will
love
it." by Nancy.

"It was incredibly interesting and I thought that
RaShelle
did a fabulous job establishing Venus's world." by
Burning.x.Inpossibly.x.Bright
.

"I enjoyed the atypical love triangle-- one that didn't throw me into extreme frustration-- and the idea that love is deeper than just physical feelings." by
Shallee
McArthur.

"Truly, at its heart, this is a romance, and a well written and enjoyable one at that. For me, that says something. I'm not a huge romance fan, but this story sucked me in so much that I found myself looking for a spare moment ANYWHERE to read." by Karen Hooper, author of the award-winning
Woldchild
Saga.

Main Menu

Aligned: An Immortal Essence Short Story

Exiled

Beguiled

Afterword

Additional Works by
RaShelle
Workman

Indelibles
Link

Contact Information

Copyright Information

Table of Contents

Aligned: An Immortal Essence Short Story

In the beginning…

I am someone.

But, I have no idea who.

There is a planet called Earth, with one sun and one moon. That isn’t where I live. How am I sure?
Two
suns and
two
moons rotate across my sky.

The name of this planet is Kelari.

My home is in a cave at the base of a mountain peak. From its entrance I can peer further down the mountain, over the tops of lush green trees, and dense foliage, all the way to the cerulean waters o
f the sea. It’s always warm
, and humid.
Sometimes stiflingly so.

On Earth, I know there are forests, deserts, high mountains and deep bodies of water. There are animals, insects, and birds. The name of every species, every creature, is somehow known to me, as is all of Earths’ history. Every color, every shade, every hue—from robin’s egg blue to periwinkle—can be pulled from my mind. How I know these things, where I was born, and who my parents are, remain unknown.

I’ve never seen anyone on this planet similar to me, but I’d recognize a human if I saw one. My memories are chock-full of them. I think I am one. Or at least I used to be.

When it comes to me, this is what I know for sure: I look like a human male. When I first arrived, I grew a lot. My face and body changed almost daily. So did my skin, which started out amber brown, like maple syrup. Currently, it’s closer to cinnamon, probably from the suns. My eyes are spring grass green. The color of my blood was a reddish-orange. Now, no matter how hard I try, the surface of my skin can’t be punctured. I don’t even know my name.

My first day here I opened my eyes, and screamed like a girl (no offence to girls, it’s just I’m a guy). The reason
is
a gigantic black cat-looking thing had her face right in front of mine. She licked me with a large sand-papery tongue. I hate to admit to another girly-scream as I rose on my elbows and tried to back away. She roared, shaking her long mane. Then I cried. She roared again. I cried some more (this is embarrassingly sad, but give me a break; I was only seven or eight).

Her voice entered my mind.
Hush, child. Stop making
all that
racket. My head is going to burst.

I cried louder. She snorted, turned away and lay down at the entrance of our cave.  Enormous black wings pounded the air as she settled in. Her giant body blocked the entrance, and my only escape. Whimpering, I huddled against a wall.

Much later, my curiosity got the better of me, especially since she hadn’t made a move to eat me.
At least not yet.
I decided to try and reason with her.  “Hey! Hey, you.”

She turned around and her voice spoke inside my head again.
Can you understand my thoughts?

I nodded. “I think so.”

She shook her head.
Use your thoughts so I can comprehend what you’re saying. Your verbal noises are incredibly grating.

Concentrating, I asked,
Are
. . . you going to eat me?
”

No, young one.
My name is
Mithrith
. I am an irrihunter. And you are? 

I thought and thought, realizing I must have been given a name, but I couldn’t remember.
I don’t know.
I stood and took tentative steps toward her. She was massive.
All black with short fur, the same as a panthers.
Face like a saber-toothed tiger.
The ears, mane and tail of a horse.
And then there were her wings. Not the same as a bird’s, but a bat.
You sort of remind me of a dragon
.

She roared.
Ever met a dragon? That is insulting. Take it back.

Sorry.
I stepped away
, wary, but asked,
You
met a dragon?
 

Once. She looked nothing like me.

Sorry,
I repeated, disregarding my urge to bombard her with further dragon questions.
So, um, where are we? How did I get here?

This planet is called Kelari. You were dropped in front of my cave by a great bird. He spoke to me in my own language and asked me to watch over you. A good thing he said something, otherwise you’d be digesting in my stomach.

I fled to my corner (a mighty warrior).

She made a noise in the back of her throat that sounded like laughter.
Come back. Don’t be silly, child.
I won’t eat you
,
you’re too small
. Your tiny carcass would get stuck in my teeth.

Promise?
I asked, though I knew she wouldn’t.

Promise
.
Now . . .
She lay down and began licking one of her paws, her midnight-blue eyes focused on me, thoughtful.
What shall I call you?
Mmmmmm
.
She closed her eyes and I thought she’d drifted to sleep. I’d about decided to do the same when she said,
Sticks.

Sticks? Why sticks?
Braver, I reached up to touch the side of her face. She was soft as chinchilla fur.

Because child, you’re so small I could use you to pick my teeth.

From then on, we were
inseparable,
Mithrith
and I. She’d explained she was the last of her kind, so I did my best to keep her from getting lonely. She took care of me; taught me her language, and told me about her life (
Mithrith
was old). She even let me fly with her a few times so I could search for others. She said she’d never seen creatures that resembled me. Still, she helped me explore.

It’s been seven hundred and eighty-seven days since
Mithrith
died. I burned her remains, as she requested. The fire devoured her body. Pain consumed my heart. I miss her terribly. No, “miss” isn’t fitting. When she died, a part of me died with her. The ache has lessened some since my visions of a girl.

The
girl.

When I’m awake, she’s there, a comforting phantom. Her presence is stronger while I sleep though. I don’t know who she is or how my mind has imagined her. But I’m grateful. I’d be lost to loneliness without my dreams. The girl has become the thread that holds my life together.

Her body is fashioned after a human’s (probably because that’s all I know). Her hair is downy white. Sometimes she wears it in a long braid, the blunt ends reaching her waist. Other times her hair isn’t confined, but flowing, and it shines like a thousand stars. Her skin is metallic white, and smooth as glass. And her eyes, by the Heaven’s, each a blazing silver flame.