Saturday Snippet: COMES A SPECTER from UNDER A MULBERRY MOON

 The following snippet is taken from Comes A Specter by Keta Diablo, one of nine novellas in the Under a Mulberry Moon anthology:

Setup for Snippet:

Anya's son, Willie-boy, is deathly ill. To make matters worse, a sinister ghost haunts their ranch. She must get help and feels it will take someone very knowledgeable and mystical to cure her son's strange illness. She turns to her past love, Sutter Sky, a great shaman known to his People as Yellow Smoke.

* * *

          Anya settled onto the bed next to Willie-boy. With a sick feeling in her stomach, she reached down and touched his forehead. His raging fever confirmed her imagination had not been working overtime earlier. Shallow and slow breaths rose from his chest, and not a muscle moved in his small body. 

          Leaning into his ear, she whispered. "Don't leave me, Willie-boy, please hang on. Do you hear me? You must fight."

          She stumbled to her feet while trying to dispel the helplessness consuming her. "I'm going for help."

          "To Doctor Metz in Butte? That's a good day's ride."

          She shook her head. "No, Doctor Metz will be well into his cups by nightfall. The man is a notorious sucker."

          Cobb rubbed his chin. "He does like to pull a cork. Where then?"

          "Is Sutter still camped along the Wise River?"

          "He's called Yellow Smoke now. He doesn't speak his white name, not after Baker's Massacre."

          "Oh, I can't think about that now, his parents killed and just about everyone he knew." She rubbed her forehead as if a sharp pain had settled in. "I can only think of Willie-boy, and Sutter Sky, or Yellow Smoke if you prefer. He's the best shaman in the territory."

          "He won't help white folks, and besides, you know he's soured on you, ever since you done married—"

          "No one holds a grudge for ten years."

          "He does after you up and married Lewis Fleming."

           Her voice took on a pleading tone. "But Willie-boy is only a child. He must help, he will help me."

          "Let me go. I've known him since we were children."

          "Oh, and I haven't?"

          "Yes, but he's not sour on me."

Follow Keta on Twitter: @ketadiablo

This heart-warming romance with its sinister specter may be found in
Under a Mulberry Moon 
which is now available and still at the 

pre-order price of 99 cents. 

Be sure to purchase it before it resumes its regular price of $2.99.

The anthology is also available on Kindle Unlimited. To purchase, please CLICK HERE.