Chapter 8

The next morning we were all feeling worse for wear. The only thing that any of us seemed to regret was the amount of alcohol we had consumed. I'm not sure I regretted even that, as last night probably wouldn't have happened without that lubrication. So, although we had headaches we all had smiles and little touches of affection.

Synopsis: Watch the story from Brianna’s point of view as she receives an unexpected phone call.

My eyes shot open as I heard the phone ring. The room was bathed in darkness, still, and the clock beside my bed read 5:59 AM. Who in the actual hell was calling me at almost 6 in the morning? This was my day off, right? I checked the phone screen. Yep, Saturday. I squinted a bit, I knew the number. Why did I know that number? I swiped the answer icon and held the phone to my ear.

“Hello?” I said, doing my best impression of an ‘awake’ person.

Zodiac Coin: Scorpio
By Ellie Dauber (c) 2006

Unprincipled legal gun for hire, Sam Ralston, is forced/brined to take on a charity case, a woman accused of threatening an urban drug lord who is one of Sam’s regular clients. The bribe is the Scorpio Coin, and Sam uses it in ways he never would have imagined. The result… read for yourself. The tale also contains the conclusion of the background tale of how the coins came to be.

Zodiac Coin: Scorpio
By Ellie Dauber (c) 2006

Synopsis: Allison has some one on one time with her sister and gets ready for class

“Wake up sleepyhead,” I felt a hand on my shoulder and gradually opened my eyes. The room was still dark. Was I back in my dorm? “Oh my god you sweat like everywhere.”

Tony Rendell was a dreamer. He’d been one for as long as he could remember. All the dreams he’d ever had since he was old enough to remember them, involved him becoming a famous woman. From an early age, he knew that he had been born wrong. His parents reinforced that view by embarrassing him by telling the family at almost every opportunity that his breech birth meant that he had to be wrapped in cotton wool all through his life. He didn’t but once his family had decided that this was how it was going to be, there was no way in hell that it would change.

As a result, the kids at the various schools he attended, and there were many, made his life hell. He was different to everyone else in that he loved classical music especially Opera and often dreamed of playing Brunilda in the Ring Cycle. His problem was that he was tone deaf, could not sing to save his life and could not play an instrument.