Prologue

Tales of the Ram

Book One: Chimera’s Curse

Prologue:

In an alleyway between two run down buildings a young girl warmed her chilled hands over a fire of newspapers burning in as waste bin. Winter weather was always bitter cold in Demont City, the winds coming in from the ocean being to blame. The girl’s coat was more suited for fall season, and did little warm her. She rubbed her arms furiously with her bare hands and looked over at her brother, standing on the other side of the waste bin and looking as miserable as she was.
"Nuh-not quite a Texas Christmas, eh Muh-Maria?" The boy said with a weakened smile, his sister only rolled her eyes and rubbed her arms more furiously.
"You need to stop talking about Christmas as if we’re going to have one," she snapped, looking down at the fire, her brow furled beneath her wool cap strands of her long, black hair falling in front of her eyes.
"Don’t be like that, Maria," the boy half plead. "I know this isn’t what we expected to happen when we ran away from the group home, but-"
"What we expected was to find our dad and live a normal fucking life!" she shouted, causing him to jump a little. "But Mom never bothered to tell us he came here to sell drugs and got busted for it!"
"She didn’t know..." The boy responded in almost a whisper, looking down at his feet.
"Like hell she didn’t, she just didn’t want US to know..." Maria folded her arms and looked away.
A black sedan pulled up at the end of the alley, Maria looked over at it and bristled. "God, it’s him again. Let’s go."
"But he might have food," The boy reasoned. "And it’s gotten impossible to get into the soup kitchens, since the holidays started..."
"Diego..." Maria growled as a tall, lanky man in a black coat, wearing thick, round rimmed glasses stepped out of the vehicle.
"Maria, Diego..." the man called out to them as he stepped slowly toward them, hefting a thin cane in his left hand. "Aren’t you tired of living like this, yet?"
"We’re living just FINE, thank you..." Maria said, gritting her teeth and trying not to look in the man’s direction.
"My offer still stands, you know," the man told her, pulling his gloves further up his wrists. "My employer can offer you a warm bed, three squares a day, money- all for doing nothing but taking a few, harmless medications. Is your pride worth so much more than that?"
"It’s worth more than being a lab rat!" Maria snapped. "If you don’t make tracks now, I’ll-"
"You’ll what?" The man asked her, tapping his cane against the cold cement. "Scream? Who would hear you here in Shinbone who would bother to help?"
"Maybe... we should at least LISTEN, Maria," Diego reasoned.
"I suppose I should come to accept your sister will NEVER listen, Diego," the man told him as he turned back to his vehicle. "She’d rather take her chances out here, on the streets."
"You’re damn right I would," Maria remarked, clapping her hands over the fire.
"Yes, you have such a bright future ahead of you," he spoke as he walked slowly toward the car. "Maria, you have no doubt been approached by the, shall we say, "escort services?" Yes, the money a girl your age would make for them is shamefully large."
Maria’s face turned somber as Diego looked aghast. "Of course, no doubt a number of men have already tried to take what they can of you for free, a pretty girl like you amongst men of the street." The man continued, his cane tapping as he walked. "But I’m sure your twin brother will protect you just fine, a strapping lad like him, a boy of ten facing throngs of grown men."
"Yes, you’ll do just fine," he said, opening the door to his car and sitting inside. "Of course, if you ever change your mind..." his voice trailed off, the passenger side door slowly opening.
Maria and Diego gave each other defeated looks, the man’s words stinging in their minds. Neither said anything as they walked slowly to the black vehicle, the ocean winds blowing cold and sharp against their skin.