The Ice Maiden's Tale

The Ice Maiden's Tale — page 1 — Copyright 2017 by Lisa Preziosi All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means including photocopying recording or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law For permis sion requests write to the publisher addressed Attention Permis sions Coordinator at the address below Xist Publishing PO Box 61593 Irvine CA 92602 www xistpublishing com Publisher’s Note This is a work of fiction Names characters plac es and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes Any resemblance to actual people living or dead or to businesses com panies events institutions or locales is completely coincidental Ordering Information Quantity sales Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations associations and others For details contact the Special Sales Department at the address above The Ice Maiden’s Tale Lisa Preziosi 1st ed ISBN 978-1-5324-0231-9 eISBN 978-1-5324-0232-6

The Ice Maiden's Tale — page 2 — For my Nonna Maria Preziosi For my Papa Dante Preziosi For my Zio Anthony Preziosi my Zio Mario Preziosi You are forever carved into my memory

The Ice Maiden's Tale — page 3 — I saw an angel in the marble and I carved until I set him free Michelangelo

The Ice Maiden's Tale — page 4 — Prologue Every town has its own witch Sometimes she’s stooped over and has tufts of white hair other times a long charcoal braid and perfect posture but no matter how well disguised she is children can always spot her In twelve-year-old Johanna Sullivan’s neighborhood of Dunkler Wald the resident witch was named Mrs Kinder and she lived across the street The sky was overcast and as gray as pigeon feathers when Johanna rounded the corner toward Mrs Kind er’s house Pulling her younger brother Casper in tow she trudged up the creaky stairs They bowed beneath 9

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