Magic After Dark: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Margo Bond Collins

  “You’re going to be chasing me for a million years.”

  “I’d chase you for a billion years. I’m going to find you and I’m going to end you.”

  “How are you going to do that? You failed to stop me last time.”

  “That’s for me to know and you to find out. I’ll be seeing you.”

  He vanished from my mind.

  I couldn’t help but smirk as Circe’s plan worked perfectly. She’d enchanted the necklace she previously gave me to latch on to Leviathan’s thought patterns. I could track him now, just like I could before.

  I would find Leviathan. I would work hard, learning more and more spells, learning all I could about him so I could kill him. It wasn’t just my family that was in danger anymore, it was the whole multiverse. I was the only one who could stop him now.

  I thought about Bram as I opened a portal and slipped quietly away.

  Chapter 29

  I studied the area where Leviathan had teleported away. I could sense where he’d gone next. He’d left some sort of psychic trail that I could literally see with the power of the necklace. The trail was dark purple and thoroughly malignant. It made me feel a little sick.

  I looked up at the scaffolding on the walls of the palace. I couldn’t see much in the night but it looked as though rebuilding was going well. I was glad. The Scale Empire palace was a beautiful slice of architecture.

  I heard footsteps behind me. I didn’t turn to see who it was. I knew.

  “You’ve returned,” said Bram.

  I said, “I had no choice. I need to follow Leviathan’s trail.”

  “You just wanted an excuse to come and see me.”

  “Arrogant bastard.”

  I felt his arms snake around me. His lips sought out my neck, kissing me, making me feel warm.

  “I have news,” he whispered.

  “I can’t stay,” I insisted, though I didn’t bother pushing him away. Why should I? “You know that.”

  He pulled me around to face him. It had only been half a day since I’d last set eyes on him but it felt like years.

  “I’m coming with you,” he stated.

  My heart leapt with hope, but I pushed it aside. He was being idiotic. He couldn’t come with me.

  “What about the Scale Empire?” I asked. “They need you.”

  “I’ve abolished the monarchy,” he explained. “The former states of the empire are electing their own council and President. I’m no longer needed. I was going to tell you last night but we had other things on our mind.”

  I felt like I was in a dream. These were the words that I’d been waiting to hear. I didn’t have to be alone in my quest. I could be with Bram. I could be happy. He’d die one day—but, for the time being, he would be mine.

  It was too good to be true.

  “Do you truly want this?” I asked him. “It’s going to be rough. There are wonders and evils out there.”

  “As long as I’m with you I don’t care,” he said. He paused before continuing, “Besides, I owe him a painful death. I’ll always love Lana, just as you will always love Leopold, but I’m seriously falling for you. It’s just that…”

  “Leviathan killed her and your unborn child. He took my brother, an event which caused the death of my parents and forced me to give up my daughter.” I stroked his cheek. “I understand. He took away our lives. He needs to pay for that.”

  “And we need to stop him from reuniting with his other parts.”

  “Together, then.”

  He winked at me. “As colleagues, friends.”

  “With benefits, obviously.”

  “For now.”

  I nodded my head. “For now.”

  After a tearful goodbye with Tina, Sini and Nile, the two of us created a portal in the courtyard. I could tell Bram seemed a little hesitant. It was his home, after all. But he was confident his world could get along without him, though we did promise to check back every now and then, just to make sure.

  “Is it always this hard leaving everything behind?” he asked.

  “Every time,” I admitted. “But you get used to it.”

  “As long as I have you I think I’ll be fine.”

  I took his hand in mine. It was time.

  “So how does this work?” he asked.

  “We follow Leviathan’s trail across the dimensions until we find him. It’s as simple as that.” I clutched his hand harder. “But I have to find and learn new spells along the way. There’s no point in catching up to him if I can’t kill him.”

  I hadn’t thought ahead as to how I would learn all these new spells. Yet I’d done exactly that over the last 150 years. I’d picked up the odd spell from one world or another. This time I had to look deeper. Finding spells had to be just as important as finding Leviathan.

  “When I came to your world with Sini I felt a little…nauseous,” Bram said hesitantly. “It’s not always like that, is it?”

  I laughed. “It can be hard on your stomach the first time.”

  I laughed again and ran into the portal, pulling Bram along with me. I felt excited to start this new chapter of my life. I was scared, too, but I was also happy.

  If you plan to continue with this series, there’s an epilogue…but I suggest you stop here if you don’t like cliffhangers and don’t plan to continue.

  Thanks for reading!

  Epilogue

  We emerged onto a derelict street. Litter and dust swirled in the soft wind, bringing me the unmistakable odour of blood and death. The houses all around us were boarded shut, their gardens overgrown. Parked cars were either burnt out or smashed up.

  “What the hell happened here?” Bram asked.

  I walked over to a red car, parked half off the driveway and half on the weed-infested garden. The windscreen was smashed in, revealing the remains of what appeared to be several corpses. They’d been torn apart, the flesh and sinews literally chewed from the bones.

  “These people have been eaten alive,” I whispered.

  I shuddered. I’d seen far worse in my travels, but I was still human. I was still disgusted.

  I turned away, concentrating on finding Leviathan’s trail. It was weak here, which told me there was a massive concentration of magic in the area. It didn’t concern me. I could still track him.

  “Do you know how long he’s been here?” Bram asked, looking around us suspiciously.

  I hated the quiet. It was eerie. I’d ventured into post-apocalyptic worlds before, but this one was different.

  I grinned. “He’s still here.” I charged forward, following the trail. Bram ran to catch up with me. “He’s still here!”

  I stopped, finding a splash of blood on the cracked road. It was a few days old at most. I used a spell to make sure, but I was proven right; the blood belonged to Leviathan.

  “Something attacked him,” I said, following the trail of blood. “He was injured. We might have an advantage here.”

  Bram grasped my shoulder, forcing me to stop.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “We’re being watched,” he whispered.

  I felt tension rise up in me like bile. I stepped closer to Bram as a feral-looking werewolf emerged from behind a wrecked car. Its black fur was filthy and matted, and it watched us with such hunger I actually felt a little sorry for it.

  “How can one werewolf injure Leviathan?” I whispered.

  I heard low growls behind us. I turned to see more werewolves, their fur a multitude of colours, emerging from behind houses or across the street. There were hundreds of them.

  They were all hungry.

  The End

  Continue the Portal Witch series in book two, Big Bad Wolves, available soon.

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  About the Author

  Cate Farren is from Sheffield, England. She writes paranormal romance, urban fantasy and steamy con
temporary. She loved Dr. Pepper, spaghetti Bolognese, and dreams of retiring to the Italian Dolomites. She has one cat, a Russian Blue called Gracie, who runs her ragged with her excessive feline demands.

  Breaking the Darkness: Marked

  Felicia Starr

  Breaking the Darkness: Marked © 2017 Felicia Starr

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Breaking the Darkness: Marked

  Even those with the purest intentions must make tainted choices to protect the ones they love.

  While Kasha is getting ready to graduate from college her grandmother Magenta Alexander is preparing for her return. There are things that Mage has kept from her granddaughter, secrets that must be told.

  Mage wanted Kasha to grow up and have a normal life even though there was a possibility that Kasha would be anything but normal. Dangerous pacts are made while magic and darkness are lurking around every corner and even those with the purest intentions must make tainted choices to protect the ones they love.

  Deals are struck, secrets are revealed, sacrifices will be made... but will it be enough to ward off the darkness?

  Chapter 1

  “Kasha! You have a phone call,” Jean, Kasha’s roommate, hollered over to her. “Kaa-Shaa!” Jean had to go over and actually lift the headphones from Kasha’s ears.

  “What’s up?” Kasha asked her.

  “Your Gram is on the phone. Didn’t you hear me calling you?” Jean was too busy packing her own odds and ends to be bothered with having to be anyone’s secretary.

  “Oh, great. Thanks.” Kasha grabbed the receiver from the desk that was closest to the door of their room.

  “Hey, Gram.”

  “Hi, sweetie, how are you doing? Are you getting all packed up to come home?” Gram asked.

  “Yeah. I didn’t realize how much stuff I’d managed to collect here over the past two years.”

  Kasha looked at the daunting stack of empty cardboard boxes next to her bed as she held the cordless phone between her ear and her shoulder in an attempt to use both hands to tape up a new box. Kasha loved a lot of things about school, but was eager to get back to a simpler life.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to walk for your graduation?” Gram asked.

  “I’m sure. You would be the only one to come see me, and it isn’t really that important to me. I’m just glad I graduated,” Kasha said in the hopes that she wasn’t insulting her grandmother.

  “Your mother would be very proud of you if she could see you now.”

  Kasha blew out a big, silent blast of air and chucked the tape gun on her desk.

  “I don’t mean to be rude, Gram, but what makes you so sure she would care? I haven’t seen her since I was nine years old.” It had been a long time, but Kasha still felt the sting of her mother’s absence.

  “Sweetie, I truly believe there must be a reason behind her absence. She lived for you. I know it can’t be easy to remember, but sometimes those that become consumed by darkness have trouble finding the way back to the light. Hopefully she remembered to feed her own light, at least from time to time.” Gram had taught Kasha to always honor the light, not only within, but also to all other living things.

  Meditation was part of Kasha’s daily routine. She looked over at the small altar she had created in the nook behind her bed. She wistfully glanced at the small faded picture of her and her mother she kept there. It would be the last thing she packed.

  Kasha’s hands aimlessly grabbed at items from her desk. She stuffed the box she’d just made with writing utensils, papers, and books. She dug deep and buried the thoughts of her mother. Nothing good or bad could come from her harping on it.

  “I can’t believe college is over and I made it. It’s so hard to believe four years have passed. I remember the first day of school like it was yesterday.” Kasha stopped cramming things in the box, closed her eyes, and took a calming breath. “I felt like it would take forever to get through college and now I’m done. It’s funny how the future always feels so far away and then, boom, tomorrow is today.”

  “That’s because we look at time in a linear fashion, but in reality, time is cyclical. There is no true past or future. They both exist simultaneously with the present. The beginning and the end exist at the same time. There can be no beginning without an end. The process of time ‘ends to begin and begins to end’.” Gram always had a mystical explanation for everything.

  “Maybe someday I’ll be able to wrap my head around that kind of stuff, Gram. As for what I like to think of as the present, what have you been up to? Are you ready to have me back?” Kasha asked her grandmother.

  “Always, I told you I would eternally be here for you. My door and my heart will be forever open to you.” Kasha could hear Gram taking a sip of what was most likely one of her famous teas. “So I have to go to the market this weekend for some jars and packaging materials for my upcoming tea orders. Will you be back in time to join me?”

  “I’m not sure. Our lease goes until the end of next week, and I want to make sure no one needs help packing up. Some of these girls aren’t the tidiest, and I want to make sure the house is in order when we leave.”

  “You are always thinking of others. I am so proud of the choices you make. Just remember to take care of yourself too.” Kasha’s grandmother always worried about her getting lost in her service to others.

  “Don’t worry about me. Later today, I’m going to walk around and take some photos around campus. I’ve been so busy with school that I rarely had time to stop and appreciate all the beautiful scenery here. I can’t wait to show you.”

  “That sounds lovely. We have so much catching up to do and I have something I want to give you when you get back,” Mage told her.

  “Gram, I hope you didn’t go out and buy me something. You know I don’t need anything and I don’t like surprises,” Kasha reminded her.

  “Don’t be silly. It’s just a little something I saved from when you were a child. We will reminisce and maybe I will make some gingersnaps. I’ll let you go. I know you have a lot to do. Hugs and kisses.”

  Kasha could hear the smile that was growing across Gram’s face. “You too, Gram. I love you!” Kasha replaced the phone on the receiver and thought it was kind of funny that they even had a landline phone in their room.

  It had been a few months since she last had the opportunity to spend some time with her grandmother. Her last visit home was short. They spent most of their time baking and working on making and packaging teas and tonics that her gram sold to make a small income.

  Kasha was glad she never had to worry about her having enough money to get by. Her grandfather passed away long before she was born, but he made sure his wife Magenta would be able to live a modest, but comfortable enough life. She used the money she earned from her little business to help pay for Kasha’s education and books.

  Kasha also did the work-study program, which kept her busy when she wasn’t studying. She’d made a few friends along the way on campus. Right now, her last job was working at the bookstore. She had another twenty minutes before she had to be there for her shift.

  “Jean, I’m gonna run down to the Shack for a cup of coffee before I have to go to the bookstore. I�
�m going to need all the energy I can get. Book buy back time. Ughhh. Wanna come down for a quick one?” Kasha went back to the box she was packing, taped the top, and marked it with purple magic marker: Desk stuff.

  “Nah, I’m going to try and get as much done as I can. My parents are coming to take me to dinner tonight, but I’ll probably see you at the bookstore. I have my own stack of books that need returning.”

  “Okay, tell your parents I said hi.” Kasha grabbed her insulated coffee mug, a few dollars from her secret stash, and waved good-bye.

  Kasha laughed to herself about telling Jean to say hi to her parents. In the four years at school together, they had remained roommates through three different moves and never once had she ever met Jean’s parents.

  Kasha hurried out of the house. She didn’t want to get caught by any of the other roommates. They all knew she would help them pack, but now was not the time for her to have to say no.

  She was especially avoiding Teresina. Every year Teresina asked her if she wanted to room with her. Her persistence made Kasha uneasy, especially since everyone knew that Kasha and Jean had remained roommates through the years. Even though they were originally assigned to share a room, they were a perfect fit.

  Kasha had nothing against Teresina, but she always got a weird vibe from her. It was one of the many things her gram taught her. Always follow your gut. Kasha was glad they made it through college with no negative incidences and wondered if maybe she shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. She also considered maybe following her instincts helped avoid any unnecessary negative distractions.

  On the flip side, Kasha always clicked with Jean. They were both at school with the objective of being educated. They had their little bits of fun here and there, but they stayed out of each other’s way and spent most of their time studying and working. They did have a few nights out that may have been the norm for most college students, but they laughed together about how wild it was for them to be out partying past their bedtime.