Immediately, the Flammen, who had been standing to the side, rushed up to direct his flame toward the runes. It emerged from his eye—that single brilliant glowing eye of his. The fire pierced the runes and they melted away at its touch. First one rune, then another, and the third, and then they were gone. The gate creaked and groaned, shattering into a million ice shards.
The vargr continued to fight, staining the snow crimson as they died. And then, there was silence. The immediate threat was over.
Three of our men were still as ice, lying in frozen pools of blood on the ground. I returned to my normal form and knelt beside them, praying they were still alive.
One—a young man whom I knew was a new father—was dead. No breath rose from his chest. I grabbed his wrist and felt for a pulse but he was done. I would have tried CPR, except I happened to glance down at his chest. The vargr had slashed a hole in him, ripping him open from one side to the other. I quietly placed his arm back on the snow and turned to see how the others were faring. One was seriously wounded, his leg cut open, but Fearless was applying a tourniquet and told me he would live. The third was also dead.
I stared at the place where the gate had stood. Fenrick’s last words echoed in my head. We weren’t done with him yet. It was personal now. But for the moment, we would tend to our wounded and dead.
The snow was covered with blood. It had melted in little rivulets through the field, then froze to form sparkling crimson fingers.
“He’ll be coming back, won’t he?” Luna followed my gaze as she picked herself up off the ground. She did her best to balance on the snow and one of the guards moved over to lend her an arm. She thanked him and he smiled at her.
I didn’t want to answer. But it was better to face reality than live in blind hope. “Yes. It’s personal now. And he knows that even with my ability to summon a storm, we are vulnerable. We barely fought off the vargr. If I hadn’t chased him through the gateway with that tornado, chances are good we’d all be dead.”
“Your Majesty…you must… Never mind.” Check looked up from where he was attending to the wounded guard. The tourniquet had stopped the bleeding. Fearless was doing what he could to fashion a stretcher. But even I could see that the guard’s life still hung in the balance.
“I think this might have been a test run. I wonder how long we have. The frost giants will question him, and he will tell them everything he has learned. He has seen our strengths, but more important, I think he realizes we are still weak. The moment we get home to the Barrow, we need to begin planning. I fear there is war coming. Whether it be tomorrow or in twenty years, no one can say. But we can’t allow ourselves to grow complacent.”
The wind picked up and Ulean was suddenly there, gusting around me.
You must learn to harness the power of the wind now. You could be such a formidable opponent if you can gain control over it. Do not forget this moment, Cicely. The gods have long memories, and the giants might as well be gods. I doubt if they will be back quickly—but it cannot hurt to prepare.
I rather hoped we were done with war.
No kingdom is ever done with war. There will always be an enemy at the gate. There will always be an enemy looking to take over the kingdom. This is as true in the realm of Snow and Ice as it is in the yummanii realm.
I motioned to Captain Shell. “The wounded man can ride in the sledge with Luna. I can easily run back to the Barrow with the rest of you.”
“Very well, Your Majesty. Thank you. It will increase his chances of survival.”
And so we turned and, leaving the vargr where they had fallen, we headed back home for the Barrow. But my thoughts were deep in a battle I knew would come. I only hoped we had time to prepare and to strengthen our forces.
Luna stayed the night, and though our talk turned away from Fenrick to focus on friends and old times, we both seemed to realize that—though we were friends again—we had our separate lives to lead. After a couple glasses of wine she sighed and sat down hers.
“I’m glad I came. I’m glad I went with you and saw the reality of what’s out there. In some ways, I wish I could just leave and think, Oh, this is Cicely’s problem, not mine. But really, the problem belongs to all of us. The world is so much bigger than I ever thought it was. I’ll talk to Ysandra and the Consortium tomorrow…tell them about the threat. We will do what we can on our side to prepare, just in case they break through next time. We may live in different worlds, but we face common enemies.”
The next day, after Luna left, Grieve and I met with Strict, Captain Shell, and Thorn.
We began hammering out a strategy for when Fenrick would return. At one point, I crossed to the fireplace. As I stared into the glowing flames, it hit me: This is what it meant to be Queen. This is what it meant to be responsible for the lives of my people. Strategies and war, battle plans and preparations. They were as important as protecting my people against hunger and illness. Like it or not, to be leader meant being a warrior.
Grieve approached, resting a hand on my shoulder. “What are you thinking?”
I shook my head. “I’m thinking…I feel so much older than I did a year ago. It feels like my life before I returned to New Forest never even existed. Sometimes I wonder if my life outside was all a dream, and I just woke up here, where I’ve always been.”
“You were thrust into a life you never expected. Are you sorry that you rescued Lainule’s heartstone? In doing so, you sealed both her fate and yours.”
I thought about his question. If I had not saved Lainule’s life, I would not have necessarily had to accept my destiny. She had warned me as much as she could.
“Do you understand what you are offering? No, you do not.”
“I’m offering to try to save your life.”
“No, Cicely. You offer so much more than that— you make a sacrifice if you choose to do this and I cannot tell you just what that is. Not yet.”
The memory of that meeting rang in my mind. If I hadn’t rescued her heartstone, Lainule would have died. And the realm of Rivers and Rushes would have faded, fair game for whomever might take it for themselves.
I shook my head. “I don’t regret what I did. Destiny would have played out anyway, but it could easily have been Myst’s destiny. She might have been able to take full control and spin out her plans to her end goal.”
I turned and placed my hands on his shoulders, staring into his eyes. I loved my Fae Prince. I had loved him as long as I could remember.
“To be your wife, to be Queen to your King, it is worth all we have been through and all that is to come. I would choose no other path. Come frost giants and vargr, come enemies we have not yet met… As long as I can be by your side, that is all that matters. We will have children and grandchildren, and we will rule this realm with justice and love. This is our home, and we will keep it safe together.”
He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine and in that moment, any regrets I might have still had slipped away. For the first time since I had taken the throne, I truly felt like I belonged here.
The End
Find out where it all began!
If you have not read the Indigo Court Series, here are the titles in order.
Night Myst
Night Veil
Night Seeker
Night Vision
Night’s End
And, you can find an excerpt from Night Myst, starting following the Character List, and then my Bibliography. And be sure to sign up for my monthly newsletter to keep updated!
CHARACTER LIST
Cicely and the Court of Snow and Ice
Captain Shell: Captain of the Court of Snow and Ice’s military guard.
Check: Cicely’s personal guard
Cicely Waters: A witch who can control the wind. One of the magic-born and half Uwilahsidhe (the Owl people of the Cambyra Fae). Born on the Summer Solstice at midnight, a daughter of the Moon/Waning Year. The new Queen of Snow and Ice.
Druise: Cicely’s lady’s maid
&nb
sp; Fearless: Cicely’s personal guard
Flammen: One of the Wilding Fae, from the village of Whitecroft.
Grieve: (See also Indigo Court) King of the Court of Snow and Ice. One of the Cambyra Fae (shapeshifting Fae) now turned Vampiric Fae. Obsessed and in love with Cicely.
Hunter: Cicely’s grandfather. Wrath’s father.
Silverweb: The treasurer of the Court of Snow and Ice
Snow Hag: One of the Wilding Fae. A friend of Cicely’s.
Strict: Cicely’s chief advisor
Tabera: The late Queen of Snow and Ice
Rhiannon and the Court of Rivers and Rushes
Chatter: King of the Summer Court. Grieve’s best friend.
Edge: Rhiannon’s Court Advisor
Lainule: The former Fae Queen of Rivers and Rushes. Grieve’s aunt and Rhiannon’s aunt. The former Queen of Summer. Returned to the Golden Isle.
Rhiannon Roland: Cicely’s cousin, born on the same day as Cicely, only at daybreak, a daughter of the Sun / Waxing Year. Rhiannon is also half Cambyra Fae, and half magic-born, and she controls the power of fire. The new Queen of Rivers and Rushes.
Wrath: Cicely’s father—one of the Uwilahsidhe and originally a member of the Court of Snow and Ice (the Owl people of the Cambyra Fae)
Peyton and the Court of the Magic-Born
Anadey: Traitor; was a friend of Heather’s and mentor to Rhiannon. One of the magic-born, Anadey can work with all elements. Peyton’s mother. Deceased.
Kaylin Chen: Martial arts sensei, a dreamwalker, has a night-veil demon merged into his soul.
Luna Saunders: Yummanii bard
Peyton MoonRunner: Half werepuma, half magic-born. Anadey’s daughter.
Rex MoonRunner: Werepuma. Peyton’s father. Deceased.
Ysandra Petros: Member of the Consortium. Yummanii and powerful witch who can control sound, energy, and force.
The Indigo Court
Myst: Queen of the Indigo Court, mother of the Vampiric Fae, the Mistress of Mayhem. Queen of Winter.
Heather Roland: (See also Indigo Court) Rhiannon’s mother and Cicely’s aunt. One of the magic-born, an herbalist, first turned into a vampire by the Indigo Court, now truly dead.
The Vein Lords/True Vampires
Crawl: The Blood Oracle: One of the oldest Vein Lords, made by the Crimson Queen herself. Sire to Regina and Lannan.
Geoffrey: Former NW Regent of the Vampire Nation and one of the Elder Vein Lords. 2,000 years old, from Xiongnu. Truly Dead.
Lannan Altos: Professor at the New Forest Conservatory, Elder vampire, brother and lover to Regina Altos, hedonistic golden boy. New NW Regent of the Vampire Nation.
Leo Bryne: Was Rhiannon’s fiancé, a healer and one of the magic-born. Leo was a day-runner for Geoffrey, turned to a vampire by Geoffrey. Deceased.
Regina Altos: Emissary for the Crimson Court / Queen. Originally from Sumer with her brother and lover, Lannan. Was a priestess of Inanna. Turned by Crawl.
And now, with permission from Berkley Books, the first chapter of NIGHT MYST. Posted by arrangement with Berkley Publishing Group, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Copyright © Yasmine Galenorn, 2010.
NIGHT MYST
Chapter 1
The women in my family have always been witches, which is why when Ulean, my wind Elemental, tossed my hair early on a balmy, breezy December morning and whispered in my ear to listen to the wind, there was a message for me riding the currents—I did. Pausing to close my eyes and lower myself into the slipstream, I heard a faint, feminine voice calling my name. When it told me that my aunt Heather and cousin Rhiannon were in trouble, I didn’t wait for a second warning. I called them to tell them I was on my way and got my second surprise of the day.
“Marta’s dead.” Heather’s voice was strained.
I stared at the phone. Marta, dead? The woman had been ancient the last time I was home, but we all expected her to outlive the entire town. That she was dead seemed incomprehensible. “She’s dead? What happened?”
“I don’t know, Cicely. We found her in her garden. She was drained of blood and her throat had been . . . ripped apart. And I do mean ripped.”
The obvious answer was a rogue vampire, except for one thing: the ripped part. Most vampires were fairly tidy with their work. The Northwest Regent for the Vampire Nation lived in New Forest and kept order in the area. Geoffrey was a good sort—if you can call a vampire a good sort—and it was hard for me to believe that any one of the vamps under his control would be so stupid as to kill Marta. She had charms aplenty for warding them off and the repercussions would be harsh, even for the vamps.
“You think one of Geoffrey’s people killed her? What do the police say?”
My aunt paused. “I’m not sure of anything, to be honest. There are some strange things going on and the town is . . . changing. The cops didn’t seem too interested in investigating Marta’s death.”
A chill ran up my spine.
Strange is not the word for it, Ulean whispered. There are so many traps in New Forest now. The entire town is in danger.
“Are you sure you’re okay? A voice on the wind told me that you and Rhiannon are in danger. I was about to pack.”
A pause. Then, “Please come home. I’d love to have you come home for good. It’s time, Cicely. Krystal’s gone, and we need you. Right now, I’m not sure what that danger is, but yes, it’s lurking on the edges and in truth, it has me afraid.”
My aunt never admitted fear. That she would do so now sealed my decision to return to New Forest. Heather paused, then added, “I think at this point, everyone’s fair game, but the magic-born seem to be getting hit the hardest. I’ll explain when you get here. And there’s another reason you should return.”
“What?” Family duty, I had no problem with, unlike my mother. But Heather’s voice sounded odd and a tingling at the back of my neck told me that something else was in play.
“Marta passed the torch to you. She left you her practice. The town can’t do without her, and apparently she’s chosen you to take her place. You’ll have to move the business over here to Veil House. It will take a little while for you to get everything set up again, but she left you all her supplies.”
Stunned, I blinked. Marta was the town witch. People went to her for help. She was also the elder of the secret Thirteen Moons Society—the coterie my aunt belonged to. No one but family members knew about the Society and it was kept that way on purpose. Hell, even I didn’t know what they did—only when you were inducted into the Society were you told what went on.
“Marta left me her business? Are you sure of that?” I had been home once a year from the time I was thirteen until I turned seventeen, and that had been the last time I’d set foot in New Forest. And my mother had been persona non grata with the elder witch. “Why would Marta do that?”
Heather laughed. “Oh, Cicely, you may be twenty-six now and on your own, but you’re still one of us. You’ve always been one of us, even though your mother tried to distance the both of you. It’s time to come home to New Forest.” Her voice turned serious. “Krystal’s dead. You don’t have to run anymore. Come back. We need you. I need you. And you . . . you need us.”
She was right. In my heart, I knew it was time to go home. I’d been running for years, but now there was no more reason. There hadn’t been a reason for me to stay on the road for two years, since Krystal had died. Except that sometimes running felt like all I knew how to do. But now . . . Marta left me her business. I had something to go home to—something to focus my life on other than keeping my mother and me alive.
“Be there in three days tops,” I told Heather. “Can I have my mother’s room?” Memories of the violet-and ivory trimmed room loomed in my mind.
“Of course you can, and you can use the back parlor for your business and one of the spare rooms on the third floor for your supplies and workroom.” Heather laughed again. “Oh Cicely, I’ve missed you so much. I’m so glad you’re coming home again for more than
a visit. We’ve missed you.”
And with that, I tossed the few boxes containing my possessions and my backpack in Favonis—my 1966 navy blue Pontiac GTO that I’d won in a game of street craps—and headed out of California without a single look over my shoulder.
LA was like every other city I’d lived in since I was six: a pit stop in the rambling journey that had been my life. But now, after twenty years, my past was about to become my future. As I pressed my foot against the accelerator, Favonis sped along the I-5 corridor.
I was wearing a pair of black jeans, a black tank top, and my best boots—a kickass pair of Icon’s Bombshell motorcycle boots. I had no job to give notice to—I’d picked up odd jobs here and there since I was twelve but never anything permanent. All through the years, I knew there was something I was supposed to do—supposed to accomplish—but I’d never known what. Maybe this was it. Maybe taking Marta’s place would fill the void.
“Come on, baby,” I coaxed. “Don’t let me down.”
And Favonis didn’t. She purred like a kitten, all the way up the coast. Speeding along the freeway, fueled by numerous stops at Starbucks and espresso stands along the way, I kept my eyes peeled for the exit that would take me to I-90. New Forest was snuggled against the northwestern foothills of the Washington Cascades and the promise of going home for real this time dangled in front of me like a vial of crack in front of a junkie.
Twenty years ago, I’d kicked and screamed my way down the front steps of Veil House, begging Krystal to leave me with Heather, but my mother had just dragged me to the taxi, bitching at me to shut up. Now, after a thousand miles on the road, and a thousand years in my heart, I was heading back to live in the only house I’d ever thought of as home. And this time I planned on staying.
Only now, I’m twenty-six and my mother’s dead. Something is terribly wrong in New Forest. And my wolf has woken up again.
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