Deadly Design
Others of Edenton Book 9
Brandy L Rivers
Copyright 2016 Brandy L Rivers
Cover Design by Brandy L Rivers
Edited by Emily A. Lawrence
www.lawrenceediting.com
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Also by Brandy L Rivers
Also by Brandy L Rivers
Box Sets
Others of Edenton – Series Volume 1
Others of Edenton – Series Volume 2
Others of Edenton – Series Volume 3
Others of Seattle – Series Volume 1
Others of Seattle – Series Volume 2
Others of Edenton
New Beginnings
In Too Deep
Shadows Fall
Shadows of the Past
Falling Into Place
Fated Love
Breaking Free
Mending Scars
Labor of Love
Light in Darkness
Blissful Agony
Entangled Darkness
Deadly Design (Coming 10-24-16)
Untitled: Declan’s story (Coming Summer 2017)
Others of Seattle
Nights Embrace
Storm Mistress
Accepting Fate
Red Queen
Seductive Solutions
Changing Destiny
Coming Together
Storm Wrath
Twisted Bonds (Coming Spring 2017)
Nights Embrace Spin Off
Summer Rhythm
Stand Alone Contemporary Romance
Heart on Fire
Falling Star
Sweet Tooth
Backburn (Coming 1-6-17)
Pine Barrens Pack Co-Written with Rebecca Brooke
Cursed Vengeance
Vengeance Unraveled (coming 2017)
To keep up with upcoming releases and news visit me at my
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Or join my newsletter or reading group Rivers’ Shenanigans.
Table of Contents
Past
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Present
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
About Brandy L Rivers
Also by Brandy L Rivers
Reference Guide
Acknowledgments
Preview: Twisted Bonds
Dedication
To my best friend in the whole world,
Michele, sometimes you have to keep going.
No matter what anyone says or thinks,
Do what you do and don’t worry about anyone else.
Love ya.
Past
The slow fall death tore apart.
Chapter 1
Fifty-four years ago…
The fire crackled in the fireplace as Monique absorbed everything in the stack of fashion magazines beside her. One day, she’d be a household name, the one Others turned to for enchanted clothing. Just like her father.
Her mother stopped in front of her. “Go upstairs and hide. Now!” she whispered harshly, her eyes darting to the front door.
Rolling her eyes, Monique gathered the magazines.
Mother hissed, “Quiet, don’t make a sound.”
“Don’t scare my angel,” Dad patted Monique’s shoulder. “Go on. In your room. Whatever you hear, don’t come down.”
“Go, right now, Monique,” Mother insisted.
Monique hurried up the stairs, listening to the conversation.
Mother quietly snapped at her father. “Don’t scare her? You realize that Silver Council enforcers on our doorstep is the worst possible thing that could happen. They will take you away and we’ll never see you again.”
“That’s not true, and you know it. This is but an inconvenience. My friends will come to my aid, and I’ll be out in no time.”
“You’re such a fool. Your friends are my friends. Our neighbor being one of their enforcers does not mean they won’t haul you away. Hell, Karl is probably out there right now.”
“Karl Mortale is a friend. He’ll ensure the person who murdered those people is brought to justice and I’m freed.”
Monique slipped into her room and grabbed the blanket her father had helped her enchant so she could sneak into the workshop to aid him when her mother wanted her to go to bed. No one would see her. She wrapped the cashmere afghan blanket around her and crouched at the top of the stairs in time to watch two big men barge through the door, their hands up and glowing.
Father turned to them, raising his arms in surrender. “I don’t want a fight. This will all be sorted soon enough.”
The man in front glared at Dad. His freckles seemed to glitter. “You’re going away for murder.”
“I will cooperate, but I am not the one who murdered those people.”
“Enough. You’ll have your trial.”
Mother stood in the corner, crying as they dragged Father from the house.
As soon as the door was shut, Mother locked it.
Monique stepped back into her room and silently shut the door, tears in her eyes. She had a bad feeling about the enforcer with the strange freckles.
Mom burst through the door. “That right there is why we never trust the Council. They hate anyone who isn’t one of their own precious mages. You can’t trust the Mortales. Not even your pathetic friend, Erik. He’s not a friend. He’ll betray you the same way your father’s supposed friends just betrayed him.”
“Dad will be back.”
“Karl won’t do a damned thing to free your father. He doesn’t care about us. Don’t fool yourself.”
“Karl cares about us. His wife is a witch. Their son is neither mage nor witch. He isn’t like the men who came. Karl will help.”
“Then he’ll wind up dragged away the same as your father.” Mother turned and walked out the door, slamming it shut.
Tears slid down Monique’s face. Mom was wrong. Karl would he
lp.
* * * *
Fear and worry tore through Erik as he watched the house next door. He couldn’t stand the thought of Monique.
Two Silver Council mages walked up the steps to the DeSandre house. They went in and several minutes later dragged Armand out. Armand didn’t fight. Monique’s father was the enchanter who supplied magically enhanced clothing to everyone he knew. He was also an acclaimed designer. His line of clothing had been picked up by several major stores for normal humans.
Once the vehicle drove away with Armand in the back, Erik hurried through the house. He found his father in the kitchen on the phone.
“Yes, I understand that. However, he’s not the killer…Of course I know that. Draecyn, you need to get your ass out here and clear Armand DeSandre. You know damn well he didn’t commit the murders the damned Council is trying to accuse him of.”
Erik waited patiently. Father turned toward him. One corner of his mouth tipped up. “Yes, yes, hang on, Draecyn. I need to talk to my son a moment.”
Placing the speaker against his shoulder, he smiled. “Go see Monique. Just be careful. Vivian is bound to be in a mood, and you may not be welcome.”
His father placed the phone to his ear again. Erik slipped through the back door and hopped the fence. Vivian liked Erik most of the time. Though whenever the Silver Council pissed her off, she went through stages of not trusting him or his father.
Karl Mortale was a Silver Council enforcer. Erik’s mother, Tyra, was a medium and a witch. Dad hid her true talent from the Council because they weren’t so accepting of Other casters. And being a Deathcaller often put one under suspicion.
Erik had been enrolled in Mythra’s academy, until they learned of his gifts with the dead. He was immediately expelled, though Draecyn Montgomery fought to keep him enrolled. It was deemed he would cause too much of a disturbance in the other mages, so they sent him home.
He’d been disappointed for a time. Monique had tried to convince him he should hate the Council, but his father was right. You can’t change their opinion if you don’t try.
Vivian and Tyra’s friendship was Erik’s biggest saving grace. Monique had been his best friend since the moment they met. Vivian’s biggest problem was Karl being an enforcer, but Tyra could usually convince Vivian not all mages were evil.
Erik climbed the tree and hopped onto the eave in perfect silence. With the Council taking Armand away, Vivian would likely ban his whole family from the house. Luckily, she couldn’t change the wards to keep him out. And what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt anyone.
He settled against the wall and whispered, “Cassandra, please come here. I need an extra set of eyes.”
The ghost had passed away at the age of fifteen, sixty years before. She’d called this house home, though he had yet to get the whole story from her.
She appeared before him with her big doe eyes and rosy cheeks. “Monique is crying. Her mother is horrid. And her dad is gone.”
He smiled slightly. “My dad is already working on getting Armand out. Is Monique in her room?”
She nodded. “Vivian is downstairs yelling at someone on the phone.”
“Good to know. Thank you.”
“Take care of her.” Cassandra waved before fading from view.
Erik made it to Monique’s window and slid it open, then climbed in. Her dark eyes met his and the corners of her mouth lifted a smidge.
He wove the silencing spell before crossing the room and sitting on her bed. “Saw what happened. Dad’s already working on getting him out. Your father will be back.”
Monique launched herself at him. Her arms went around his neck, knocking him onto the bed. “What if the Council won’t release him?”
“Give them time. There are bad mages, but they aren’t all bad. Look at my father.”
Her eyes narrowed. “He’s lucky the Council hasn’t learned your mother is more than a medium. Or that your father can hear the dead now.”
“Not like me,” Erik muttered. His dad heard murmurs, not real words. And his mother saw the dead and could talk to them, but that was as far as it went. His mother wasn’t even a Deathcaller, someone who could control more than ghosts.
His mother said he was a pure necromancer after he’d brought a cat back from the dead. He was ten at the time. Monique eight. She’d cried in his arms, sad about the death of her cat.
He didn’t like her crying and wished the cat were alive. And it came back, crawling out of the ground. He’d watched in horror as the mangled cat rubbed itself around their legs.
Mom had come out and walked him through putting the corpse to rest.
Monique hadn’t been upset. No, she’d thanked him, and even so young, she was happy with the extra hour with the cat.
She smiled up at him. “You’re special, Erik. You always were.”
He brushed her tears away. “My dad will get your father off the hook.” He’d heard the conversation the night before. Apparently someone had accused Armand of weaving enchantments meant to kill his clients. Dad also mentioned the people who died shopped both at Armand’s shop and at another mage named Benicio LaPorsche. They both designed and enchanted clothing, but the mage couldn’t weave anything close to what Armand could. Dad believed Benicio was the one to set him up. None of the dead were wearing Armand’s clothing at the time of death.
“How do you know that? No one is going to listen to your father on this matter.”
“He’s talking to Draecyn Montgomery. The current Magister. He’ll send someone who can clear your father. Be patient.”
“I will, but Mom...” She laid her head against his chest, and he rubbed her back, settling in to hold her close. He hated seeing her hurting, hated knowing his view on the Council would never match hers.
And still, he already loved her. They’d been neighbors for as long as he could remember. And in the last couple of years he’d started to notice her in ways he never had before.
It was more than a crush. She still thought boys were dumb, but she was twelve.
“I’m here to listen if you need it,” he murmured.
“You always are.” She sat up slowly and scooted to the headboard.
He joined her and settled back.
A smile lit her face. “You always do. Just sit with me. Feels better with you close. Like my world might not fall apart.”
“I’ll sit here for as long as you want,” he promised.
“What happens if he doesn’t come back?”
“Don’t know, but we won’t have to find out. I bet Draecyn sends his best enforcers to deal with the case.”
“They don’t care about an enchanter. Why should they?” She huffed. “We’re in the way.”
“You aren’t. My father doesn’t think that. He’s a mage who married a witch and medium. He loves me, no matter how dark my talent runs. Not all mages hate anything different.”
“He’s the exception to the rule. And at least most of the time you can pass for a mage.”
“Not always,” he muttered. “Doesn’t matter. The world is changing. Sooner or later, the boundaries will fall. Just a matter of time.”
“The sun has a better chance of going dark than mages changing their opinions.”
He smiled, running his fingers through her silky mane. “We’ll see,” he murmured, closing his eyes and breathing in her floral scent.
“Hope so, but I don’t have your faith.”
“Maybe one day.”
* * * *
Fear and rage rolled through Vivian as she dialed Kjell Emmalyn’s number. Several rings later, her godmother answered. “Good evening.”
“Did you hear the news?” Vivian demanded. “The blasted Council took my husband for a crime he would never commit.”
Kjell sighed. “I’ve told you all along that Armand shouldn’t serve the mages. The foolish man continued to compete with an upstanding mage. Benicio’s business is floundering because everyone re
alizes an enchanter can provide better protection than a mage. It was a set-up.”
“I know that. But what do I do? How do I get him back?”
“I’m not sure you can,” Kjell answered. She let out a sigh. “You could try going to the Headquarters and demanding justice be sought. Of course, that may not go over well. Mages don’t want to believe their kind are capable of breaking their own laws.”
“They do it every damned day,” Vivian sneered.
“Of course they do. Which is why Armand has very little hope of surviving the trial to come.”
“No! He’s everything to me. I can’t lose him.”
“But the reality is you will very likely lose him. Start preparing for his death now. It will make it easier when the inevitable happens.”
Crying, she hung up the phone.
Chapter 2
Fifty-four years ago, two weeks later…
Monique sat at Erik’s kitchen table. She’d been their guest for a week. Her mother did something stupid and left her all alone. The Mortales brought her into their home until things could be made right.
Tyra had picked her up from school a week ago. She’d pulled Monique into her arms and said, “I know this is a tough time, honey, but you’re staying with us until your parents are released.”
“My mother was arrested?”
Tyra had hugged her tighter. “Yes. She started a protest at the Headquarters. The Silver Council had no choice but to take her in before everyday people realized what was being protested and why. Don’t worry, she won’t be harmed, and they won’t hold her long.”
Monique had started to wonder if her parents would ever be released. And she was grateful for the Mortales’ hospitality. They made her feel at home, a miracle considering her father was waiting to be tried as a murderer, and her mother was locked away.
Karl made her nervous. He had moments of pure intensity. The rest were filled with smiles and lighthearted banter.
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