by Jasmine Walt
“You’re right.” I dropped my gaze, partly because I didn’t want to fight one of my best friends, and partly because she was right. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Here,” Comenius said gently, placing two cups of tea down on the coffee table in front of us. “Drink this.”
“I need whiskey, not tea,” Annia muttered, glaring at the cup as though it were personally responsible for all her woes.
“It’ll help soothe your nerves.” Comenius lifted the teacup and offered it to her. “Come on, Annia. You can’t keep going on like this.”
Annia didn’t say anything to that, but she did take the teacup. I took a sip from mine, and sighed as the hot, soothing blend slid down my throat and warmed my stomach. Comenius’s tea wouldn’t solve my problems, but it would make me feel better, and right now I needed all the pick-me-ups I could get. “Thanks, Com.”
“You’re quite welcome.” Comenius sat down heavily in the wicker chair and regarded me with a troubled look. “I hope your return means that the Chief Mage is going to do something about this catastrophe. The humans and shifters who haven’t run off are targeting anything connected with magic, which is why I’ve had to close down my shop. With the constant riots and lack of authority to get the population under control, the streets aren’t safe. Just the other day, the fortuneteller who works next door was beaten and raped in the street on her way home. Elania and I spent all night healing her, and now she won’t leave her apartment.”
“By Magorah.” I dug the heels of my hands into my eyes, unable to cope. “That’s fucking awful. Iannis has yanked the Council back into line, and he’s working on getting all the wrongfully imprisoned citizens freed, but I don’t know how long it’ll take to bring the city back under control.”
“I’m afraid it will take much more than that to get Solantha back to normal,” Elania said sadly. “The Mages Guild has broken the trust of the people, what little there was of it, and they will not easily be reined in again.”
“Which I’m sure is exactly what the Resistance wanted,” I said bitterly.
“That wouldn’t surprise me at all,” Comenius commented. “Many of the humans and shifters who’ve fled the city have run right into the arms of the Resistance. Including Noria,” he added softly with a glance at Annia.
I visited with Comenius for a little longer, but there wasn’t much more to say, so in the end I decided to head back to Rowanville and see how my apartment had fared. As I’d expected, my section of town had not been spared by the vitriol rolling through Solantha. Anti-mage graffiti covered once-pristine boutiques and storefronts, windows were either boarded up or shuttered, and the only signs of life were the occasional set of eyes that peeked through window curtains as I passed.
But the worst thing by far was the envelope stuck to my front door with a knife, both blade and paper crusted with dried blood. There was no name on it, but since it was stuck to my door I had to assume it was for me. I carefully removed the knife and envelope, then eased into my apartment.
I’d half expected the place to be trashed and graffitied, so I was relieved to see that it was exactly the way I’d left it, dirty dishes on the counter included. I tossed the knife and letter onto the coffee table, then went through the coming-home ritual of hanging up my coat and shoes, washing the dishes on the counter, and cleaning any blood or grime off my weapons. It might sound silly, but after all I’d been through, I craved a slice of normality before I tackled the bloody letter.
Eventually I ran out of things to do, and with my kitchen cleaned, my couch cushions plumped, and my surfaces dusted, I sank down onto the couch with the letter in my hand. I used the bloody knife to slit the envelope open – because hey, I might as well – and with a shaking hand unfolded the single page inside.
* * *
Sunaya Baine,
Despite multiple attempts to plant your feet onto the correct path, you have chosen the wrong side. Your efforts to thwart our plans have been noted, and retribution will be swift.
* * *
The note was typed and unsigned, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out who’d sent it. With a sigh, I ripped it up, then tossed the pieces into the air. The Resistance might think they were my biggest problem, but they were just one more big bad bully trying to stomp me into the ground because I didn’t fit their mold. But if they thought they were going to get away with this, they were just as wrong as everyone else who’d tried to break me.
“Get in line,” I whispered as I watched the paper fragments flutter to the floor like confetti. “Get in fucking line.”
* * *
To be continued…
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Sunaya Baine’s adventures will continue in Marked by Magic, Book 4 of the Baine Chronicles. Join the mailing list below so you can be notified of the release date, and to receive special updates, freebies, and giveaways!
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Glossary
Aryn: employee at the Sandin Federal Bank.
Baine, Sunaya: a half-panther shifter, half-mage who hates mages and has a passion for justice. Because magic is forbidden to all but the mage families, Sunaya was forced to keep her abilities a secret until she accidentally used them to defend herself in front of witnesses. Rather than condemn her to death, the Chief Mage, Iannis ar’Sannin, chose to take her on as his apprentice, and now she struggles to balance her shifter and mage heritage.
Baine, Melantha: Sunaya’s cousin, and daughter to the Jaguar Clan’s Chieftain.
Baine, Mafiela: Chieftain of the Jaguar Clan and Sunaya’s aunt.
Baine, Mika: a young jaguar shifter, daughter of Melantha Baine.
Baine, Rylan: one of Chieftain Baine’s least favored children, and Sunaya’s cousin. He is an active member of the Resistance, with the rank of captain.
Benefactor: the name the Resistance call their anonymous, principal source of financial support. According to Sunaya’s investigations, this mysterious criminal has many different irons in the fire.
Canalo: one of the fifty states making up the Northia Federation, located on the West Coast of the Northia Continent.
Canalo Council, usually just the Council: a governmental body composed of eight senior mages, supposed to advise the Chief Mage and substitute for him in case of sudden death.
Capitol: building in the capital Dara, where the Convention of Chief Mages meets every other year to conduct governmental business.
Chen, Lalia: the current Director of the Canalo Mages Guild in Solantha. She serves as deputy to Iannis ar’Sannin, the Chief Mage.
Chartis, Argon: former Director of the Canalo Mages Guild, dismissed by the Chief Mage for insubordination and attempts to undermine the Chief Mage’s authority.
Chieftain: a title used to distinguish the head of a shifter clan.
Comenius Genhard: a hedgewitch from Pernia, owner of the shop Over the Hedge at Witches’ End. Close friend of Sunaya Baine, employer of Noria Melcott, and lover of the witch Elania.
Creator: the ultimate deity, worshipped by all three races under different names.
Dira: mage, one of the secretaries at the Mages Guild.
Danrian, Warin: regional manager of the Sandin Federal Bank for Canalo, who turned out to be one of the Benefactor’s henchmen there. He was behind the illegal Shifter Royale, as well as coordinating the bank’s dodgy credit scheme for shifters.
Dara: capital of the North
ia Federation, located on the east coast of the Northia Continent.
Dromach, the: a sect of powerful mages in Manuc who are specially trained to deal with the Tua, and charged with maintaining the walls that separate Recca from their realm.
Elania: girlfriend of Comenius; a witch specializing in potions, with a shop in Witches’ End
Enforcer: a bounty hunter employed by the government to seek out and capture wanted criminals. They operate under strict rules and are paid bounties for each head. While the majority of them are human, there is a strong minority of shifters, and even the occasional mage.
Enforcer’s Guild: the administrative organization in charge of the Enforcers. Also, the building from which the various Enforcer crews work under their respective foremen.
Fenris: a clanless wolf shifter as well as good friend and confidant of Chief Mage Iannis ar’Sannin. No known last name.
Firegate Bridge: Solantha’s best-known structure, a large red bridge spanning the length of Solantha Bay. It is accessible via Firegate Road.
Captain Galling: the human captain of the Enforcers Guild in Solantha City, appointed by the former Chief Mage and Council.
Garai: the largest and most populated country on the Eastern Continent. Garaians are known for slanted eyes and ivory skin as well as their complicated rune-like alphabet.
Garidano, Cirin: Finance Secretary of the State of Canalo.
Gor, Faron: shifter, Chief Editor of the Shifter Courier, the Solantha newspaper for the shifter population. He provided important information to Sunaya during the investigation into the Shifter Royale.
Great Accord: a treaty struck by the ruling mages centuries ago which brought an end to a devastating war known as the Conflict. It is still the basis upon which mages rule their countries and territories. All new laws passed must be in accordance with the provisions of the Great Accord.
Halyma: shamaness of the hills Coazi and chief shamaness of the entire Coazi tribe, due to her outstanding magic talent.
Hennis: a jaguar shifter, butler in the home of Mafiela Baine, the Chieftain of the Jaguar Clan.
The Herald: the main newspaper in Solantha City, geared towards the human majority population.
Iannis ar’Sannin: Chief Mage of Canalo. He resides in the capital city of Solantha, from which he runs Canalo as well as the Mages Guild with the help of his deputy. Originally a native of Manuc, a country located across the Eastern Sea.
Incidium: a powerful illegal drug that produces euphoria.
Kalois: a rare foreign plant which masks the smell of silver so well that shifters can be drugged or poisoned despite their sensitive noses.
Kan Zao: a mental and physical martial art tradition from Garai.
Lakin, Boon: a jaguar shifter from Parabas, recently appointed as Solantha’s new Shiftertown Inspector following Roanas’s death. Sunaya and he are friends and occasional allies. It was a case he investigated and discussed with Sunaya, that led to the eventual exposure of the Shifter Royale.
Laniren; Tyron, Myrna, and Tylin: a wolf shifter family residing in Shiftertown in Solantha. The teenage son, Tylin, had been kidnapped to fight in the Shifter Royale.
Loranian: the difficult, secret language of magic that all mages are required to master.
Mages Guild: the governmental organization that rules the mages in Canalo, and supervises the other races. The headquarters are in Solantha Palace. They are subordinate to the Chief Mage.
Magi-tech: devices that are powered by both magic and technology.
Main Crew: the largest group of Enforcers in the Guild. They are generally favored over the other crews and get the most lucrative dockets.
Manuc: an island country off the west coast of the Central Continent.
Magorah: the god of the shifters, associated with the moon.
Maxon, Brin: former Enforcer on the Main Crew, partnered with Nila Romana.
Melcott, Annia: a human Enforcer. She is a close friend of Sunaya’s, and Noria’s older sister.
Melcott, Noria: Annia Melcott’s younger sister. A gifted inventor, she regularly tinkers with mechanical devices in between her college classes and her part-time job at Comenius’s shop.
Mills, Thorgana: human socialite, who inherited ownership of The Herald in Solantha and several other newspapers, as well as other companies across the Federation. She only resides in Solantha part-time. Sunaya used to do occasional bodyguard gigs for her in the past.
Nevin Rindar: lion shifter and reporter for the Shifter Courier, who disappeared some weeks before Sunaya began investigating the Shifter Royale kidnappings.
Northia Federation: a federation consisting of fifty states that cover the entire northern half and middle of the Western Continent. Canalo is part of this federation.
Over the Hedge: a shop at Witches’ End selling magical charms and herbal remedies, belonging to Comenius Genhard.
Pandanum: a base metal used, amongst other things, for less valuable coins.
Parabas: a city north of Solantha, outside the state of Canalo.
Pernia: a country on the Central Continent, from which Sunaya’s friend Comenius Genhard hails.
Prison Isle: an island in the middle of Solantha Bay that serves as a prison for Canalo’s criminals.
Privacy Guard: a company leasing uniformed guards to governments and other institutions all over the Federation.
Ragga, Elnos: Noria Melcott’s boyfriend. He is a student at Solantha academy and one of the few mages who believes in equality amongst the races. He and Noria can often be found working together, developing new magi-tech devices.
Randor, Wilam: executive at The Butcher’s Block, a meatpacking company that advertises in the Shifter Courier.
Recca: the world of humans, mages, and shifters.
Residah: the mages’ book of scripture that holds Resinah’s teachings.
Resinah: the first mage, whose teachings are of paramount spiritual importance for the mages. Her statue can be found in the mage temples, which are off-limits to non-mages and magically hidden from outsiders.
Resistance: a movement of revolutionaries and malcontents planning to overthrow the mages and take control of the Northia Federation. Over the past months they have become bolder and more aggressive, using terrorist attacks with civilian casualties. They are financially backed by the still-to-be identified Benefactor.
Romana, Nila: a human Enforcer on the Main Crew and Brin Maxon’s partner, known for relying on her looks first, her fighting skills second.
Rowanville: the only neighborhood of Solantha where all three races mix.
Sandin Federal Bank: a bank with branches in all fifty states of the Federation; its Canalo manager was Danrian Warin. It was shut down after Sunaya brought a scheme of “interest-free loans,” financed with illegally mined gold, to the Chief Mage’s notice.
Serapha charms: paired amulets that allow two people, usually a couple, to find each other via twinned stones imbued with a small part of their essence. Normally, only the wearer can take a serapha charm off.
Shifter: a human who can change into animal form and back by magic; they originally resulted from illegal experiments by mages on ordinary humans.
Shifter Courier: Solantha newspaper specifically geared towards the shifter population.
Shifter Royale: an illegal underground betting concourse where kidnapped and drugged shifters were forced to fight against each other, sometimes to the death. Discovered and exposed by Sunaya, with help from Boon Lakin and Annia Melcott, after her cousin Mika had been kidnapped by the organizers.
Shiftertown: the part of Solantha where the official shifter clans live.
Shiftertown Inspector: a shifter appointed by the Shiftertown Council to police shifter-related crime. He has deputies who assist him. The position is currently held by Boon Lakin, a jaguar shifter, appointed after the murder of his predecessor Roanas Tillmore.
Sillara Tarenan: a shifter Enforcer and early victim of the silver murders.
Solantha:
the capital of Canalo State, a port city on the West Coast, home of Sunaya Baine.
Solantha Palace: The seat of power in Canalo, where both the Chief Mage and the Mages Guild reside. It is located near the coast of Solantha Bay.
Solin Endeman: a human, employed by Warin Danrian to sell tickets to the Shifter Royale.
Taili the Wolf: in shifter legend, the very first shifter (a female).
Tanzarite: a rare semi-precious stone.
Talcon, Garius: the former Deputy Captain of the Enforcers Guild. Sunaya discovered he was in league with Petros Yantz, the man behind the silver murders, and killed him in self-defense.
The Twilight: a bar in Rowanville where Sunaya used to bartend.
Tillmore, Roanas: The former Shiftertown Inspector and father figure/mentor to Sunaya. He was poisoned while digging into the silver murders, prompting Sunaya to take over the investigation.
Traxtoline: an explosive material, expensive and unstable.
Tsu-Wakan: a Coazi warrior whose tribe lives on the Mexia plains
Tua: a legendary and highly dangerous race of very long-lived beings with powerful magic, who sometimes cross from their own world into Recca, most frequently in Manuc.
Turain: a small town north of Solantha, where the Shifter Royale took place.
Ur-God: the name the humans call the Creator by.
Vanit, Laro: foreman of the Enforcer Crew to which the late Sillara Tarenan belonged.
Witches’ End: a pier in Solantha City, part of the Port, where immigrant magic users sell their wares and services.
Yantz, Petros: the former Chief Editor of the Herald. He fled the city after Sunaya discovered he was behind the silver murders, and is still at large.
Acknowledgments
As usual, thank you very much to all of my beta readers and ARC readers who’ve contributed to making this book better. I’d like to give a special shout-out to Victoria Newman in particular. Of all my beta readers, you’ve been one of the most thorough, and I greatly appreciate the time you spent helping me take this book to the next level. I’d also like to thank Carmen Lund, one of my biggest and earliest fans. You always make me feel like a rockstar. <3