Lady X

by Claudy Conn

  http://www.claudyconn.com

  Copyright © 2013 by Claudy Conn

  Edited by: Kathryn Riehl

  Cover Artist: Kendra Egert

  All rights reserved

  Published in the United States of America

  August 2013

  Names, characters, and events depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, places, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.

  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 author.

  Excerpt of Netherby Halls

  Copyright © 2013 by Claudy Conn

  Excerpt of Through Time-Whiplash

  Copyright © 2013 by Claudy Conn

  Excerpt of Spellbound-Legend

  Copyright © 2012 by Claudy Conn

  Contents

  Prelude

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  PART TWO

  P2-Chapter One

  P2-Chapter Two

  P2-Chapter Three

  P2-Chapter Four

  P2-Chapter Five

  P2-Chapter Six

  Epilogue

  Excerpts

  ~ Prelude ~

  “There is darkness in light, there is pain in joy, and there are thorns on the rose.”

  by Cate Tiernan

  EXERILLA RADLEY SHIVERED from her dip in the ocean as she stood in the wet sand. She took a few steps further up the deep white sandy slope to where she had dropped her colorful beach towel. She snapped it in the wind and began drying herself off.

  She squeezed water out of her long black hair and tossed it around herself as she looked up at the only home she had ever known.

  Spanish red tiles made up its many tiered roof. A soft peach pastel colored the stucco exterior walls. Lush landscaping that incorporated palms and other tropical plants, made her home look as though it belonged in the tropics instead of Wrightsville Beach, NC.

  Everything about the house was invitingly warm and Exerilla smiled. She loved her home and was glad that it stood magnificent and strong against all storms. And it did.

  Nothing could touch it. Her mother was a powerful white witch and had enacted a protection spell right into its frame when it was being built.

  Her life was taking a turn and it should feel exciting, but something was missing. She knew it, but wasn’t sure just what that ‘something’ was.

  Her days at UNC at Wilmington were over. She wondered how it passed so quickly. Summer days were ahead. She sighed with a mixture of excited anticipation for the future and melancholy as she let go of the past.

  Yup, X told herself--too soon she would leave everything familiar and safe and head for New York to do her graduate work at Columbia. That in itself was a major deal. She had always been a homebody. Now here she was, going off to of all places, New York City.

  As she picked up her clogs and headed up the sandy slope for the long wide private boardwalk that led to the upper deck of her home, she suddenly stopped and listened. She listened carefully but could not quite hear the words, though she heard the tone.

  Something was wrong.

  She could feel a power sweeping into the house. It was like a dark wave; threatening and determined.

  Something dangerous had invaded.

  She closed her eyes—it was her father and he wasn’t alone.

  Galen Debbin was with him.

  X’s hands went to her head as her mother’s voice boomed with distress, Don’t come in here, Exerilla.

  No other person would hear her mother, not even her father; for their link was that of mother and daughter. No one could tap into their private link with any kind of magic—not even hard dark magic.

  Exerilla didn’t listen and her mother sensed it at once as her steps brought her closer. Once again, her mom shouted in her head, Don’t come here. Get in your car and just go! This time, her mom sounded desperate.

  Exerilla sighed heavily. She wasn’t afraid of her father. He would never hurt her. Why her mother had fixated on the belief that he would, was beyond her understanding. Even though her parents were separated, she knew that they still loved each other. The only thing standing between her parents was the dark magic he had surrounded himself with these last few years.

  She ignored her mother’s command and skipped up the double set of plank stairs to their large deck. She slid the glass doors open and stepped inside.

  “Mom?” she said out loud. She could see from her mother’s stance and the scowl covering her lovely face that she was extremely annoyed.

  Galen with that ever present and arrogant smirk on his too pretty face, stood next to her father, who had taken a step toward her with a warm and encompassing smile.

  She tried to lighten the mood with a bright tone, “Hi Dad, what’s up?” However, she saw what humans couldn’t see; the black aura surrounding Galen Debbin. Her father was also engulfed with the dark aura of tainted magic. She frowned. A hint of darkness had always edged the bright mystique that had been his in his early days, but she knew this meant he was giving in to his dark side.

  He had been immersing himself in black magic for years. Although she didn’t want to admit it, she could see that her mother was correct in saying that very little white light still glittered in his aura—scarcely a spark.

  When it came to her father, Exerilla was conflicted. She knew that he was a Dark Warlock. She knew the rumors surrounding her father’s coven would forever keep her parents apart. It would now come between them as well.

  His ethics were not her own, yet she loved him and trusted him. He had always been interested in her and what she did, yet he had never before interfered with her life.

  He stepped forward, his white blond hair inconsistent with the fact that he was deeply tanned. His sweet smile never spoke of the Dark Warlock he was becoming. His face was youthful because he was an immortal like her mother. His eyes however, had lost their sparkle. They were dark gray and cool though they seemed to soften when he looked at her. She felt something about him had drastically changed since she had seen him a month ago. He spoke to her softly, “X, my dear,” as he moved toward her and took her in his arms for a hug. She didn’t object, but she looked past him at her mother who stood nervously biting her bottom lip.

  “Papa,” she said. She didn’t want her mother subjected to any trouble so she politely looked toward her father’s companion. “Hello Galen. What brings you two here today?”

  Her father moved toward her mother and X watched warily as he took her mother’s hand and kissed it. She marveled at the viable emotion she sensed as she watched her father gaze into her mother’s deep sea green eyes; so much like her own. She thought it was sad that they should be apart.

  Without taking his eyes away from her mother’s he answered, “You daughter, you.”

  “Why?” she asked as her tongue moved to her inner cheek.? She had a bad feeling about this.

  Suddenly he snapped himself to attention and turned to gently
indicate with a slight wave of his hand, “Shall I get to the point? Yes, I think so. Galen, as you know, is interested in courting you. I wish this to go forward as quickly as possible. I have, in fact, wished for it for quite some time.” He inclined his head, “Galen told me of his great affection for you a year ago, but I knew you weren’t ready. I gave you the respect of waiting until you finished your education. You had your bit of fun, but that time is over.” He opened his arms wide as though bestowing an enormous gift on her. She felt a sick sensation in the pit of her stomach.

  “My interest in this daughter, is simple. I wish for the Debbin House to be joined with the Radley House. It will not only increase our powers as a coven, but as a family unit. It will combine all of our abilities in a way never imagined by any warlock or witch ever before. The two houses joined in this manner will make us virtually invincible.” He clapped his hands together. His smile was enormous as he added, “The children from such a match will have formidable magic—my grandchildren. Nothing could please me more.”

  Galen stepped toward her and unconsciously, she stepped backward. What the hell was this? Had she somehow fallen through a hole to another century? She was not going to take part in this marriage of convenience. She had known Galen a good part of her adult life and he had always displayed a partiality for her. She didn’t like him and she knew she couldn’t love him. Some women might find him irresistible, with his dark auburn hair and the peak it formed in the middle of his forehead along with his charming smile, but these masked his dark cold eyes. This is exactly what her mother had been warning her about, this day. She had laughed it off. She couldn’t believe her father could be so archaic.

  She could never consider Galen Debbin as a husband and her father couldn’t force her into such a match. She folded her arms across her middle and started to speak, but her mom interrupted her with a wave of her hand and said, “We are honored Harlan, my love, however, I don’t think our daughter was thinking of courtship or marriage at this stage of her life. You know that she has plans to go to New York in the fall and start working toward her Masters degree.”

  “I will never allow anything to prevent her plans for continuing her education,” her father said softly. “I see no reason why marriage should interfere with that.”

  “I am not interested in marriage,” X stuck in, thinking this entire conversation bordered on the insane. She had to do something quick.

  Her father looked serious as he raised an eyebrow. “No? Perhaps I speak of it too soon. There is no reason why you cannot go on a date or two and get to know one another.” He turned back to his wife. “You know Rachel, in the end she doesn’t have a choice. This is my will. They will marry. I also believe that their union was predestined to be the most spectacular union of our kind. Because of my great affection for our daughter, I do not mind if she needs a bit of courting to feel more comfortable about it.”

  Her mother shot her daughter a meaningful look and said with the link that was theirs alone, don’t speak.

  “Of course,” her mother responded. “What happens if our daughter refuses to be married?”

  “For now, I only ask that she allow Galen to court her,” her father said sounding reasonable. Exerilla had heard him very clearly say that she actually had no choice. He was willing to bide his time, but only for a short while. She loved her father; though he had changed. He was no longer putting her needs first. She knew he was allowing her to think that he was reasonable by condoning a brief courtship. He wanted her eased into the situation, but in the end she could see that he meant this to go forward at all costs.

  “Of course, but today Exerilla and I have plans,” her mother said with a tentative smile. “Galen is welcome to come for cocktails with you tomorrow evening. Perhaps he can take X to dinner sometime after that.” She eyed her husband flirtatiously and Exerilla wondered what her mother was doing.

  Two things were off here.

  Her mother despised Galen Debbin. She would never let her go anywhere alone with him. He was not only a Dark Warlock, but ugly rumors abounded around him. Rumors called him a vicious murderer, who killed for the thrill of it.

  She wondered why her mother was so ready to accept the union.

  The second thing was the sorrow she saw in her mother’s eyes when she looked at her father. Her feelings toward him might have changed.

  Exerilla felt a wave of loss because she saw a dark force ever hovering about him. His stance was more aloof, even when he looked at her. His love for her and her mother was unshakeable. It was a viable separate entity and yet, she knew in that moment beyond a shadow of a doubt, that her father would not allow his affection to deter his purpose.

  This time, her mother meant to take her father on.

  Obviously, her mother was stalling for time. For what possible reason, she hadn’t a clue. She looked from mother to father and kept quiet. She would keep still now because there was no way in hell she was going to go to dinner or anything else with Galen Debbin, let alone marry him.

  “That is more than fair. I had expected our little X to put up a fight. She never liked being dictated to.” He smiled and Exerilla saw pride light up his handsome face. He had always called her X, just like her friends. He would tease her and tell her that she would always be his X-factor. She had never really known just what he meant by that, but she was now beginning to see. She was an answer to his need for power. That sudden realization hurt.

  She shrugged but gave him a half smile. “Yup, you’re so right; I don’t like being dictated to. I have known Galen a very long time, and I won’t insult him by refusing to have a few dinner engagements with him to see how we feel about each other,” she said, hoping her father would not see through her lie.

  Her father was all too pleased with the outcome of this initial meeting. He merely bowed in his old world style. He murmured that he adored her. With a sudden flick of his wrist, the dark cloud that delivered them into Exerilla’s home enveloped the two warlocks and took them away.

  Her mother grabbed Exerilla’s shoulders and said in a desperate tone, “Hurry, there is no time to waste!”

  All at once she realized what her mother was talking about. She had heard all about this earlier that week and had laughed it off. Now it was looking as though it might turn into a reality, but she wasn’t ready to accept it.

  She knew that her mother was only trying to protect her, but she just couldn’t comply with her wishes.

  She had her summer planned. She had a summer job lined up, and then Columbia in the fall. This wasn’t fair. There had to be another way.

  What her mother was asking seemed extremely drastic. It wasn’t as though she wanted her to go off on some summer vacation. She wanted to send her two hundred years into the past.

  She couldn’t give up all her future plans. She didn’t believe that her father would force her to marry Galen. She was sure she could get through to him. He loved her, she told herself. She would find the right moment to talk to him.

  “Yes, but…” she started to object.

  “Exerilla, listen to me. I prepared everything for you last year when I first discovered what your father was planning. It will only be a few months…”

  “No, I can’t. I won’t!” Exerilla frowned. “You are asking too much, Mom. I don’t think papa can force me to marry against my will. I am twenty-one and have reached my majority. I too have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

  “You have not reached your majority. Not until Samhain. It is then that you will reach your witch’s majority. Until then, your father can compel you to do whatever he wants you to do.”

  She couldn’t believe her father would use a compulsion spell to make her marry El Creepo.

  She couldn’t believe he would force her to do anything. He had never done so before.

  She had made up her mind that she would not go to England and she would definitely not be sent into the past.

  “No, Mom. I’m not going. I’m not doing this. I will handle papa,
” she answered. None of this made sense to her.

  Her mother frowned, and suddenly surprised her as she ‘poofed’ off in a cloud of white mist.

  ~ Prologue ~

  THE ARGUMENT CONTINUED when her mother returned. Exerilla was frustrated and stamped her foot. She felt like a kid throwing a temper tantrum, “NO, I WON’T do this. We have discussed this and it’s getting old, Mom. What you want me to do is crazy! Tell me how can I go into the past and blend in? You want me to go to this family that I don’t know and deal with it? How can I? I don’t know how that would work and I don’t care. I’m not doing it!” Exerilla exclaimed.

  Her mother had returned from a meeting with their coven and they had decided this was the only way to protect Exerilla and the coven. White Magic. Her mother told her that their type of White Magic was stronger than Dark Magic. Their coven was concerned about Harlan Radley’s direction and the fact that he was getting too powerful. They were not ordinary witches and warlocks, but immortals as well. They had learned to blend into the human world, and enjoyed their anonymity. Their coven was the most powerful white coven in existence. Harlan was considered a ‘wild card’. They didn’t want to have to deal with him if they didn’t absolutely have to do so.

  “I am not asking you dear, I am telling you; we don’t have a choice.” Her mom sighed, “Sometimes, we have to make sacrifices for the good of the whole. Samhain will be here before you know it and then you can return.”

  “Mom, I don’t mind making sacrifices for a reason. Here is the thing. I don’t believe my father will force me to marry Galen. I will make him realize how much I dislike the man! I don’t think he will be able to compel me.”

  “You can’t believe that Exerilla, you are thinking with your heart. In human time, you have reached your majority. As a witch, you will reach majority the first Samhain after your twenty-first birthday. At that time my daughter, your power will be greater than mine or your father’s. It is there just beneath the surface, humming away. That is what is giving you this false sensation of being strong enough to resist a compulsion spell.” Her mother shook her shoulders, “Baby, I feel your power ready to emerge. In the meantime, you are in danger of losing yourself to him and to the Darkness. You have his genes and although he was never entirely dark he had dark in him, which means you do as well.”