Iron Cage: Dark Urban Fantasy Novella (Quest for Shifter Magic Book 1)
Page 6
“Good. Now go back inside. I will be in soon. We can’t be seen going in together.” I smile and pull back. He grabs my hand and kisses my fingers. I turn my face away. If I kiss him again, I won’t be able to do what I must. Someone has to uncover the truth of the fox shifter and it’s not going to happen if Willem makes me the center of his own personal rebellion to El Oso. It will simply put me under suspicion and make me an enemy of the Order.
I must take myself out of the equation.
9
I don’t see that well in the dark. As an Eagle, I should see better, yet it’s never been my comfort zone. Now, that must change. The moon lights my way and creates harsh shadows for me to hide in.
We are well protected by the Ravensgaard, which makes it difficult for anybody to get in or out of Muiderslot. Fortunately for me, the Ravensgaard are enjoying the festivities of the Matching. They’re totally drunk and certainly not looking for eagles in the garden.
I move in the gloom of the hedge until I reach the perimeter walls of Muiderslot. I trace the wall, the bricks coarse beneath my fingers. I don’t dare make a sound, so I bite my lips as an errant thorn pricks my fingers.
Finally, I arrive at the tiniest window. Humans think they were made in medieval times just for bows and arrows. They have no idea that when we built this castle these were our own little doorways. I press my hand against the edge of the rectangle and smile with satisfaction. Nothing too large could make it through this space, but I can.
I reach for the heat inside my heart that transforms me and pull it forward until I am an eagle.
My wings carry me to the ground. I check the air, making sure no one has seen me shift, and that the Ravensgaard are unaware that an eagle is in the garden. But the Ravensgaard are at the gatehouse drinking Dutch lager and complaining it’s not Guinness. My eyes may not be good, yet my hearing is impeccable. Even from here, I know that nobody has noticed a soft rustling by the wall.
It only takes me a second to beat my wings twice and bring myself up to the ledge on the wall. I twist to take one last look at Muiderslot. I don’t know much of the world outside these walls, yet if there was ever a time to find out about it, today is that day.
I take a couple of awkward steps; my claws scrape against the stone. I duck my head down and wiggle my feathers through the rectangle in the wall. There’s no ledge on the other side, and I glide down into the dry moat.
The Ravensgaard are still about, so I keep low and fly slowly towards the tiny village that serves our castle. There are no more than twenty houses and only about four fishing boats. That’s enough. I only need one, but I must stay a bird.
The moon is setting; the sky still dark. The village is waking, and I can see some fishermen prepare their boats. If they see an eagle approach, word will get back to the castle.
I spot a boat where the fishermen are busy, stacking boxes and laying nets in neat, even layers. I fly to the far side of this boat, remaining low over the water so no one can see me. For the first time in my life, I almost wish I were a different bird. A seagull would be convenient right now.
I have doubts, but not enough to change my course. If I’m to find out about the fox shifters, if I’m to protect my family and Willem, I must leave. If I stay, if Willem speaks to his father and to the Order, it will raise suspicions. We cannot go against the Order, or what they have proclaimed. The eyes of the fox still haunt me. Whatever he did to the Order, he was going to pay the price for it. And there is a reason for that.
I saw the look in El Oso’s eyes, even if Willem refuses to acknowledge it. They will never allow him, especially him, to break rank and marry someone they have not matched him to. Especially because El Oso knows that we are aware he’s hunting shifters.
I perch on the prow of the boat where a couple of boxes block my position from view. The moon is gone. The sky fades. Muiderslot will rouse soon, and someone will notice I am missing. I clack my beak impatiently.
The fishermen yell instructions at each other and pull the loop off the dock. The last man jumps aboard, and we push off the jetty. The sky turns a dusty, soft blue. I cling to my post on the boat, watching Muiderslot slip away, growing smaller and smaller, as I head alone towards the pale sunrise.
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Dutch born, Matilde, the estranged niece of Lord Van Arend, barters with her scheming mother to spend the summer with the only friends she’s ever had, the Ravensgaard at Castle Brannach. The only problem is what she has offered her mother is information; information that will break her friends’ trust and begin the downfall of the regime that governs them all.
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Shifter Chronicle Series
Novella – HERITAGE
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Quest for Shifter Magic Series
1 - IRON CAGE
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Since I was eight I have been writing stories that capture the adventures in my head and the characters strong enough and flawed enough to have them. When I look at an empty field I see a formidable citadel. When I meet a vulnerable old man, I greet an emeritus warrior. When I walk through city streets I feel dimensions hiding around every turn. It has been my lifelong passion to explore these worlds that reveal the pain of loneliness, the joy or self-actualization, and the hope of magic.
I grew up in a place called Potter Valley where the Milky Way is held aloft by a circle of mountains and the central business district consists of a bait store and a saloon. At 19 I moved alone to London and spent the next ten years exploring the world, even becoming an Australian citizen, before I returned to California and found a new home in Los Angeles. My world revolves around my two wee children, storytelling, and my love of travel.
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COMING FALL 2017
Shifter Chronicles Book Three
HARVEST
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