The Deep and Shining Dark

by Juliet Kemp

  “For kidnapping Kia, yes,” Marcia said.

  Reb raised an eyebrow. “Not for treason, then?”

  “No,” Marcia said, with a sigh. “And Daril will face no charges at all.”

  Both of Reb’s eyebrows were up now. “None at all? What is this, the privileges of being a scion of one of the Thirteen Houses?” She sounded deeply disapproving.

  “I suppose so, in a way,” Marcia said. “But mostly because it was the only way I could think of to prevent my mother and Gavin Leandra from going ahead with this absurd plan to claim Salinas ships.”

  “You blackmailed him,” Reb said.

  “I agreed not to make the whole business public if he left Salina alone,” Marcia agreed. “After which, my mother knew she most likely couldn’t pull it off on her own.”

  Reb nodded slowly. “And why won’t Urso blow that sky-high when he’s tried for this ‘kidnapping’?”

  “Because Kia’s going to refuse to press charges,” Marcia said. “And Urso will then be strongly encouraged to take himself off on a nice long trip to Teren.”

  “Right.”

  She might as well admit it all at once. “And I strongly suggested that Daril should be confirmed Heir as soon as possible. Part of this mischief is down to this absurd feud Daril and his father have had.”

  “And also Daril will owe you something,” Reb said.

  Marcia, surprised, smiled over at her. “Exactly that. You’re right, the whole thing is about the power of the Council and the Houses, and hiding all of this lest people get embarrassed. Because that embarrassment might cause bigger problems.” Like war with Salina, for example. “But it’s a bad system. Daril was right, as far as that went, even if his alternative wasn’t any better. It’s a bad system, and I intend to do something to change it. Daril might be able to help with that.”

  “I thought you wanted nothing to do with him,” Reb said.

  “I don’t, really,” Marcia said. “But neither do I want him running around loose. And he can be useful, if I can find a way to manage him. It’s about time I started doing something useful myself, too. Like I say. Things need to change.”

  Reb was smiling warmly at her, and Marcia’s heart gave a thump that was almost painful.

  “Me too,” she said. “With the things changing. Just different things. I should have been paying more attention, the last little while. The plague was awful, and I’m always going to mourn those I lost, we lost. But Marek’s magic is still here. I should have spotted Urso. If I had, maybe he would have used his power differently. And there should be more sorcerers here, not just me and your brother. Beckett made that point, when I saw them, but I’d come to it myself already. I’ve got some work to do, on all of that.”

  “I suppose you’ll be busy, then,” Marcia said.

  “Depends if I can get anything useful out of your brother.”

  Marcia frowned. “Cato? But just yesterday, he…”

  “Funny thing, that,” Reb said. “I’ve been thinking it over. Jonas was the one who dropped the spell, right enough. And – apparently – Cato was knocked away by that. Then Urso clung to it like a madman, and he was very nearly strong enough. But if it had been him and Cato… He’s strong, your brother. Stronger than Urso. If Urso could hold on, well…”

  “You think Cato sabotaged it?”

  Reb pulled a face. “Never going to know. He’s hard to read, that one.” Reb looked at her. “Bit like his sister.”

  “Am I hard to read?” Marcia asked, surprised.

  “Well,” Reb said, considering. “Perhaps – perhaps what I need is a bit more practice.”

  She met Marcia’s eyes, her look a question, and a hope. Marcia swallowed, and licked her lips, and saw Reb’s glance flick downwards to her mouth.

  “Perhaps,” Marcia said. “Perhaps that would be something we could do?”

  Reb’s solemn face broke into a smile, and Marcia felt a bubble of happiness rise inside her. Wordlessly, she held out her hand, and Reb took it. Their fingers tangled together. Marcia met Reb’s smile with her own, and it felt like a new beginning.

  k k

  Cato had celebrated his return by going directly to the pub; it was late morning by the time he made his way back to his rooms, and read the note pinned to his door.

  I’m staying. I’ll come tomorrow, to talk about your offer.

  Jonas.

  He kicked off his boots, put all the wards back up, and collapsed onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. Well then. What with that, and the shock that the cityangel had doubtless got, and the fact that Reb seemed finally to have pulled her head out of her arse… perhaps Marek would finally get interesting, again, for a sorcerer. Also, he had a large quantity of cash in his pocket, for a while.

  Good times, Cato thought, spreading his arms out luxuriously. Good times.

  aaaaaaaaaa

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Heartfelt thanks to Peter and the lovely folks at Elsewhen Press for editorial tweaks and general publishing greatness.

  Thank you to my parents, who encouraged me to make up and write down stories when I was small, and who still enthusiastically read everything I publish even when it’s not really their thing.

  Love and gratitude to doop for tea, chocolate, and encouragement; to Pete for gentle support; and to Leon for writing the sign on my door reminding him not to disturb me on writing-days (and then mostly abiding by it).

  And finally, thank you to maia for tireless beta-reading and cheerleading across 10,000 miles and several timezones.

  Juliet, May 2018

  Elsewhen Press

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  Symphony of the Cursed trilogy

  Rebecca Hall

  Instrument of Peace

  Raised in the world-leading Academy of magic rather than by his absentee parents, Mitch has come to see it as his home. He’s spent more time with his friends than his family and the opinion of his maths teacher matters far more than that of his parents. His peaceful life is shattered when a devastating earthquake strikes and almost claims his little brother’s life. But this earthquake is no natural phenomenon, it’s a result of the ongoing war between Heaven and Hell. To protect the Academy, one of the teachers makes an ill-advised contract with a fallen angel, unwittingly bringing down The Twisted Curse on staff and students.

  Even as they struggle to rebuild the school, things begin to go wrong. The curse starts small, with truancy, incomplete assignments, and negligent teachers over-reacting to minor transgressions, but it isn’t long before the bad behaviour escalates to vandalism, rioting and attempted murder. As they succumb to the influence of the curse, Mitch’s friends drift away and his girlfriend cheats on him. When the first death comes, Mitch unites with the only other students who, like him, appear to be immune to the curse; together they are determined to find the cause of the problem and stop it.

  ebook, paperback (368pp)

  Instrument of War

  The Angels are coming.

  The Host wants to know what the Academy was trying to hide and why the Fallen agreed to it. They want the Instrument of War, the one thing that can tip the Eternity War in their favour and put an end to the stalemate. Any impact on the Academy staff, students or buildings is just collateral damage.

  Mitch would like to forget that the last year ever happened, but that doesn’t seem likely with Little Red Riding Hood now teaching Teratology. The vampire isn’t quite as terrifying as he first thought, but she’s not the only monster at the Academy. The Fallen are spying on everyone, the new Principal is an angel and there’s an enchanting exchange student with Faerie blood.

  Angry and nervous of the a
ngels surrounding him, Mitch tries to put the pieces together. He knows that Hayley is the Archangel Gabriel. He knows that she can determine the course of the Eternity War. He also knows that the Fallen will do anything to hide Gabriel from the Host – even allowing an innocent girl to be kidnapped.

  ebook, paperback (352pp)

  Instrument of Chaos

  The long hidden heart of the Twisted Curse had been found, concealed in a realm that no angel can enter, where magic runs wild and time is just another direction. The Twisted Curse is the key to ending the Eternity War and it can only be broken by someone willing to traverse the depths of Faerie.

  Unfortunately, Mitch has other things on his mind. For reasons that currently escape him he’s going to university, making regular trips to the Netherworld and hunting down a demon. The Academy might have prepared him for university but Netherworlds and demons were inexplicably left off the curriculum, not to mention curse breaking.

  And then the Angels return, and this time they’re hunting his best friend.

  ebook, paperback (328pp)

  Visit bit.ly/SymphonyCursed

  Available in audiobook from Tantor.

  THE EMPTY THRONE

  DAVID M ALLAN

  Three thrones, one of metal, one of wood and one of stone, stand in the Citadel. Between them shimmers a gateway to a new world, created four hundred years ago by the three magicians who made the thrones. When hostile incorporeal creatures came through the gateway, the magicians attempted to close it but failed. Since that time the creatures have tried to come through the gateway at irregular intervals, but the throne room is guarded by the Company of Tectors, established to defend against them. To try to stop the creatures, expeditions have been sent through the gateway, but none has ever returned.

  On each throne appears an image of one of the Custoda, heroes who have led the expeditions through the gateway. While the Custoda occupy the thrones the gateway remains quiet and there are no incursions. Today, Dhanay, the newest knight admitted to the Company, is guarding the throne room. Like all the Tectors, Dhanay looks to the images of the Custoda for guidance.

  But the Throne of Stone is empty. The latest incursion has started; a creature escaping into the world, a kulun capable of possessing and controlling humans.

  The provincial rulers, the oldest and most powerful families, ignore the gateway and the Tectors, concentrating on playing politics and pursuing their own petty aims. Some even question the need for the Company, as incursions have been successfully contained within the Citadel for years. Family feuds, border disputes, deep-rooted rivalries and bigotry make for a potentially unstable world, and are a perfect environment for a kulun looking to create havoc…

  ebook, paperback (304pp)

  visit tr.im/EmptyThrone

  The Ghost in You

  A first-hand account from beyond the grave

  Katrina Mountfort

  What do you do if you’re dead but haven’t ‘moved on’?

  You keep finding yourself back where you died, with very little control over when; sometimes you can be away for days, weeks or even months, and then you’re back. Between times, when you’re ‘away’, where do you go, what do you do? You’ve seen some other ghosts asleep at their graves, but you don’t even know where your own grave is.

  The living shiver if they walk through you, but they can neither see nor hear you. With practice you can pass through walls and doors, but curiously you can sit on a park bench without falling through it, climb stairs, even lie on a bed. You’re stuck in the clothes you were wearing when you died, at the age you died. Waiting.

  Then, after years of this intermittent existence, you realise what you have been waiting for, what it is that you have to do in order to finally move on. Just as you have found the best reason to stay.

  That’s what happened to Rowena…

  A ghost story told from the perspective of the ghost herself, The Ghost in You is a first-hand account, from beyond the grave, by an innocent girl who dies before her time and tries to make sense of what is happening to her, while helping her friends and discovering her purpose.

  ebook, paperback (184pp)

  visit tr.im/GhostInYou

  Resurrection Men

  The first book of the Sooty Feathers

  David Craig

  Glasgow 1893.

  Wilton Hunt, a student, and Tam Foley, a laudanum-addicted pharmacist, are pursuing extra-curricular careers as body snatchers, or ‘resurrection men’, under cover of darkness. They exhume a girl’s corpse, only for it to disappear while their backs are turned. Confused and in need of the money the body would have earnt them, they investigate the corpse’s disappearance. They discover that bodies have started to turn up in the area with ripped-out throats and severe loss of blood, although not the one they lost. The police are being encouraged by powerful people to look the other way, and the deaths are going unreported by the press. As Hunt and Foley delve beneath the veneer of respectable society, they find themselves entangled in a dangerous underworld that is protected from scrutiny by the rich and powerful members of the elite but secretive Sooty Feathers Club.

  Meanwhile, a mysterious circus arrives in the middle of the night, summoned to help avenge a betrayal two centuries old…

  Resurrection Men is the first book in David Craig’s Sooty Feathers series, a masterful gothic tale about a supernatural war for control of the Second City of the British Empire, and the struggle of flawed characters of uncertain virtue who try to avert it. It is set in a late 19th century Glasgow ruled by undead – from the private clubs, town houses and country manors of the privileged to the dung-choked wynds and overcrowded slums of the poor. Undead unrest, a fallen angel, and religious zealots intent on driving out the forces of evil, set the stage for a diabolical conflict of biblical proportions.

  ebook, paperback (400pp)

  visit tr.im/ResurrectionMen

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Juliet Kemp lives by the river in London, with their partners, child, dog, and too many fountain pens. They have had stories published in several anthologies and online magazines. Their employment history variously includes working as a cycle instructor, sysadmin, life model, researcher, permaculture designer, and journalist. When not writing or parenting, Juliet goes climbing, knits, reads way too much, and drinks a lot of tea.