About Hidden Magic
Magical Underground Anthology, Book I
No matter the world, life can be dangerous. Be they wizards and shamans, assassins, or everyday people, Hidden Magic tells their stories about escape, consequences, and most of all, magic. From Earth cities and fantastical new worlds comes twenty-two stories where heroes grapple with the seen and unseen in order to save themselves, their families, and often the world. Hidden Magic features:
Elderly antiques experts interacting with souls
Shamans growing outlawed magic
Baby chimeras battling for their lives
Children sprouting fluffy tails
A king’s boat thrown off-course
A perfect life coming at a not-so-perfect cost
Vikings defending a village against the unseen
A lone shifter atoning for his past mistakes
Trolls and pixies tumbling through the doorway to another world
And more!
Check out the first book in the Magic Underground Anthology trilogy now!
Wayward Magic
Magic Underground Anthology Book II
Melinda Kucsera
Raven Oak
Lee French
Erik Kort
H. M. Jones
Alesha Escobar
Devorah Fox
Anela Deen
Tiffany Shand
A. R. Johnston
Majanka Verstraete
Toasha Jiordano
S. Wallace
C. K. Rieke
Leah W. Van Dinther
Barbara Letson
C. S. Johnson
Joynell Schultz
Gwendolyn Woodschild
H. B. Lyne
William C. Cronk
Contents
A Trilogy of Anthologies
Introduction
Tiffany Shand
No Sanctuary
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Raven Oak
Pretty Poison
Untitled
H. M. Jones
Ariana’s Choice
Untitled
A. R. Johnston
Weather Witch Worries
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Majanka Verstraete
The Lair of the Red God
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Toasha Jiordano
Portals of Valond
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
S. Wallace
Better the Devil You Know
1. Obligation
2. The Court of Wings
3. And through the Woods
4. River Crossing
5. Nightfall
6. “Forward the Light Brigade!”
7. Let There Be
Alesha Escobar
The Deh’anin Unveiled
Untitled
C. K. Rieke
Parallel Princess
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Devorah Fox
The Mouth of The Dragon
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Leah W. Van Dinther
Spirit Gambit
Untitled
Barbara Letson
Aamira
Untitled
C. S. Johnson
The Ones Who Fight
Untitled
Joynell Schultz
The Mail-Order Witch
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Gwendolyn Woodschild
The Rebellion
Untitled
H. B. Lyne
The Watcher
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
William C. Cronk
Bands of Brass
Untitled
Melinda Kucsera
Spell of Bone & Ash
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
Anela Deen
When Day Fades into Night
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Lee French & Erik Kort
The Greatest Sin
Untitled
Acknowledgments
Wait! There’s More!
About Magical Mayhem Press
Wayward Magic is a multi-author bundle. Copyright © 2020 by Magical Mayhem Press. All authors retain the individual copyrights to their works.
No Sanctuary © 2020 by Tiffany Shand
Pretty Poison © 2020 by Raven Oak
Ariana’s Choice © 2020 by H.M. Jones
Weather Witch Worries © 2020 by AR Johsnton
The Mark of the Red God © 2020 by Majanka Verstraete
Portals of Valonde © 2020 by Toasha Jiordano
Better the Devil You Know © 2020 by S. Wallace
The Deh’anin Unveiled © 2020 by Alesha Escobar
Parallel Princess: Return to the Fae © 2020 by C.K. Rieke
The Mouth of the Dragon: Rules © 2020 by Devorah Fox
Spirit Gambit © 2020 by Ghost Stalkers
Aamira: Healer © 2020 by Ghost Stalkers
The Ones Who Fight © 2020 by C. S. Johnson
The Mail-Order Witch © 2020 by Joynell Schultz
The Rebellion © 2020 by Ghost Stalkers
The Watcher © 2020 by H.B. Lyne
Bands of Brass © 2020 by William C. Cronk
Spell of Bone & Ash © 2020 by Melinda Kucsera
When Day Fades into Night © 2020 by Anela Deen
The Greatest Sin: A Sacrifice of Body © 2020 by Lee French & Erik Kort
Cover Art Design © 2020 by Melinda Kucsera, Magical Mayhem Press
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
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 publisher. This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental. Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000
A Tril
ogy of Anthologies
Wayward Magic is the second anthology in the trilogy of anthologies, followed by Forgotten Magic. Before you read this anthology, the publisher and authors recommend that you first read Hidden Magic as the stories are interconnected.
Introduction
Magic.
You could ask a hundred people, “What is magic?” and you will get a hundred different definitions as we have all experienced various forms of it in our lives.
Maybe it was the time that massive SUV should have crushed your tiny hatchback until nothing remained; yet after the noise and smoke cleared, you walked away with nothing more than a few scratches. Or maybe it was when every light turned green when you needed it most as you raced towards the hospital to say goodbye to your mother. Or perhaps it was something that went unnoticed—the moment when your cat nudged you in your sleep, and your breathing resumed, or the time your dog barking woke you before the fire reached your room.
Time roll by us in an eye-blink, sprinkling us in flashes we can’t explain. What happened, why did it happen, and more importantly, why did it happen to me? Some people call them miracles, while others, magic.
While these tales take place in a variety of worlds and places, some of them unreachable to Earthlings such as we, their magic wraps around like a silent whisper. Sometimes they comfort, while other times, they remind us of our mortality. They remind us what we have, and what we should hold on to dearly, because magic is just that—magic. It’s unpredictable and non-discerning.
The authors of these stories hope you find your own small piece of magic between the pages of this book.
Let it be a hug from us to you.
A magical one.
No Sanctuary
Tiffany Shand
No Sanctuary is the second short prequel to my Rogues of Magic series. After losing her throne, Ann and Ed are on the run from Orla, who helped to kill Ann’s father and take his realm from her. Now the archdruid herself must find safety in a realm full of enemies and keep her wayward magic under control. If she can’t, she and Ed will lose more than just their lives.
Tiffany Shand
Nowhere is safe when you're on the run.
After losing her parents and her throne, Ann Valeran is now rogue and on the run from the very people who destroyed her family.
With only the help of her best friend and former bodyguard, Edward Rohn, by her side, Ann must navigate her way through the five lands to find safety. The only people to offer her refuge are the elusive resistance, who once opposed her family and everything her father’s rule stood for.
But with assassins after her every turn and having to hide her uncontrollable magic and true identity, Ann must find a way to work with the resistance or risks falling into the hands of her greatest enemy.
Chapter One
Ann Valeran ducked as an axe flew at her head. This wasn’t part of the plan for today. Where did they even come from? How did they find us? The close confines of the cave didn’t make it easy for her to dodge the blow as the axe hissed through the air above her. Why did I let Ed talk me into coming here?
A man lunged for her and swung his club toward her. She dodged the blow, raised her hand and sent him flying. Beside her, Edward Rohn, her best friend and former bodyguard, thrust his sword through one of the Fomorian demons. One after another, hulking demons with glowing eyes surged into the cave.
Another demon came at her with a battle-axe.
This was supposed to have been a safe place for them to shelter for a while, yet Orla’s demons found them once more. Heat flared between her fingers as anger heated her blood. She threw a fireball straight at her oncoming attacker.
The demon screamed as the flames engulfed his body and turned him to ash.
She hurled another fireball at the second Fomorian.
Ed sliced off the head of the first demon. His short golden-brown hair looked slick with sweat. His golden-brown eyes sought her out. “You alright?” he asked.
Ann pushed her long blond hair off her face and rubbed her hands on her long black cloak. “No, I am so sick of this,” she growled. “We’re glamoured. How do these demons keep finding us?”
“Your grandmother said we would have to keep moving and be careful.” Ed kept a grip on his sword. “And you need to limit your use of power.”
Her blue eyes flashed at that. She’d been using magic all her life. How could she stop using it? Her life had changed so much in the last month. A few weeks ago, she’d been living in a palace as heir to the archdruid—her father. Now she was on the run and accused of killing both her parents. In a single night, her life had been turned upside down and she still didn’t know who or what she was supposed to be now. The only good part about losing everything was dead, her best friend and former bodyguard had stuck by her through everything. She wouldn’t have blamed him for leaving her. Everyone else had.
“I’m trying, Ed.” She sighed. “I’ve kept my magic usage to a minimum. How do they keep finding us?”
Ed shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Ann grabbed one of her fallen knives off the ground. She’d always carried knives with her in her previous life. But she never had to use them as often as she did now. Life as a rogue meant being constantly under attack by the forces that now hunted her.
“Orla must be tracking us somehow.” She gritted her teeth at the mention of Orla, the demon who’d helped her half-brother, Urien, to murder her parents.
“Who is it we’re supposed to be meeting?” Ann wasn’t happy when Ed refused to tell her who they were meant to meet here.
“I told you, someone who might be able to help us.”
“Help us how?” Ann sheathed her knives at her back and brushed ash of her long black cloak. It reminded her so much of the cloaks worn by her father’s Black Guard underneath their armour. Ed gave her the cloak as a gift. It’d been spelled to shield her from attack, and so far, it had helped. “Can this person stop Orla? Remove the price on our heads?”
Ed shook his head. “No, but they might be able to help us go somewhere safe.”
Ann gave a harsh laugh. “I doubt such a place on Erthea exists anymore.”
She thought her grandmother, Mercury Valeran, would have helped them to find refuge. Her father, Darius, seemed to have had an escape route already planned from what Ed told her. Her gran swore the glamours were enough to shield them and insisted they couldn’t stay with her since nowhere would be safe for them. So far nothing seemed to work. Ann had been disappointed at not being able to stay with Mercury. At least she would have been with one of her few surviving family members. If they weren’t safe with her, where could they be safe? Going to stay with the druids at Trewa hadn’t been an option either.
Another demon bellowed as he dove into the cave and charged them.
Ann pulled out her knife and threw it at him. The blade embedded itself in his shoulder, making him stumble. “Reoth,” Ann said. Light flashed around the demon and he froze in place, paralysed by her magic.
“How did you track us here?” Ann hurled her other knife to his abdomen. Blood seeped down the front of his tunic and he winced in pain.
The demon’s dark eyes flashed. “I’ll kill you for this, witch.”
“I’m a druid, not a witch. There’s a big difference. Now answer the question.” She pressed the knife so close to his throat it drew blood. “How does Orla keep tracking us?” One way or another she would get answers. Orla had to be tracking them somehow and this might be their only chance of finding out how. No matter what magic they used or what technique they did, Orla still found them. That should have been impossible. Ann might be a rogue now, but she still had the power of the archdruid, and that might as well be good for something. The archdruid was supposed to be one of the most powerful beings on Erthea, so how did Orla somehow track her magic?
He won’t talk, Ed told her in thought so the demon would not hear them.
Worth a try, isn’t it? Ann replied. My gran said t
he glamours would shield us—I don’t doubt her magic. Mercury was a gifted sorceress and her magic rarely ever failed.
Wayward Magic Page 1