by K M Martinez
“There’s too much to do,” Mel said.
Just then, the door opened, and the descendants turned, hands on their swords. Jonah pushed through looking red-eyed, disheveled, and dirty, as if he hadn’t bathed in days.
“Where’s Charlotte?” he said frantically. “Is she okay? There’s talk she’s been found.”
“Where the fuck have you been?” asked Gabe. “I’ve been looking for you for fucking days!”
Jonah shrank back, but then his eyes found Mel, covered with dried blood. She had pushed past Gabe, glaring daggers at Jonah. As if sensing the coming violence, Jonah turned to run, but Drew Wiley grabbed him by the scruff of his neck before he could escape.
“Where you going off to in such a hurry?” asked Drew, pressing Jonah back toward Mel.
Mel clenched her fists. She could feel the anger fighting to take control. She wanted to make Jonah pay for his part in hurting her cousin. She couldn’t help but think that, out of all the things Charlotte had gone through, all the things that were done to her by the Eighth Clan and Wershall, Jonah’s betrayal may have been the one thing to hurt her cousin the most.
But she also knew that as much as she wanted to make him pay, he wasn’t hers to punish. That would be for the young woman lying in bed upstairs.
“Jonah’s Eighth Clan,” Mel said. “Drew, you think you can lock him up downstairs?”
“Gladly.”
As Drew and his sister started to drag Jonah away, Jonah screamed bloody murder. Justine clapped him in the jaw to shut him up, and they pulled him away out of sight.
Mel sat down once more. “The Eighth Clan planned this attack for decades,” she said. “Now Charlotte is lying in bed upstairs dy—” She stopped herself. She would not think the worst. Not yet. “And there are others,” she continued. “I need to stop them. If you want to help me, you’d best sit down.”
The others took a seat.
“This year is the year of the Crow,” Mel said, her voice carrying through the room. “It’s the year of the carrion bird that eats the rotten flesh of the dead. The scraps. That is what the Eighth Clan is. They would watch the world burn so that they could have scraps.”
“How bad is it?” asked Victor. “How far are we going to go?”
“They are consorting with demons and Lost Souls,” Mel said, her eyes flashing gold, her face stark with the red of her kill. “We go as far as it takes.”
And so it began. There was much to discuss, and much to prepare.
Glossary
Aenigma—the puzzle; a competition within the Agora
Ambulant Laboriosum—the laborious walk; a competition within the Agora
Assurgere—to achieve honor above others
Decerto—to fight (to fight to the finish); a competition within the Agora for both weapons and hand-to-hand combat
Eligendo—the choosing ceremony
Exhaustus—the draining of celestial powers
Hae—the history of the seven Originals and their clans; also considered a teaching of The Ways
Impedimentum—the obstacle course; a competition within the Agora
Inter Spatium Abyssus—the world between hell
Inter Spatium Caelum—the world between heaven
Libero—lifting; a competition within the Agora
Malum—demons
Sapienti—wise one, Elder of a clan
Supervivere—a teaching of The Ways that instructs clanspeople how to survive any situation
Tenebrae Transeunt—the gate between Inter Spatium Abyssus and the world of the living
Author’s Note
Thank you so much for reading Dark Sun Rising. I hope you enjoyed reading about Mel and her brothers as much as I enjoyed writing about them.
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About the Author
K.M. Martinez was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. She spends most of her days with friends and family. Other times, she’s at the gym training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
