by Lena Austin
Praise for the writing of Lena Austin
After the Flood 1: Blood and Magic
Lena Austin has definitely struck gold with the Unicorn Valley series. Each story is better than the last… Blood and Magic is an apt description of Kella and Tanne, two mismatched souls who find love in spite of the obstacles thrown in their way. I love Kella! She’s my kind of heroine and a perfect match for her unicorn lover. This is the kind of story that leaves you wanting to know more of the denizens of Unicorn Valley.
-- Kate Douglas, author of 68 & Climbing (Loose Id
Black Widow
My mind and body were so intrigued and blazing with fire the entire ride. I was completely blown away by the insight into such a hush hush secret society. Lena Austin drew me in and made me want to beg for more. Her words brought such erotic and sexy scenes to mind that it was all I could do not to jump in the nearest shower and turn the ice-cold water on high. This book deserves more than the highest rating I can give, but since I must keep to the standards, I give it FIVE stars hands down. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Austin’s work. Amazing!!
-- Paula Beaty, Romance Review Spot
Black Widow is now available from Loose Id.
Unicorn Valley series
It’s rare to find a novella with fully developed characters and even more rare to find one with a rich, detailed world. Unicorn Valley: Gryphon’s Heart is ripe with beautiful word choices; every word paints a picture of a world you wish you lived in and can’t wait to revisit. Add the high sensuality and eroticism and you have a magnificent tale
-- Sharyn McGinty, In the Library Reviews
Unicorn Valley 2: Stallion’s Heart is an erotic romp into the world of mythical beings. Lena Austin has done a marvelous job of bringing her characters to life in this highly engaging story. The characters are all engaging, the sex is hot and the plot is continuously moving. I can’t wait for the next one in this series!
-- Chere Gruver, Paranormal Romance Reviews
Gryphon’s Heart and Stallion’s Heart are now available from Changeling Press
AFTER THE FLOOD 1:
BLOOD AND MAGIC
Lena Austin
www.loose-id.com
Warning
This e-book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. Loose Id e-books are for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.
* * * * *
This book is rated:
For explicit sexual content.
After the Flood 1: Blood and Magic
Lena Austin
This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Published by
Loose Id LLC
1802 N Carson Street, Suite 212-29
Carson City NV 89701-1215
www.loose-id.com
Copyright © October 2004 by Lena Austin
All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared in any form, including, but not limited to printing, photocopying, faxing, or emailing without prior written permission from Loose Id LLC.
ISBN 1-59632-023-0
Available in Adobe PDF, HTML, MobiPocket, and MS Reader
Printed in the United States of America
Editor: Raven McKnight
Cover Artist: Angela Knight
Dedication
It is said it takes a village to write a book. To my critique partners, who believed in the story, through the staff of my publisher, and especially my editor, Raven, who slaved long into the nights. Your hard work is more than appreciated; it was essential.
However, there are those who have stuck by me far longer. David and the Circle of Ivy Virginia Beach, who sat in front of my fireplace and helped me create the world ten years ago. Randy, my long-suffering spouse, who still sees more of the back of my head than he deserves. To Terrie, my first fan, who never stopped believing, from the first attempts and who is still with me today as my private cheerleader. To Sandy, Linda, and Kally, I offer my gratitude for all the footprints on my butt.
To all those whose love of the written word goes beyond casual enjoyment and makes it art, I give you my love, and a piece of my soul.
Lena
Chapter One
Magic! It crawled over her skin like many bugs. The ability to sense another creature nearby performing magic often saved her from the harsh punishments the Vampire priests doled out for any sin they thought their lowliest of acolytes might have committed.
Kella jumped up from where she’d been preparing to gather herbs. She studied the nearby bushes, ready to flee or fight, as need demanded. She clutched her herb knife and kicked her basket a safe distance away. It flew several feet into the herb meadow, where it was unlikely to trip her. She blessed the good sense she’d had to tie up her hair and bind her skirts tightly. They would not interfere.
“Hello? Who is there?” she called out. She readied herself to change form, if needed.
A tall man with a shock of silvery white hair stood and stepped from the bushes. Kella assessed him quickly. Friend or foe, she was unable to determine.
He was not a Vampire prince. He was too sleek and beautiful. His clothes shone like the finest silks. He was another species. The denizens of the Valley normally kept away from the area surrounding the Vampire village, but she was not out of danger. The law of the Valley said: “Hunt no other sentient creature.” That would keep her from being a meal, but not from harm.
She eyed him warily as a stray gust of wind blew his hair off his forehead, and his race was revealed. The silver horn button marked him as surely as her fangs marked her.
Horror and fear struck her with the force of a blow. A Unicorn stallion strode toward her with a serious look on his face. One of the gods visited her. She’d nearly committed the ultimate sin of threatening a Unicorn.
Dropping her knife into the dirt at her feet, she sank into the deepest curtsey her bound skirts would allow.
“Forgive me, Lord Unicorn,” she begged. If she groveled sweetly enough, her virginity would be the only thing she lost, not her life.
* * * * *
Tanne sighed to himself as the girl sank into a deep curtsey and begged forgiveness for some imagined slight.
He’d hidden in the bushes, not wishing to be seen. The worship of Unicorns was very wearisome. He remembered the fawning subservience of the Vampires from his few visits to do healings. Many of his kind relished being worshiped, but he thought it was wrong for one creature to worship another.
He would have remained hidden or teleported out had his mage senses not flared alert. The girl had uncontrolled magic in huge amounts. He’d never sensed so much unharnessed raw power in a Vamp before. He was looking at a beautiful and deadly force of nature that could destroy the entire Valley.
He wanted desperately to save himself the embarrassment of this completely ridiculous scene, but the needs of the innocent girl and the Valley came first. If she was whom he thought, he was the cause of her being an uncontrolled mage where no mage should be.
Hating himself for the role thrust upon him, he stretched out his hand and lifted her chin.
“Rise,” he commanded. Her green eyes were large and frightened, so Tanne tried the simple courtesy of an
introduction. “My name is Tanne Brae.” It was hard to twist his tongue around the guttural language of the Vampires, but he made his best effort. “What is yours?”
The girl frowned as if in puzzlement, but answered hurriedly. “Kellarashina.”
Obviously, his best effort at speaking her language was merely adequate. He cursed himself for growing rusty, but smiled winningly in hopes of easing her fears. “What are you doing here?” His gesture took in her knife, the basket, and the field.
The girl’s gaze followed his hand for a moment before she answered. “I am hunting herbs, my Lord Tanne.” She bit her lip for a moment, and then asked slowly, “How may I serve you?”
It was easy enough to read in her mind that she thought he might wish sexual services, and he controlled his face so the disgust ‑‑ not for her, but for the situation ‑‑ would not show. He surmised that certain stallions, deprived of the regular supply of fillies by the Herd Stallion, had taken advantage of the Vampire religion to acquire sexual favors.
Tanne looked down at the girl and the meadow of herbs. Bright red hair that shone in the sun like a flame, white skin dotted with freckles, and simple peasant’s clothing made her attractive enough to any stallion. He had to assume the Vampires kept the girl well hidden when stallions came around. He wondered if they knew what would happen if she were frightened or enraged. He doubted it.
Well, he would show that was not his purpose. “I would rather help you, I think.” He looked significantly at the herb basket and knife. “But I have never gathered herbs before, so I will have many questions, and you will have to teach me what to do.”
She pondered his words for a few moments, and then shrugged. “If that is what you wish, my Lord Tanne.” Her whole attitude suggested she thought the request very strange.
Tanne kept his ironic smile purely internal. No doubt, it was an odd request. Nevertheless, he had to know who she was. If she was indeed Shirrana’s daughter, then he owed the girl a duty. Quite possibly, if he understood Vampire law, he was legally her father. Guilt ate at him.
She knelt in the dust and picked up her knife. A rather scrubby-looking small bush with tiny white flowers was directly in front of her.
Tanne knelt beside her. The exhaustion from the healing he’d done the night before was catching up to him. His bones ached with the need to rest, and his eyes fogged for a moment. He did the only thing he could and sank his energies into the earth, pulling what he could to replenish himself. A nap would be better, but rest would have to wait.
She placed the knife in the basket and pulled out a small, carefully sewn cloth bag. With gentle fingers, she pulled the little white flowers off and put them in the bag. “Do you know this one, my Lord Tanne?” She held up a small handful of the white flowers for his inspection.
Tanne shook his head. “No, what is it for? And my name is Tanne. No need to call me Lord.” He grinned sheepishly. “We Unicorns use only magic. I have no knowledge of how to use plants.”
“Then I’m just Kella, if you please. Kellarashina is quite a mouthful.” Kella smiled down fondly at the little bush. Her whole face was transformed from something merely pretty to beautiful. “These are for sleep. Plants are wonderful friends. They don’t mind if you don’t talk to them, and they give back so much.” She caressed the little white flowers gently, and Tanne had the irrational wish that he was one of those flowers.
What was he thinking? This was possibly his legal daughter, no matter what his mind or body said. And he had to admit, his body was reacting to the presence of a female. He’d been celibate far too long for it not to respond to a beautiful girl who smelled of sweet herbs, and whose bodice was open for the inspection of any male who happened to glance down.
Tanne forced himself back to the task at hand. “Don’t you have parents to talk to?” He kept his voice gentle and soft. She must not be frightened. Once he was sure of the situation, he would formally request a meeting with an Elder of her village.
Kella brightened further. “Mother is busy raising my brother. He’s at that difficult adolescent stage. I have my teacher, Sedna, to talk to, instead.”
Tanne was partially relieved, and relaxed slightly. “I know Elder Sedna. Iron-gray hair, and a formidable priestess. But what of your father?”
“Oh, he’s moved on. He has a new harem now.” She shrugged indifferently. “It was nice of him to stay on long enough to see my brother past childhood. He sired my brother, so he stops in for pride to see how Fallon is doing.” She went back to gathering the flowers, still smiling.
“I think I see. And what of your own father? I get the impression Fallon’s father didn’t sire you.” Tanne worked hard not to let the intensity of his question show.
Another shrug. “Oh, my sire is dead, Mother says. I never knew him. It is enough that Fallon’s father raised me.” She placed the last of the flowers in the bag.
Enough, indeed. If Tanne understood the complicated nature of Vampire society, he was off the hook for parental responsibility. He’d verify that with Elder Sedna, of course. “Look, you are doing all the work. Why don’t you give me something to do?”
Kella brushed off her hands and looked deeply into his eyes, with a slight frown creasing her forehead. “If you insist, my L ‑‑ Tanne.” A whisper of a sigh escaped her before she pointed at a small plant to his left. “I need a few leaves from that lemon balm plant. Take only every third leaf. It’s too young to take more.” She handed him another small sack.
Tanne thought carefully about what to do next as he obediently filled the little pouch. She was as pure and guileless as a newborn filly. Frightened as she was at the thought of offending him, she still had spunk enough to order a stallion around.
When her basket was so full of bulging sacks it threatened to explode, they lounged in the shade of an oak.
“I know it isn’t much, but would you like my apple?” Kella offered.
Tanne eyed her meager little sandwich and apple, and hesitated. “Don’t you want it?” He hated to take what little food she had, when he could go graze and nap later.
Kella, now much more comfortable with him, wrinkled her nose. “Not really. I don’t care for apples, though Mother gives them to me all the time from the tree in our garden.” She held it in her outstretched hand, like a gift.
He took it with all the grace he could muster, and bit in. Wiping the juice from his chin, he continued his cautious interrogation. “What does Elder Sedna teach you? You seem too old to be learning to read.”
In answer, she lifted her pendant. “I’m an acolyte,” she replied proudly. “Right now, the lessons are absurdly simple, but I hope to command the greater magic someday.”
Tanne nodded agreement. “Elder Sedna is known for her skill in controlling power flows.” That had to be the reason Kella was her pupil. Sedna was the only one Tanne knew that had any hope of diverting the girl’s awesome power if it got out of hand.
Kella jerked suddenly. “A thought just occurred to me!” Her innocent green eyes widened. “You are a Unicorn!”
Tanne couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, so I am.”
“Oh, please, could you show me Unicorn magic?” she begged. “Just a little?”
He couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to test her control. “I’d be happy to.” Tanne thought for a moment of the simplest of lessons taught to the young. “How about a little game of energy ball? It is small and local, and can’t harm anything.”
Kella clapped her hands in delight. “Is it something I can play, perhaps? I have some small magic.”
Some small magic? The irony struck him. They hadn’t even told her so she could learn self-control. Well, that he could repair. He conjured a small, brightly glowing ball of energy that fit neatly in the palm of his hand. “Can you see this?”
Kella “ooohed” with awe. “Oh, yes! What a pretty shade of blue! It matches your eyes.”
Tanne had never given it a thought, but supposed it was true. “Perhaps it does.
Do you think you can catch the ball if I tossed it to you? It is stronger than a soap bubble, and won’t burst or harm you if you miss.”
Kella moved into a more comfortable position and concentrated as if she would be rated upon the results. “I’d like to try.” She readied her hands, just as she might to physically catch a ball. “This cannot be far from catching the little flows of light I see from rocks and plants.”
In the midst of tossing the ball, Tanne nearly bobbled his throw. “You can see the energy from rocks?” By all that was magic, she was powerful if she could see that.
Laughing, Kella caught the ball as easily as she might one made of cloth and string. “Why, yes! Can’t you?” She bounced the ball once in her hand, and then lightly tossed it back.
Tanne caught the ball in his hand. “You play with energy very well. Better than some colts on their first try.” He avoided her question. It was better she did not know he was the most powerful of the Unicorn mage stallions. It might bring on awkward questions he’d rather avoid. He dissipated the ball. “Let’s see if you can make one of your own.”
Biting her lip, Kella nodded. “I can try.” Typical of a new student, she pulled energy from within herself instead of using the convenient energy of her surroundings. A small, bright green ball appeared in her hands. It wobbled in form for a moment, and she reached up to pat it into shape. “Oops!” She held it up for inspection.
“Well done!” Tanne applauded. He did not tell her it was one of the tests given to a Unicorn seeking apprenticeship. The third test, he would administer later. She could create and manipulate energy. Once he had spoken with Elder Sedna, he would see if Kella could use it for practical purposes. If she could, then he would have a student.
