Spellfinder

by Carmen Caine

  He broke the silence with, “I’ll grant your imp a temporary reprieve, but temporary only. I fear he is a case of short-term gain for long-term pain.”

  Ricky. Hex it all. I’d forgotten all about the pest. Surely, he hadn’t witnessed my little doings in the cemetery? I held my breath. Cool, Cassidy. Play it cool.

  Summoning my smokiest voice, I retorted an acidic, “Gee, thanks.”

  The next instant, Lucian stood in front of me, moving quickly to hold my head between his hands. Slipping his thumbs under my chin, he forced me to meet his gaze. That gaze was unsettling. We stood so close, and for the first time, he didn’t physically respond to me at all. He was harsh. Cold. So very distant.

  It felt like a knife in the gut.

  “You should know that I will find out who set Dorian free,” he informed me in a low voice, his tone deadly. Dangerous. “You better not have had a hand in it. I will find out. In the world of the Charmed, nothing remains a secret. There are ways to find the truth. Painful ways.” The coolness of his tone only added to the weight of his threat.

  I licked my dry lips. “I’m sure there are,” I agreed. Hex it, but he was too close to the truth. It was time for a curveball. And with Lucian, it was always best to stick to the truth as close as possible. “But you can’t blame me for enjoying this, Lucian. Just a little. After all that Emilio’s done, it’s a bit satisfying to see him have a bad day.”

  “Dorian’s inflicted suffering beyond measure upon the House of Rowle and for centuries,” he answered icily. “But please, don’t let that stop your pleasure.”

  Why did that hurt?

  Dropping his hands, he moved away, staring straight ahead but still speaking to me. “I’ve been informed that you were instrumental in my restoration. I’ve deposited a nice sum of money into your account as a reward. A bonus.”

  Money? His words strangely left a sour taste in my mouth.

  “Your contract with me still stands,” he continued, his voice frigid, removed. He was still looking straight ahead. “Tabitha is a drake and an investigator unparalleled. She will lead our next mission. We will find out who freed Dorian, and quickly.”

  Suddenly, I was grateful for the darkness.

  Tabitha? The lead investigator?

  It was already obvious how many suspects would be on her list before she even made it. One. Me.

  Drawing on my inner monster strength, I coerced my voice to sound cool, in control as I answered, “That’s good, then. It’ll be over in a flash and then we’re done. Contract over.”

  He turned at that, leveling an inscrutable look my way to grunt, “Follow me, spellfinder. We start now.”

  He didn’t wait for me. Moving in long, quiet strides, he exited the chamber and headed up the stairs leading to the world outside.

  I paused at the bottom step, gathering my wits.

  So, the next mission would be to hunt myself.

  Not quite the way I’d planned things.

  I closed my eyes, summoning the ice inside my soul to assert itself and began to ascend the steps. Yes, my first whack at revenge hadn’t been flawlessly executed, but I couldn’t deny its success. Again, I replayed Emilio’s one-syllable responses in my mind, the fury and frustration in his voice. It made me smile. Yes, I’d gotten my first taste of revenge. Now, I wanted more. I wanted to extract every ounce of suffering out of him that I could.

  I felt pretty pleased with myself—until I spied Lucian waiting at the head of the stairwell. One look at his face and an unexpected knot of remorse twisted my stomach. Gritting my teeth, I hardened my heart and followed him out of the crypt and through the tombstones to exit the cemetery. A black SUV waited for us in a parking lot nearby, and as we approached, the purple-lipped driver hopped out in order to open Lucian’s door.

  Lucian waited until I’d buckled and the SUV had pulled out onto the cemetery drive before addressing me. “Strix has something of great interest to show us, spellfinder.” He didn’t turn my way but stared straight ahead out of the front window. It was strangely impersonal. “I need you alert. I will not tolerate one single mistake. Not one.”

  “Right,” I acknowledged a bit distantly myself.

  In those few short seconds, it was obvious that the dynamics of our relationship had changed. I’d known all along that Lucian would be collateral damage. I just hadn’t expected it to feel quite like it did.

  The criminal barcode tattooed on the webbing of my fingers burned. I knew now that it meant Strix was nearby.

  I grimaced.

  I had the equivalent of the Nether Reach FBI after me, trying to pin a crime on me that I didn’t commit. And soon, the Rowle House Firedrake would be hunting me down, trying to pin a crime on me that I did commit. It was going to be difficult, but I couldn’t let either one of them succeed.

  And what about the Mindbreaker? The Fallen One? Just what had I witnessed in the graveyard?

  Suddenly, everything seemed just so muddled and messy.

  The SUV pulled out onto the road, driving past a large construction site, complete with two cranes.

  "Look up, Cassidy,” Dorian’s deep voice slipped through my mind. “Turn your gaze to the stars, my bonny lass.”

  Almost mechanically, I leaned closer to the window and squinted up.

  I saw him as we drove by, standing on top of the crane. His silhouette a sharp relief against the moon.

  “Call me when you need me, my wee glaistig,” he murmured as we passed underneath him. “Call me, and I’ll come.”

  But his words meant nothing to me.

  I suddenly felt so empty inside. So drained. So … shattered.

  Leaning back against the black leather seat, I closed my eyes.

  Oddly, there was only one thought drifting aimlessly through my mind: just what did glaistig mean?

  I should look that up.

  * * *

  Revenge is deceptive, leading one to believe that the end justifies the means. At first blush, it delivers a sweetness beyond measure. But the first blush soon passes, revealing the true price, hiding like water under the hay. The choice is to walk away or to dig deeper, much like a gambler, praying that the next round will pay for all.

  The wise walk away.

  Me? My first brush with success set off a frenzy, a near unquenchable thirst for revenge that would blind me to what mattered most.

  And as for walking away … I wouldn’t be able to. Not without help.

  The End

  Carmen will be working on the next Cassidy Edwards novel, “Mindbreaker”, soon—right after she finishes “Heather House: Witch of the Moors”, the first in her new historical series about the Great Scottish Witch Trials and King James V of Scotland.

  About the Author and Other Books

  Click this link for a list of Carmen's books on Amazon

  Like many of us on this planet, Award-Winning and Bestselling author Carmen Caine (aka Madison Adler) is from another world. She spends every moment she can scribbling stories on sticky notes that her kids find posted all over the car, house, and barn.

  When she is not working as a software engineer, she is busy ferrying her kids to various appointments, writing lyrics for her husband's songs, raising her Doberman Ajax, attempting to tame her three insane cats, befriending her rescue llama named Cusco, scratching her three Nigerian Dwarf Goats behind the horns or coddling her flock of thirty bizarre chickens from around the world.

  And although I am terrible at tweeting and posting on Facebook (though I do strive to improve), please find me at the following places:

  Carmen and Madison's Facebook Fanpage

  Facebook friends with Madison Adler ( aka Carmen )

  Facebook friends with Carmen Caine ( aka Madison )

  Madison's Twitter - more paranormal content

  Carmen's Twitter - more medieval content

  Carmen Caine's website

  Carmen Caine Collections and Other Books

  The Cassidy Edwards Series

  From Awa
rd-Winning Author Carmen Caine, a new Supernatural Revenge series.

  Monster

  Revenge. It's all I've lived for. Revenge against those who stacked the cards against me from the start. But I'm changing the deck now. I'm getting even. Born to a vampire, I wasn't supposed to survive--but I did.

  My name is Cassidy. Cassidy Edwards. And I'm the first of my kind.

  The Job

  Trapping a sixteenth-century Scottish Highlander of a vampire who just might be seduction itself.

  The Team

  A firedrake with an attitude, a werewolf with a problem, and an imp in dire need of rehab.

  The Boss

  A dangerously powerful warlock as handsome as sin.

  My Problem

  Bluffing my way into a job, my first mission into the Charmed world opens a Pandora's box of betrayal and secrets ... along with attractions of the most lethal kind.

  The Glass Wall – A Contemporary Paranormal Faerie Romance Series

  From Award-Winning Author Carmen Caine, a Contemporary Paranormal Faerie Romance: The Complete Glass Wall Collection - Four Full-length Novels and the Prequel Short Story.

  The Glass Wall Series

  What if humans were more powerful than they thought? What if an alien race had a reason to keep humanity entrenched in fear? And what if ancient beings that we've met before were still trying to protect us? And just what if the fate of Earth depended upon an average 17-year-old girl with a few secrets of her own?

  Would she discover that the power of love was truly the strongest of all?

  "The Glass Wall" - Book One of the "Glass Wall"

  - A mysterious and dangerously handsome stranger ...

  - A slightly jaded 17-year-old girl ...

  - A paranormal world hidden within our own ...

  17-year-old Sydney's only interest in life is flying under the radar.

  But destiny has other plans when the tall, handsome, and unusual Rafael Channing moves into the neighborhood. Athletic and with killer looks, he wears black eyeliner like a magician and always seems to be there when she needs him the most.

  What starts out as a light-hearted investigation with her gadget-happy foster father takes a serious turn when she discovers that Rafael isn't human. Add Jareth, the country's latest rock sensation, into the mix and Sydney is swept into a mysterious world of Tulpas, the Fae, and the Brotherhood of the Snake.

  Sydney doesn't know she's a Blue Thread of Fate. She doesn't know the fate of humanity depends on her choice of whom to trust--Jareth or Rafael. And she certainly doesn't know that she's taken the first step on the unexpected path of love.

  "The Brotherhood of the Snake" - Book Two of the "Glass Wall"

  - The first kiss ...

  - A secret revealed ...

  - The arrival of the Mesmers ...

  After breaking the Glass Wall, Sydney finds herself on the run with Rafael. And as her feelings for him awaken, danger arrives in the form of Mesmers, agents of evil sent by the Brotherhood of the Snake.

  But when Jareth struts back onto the scene, it isn't long before Sydney finds herself immersed in sinister secrets, and the subsequent whirlwind of events leaves her wondering just who is right and who is wrong?

  "The Inner Circle" - Book Three of the "Glass Wall"

  - A love is born that cannot be denied ...

  - The Brotherhood of the Snake just might be winning ...

  - A Decision of Fate is made ...

  As Sydney navigates through the supernatural dangers surrounding her, she seizes control of her destiny and begins to fight back. And as she spies on the Inner Circle and the Brotherhood of the Snake, she discovers the power of human thought.

  And finds out she can no longer deny the love that she feels.

  But then both Rafael and Jareth's secrets are revealed and a Blue-Threaded decision of fate is made. But is it the right one?

  "The Egg" - Book Four of the "Glass Wall"

  - A death ...

  - A beginning ...

  - An egg to change the world ...

  Faced with her Blue Thread of Fate, Sydney must make a choice if Rafael and Jareth are to survive. But what if it is an inner demon she's not expecting? Can she truly understand the many shades of love?

  Prequel - the short story "Behind the Mirror"

  Rafael Channing is a Fate Tracker, protecting his world and Earth from disaster, but what should he do when disaster appears in the form of love?

  The Highland Heather and Hearts Scottish Romance Collection

  The Hearts Collection – Four full-length novels

  Four full-length novels of Medieval Scotland. This set includes the two Award-Winning novels ("The Bedeviled Heart" and "The Daring Heart") along with the first book Carmen Caine ever wrote: "The Kindling Heart".

  The Kindling Heart (Scotland, 1478) - Ruan MacLeod was through with women. They were nothing but trouble.

  Leaving the rash life of his youth behind, he returned to Skye, seeking peace. He never meant to split the clan or start a war with the MacDonald of Duntulm. He certainly never foresaw an arranged marriage to the most scandalous woman in Scotland. Even though she was twice his age, the size of a horse and mother to more than one illegitimate child, he agreed to secure his sister's freedom.

  However, even that plan goes drastically awry. On his wedding day, he finds himself faced instead with an enticing, green-eyed lass named Bree. A walking disaster, his bride immediately turns his world into chaos and threatens to melt his resolve never to love again.

  Award-Winning Novel: The Bedeviled Heart (Romance Silver Medal Winner) (Scotland, 1479) Cameron Malcolm Stewart, Earl of Lennox, had made his peace with destiny. It was not his fate to love as other men.

  Each of his politically arranged marriages had ended in disaster. And though he had never touched a one of his wives, he had come to believe that sharing his name would consign a woman to an early grave. So, on the sunny spring day Cameron encounters a delightfully devious, bright-eyed lass selling charmed stones in one of Stirling's alehouses, he tosses her a shilling, thinking only to steal a kiss. But it is a kiss that will change his life forever.

  The Daring Heart (Bronze Medal Winner) (Scotland, 1482) - To the scandalous Lord Julian Gray, marriage is a malady and nothing more.

  How can a man even court a lass longer than a fortnight when there are so many pouting lips to kiss? Roaming the courts of Europe, Julian appears to spend his time drinking wine, wagering gold, and dandling willing lasses upon his knee. But no one knows the man behind the mask. No one knows that he is Le Marin--Europe's most daring and brazen spy.

  But everything changes the night he finds a dagger pressed against his ribs and an alluring hazel-eyed minx in his bed.

  The Bold Heart (Scotland, 1488) - Ewan was a battle-weary warrior with haunted dreams. He no longer believed in love.

  As Scotland's greatest warrior and heir to the earldom of Mull, few dared to cross swords with Ewan MacLean. But the price he paid for his fearsome reputation was a heavy one. To survive, he buried his emotions and became only the warrior, riding from battle to battle with his men to protect Scotland from threats within and without her borders and letting himself feel nothing else.

  But when his right-hand man, Alec Montgomery, is caught dallying with a powerful Lord's daughter, a trap is set. And both Ewan and Alec find themselves in an English prison, their necks headed for the noose.

  On the Isle of Skye, the raven-haired Merry MacLeod spends her days caring for the clan elderly and hurtling across the moors on the back of her black stallion. A high-spirited, adventurous lass, she is no longer troubled by childhood memories of the day the braw lad, Ewan MacLean, rescued her from her husband, the cruel MacDonald. But when she hears the very same Ewan is now confined in an English prison, she disguises herself as a lad and sets out to repay her debt.

  After a bold, mysterious youth rescues Ewan and his men from the English, the group swiftly makes their way back to Scotland. But no sooner embarked on
their journey home, a young Prince James sounds the call to arms, rises against his father, King James III of Scotland, and plunges Scotland into a dangerous civil war.

  But as they journey to join the prince, both Ewan and Alec discover their rescuer's secret and both men find themselves falling unexpectedly in love with a raven-haired beauty.