by Hall, Linsey
“Do I?”
“Didn’t you hear me in the forest? I love you, Ana. I probably have for a long time, but I couldn’t feel it. But I feel everything now, and most of that is love for you.”
She wriggled so that she could meet his eyes. “Really?”
“Of course.” He pressed a hard kiss to her lips. “I’ve been hiding from my fate. Hanging out alone in the jungle, ignoring life. You have such a passion for it that you made me realize I’d lost mine. Of course I love you.”
“Good. Because likewise. One of those trees in the forest was me. Or at least half of me. Part of my soul was trapped within. When it finally fell and I was whole again, I realized I loved you.”
His big hands cupped her face while he kissed her. He raised his head and asked, “You’re full Mythean now? Immortal?”
“I think so. I was only part Mythean because half my soul was trapped. Now that I have it back, I’m a Dryad. I can hear the jungle trees like they’re whispering. But it’s been so long since I’ve been a Dryad that I’m not sure what it all means. I haven’t spoken to another since my first incarnation. I don’t even know how many are left after what Druantia did to us.”
“We’ll figure it out.”
As she grinned, the last beam of sunlight of the day shined upon her face. Cam saw the potential of the future and all that lay before them, and for the first time in millennia, everything was perfect.
“We will,” she said. “I’m just glad I’m alive. On earth. And you’re alive. And the gods probably won’t want to kill you now that the spell is broken and all the old rules are clearly shit.”
“We’ll have to see.”
“It will be fine. I know it will. Aerten felt emotion back there in the infirmary. Give the gods a little while to adjust and then go back to visit. They’ll see sense. Now we just need to figure out what the hell I’m going to do with the rest of my life.”
“How do you feel about hunting cures here in the Amazon with me? We’re close to finding Rosa McManus.”
She grinned. “I do like plants. More than I’d ever realized. I could be good with that. And we’d live on the Clara G?”
“Yeah. You and me and the river.”
She looked around appraisingly. “All right. But the cabin will need a bigger bed.”
He pulled her to him and kissed her, the light of a thousand suns filling his chest with joy for the future. “Not a problem. Anything for the woman I love.”
EPILOGUE
Amazon Jungle, Three weeks later
“Hey, Cam! I think I found it!” Ana called from her position in the jungle.
Cam turned from the foliage he was inspecting and trotted toward Ana. Her pale arm and shoulder were visible behind a tree about twenty feet distant. When he reached her, he slowed to a stop and crouched next to her. She was inspecting a creeping rose bush that crawled over a fallen tree limb.
Pale orange and lushly petaled, the rose looked exactly like the sample.
“You found it.” A grin spread across his face.
“Not hard. I could almost hear it. It’s crazy the skills I have as a Dryad.”
He reached over and cupped the back of her head, pulling her toward him for a kiss. “Good work.”
“Really, not hard. I did the same thing as before, but this time, it worked. I focused on the type of plant and asked it where it was. A really strong feeling led me to it since we were already close.”
It made sense. This was the thirteenth spot they’d checked along the river this week. After Harp had given him the basic location, he’d set off with Ana to locate the rose. Every other time, they’d tied off to shore and searched the banks and the deeper jungle. This time, they’d actually tied off to the right spot.
“I’ll go get the supplies.”
“Good. I’ll go look for more. I think this is the first rose species ever found in the jungle. I don’t know how common it is.”
He nodded, then jogged back to the boat to gather the sample bags, shovel, garbage bags, and buckets needed to safely transport the roses out of the jungle.
When he returned, he called out for Ana, who he presumed was deeper in the jungle searching for more roses. When she didn’t respond, his heart kicked into a frantic rhythm.
“Ana!” He dropped the shovel and jogged through the forest, searching for her. Where the hell was she? The jungle was dangerous.
“Hey! I’m over here!”
He turned toward her voice and finally caught sight of her, stepping out from behind trees in the distance. He was at her side a second later, clutching her to him.
“Fuck, you had me worried,” he said into her hair.
She squeezed him, then pulled back. “Don’t be. Everything’s fine now.”
“I know. I guess it was just so close there for a while that I became accustomed to the idea of losing you. And it sucked.”
“It’s over. The gods are no longer pissed, Druantia is stuck in Otherworld, and I’m a Mythean. And I have my bow, thanks to you.”
One of his first acts after they’d survived the forest had been to retrieve her bow from Druantia’s creepy shop. With it, she could protect herself from anything. Remembering that when worry overwhelmed him… Well, that was harder. He pulled her to him and kissed her, leaning his forehead against hers. “I love you so damned much.”
“As I love you. More than I ever knew.” She kissed him hard, then drew back. “Now let’s get those samples.”
They walked back to the first Rosa McManus they’d found.
“I discovered a couple dozen bushes scattered around the immediate vicinity,” Ana said. “I can feel more farther away, so I’d say we’re safe to take two from the root and it won’t hurt the population. Then we’ll get the clippings of about a dozen.”
“Good. We’ll have them back to Scotland before New Year’s, and testing can start on the first of the year.” Cam set about digging up the bush while Ana prepped the bucket and bags. “Don’t forget we’re going to Otherworld after we celebrate the holiday with Esha and Warren.”
They’d only been back to Scotland once since the fight in the grove three weeks ago, to check up on everyone and to thank them. Aurora and Vivienne had healed fully, thank fates. Seeing them under less dire circumstances would be good.
“I can’t wait to see my brothers. It’s just so different now that emotion has returned to Otherworld and they aren’t automatons any more. It’s like I have them back again.” Ana patted the last of the soil in place around the roots in the bucket and grinned up at him.
Her joy was palpable and contagious. He still didn’t love returning to Otherworld to see to the occasional godly meeting or duty, but he didn’t mind it. And since Ana got to come along and see her family, it was more than worth the trip.
“If we get back in time, we could try to make it to Otherworld for the winter solstice celebration.”
“Sure,” Cam said.
“Hey! I should see if my brothers want to add a Christmas tree to winter solstice. And presents. It would really liven up the night. You never know, they might like it,” she said.
“It’ll be grand. First Christmas I’ve celebrated. And it will only be marred by one visit with the gods’ council.” He’d seen them once, a week ago, after the chaos had settled in Otherworld. With the spell broken, the gods had emotion and they no longer believed the lie that their presence was required in Otherworld to keep it functioning. Not that they were running off to earth to party—Cam was the only one who wanted to live here—but the laws holding him in Otherworld were no longer in place.
“They still love those meetings, don’t they?” Ana asked. “Gotta say, I’m glad it’s your job now and not mine.”
She laughed and he grinned, thanking the fates for everything that had happened in the last month. He had a future now, and so did she. Together, they could face whatever came at them.
-The End—
Thanks for reading! Click here to get book 4, Stolen Fate.
THANK YOU!
Thank you so much for reading Rogue Soul. I loved writing this story and hope you enjoyed reading it!
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If you liked Rogue Soul, the next book in the series is Stolen Fate and it will be available on December 8th, 2014. Book 1, Braving Fate, and book 2, Soulceress, are available now.
Fiona Blackwood is losing her mind
Fiona is an Acquirer, an immortal who uses magic to hunt for ancient artifacts. Ever since she failed to live up to her fate and find the Book of Worlds, she’s been shunned by those around her. Worse, she’s slowly losing her mind as her subconscious keeps trying to accomplish her fated task. When she’s presented with one last chance to find the Book of Worlds and thus save her sanity, she’ll stop at nothing to accomplish her goal.
Ian MacKenzie has been in hell
For more than one hundred years, Ian has been locked in a nightmarish prison. An accomplished thief, he was thrown into hell for failing to maintain the secrecy of his magical race. When Fiona presents him with an opportunity for escape, he’ll do anything it takes to ensure that it’s permanent, even if it means betraying the woman he’s grown to care for.
A dark force could tear them apart
As Fiona and Ian get closer to finding the book, they learn that there’s more at stake than they ever imagined – like the fate of the world. When their task threatens to tear them apart, they’ll have to make the ultimate decision: life, or love?
Stolen Fate will be available December 8th, 2014
AUTHOR’S NOTE
In Rogue Soul, I had a great time returning to the history that inspired my first book, Braving Fate. Historically, Camulos and Andrasta were both Celtic gods worshipped by the Celts of Britain. The Celtic kingdom of the Iceni favored Andrasta, goddess of victory, while the people of the Trinovante kingdom favored Camuos, god of war.
They are just two out of hundreds of Celtic gods worshipped by thousands of people from dozens of kingdoms and tribes. The Celts weren’t one people in one place at one time. Rather, they were a culture that originated in central Europe and spread out to encompass most of Europe and the British Isles during the first millennium B.C. They spoke many languages and worshiped many gods, but were linked by their material culture and advanced use of metalwork.
Andrasta never replaced Camulos, however. I made that bit up, which I imagine was fairly obvious.
Something I think is really neat is the fact that the heroine of Braving Fate, Diana (the reincarnate of Boudica) worshipped Andrasta when she was Boudica. Cadan, the hero of Braving Fate, was born in the city that was named for Camulos—Camulodunum. This was purely coincidental.
Camulodunum was briefly mentioned in Rogue Soul as the city whose construction gave Camulos more power because it was built in his name. This is the event that convinced the other gods that Camulos was so powerful that he must be removed.
As for the Celtic history of the bow? To date, there is little, if any, concrete evidence that the Celts of Britain used the bow and arrow in the first millennium BC. For the purposes of this story, they used the bow for hunting but not for war. In the story, Camulos says that the bow was given to him by the Greek god, Apollo. The Greeks did use the bow for war at this time.
And last, Camulos’ modified steamboat was inspired by another Klondike gold rush steamboat, the A.J. Goddard. He named his boat the Clara G. after a real woman named Clara Goddard. She helped her husband, Albert Goddard, build two 50-foot long sternwheel paddleboats during the winter of 1897/98. With the help of men and mules, they carried them over the mountains of southern Canada in pieces and constructed them on the bank of Lake Bennett at the headwaters of the Yukon river. Clara Goddard was the first female steamboat pilot on the Yukon river. If you want a good story, look up the A.J. Goddard. I promise that you won’t be disappointed.
GLOSSARY
Aether - The invisible substance that connects the afterworlds and earth. It is both nothing and everything.
Aetherwalking - A method of traveling through the aether to access the afterworlds or different places on earth. Some Mytheans have this power and can bring another person with them.
Afterworld - A heaven or hell created by mortal belief. Mortals can access them only through death. Some Mytheans can aetherwalk to them.
Immortal University - An organization created thousands of years ago to protect Mytheans and keep them secret from mortals. It was initially founded as a true university, hence the name, but over time it morphed into an institution with greater power and responsibility. The university’s primary goal is to maintain the secrecy of Mytheans and to keep the gods from warring to obtain more followers. They do this primarily through diplomacy. The university also provides services to Mytheans that they can’t get elsewhere, lest mortals figure out that their clients never die. Things like education, health services, and banking.
Mortals - Humans. They are unaware of the existence of Mytheans or that all heavens and hells truly exist. They are immortal in the sense that their soul will pass on to whatever afterworld they believe in.
Mythean - Supernatural individuals created by mortal belief. They are gods and goddesses, demons and monsters, witches and other supernatural creatures. They are immortal in the sense that if they live on earth, only beheading or grievous injury from magic can kill them. If they are killed their soul will pass on to an afterworld. Secrecy from mortals is one of their highest priorities. Some Mytheans, particularly species of demons and some gods, are trapped in their afterworlds. Others have access to both earth and the afterworlds.
Mythean Guardians - Powerful mortals made immortal, or other supernatural beings who serve at the Praesidium. They protect those mortals and Mytheans who are important to the fate of humanity.
Otherworld - The Celtic afterworld. The Celtic gods are forbidden from traveling to earth because they believe that they are required to be in Otherworld to keep it functioning.
Praesidium - The protection division of the Immortal University. Mythean Guardians work here. Their job is to protect those important to humanity and maintain law and order by keeping Mytheans secret from humans and keeping the gods from warring.
Sila Jinn - Derived from Arabian mythology, a Jinn is a supernatural spirit in a class below that of angels and devils. A Sila is a female Jinn who can shapeshift, aetherwalk between all afterworlds, and manifest some types of magic.
Soulceresses - Mytheans who fuel their power by draining the immortal power of other Mytheans’ souls. When fueled by the power of others, they can manifest their magic with a thought. They are hated by other Mytheans because of this. They also have the ability to see the evil in a person’s soul.
Books by Linsey Hall
Braving Fate
Soulceress
Rogue Soul
Stolen Fate
ABOUT LINSEY
Before becoming a romance novelist, Linsey Hall was a nautical archaeologist who studied shipwrecks from Hawaii and the Yukon to the UK and the Mediterranean. She credits the historical romances of the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s with her love of history and her career as an archaeologist. After a decade of tromping around the globe in search of old bits of stuff that people left lying about, she settled down and started penning her own romance novels. Her debut series, the Mythean Arcana, draws upon her love of history and the paranormal elements that she can’t help but include. Several books may or may not feature her cats.
This is a work of fiction. All reference to events, persons, and locale are
used fictitiously, except where documented in historical record. Names, characters, and places are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright 2014 by Linsey Hall
Published by Bonnie Doon Press LLC
Digital Edition 1.0
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form, except in instances of quotation used in critical articles or book review. Where such permission is sufficient, the author grants the right to strip any DRM which may be applied to this work.
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