by Bianca D’Arc
He was going to ask if they were certain, but one look into her eyes let him know that she was family. It was like looking at a slightly skewed mirror. They had the same eyes. Same dark hair. Same pointed nose.
“You’re…” He couldn’t speak past the lump in his throat.
The woman stepped closer. “Forgive me, Paul. I didn’t know my brother had mated, or that he’d had a son. I would never have joined the nest if I’d known.” Her words sang healing to his wounded heart.
He wasn’t sure which of them moved, but suddenly, she was in his arms and they were hugging and laughing and crying a little. It was a moment of joy and pain, sorrow and blistering hope for the future.
“Auntie Tilda,” he whispered as he hugged her close. “I’m so happy to meet you.”
Arthur and Syd had been on the very next rail car down and Syd felt tears welling in her eyes as she saw Paul hugging a woman who had to be related to him. Slightly older, she had the same exotic looks. Arthur had brought her down to the nest, much to her surprise, explaining that Hans had wanted to talk with Paul on the ride, but he’d requested that Syd be brought down as soon as possible.
Hans had known, Syd realized. He’d known Paul was about to meet family and he’d wanted her to be there for him. She didn’t know much about Hans yet, but she was definitely beginning to like the guy.
“She is his father’s sister,” Arthur told Syd as they exited the mine cart. As soon as they were out, the cart parked itself on a side rail.
“An aunt,” Syd breathed. “I’m so happy for him.” Syd stood in the background, gripping Arthur’s hand as they watched the reunion. She wouldn’t intrude, but she would be there if he needed her.
“It is a privilege to witness such a happy moment,” Arthur agreed and Syd realized the old shaman’s dark eyes were glistening with emotion as well.
“You’ve been a great friend to me, Arthur,” she told him quietly, squeezing his hand. “You managed to keep me in the dark about all this, but still, I know you’ve guided me like I think a father would have.” She turned her head to meet his misty gaze. “If you don’t mind…that’s how I think of you. As a father figure. I never had one of my own, but if I could choose, I would choose you.”
Arthur squeezed her hand in return. “And I would choose you as my daughter, Syd.”
No more needed to be said on that subject. She’d said what she’d wanted to say for a long time and got back more in return than she’d ever expected. Now that she had some blood relatives in her life, she realized something even more important…
Blood might tie people together in the most basic way, but ultimately, some of the deepest ties could be formed by the heart, with people unrelated by blood, but bound by love. For all intents and purposes, Arthur had been her father since just after they’d met. He’d guided her like a father would. He’d helped her in subtle ways. She’d cared for him, as he had for her. He had a place in her heart that would never change.
She might have found a brother and a cousin and even a grandmother, but those relationships would take time to grow. In her mind and in her heart, she now understood that her relationship with Arthur was every bit as important as those blood ties. Some family, you were born to. Others, you chose. She was grateful for whatever benevolent deity had brought Arthur into her life and just as grateful, albeit in a different way, for Paul.
They would create a family together now—some of blood and some from those people they chose to adopt into their inner circle, and who chose them in return. She knew her life would never be lonely again. She and Paul would have a big circle that would only grow ever wider as they aged.
The future for them all looked very bright, indeed.
*
Deep under the Superstition Mountains, Hans surveyed his domain from the farthest edges of the fully awakened nest. When he’d read the signs of evil rising in the world again back in the 1700s, he’d devised this plan. Gather a hoard of riches to last into the coming centuries, and a group of like-minded kinsfolk to hide out together.
Dragon shifters had been hunted. Picked off one by one, at the time. A lone dragon had been easy pickings for bands of Venifucus mages, and they had done all they could to make dragon shifters extinct. But Hans had outsmarted them, and now, his friends and family were rising to fight another day.
The only problem they’d had over the centuries were the daring human treasure hunters who seemed to be constantly risking their lives to find gold in these treacherous mountains. He and his people had helped more than one prospector make it out alive, though their help had been unseen, for the most part.
Hans had even befriended of one of the prospectors back in the 1800s, and though he’d trusted Jacob, Hans’s decision to give the man a little gold to make him go away had been a mistake in the long run. Who knew Jacob would die with more than twenty pounds of pure gold ore under his bed or speak cryptic clues about a gold mine hidden somewhere in the Superstition Mountains?
Hans shook his head. The Lost Dutchman had created more headaches for Hans and his people over the past century or so, but he couldn’t regret helping the crafty German. Jacob had been smart enough to bring beer on his trips into the mountains, and Hans had enjoyed sitting with the fellow a few times and talking about the old country.
Jacob had spoken German, but Hans had been born in the Netherlands and had traveled widely before finding this remote part of the American Southwest. He’d been able to converse with Jacob in his native tongue, and they’d become friendly. It was Jacob, in fact, who had told Hans about Arthur, a local shaman who was reputed to be highly magical. Jacob’s talkative ways had led Hans to secure Arthur’s promise to guard the entry point they’d built—miles away from the actual nest.
After Jacob’s accidental arrival to the nest, Hans and his friends had made sure such discoveries would never happen again. They’d sealed up the nearest entrance and created the railway and entrance far away from the heart of their domain. Then, Hans had made a deal with Arthur—who had turned out to be even more magical and powerful than Jacob knew—to act as gatekeeper.
It had been a good plan, but its time had come to an end with the rising of the phoenixes. Now, all bets were off, and it was time, once again, to fight.
Hans grinned as he looked at his army of dragons.
Those who served evil wouldn’t know what was coming for them.
*
Thank you for reading The Lick of Fire Trilogy. If you enjoyed these books, please consider leaving a review.
Following is a short excerpt from Spirit Bear, the newest release in my ongoing Grizzly Cove series, which is closely related to the trilogy you just read.
A complete list of all of my books, separated by series, follows. You can also check out my website at WWW.BIANCADARC.COM. Or you can sign up for my new release list to be alerted when new books are released.
Excerpt from Spirit Bear
© 2019 Bianca D’Arc. All Rights Reserved.
Prologue
Big John had a problem. Since convincing his former Spec Ops unit to settle in one place and start a new town on a wilder bit of the Washington coastline, things had gone a bit out of control. The town was coming along nicely, and more people—shifters, mostly—were coming in to settle here, as he’d hoped would happen. But Grizzly Cove was still very much an experiment. A what if?
Like, what if a group of normally solitary bear shifters all settled in one place and worked together to make a home for themselves? His team had been all over the globe, fighting evil on behalf of Uncle Sam, and they’d enjoyed their time in service, but now, it was time to settle down and start families—if only they could find their mates.
The band of brothers that had served together was the basis for the town. John had put out the word on the shifter grapevine that female bear shifters were welcome to come to Grizzly Cove and look over the men there—all bear shifters in the core group—and see if maybe one of them was their mate. A few had come, but unexpe
ctedly, even more Others had arrived.
They’d been checked out by the Master vampire of Seattle—a truly ancient guy named Hiram—who wanted to know what their intentions were. They’d managed to form an alliance that had, so far, served both parties well, but there had been visitations from quite a few Others, as well.
For instance, John hadn’t counted on the pod of merpeople seeking refuge in the cove waters and in the rapidly expanding town center. He also hadn’t counted on the mages, most notably, the strega sisters, one of whom was now his mate. Their nonna had joined them here, and now there was an actively growing magic circle that got together when needed. John shook his head. For all his strategic planning, he could never have envisioned that.
Evil had come to call, too. First, the leviathan and its ugly minions had menaced them from the water. The mages had been key in pushing that monster back into the deep, but it was still out there, just waiting for someone to be foolish enough to leave the protection of the cove. It fed on magical energy, and apparently, the concentration of highly-magical bear shifters in the town had attracted it.
Then, agents of the Venifucus—an ancient order dedicated to world domination through their banished leader, Elspeth, known as the Destroyer of Worlds—had repeatedly tried to infiltrate the town. John’s mate, Urse, had used her truly awesome magic to put up permanent wards around the town that would not allow evil to pass through. That stopped the threats from entering the territory, but just in the past few weeks, two separate women had been chased all the way to Grizzly Cove, and massive showdowns had happened just at the border.
So much for keeping a low profile.
And now, one of the recent arrivals had brought a new sort of magical threat into town. Imprisoned by several different Venifucus mages for decades, Laura Stanhope was finally free. She seemed nice enough, and she was the long-lost mother of Marilee, the woman who’d been chased into town and found a bear shifter mate all her own, but John still wasn’t entirely sure Laura could be trusted.
Oh, he didn’t think Laura would consciously try to harm anyone in Grizzly Cove, but she’d been held against her will for so very long. By mages. Who knew what they’d done to her? She could be some kind of sleeper agent, or a Trojan horse designed to penetrate the ward and then wreak havoc from inside the town. John wasn’t sure, and he didn’t like not having enough data to make a plan.
Which was why he had cornered one of his most trusted men and former soldiers, Gus.
“I want you to keep an eye on Laura,” John said without preamble. It wasn’t his way to prevaricate.
“You don’t seriously think she could give us any trouble?” Gus was a shaman and, perhaps, a bit too trusting at times because of his spiritual path, but he was a trustworthy soul, and John knew he was the right man for this job.
“The Trojans had a horse. Al-Qaeda used sleeper cells. She made it past the ward, but that could be because she, herself, is okay. But she was held prisoner for a long time. Who knows what was done to her?” John frowned. He hated thinking about the treatment that poor woman had received at the hands of their enemies, but he had to think of the rest of his people, as well. “Just keep an eye out. That’s all. I’m not saying she’s a plant, but I have to think about the big picture.”
Gus was frowning too. “I see what you mean, but I don’t like it.”
“I don’t like it either, but it’s my job to consider all possibilities, and right now, Laura is a big question mark in my mind,” John admitted. “I need more data, and I don’t want to do it the old-fashioned way by interrogating the poor woman. She’s been through enough. We have to be more subtle.”
“So, you want me to spy on her.” It wasn’t a question, but John knew Gus understood how vital it was to keep their brothers-in-arms and the women and Others who had come here to live among them safe.
Protecting others was at the very core of their beings. None of the original group would countenance a threat to the peace and stability of the town. It was just beyond imagining.
“Observe and report any problems, yes,” John confirmed.
“Why me?” Gus asked, then went on to answer his own question. “I suppose it’s because of my magical background and chosen path as a shaman.”
“That, and you seem to have developed a friendship with the lady. I thought it would be easier on her to have someone she knows, and appears to like, checking on her than one of the other guys,” John admitted.
Gus shook his head. “If she finds out I’m a spy, she’s going to be more hurt because we’re friends. Did you think of that?”
John regarded Gus steadily. “So don’t let her find out. You used to be good at subterfuge before you went all squirrely on us.”
“You mean before I found my calling?” Gus shook his head. “John, sometimes it takes a while on the wrong side of things to show you what’s really important. I was, perhaps, too good at lying to get what I wanted in the old days. I’ve changed my ways, for the better.”
“Less convenient to me,” John stated baldly. “Especially right now, in this situation. And you never lied to any of us on the team. You only prevaricated when it was for the good of our missions. You weren’t a liar. You were an operative. There’s a difference.”
“Semantics, boss,” Gus disagreed, but without heat.
John knew Gus’s conscience had come out in a big way since he’d started training as a shaman soon after they’d all retired. He’d achieved a lot in a comparatively short time and had been granted leave by his teachers in other parts of the country to come back and work among his Clan, following his chosen path. Gus also ministered to the nearby Native American population, helping the local tribe when they needed a hand.
John admired Gus’s vocation, even though it was proving to be a little inconvenient at the moment. Still, he knew he could count on Gus to act for the good of everyone in Grizzly Cove. He wouldn’t let them down. He just had to work his way around to accepting the mission. John watched patiently. He knew Gus was thinking over all the angles and would soon come to the undeniably correct conclusion.
“Well, think about it, and let me know what you decide,” John said after a moment.
He couldn’t order Gus to do anything. They weren’t in the military anymore, and even back then, unless it was a battlefield situation where his men had to follow orders without question, he usually had to coax them into his way of thinking about an op beforehand. They were bear shifters, after all. Independent thinkers. Three hundred pounds of animal instinct with razor sharp claws and lightning reflexes. Solitary, usually.
Having them all together in one unit of operatives had taken some getting used to, but once they’d accepted John as Alpha—though that meant something a little different to bears than it did to Pack animals, like wolves—they’d become one of the best units Uncle Sam’s military had ever produced. Phenomenal success rate. Near-perfect record. A well-oiled machine.
They were finding success as civilians, as well. The crazy plan to camouflage their new town as an artists’ colony, had been thought insane at first, but was actually working quite well. They’d set the place up as a closed community, where anybody who wanted to live in the town had to apply for acceptance. The town council was made up of the members of the old unit, and they examined every application of those who wanted to move here and start businesses or actually be artists.
So far, they’d accepted three human sisters who had opened a fantastic bakery, two other sisters who had opened a book shop and had turned out to be witches. All five of those ladies had mated with one of the original group of single bear shifters and made them the happiest of men. John counted that a success, all the way around. His men were finding their true mates and were able to settle down and make a home. There were other matings—most recently a werewolf and a new bear that they’d welcomed into town—Marilee and King. It was Marilee’s mother who was the current problem and potential security threat.
Gus was still single. He’d
already befriended Laura, Marilee’s mother. He was the perfect person to keep an eye on things with as little fuss as possible. He’d come around sooner or later and realize what he had to do. John made to leave, but Gus’s words stopped him.
“What if she is a threat? Do we just eliminate her?” Gus’s tone was both angry and bleak.
John shook his head. “That would be the easiest way, of course.” John didn’t lie to his people, and he wasn’t about to start now. “But, she’s Marilee’s mother. Laura has been through hell, and she has important intel on all those Venifucus mages and hangers-on who tortured and imprisoned her for all those years. We need to know what she can tell us and, personally, I want to be able to clear her so that Marilee can finally have her mother back. The biggest problem is knowing whether or not she is a real threat to the town.” John sighed. “Eliminating her would be the last resort. I want to see her live a full and happy life, if at all possible.”
Gus held his gaze for a long moment, then nodded. “Good. I want that too.”
To read more, get your copy of Spirit Bear by Bianca D’Arc.
About the Author
Bianca D’Arc has run a laboratory, climbed the corporate ladder in the shark-infested streets of lower Manhattan, studied and taught martial arts, and earned the right to put a whole bunch of letters after her name, but she’s always enjoyed writing more than any of her other pursuits. She grew up and still lives on Long Island, where she keeps busy with an extensive garden, several aquariums full of very demanding fish, and writing her favorite genres of paranormal, fantasy and sci-fi romance.
