Fire and Fantasy: a Limited Edition Collection of Epic and Urban Fantasy

by CK Dawn

  “I’m well. They took good care of me. Madelyn and her people, their magic is strong, old. I didn’t think I would make it, but … well, I’m here and that is all that matters.”

  “I have something for you.”

  “What?”

  Asa pulled a small box from her pocket. “Lehela said I wasn’t to give this to you until now. That it’s a gift to you, from your mother.”

  “What?”

  “She knew. Your mom. Lehela explained it all to her before she died. She knew who you were meant to be, the importance of your life.”

  Carter grabbed the box from her hand. Handcrafted. It was his mother’s. He remembered watching her make it. “Lehela?”

  “She is gone. All of Oikos is, anyone who couldn’t leave, didn’t.” Asa could still feel the magic of Lehela with her. The gifts the woman had were amazing and terrifying.

  “Right, no home to return to.”

  “Are you going to open it?”

  “No, not yet. I think I’ll wait. Hold off.”

  “Whenever you’re ready.”

  “So, what now?”

  “I’m not sure. I only stayed to be sure that you were all right and to make sure you got that. I made no assumptions as to what would happen after that.” Asa stood. “I will go to give you some time to process things.” She didn’t want to leave but she couldn’t expect him to want her to stay. She had her things packed by the door for a quick escape.

  “Asa,” he grabbed her arm, stopping her, and stood to pull her close to him, “stay.”

  “Carter, you don’t have to do this. I understand that this can’t work. Not after everything, not after Ares and—”

  Lips pressed against hers, flooding her senses with heat, longing, passion. The kiss was one of possession, a man claiming his woman.

  “Stay,” he said again, his tone husky. “I don’t care about any of that. I have wanted you my entire life, I have longed for you. I am not letting you go.”

  “Carter.”

  He kissed her again, then lifted her from the floor and carried her to the bedroom. With each step, she relaxed into him, allowing the man that he was to truly call to her. With each step, the mask fell away, and as they crossed the threshold to his bedroom, Calypso sang out, free, alive, and loved.

  * * *

  The End

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  About the Author

  Award winning and Bestselling author, Jessica Cage was born and raised in Chicago, IL. Writing has always been a passion for her. She dabbles in artistic creations of all sorts but at the end of the day, it's the pen that her hand itches to hold. Jessica had never considered following her dream to be a writer because she was told far too often "There is no money in writing." So, she chose the path most often traveled. During pregnancy, she asked herself an important question. How would she be able to inspire her unborn son to follow his dreams and reach for the stars, if she never had the guts to do it herself? Jessica decided to take a risk and unleash the plethora of characters and their crazy adventurous worlds that had previously existed only in her mind, into the realm of readers. She did this with hopes to inspire not only her son but herself. Inviting the world to tag along on her journey to become the writer she has always wanted to be. She hopes to continue writing and bringing her signature Caged Fantasies to readers everywhere.

  Read More from Jessica Cage

  www.jessicacage.com

  The Soul’s Alliance

  Wendy Knight

  The Soul’s Alliance © 2017 Wendy Knight

  * * *

  Copyright notice: All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  The Soul’s Alliance

  Monsters come out at night. Luckily, so do their hunters.

  Konstanz is pretty sure her best friend is a demon hunter. A demon hunter with a broken heart.

  That's a very dangerous thing indeed.

  Being the good friend that she is, Konstanz will protect Navi from any more heartache, even if it means putting up with Bryson, the guy determined to make Navi forget she ever hurt in the first place. Never mind that Konstanz can't stand him and he likes her even less.

  Until he doesn't. Feelings change, people change, and Navi's dangerous secrets put them all in danger. In the shadows of monsters, Konstanz loses her heart only to find that Bryson has dangerous secrets of his own.

  Secrets that threaten everything they've fought for.

  One

  Konstanz

  I'm pretty sure my heart-broken best friend is a monster hunter.

  It was the second night she'd come home bloody and broken. The second night I spent hours stitching wounds and bandaging limbs—and I'm a vet tech. I haven't even graduated yet. Humans are not my forte. Weirdest part, though? The wounds I stitched and the limbs I bandaged just a few days ago were healed. Like, there was no indication they'd ever existed.

  I did have proof, though. Her favorite boots were ruined.

  Because they were covered in her blood.

  She said she was a probation officer. Given that she was barely 5'4" and teeny tiny, it would be hard to believe, but her mother had been one, too. A dang good one, from the sound of things. She'd come home several times covered in blood, too. But never with massive, gaping wounds like this.

  "Navi, we have to talk." I couldn't look at her, trying to cause as little pain as possible while stitching her arm. The wounds were deep, the muscle torn but would she go to a hospital?

  No, no she would not.

  So we had no pain killer, and nothing to deaden the pain but she barely seemed to notice, staring at the wall like an empty shell. She'd been that way since Alec.

  Alec, whose ass I would kick if I ever saw him again.

  "Hmm?" she asked distractedly. When I raised an eyebrow, she smiled. "What's up, Buttercup?"

  "What's up with the wounds, Navi?"

  "I told you. I—I can't tell you." She at least had the decency to look ashamed. "I promise, it's for your own good."

  Right. That's what everyone says when they want to get out of stuff. Still, I didn't push it because the pain in her voice was real. She thought she was protecting me and it tore her apart.

  I debated, instead. Alec had come by a few days ago. He had begged to see her, had begged to hear her explanation. He'd been in as much pain as she was—maybe not physically, as he'd only had a broken hand and she was on the verge of death by blood loss—but his heart was just as broken. I'd told him to go and not come back, to stay away from her for good. It was the right thing to do. They were too volatile together. Passion that deep had a line too easy to cross between love and hate. But still, I saw the way she checked her phone, eyes hopeful before that hope was crushed. She wanted him to call. She still wanted him.

  What was I supposed to do?

  "All fixed," I said. "Are you sure we can't go to a hospital?" I didn't ask her about the amazing healing abilities. I figured that fell under the she-wouldn't-tell-me-for-my-own-safety bit.

  But you understand now why I thought she was a monster hunter.

  "No. No hospital. But thank you." She hugged me stiffly and I was grateful that this wound was on her arm and not her stomach. L
ess likelihood of organs being damaged.

  Those claw marks, though…

  "Off to bed, then. Tomorrow comes early. I'm assuming you're going to class again despite all this?" I waved my hands in her general hot mess direction.

  She smiled. "Yeah. I have an exam in physics."

  "And then the museum with Bryson? We're meeting at his house. Are you going to be okay with that?" I started cleaning up. Animal blood was horrific enough. When your hands are stained with the blood of your best friend, well, that's when the nightmares start.

  She nodded and wandered away. "Yeah. Sure. No problem."

  Bryson was Alec's roommate.

  I'm pretty sure it was like harsh love therapy, Bryson's brilliant idea to bring her to Alec's apartment while wasn't there to help her get over it. I was like the buffer, softening the pain. Being the third wheel while Bryson tried his best to seduce her was…awkward. But he also had no filter.

  Plus, she'd made me swear never to leave her alone with him because he just couldn't take a hint. So, there's that.

  She never went to bed. I was just getting out of the shower when she left for school. I got ready and attempted to eat in peace. It wasn't to be, though.

  Reese, the commanding officer of our apartment, stormed through with all the force of an angry bull. Navi said one day she'd be a CEO of some huge corporation, but for now she practiced on us. She took super early classes so she could fit more in, and only stopped by for breakfast. "Why does the house smell like disinfectant?" she wrinkled her nose, spiky hair still wet from the rain. "And is Terrie still sleeping?"

  Terrie was our other roommate. She was…interesting.

  "Yep," I said around a mouth full of cereal, ignoring the other half of her question.

  Reese sighed and dropped her umbrella by the door before she marched past me, bellowing. "Terrie! Class starts in a half hour. Get your ass out of bed!"

  Terrie swore back at her and I waited, munching on cereal, to see which would win—Reese's stubbornness or Terrie's laziness.

  Reese's stubbornness won when she dragged Terrie out of bed by her ankle. "You're worse than my mother!" Terrie howled.

  "Good! Your mother was too soft and look how you turned out!" Reese yelled back. Terrie swung at her, Reese dodged, they tumbled to the floor kicking and screeching.

  Just another day at Casa Loca, apparently.

  "Konstanz, it's raining. You should pull your hair up." Reese took a break from fighting Terrie to critique me, because she liked to micromanage.

  I smiled sweetly. "Not gonna happen. Ready?"

  Terrie piled into the back of her own car, eating some weird pastry and glowering at Reese's head. Her car, Reese always drove. I wasn't sure why, except maybe because Terrie was wasted half the time so Reese had permanently taken away her car keys. I slid into the passenger seat and buckled up, because I was smart and full of common sense.

  "Hey." I said as Reese pulled out onto the road. "You—you ever worry about Navi?"

  Reese sighed. "Is this about Alec again? She's a big tough girl. He's just a stupid guy. There are ten thousand more out there. She'll get over it."

  Except for Navi, there weren't ten thousand more. She'd been in love with this guy for four years. Tried to forget him for three. She'd moved to Alaska to get away from his memory, for crying out loud.

  But that wasn't it. "No. About her job. She's—it's not exactly safe."

  Reese shrugged, weaving through traffic. This is why we were never late for school, because she drove like a maniac. I think she took drivers ed from a New York cab driver. "She's a probation officer. I can't imagine it's safe. You come home covered in blood more than she does."

  "Yeah but it's not my blood," I pointed out.

  "Well, maybe if she was tougher, she wouldn't get hurt so much. She needs a thicker skin."

  I'd just stitched that skin. It was a normal thickness. But I didn't argue because arguing with Reese was pointless, like an internet troll. Nothing I said would change her mind and she would take great delight in seeing me all frazzled and angry. Instead, I turned and leaned my head against the cool glass, watching the rain and listening to Terrie mutter in the back seat.

  It was going to be a great day.

  Bryson

  The apartment was clean, and any sign of Alec was gone, and any sign of his drunken trek through the house the night before was gone. If I closed my eyes really hard, I could pretend he didn't live here.

  It was a nice daydream.

  I'd liked him well enough before. He worked a lot, didn't party, didn't draw attention to us or have weird friends. He was an electrician, which was handy. We weren't buddies, but we could tolerate each other's presence although we didn't exactly run in the same circles.

  And then Navi happened.

  Navi, who sang like an angel and looked like a goddess. Long, dark hair. Huge dark eyes. Her body made my mouth run dry. I'd met her at a club and that had been it. She'd fascinated me in a way no other girl ever had.

  And then I'd brought her home.

  Well, I'd thrown a party. And Alec had been there. Surprise, surprise, she was his long-lost girlfriend, the reason he had trust issues and rarely dated.

  I'd gotten really, really drunk that night.

  For the three or whatever days they'd been inseparable, I thought my life was over. I'd never felt anything like this before and it killed me watching them together. Knowing she slept in his bed while I was ten feet away, alone in my own.

  No other girl had been able to driver her from my mind, and for those few short days they were together, I nearly went crazy.

  Thankfully, they'd broken up, and spectacularly, too. She was heartbroken, he was a drunken mess, and I was about to swoop in and take his place.

  There was a knock on the door and my body instantly responded, just having her that near did it for me. Practically skipping across the room, I swung open the door.

  It was Konstanz.

  "Hey—"

  "Hey," she said brightly. "Just making sure Alec's not here before Navi shows up."

  I clutched at my chest in mock horror. "Do you not trust me?"

  She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. "Nope. Alec?" She wandered through the apartment, calling his name while I stood in offense at the door. She did this. Every. Time.

  Konstanz was gorgeous. Huge brown eyes, long, light brown hair. She was taller than Navi but still itty bitty. When we'd been at the club that night, she'd been fighting guys off and at my party, she'd disappeared with one of my friends. "To get ice cream."

  Right.

  Apparently she and Navi had been best friends for ages. And now she'd appointed herself as Navi's miniature body guard. Which meant we were never alone.

  "Good. No Alec." She reappeared from the closet like he could possibly hide in there. He was huge, over six feet, and solid muscle. He wouldn't fit in a closet.

  Not that I hadn't daydreamed shoving him in one and locking the door, but the logistics weren't there.

  "Here," I sighed. "You messed up your hair." It had been brushed all over her head while she'd been on her search for an imaginary Alec and I smoothed it back into place. She stared up at me, her face unreadable, and I was struck again, at how hot she was. Her hair was like silk and I let it run across my fingers, staring back at her.

  She quirked an eyebrow. "I think it's fixed now."

  So it was.

  "Yeah. Well, maybe stay out of the closet. You're supposed to be smart, right? Maybe figure out that Alec can't fit in a coat closet."

  She shrugged, rolling her eyes. "He could if he crouched."

  "Why would he want—you know what, never mind." I shook my head and went to get my keys. "What time is she supposed to be here?"

  "Five minutes." She flipped her phone open and sank onto the couch, effectively ignoring me.

  I hated to be ignored.

  "Do you know what her favorite cologne is?"

  She sat back, lowering her phone. "Why?
"

  "Do you really need me to answer that? To effectively catch someone's attention, you become what they want."

  She snorted. "How about being yourself and letting her fall for who you are? Because you can hit the gym every day and maybe bulk up like Alec, but there's no chance genetics are going to suddenly shift in your favor so you can grow five inches. Navi will see right through any tricks anyway."

  I rolled my eyes. No one saw through my tricks. I'd built an entire world to hide them.

  Through the window, I saw her black jeep pull up and I hurried to the door. Konstanz sighed and pushed herself to her feet. Did we like each other? No. Did we pretend to for Navi?

  Yes. Because we both loved her that much.

  She knocked. Instantly, my body tensed and my hands were clammy. I hadn't even kept track of all the women I'd been with and never—not since I was fifteen and had my first real crush, did I get nervous like this. It was insane.

  I swung the door open, smiling, already anticipating the thrill I'd get from her scent. And bonus points if the smell of lilacs lingered after we were gone so Alec could be tortured by it.

  Tortured as I was.

  "Hey Navi. How are you?"

  Konstanz padded up behind me. Never letting Navi out of her sight, that one.

  She looked exhausted and still hadn't taken to brushing her hair, apparently. I tried not to care. When Alec had his chance, she'd looked like a goddess. Now that I was getting mine, she looked homeless. But I'd change that. It was just more of a challenge. I liked challenges. "Yep. I haven't had dinner yet. Wanna grab something on the way?" I grabbed my keys off the table and went outside, practically closing the door in her face. She'd been looking for Alec, no doubt. I'd made sure there was no trace of him.

  She turned, defeated, from the door and followed me down the stairs. "Yeah, but I have to work tonight so we have to be fast."