by Ashley McLeo
Souls of Three
Book Two of the Starseed Trilogy
Ashley McLeo
Contents
Returning Cast from Prophecy of Three
The Siren’s Call
Tradition and Troubles
The Spark Ignites
The Great Schism
Business and Pleasure
Uniting
Heiress Down
Thanksgiving
Burning Blood
Glass, Copper, and Hysteria
Broken Soul
The Sisters of Salem
The Traveler
Plans and Pancakes
Black
Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta
You’re Different
The Blue Beacon
The Battle of Peacock Manor
An Ally
The Reckoning
Safe House
Club Life
Secrets Uncovered
Some Things Take Time
The Blood Drinkers
Starseeds
Magirattzi
The Truth
Want to stay in the loop?
Excerpt from Rising of Three
Also by Ashley McLeo
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright © 2017 by Ashley McLeo
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblances to a person living or dead is coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1-947245-03-7
For my sister and dear friend Mary Kaye Dolan, one of the strongest women I know and a true fighter.
“Do not feel lonely, the entire universe is inside you.
Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.
Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames.”
Rumi
Returning Cast from Prophecy of Three
Oh, the tangled webs we weave . . .
* * *
Lily Whiplark - First born of the three, triplet, earth witch, healer, runner, and Terramar commune resident.
Evelyn Locksley - Second born of the three, triplet, water witch, siren, ceremens, and New York resident.
Sara McKinney - Third born of three, triplet, fire witch, ex-military brat, currently on sabbatical from her studies at Princeton.
Brigit McKay-Clery - Lily, Evelyn, and Sara’s mother, earth and fire witch, blends amazing tea with herbs from her garden.
Aengus Clery - Lily, Evelyn, and Sara’s father, non-wizard, and deceased.
Gwenn Dolan - Brigit’s older sister, earth witch, Rena’s ex-girlfriend, runs an internet business, and is a dead ringer for Lily.
Mary O-Byrne - Brigit’s younger sister, water witch, siren, midwife, dresses eclectically, and is a dead ringer for Evelyn.
Aoife McKay - Brigit’s youngest sister, fire witch, ceremens, runs Aoife’s Apothecary in town, and is a dead ringer for Sara.
Fiona Fallon - Brigit’s cousin, earth witch, healer, Lily’s healing instructor, and college friend of Sonja Locksley (Evelyn’s adoptive mother).
Nora McFadden - Brigit’s best friend since childhood, skilled witch, prodigious ceremens, and Terramar intermediary.
Morgane Murphy - McKay family friend and triplet tutor, octogenarian, academic, and has a healthy disregard for societal restrictions. Brought Sara to her first adoptive mother and father, who perished in a car fire.
Rena Whiplark - Lily’s adoptive mother, witch, Taurus, and matriarch of Terramar commune.
Annika Karlsson - Rena’s partner, Terramar resident, witch, Swedish by birth, and dedicated yogi.
Selma de Avila - Terramar resident, married to Richard, chatterbox, Spanish, and siren descended from the sirens of the Odyssey.
Emily Harp - Terramar resident, empathetic witch, Texas born, and deceased at the hands of Amon, Empusa, and Lily.
Empusa - Oldest vampire in the world, daughter of Noro and Seraphina, twin to Amon, and deadly.
Amon - Oldest vampire in the world, son of Noro and Seraphina, twin to Empusa, and deadly.
Noro - Fata sent to Earth to prepare it for the arrival of the fata.
Dimia - King of the fata on Hecate, Lilith, Eve, and Seraphina’s father.
Lilith - Sister to Seraphina and Eve, fata sent to scout Earth, mother, and first wife of Adam before his betrayal.
Eve - Sister to Lilith and Seraphina, fata sent to scout Earth, mother to Aya, lover of Noro, and second wife of Adam.
Seraphina - Sister to Lilith and Eve, fata sent to scout Earth, mother to Empusa, Amon and Esther (the keeper of Seraphina’s tale).
Hypatia - Guardian of Seraphina’s tale before her abrupt death at the hands of Amon, spelled a prophecy and Seraphina’s tale to hide in space and time until the arrive of the three destined to save Earth from the fata.
The Siren’s Call
Music pulsed in her bones, winding its way through the gyrating crowd into her body, swaying and shaking alone on the edge of the dance floor.
It had been months since she’d felt so alive, so like her old self. Miles from the stone cottage where her life, the entire world, had changed forever. In this moment she wanted nothing more than to forget all that and get lost in her old New York City persona. To be the old Evelyn Locksley, heiress to a billion-dollar empire, business mogul, expert sailor, and man-eater. She wondered if she could still count the last two as characteristics as a part of her previous life. Did they not fall under the umbrella of water witch and siren?
Screw it. Life will never be the same no matter how much I want it to.
She tossed out a new blend of siren and witching magic she’d been playing with. The potent hormones mixed with a mind stimulating spell did their work and Evelyn caught the spectacular specimen of a man she’d sensed watching her. He heeded her call and approached her, his dark eyes hungry as his hips thrust nearly imperceptibly.
Two strong hands cupped her lower back and she allowed herself to be pulled into his hard chest until the space between them was nonexistent. The man beamed down at her. He smelled vaguely like the salty canvas sail of a sailboat and looked like a young Enrique Iglesias, but more macho.
Much hotter, Evelyn thought. She bit her lip and looked up at him through lowered lashes. He ground against her in response and she pushed her breasts front and center, showing off her excellent cleavage.
Time for some fun.
She took it slow at first, commanding small bursts of estrogen into her bloodstream. The hormone emerged from Evelyn’s body seconds later, encased in the golden-hued sweat of a siren. Perspiration glistened on her skin momentarily, like a full-body halo attracting its mate before evaporating into the air to capture him. At least a dozen male faces responded to the biochemical change. Their faces turning away from their friends or potential partners to stare at her. Evelyn’s dance partner’s arms gripped her tighter as he protected his prospective mate.
Evelyn chuckled to herself.
Her arms rose to cup her partner’s neck, twisting the ends of his thick, black hair.
His eyes widened, and a bulge pressed against her thigh.
She smiled wickedly. Then she turned to face the rest of her audience.
Her partner’s breath covered the back of Evelyn’s neck as she grabbed his hands and pulled them to her waist. She swayed her hips from side to side, narrowed her dark sapphire eyes, and smiled at the men who watched, enrapture
d, from the bar. At her command estrogen leapt off Evelyn’s skin, spraying all within a twenty-foot radius with a potent dose of fertility and sexuality.
Evelyn’s dance partner’s hands inched up and she allowed him a light brush of her breast before commanding them back down, one mind to another.
Let’s not get too fresh here, buddy. This isn’t your show.
The Enrique look-alike shivered against her, placed his hands back on her rounded hips and squeezed.
Their audience had grown to at least fifty men and a few women, all staring at her. Evelyn repressed a shudder of excitement as the power of captivating so many rushed through her. One glance into the crowd confirmed she had started a few arguments. A leggy redhead grabbed her man by his collar, forcing his eyes to hers. Other women had stormed off, leaving their love interests with their mouths hanging wide open.
Time to finish this.
Evelyn blew her partner a parting kiss over her shoulder and disengaged her body from his, leaving him wanting in her wake. Bodies parted before the curvaceous blonde as she sashayed deeper into the throng of partygoers, to a premeditated cleared circle, her stage, in the precise center of the dance floor.
Evelyn ran her hands down her torso, reveling in the contrast of bare skin and silk, twisting and turning as easeful as water with the beat. A vision of a snake emerging from a basket to dance for onlookers came to Evelyn, and she shook it from her head. Reminders that she was the snake, powerful, seductive, the original sin, were the last thing she wanted to think about right now.
Arms flung wide and head thrown back, she twirled to the music, glorying in the space she occupied and claiming more with each heartbeat. Her hair whipped around her, tossed high in the current of air she called to her aid. Though air was her weakest element, it was worth it to put in a little extra effort sometimes for dramatic effect. As she grew in presence the men under her spell pulled in, creating a tight circle that shielded her from the rest of the bar. She caught sight of her Enrique look-alike dance partner in the passing swirl of faces, sweating a bit but otherwise fine. I chose well. At least he’s holding it together. Others had not been so lucky, squirming and trembling uncontrollably. One man was clutching his groin like a child trying not to wet himself.
Evelyn pulled her arms and the energy pulsing around her in an inch closer. She gasped. A flood of power stormed through her, lighting her blood, her mind, her very soul on fire. With the combined sexual energy of so many at her fingertips she felt like she could fly away at any moment.
The song was ending, a perfect natural finale to her own performance. Evelyn followed suit as the beat faded: her rotations growing smaller, her speed slowing, her golden glow dimming. She was coming back into herself, releasing her hold over her prey’s bodies and minds, her body filling with what she’d come here for.
Power.
The music fell into a momentary silence and Evelyn stopped, yanked her arms to her sides, and flung her hair back.
The man grabbing his crotch moaned. A dazed look came over the rest. They stared first at her and then each other, wondering why they were standing highly aroused, shoulder to shoulder with other men. Or where their partners were.
Not my problem.
Evelyn shivered as the raw, animalistic energy of a crowd of men and two women pulsed through her. The exchange of energy, their sexual energy for her magic, had been just what she needed. Her power had been pent up for too long. It was exhausting, stifling to live like this between her two worlds, unsuspecting human and witch.
Her partner stood at the edge of the circle, eyes crazed with desire. Evelyn made her way over to him, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him on the cheek before extracting herself from the circle.
“Dedisco,” she whispered, spreading her arms wide. She bid the spell to jog around the bar and wipe the memories of everyone in it.
“Thanks for the good time, handsome,” Evelyn called over her shoulder and disappeared into the crowd and out onto the street.
“Morning, Vici,” Evelyn said, skipping into the kitchen and inhaling the scent of espresso.
“God, you’re up early. Didn’t you go out last night? How do you always look so damn good?” Vicencia Del Sarto asked as she hovered over the espresso maker for her daily fix.
“I left early. Dad asked me to attend a meeting today and I want to be at my best. He thinks I may help seal a big deal he’s been working on.”
“Hmm, did you tell him you’re going back to Ireland yet? What if he tries to bring you into something and you can’t finish what you started? How will that affect the account?” Vici asked, the concern in her voice unmistakable.
That was why Evelyn and Vicencia were best friends. As daughters of the CEO and COO of Locksley Enterprises, they both valued and respected the company that gave them a life most others only dreamt about. If anyone had cause for concern over her leaving, it was Vici. As Evelyn’s counterpart, Vicencia would take over Evelyn’s obligations in her absence.
And Evelyn anticipated being gone for a long time. It could take years to fight the supernatural war fate had chosen for her. It was why Evelyn had yet to tell Vicencia the truth of her trip. Or about herself. What would down-to-earth Vici say when Evelyn admitted she’d be running around with a bunch of witches to save humans from being enslaved by magical aliens for the foreseeable future? It sounded ridiculous. Especially here, so far away from the rolling green hills and mystical mists of Ireland. In the concrete jungle of New York City it was easy to discount the reality of witches, vampires, and any other creatures that went bump in the night.
Unless you were one of them.
Evelyn sighed, “I’ll tell him today, Vici. I’m sorry you got stuck with my work while I was gone. I didn’t expect to meet so many people, and we had a lot to catch up on. I won’t let Dad do that to you again.”
In truth, that was her driving reason to go in today. To tell her father, James Locksley—her mentor and the most important man in her life—to put her position up for grabs. He wouldn’t like it. Hell, she didn’t like it, but it was the right thing to do. She’d put Locksley Enterprises in a bind these last few months, forcing Vici to fill in the gaps that she’d left while Evelyn traipsed off for magic lessons. Evelyn knew she should have told them earlier that she would need an extended break, but she loved working with her father, and Vici, and getting shit done. The power that came with running a boardroom never failed to entice her. Though she had to admit the thrill was less now that she’d experienced the flow of magic in her veins.
“Thanks,” Vicencia said looking relieved. “It’s not that I don’t want you to spend time with your birth family . . . God, it still feels wrong to say that.” She studied Evelyn’s heart shaped face, “But not for you . . .”
“I’ve come to terms with it.”
“Right. Well, you were with them a while. Getting to know your sisters must have been fun.” Vicencia said the words cheerily, though Evelyn heard the drip of jealousy in them. If only I could tell her what our relationships are really like.
“It’s just that, well, I want to move forward, too, and it’s hard to do when I’m at the office fifteen hours a day, seven days a week. I think Michael is going to propose soon. Then we can move in together.” Excitement twinkled in Vicencia’s large brown eyes.
Evelyn sucked in her breath, “How do you know?” she asked hoping Vicencia hadn’t seen the hurt flash across her face. It wasn’t right to feel left out when she’d abandoned her best friend for three months. Vici deserved to be happy and if that meant moving in with Michael the first chance she got, so be it.
I won’t be here anyway, Evelyn reminded herself.
“I saw him looking in my jewelry box. He had one of those ring sizing things in his hand.” Vicencia smiled at the memory. “My dad will have no reason not to let us live together after Michael proposes. Engaged couples live together in Italy all the time. That’s when my cousin convinced her dad to let her move in with her man. And we’d get t
o plan a wedding, Evie!”
Evelyn’s heart burst as happiness for her friend overtook the pain of losing her. “Of course, Vici! I can’t wait to go dress shopping with you.” If I’m still around, a small voice in her head amended as Evelyn beamed at her oldest, dearest friend.
Vicencia sipped her coffee, her stress lines softening at Evelyn’s response.
“Do you want to share a car to the office today?” Evelyn asked. She was desperate for neutral ground where neither of them felt hurt or left out.
“Michael will be here soon. He rented a car to go upstate today. He said he’d drop me by the office on the way. Thanks, though.” Vici dropped her espresso cup into the sink where Evelyn knew it would sit until the cleaners came on Thursday.
The clean kitchen Brigit, Evelyn’s biological mother in Ireland, kept flashed through her mind. Though tiny, cluttered, and sometimes annoyingly cramped Fern Cottage—where Evelyn had spent the last three months—was, at the very least, always sparkling clean.
“I’ll see you there. My meeting with dad is at nine. Let’s do lunch later?”
“Text me when and where,” Vicencia said as she waved her way from the room to complete her beautification rituals.
By the time George, Evelyn’s driver, arrived, Evelyn had given herself a headache considering how her father would react to the news of her leaving Locksley Enterprises.
I hope Mom isn’t there, too. Evelyn sighed, knowing her wish was fruitless. Why wouldn’t Mom be in the office on such a huge day for the company? Sonja, even more so than Evelyn, was James Locksley’s deal sealer. It would be stupid not to have her there with such a big client on the line. Should I rethink using mind magic on her? Though she’d like to, especially since she would be delivering bad, potentially world-shattering news, Evelyn knew she could never use her ceremens powers on her adoptive parents. If she started down that line with people she loved where would it stop? No way can I use magic on them without them even knowing I’m a witch. Evelyn puffed out her cheeks and released the air slowly. That was another secret she had to unveil today. The holes in her story were growing too big to miss. Her father had already commented three times on how strange she’d been acting and she’d only been home a week and a half.
