by Ashley McLeo
*Mrs. Leeteral pulls up her shirtsleeves to reveal cut deltoids and a small, yellow tattoo that looks a bit like the moon.*
“He marked me with this! Looks like the moon, doesn’t it? I suppose that’s where he musta been from. No idea why he marked me, though . . . Perhaps he was looking for a good cleaner? I’ve been in the business twenty years and you never hear of cleaners on spaceships. Must have gotten tired of living in all that filth.”
And there you have it, folks. The aliens are coming and they need help cleaning up. Or perhaps Mrs. Leeteral should check her bank cards as one may contain a charge to her local tattoo parlor. Gin is a hell of a drink.
* * *
A small, nondescript photo of Mrs. Leeteral’s mark was at the bottom of the page. Sara’s chest fluttered wildly as she studied it. Shhhh, calm down. It’s a photo, she thought and her pneuma stilled within her.
It did look like the moon, though Sara believed that was what it was as much as she believed the reporter’s insinuation that Mrs. Leeteral had gone out and gotten a drunken tattoo.
If that reporter only knew how close Mrs. Leeteral was to the truth, they’d be peeing their pants.
“How long have you been up?”
Sara jumped in her seat and directed her hands at the door.
Evelyn held up her hands. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you. But really, do you believe anyone is getting past Mom’s wards?” She quirked an eyebrow and headed toward the coffee pot.
Sinking back down into her seat, Sara let out a long exhale. Of course I didn’t hear Evelyn. She still doesn’t weigh enough make noise. “No, I’m sorry. I’ve been jumpy lately. Even meditation has been hard. And no, I don’t think anyone could get past Mom’s wards. But that doesn’t mean I’m right.”
“Touché,” Evelyn filled the pot with water and punched the button before turning to face her sister. “What’s all this?” She gestured to the pile of papers on the table.
Sara pulled a handful of papers closer to make room for Evelyn. “Papers. I asked Mary to drop them off a few days ago. It looks like she may have enlisted Morgane’s help, too. They don’t carry all of these in the village shop. They’re so we can keep in the loop.”
“In the loop? Don’t you think we’re a little beyond what the average person knows?” Evelyn pulled out the heavy wooden chair across from Sara with visible effort.
She’s not getting stronger as fast as Fiona hoped she would, Sara eyed her sister’s lank blonde hair, skeletal arms, and visible ribs as Evelyn sat down. At least her magic has returned a little though. It’s the first step, Sara sighed. “There’s no doubt we have more information on what’s happening, but we’re clueless to what the fata are doing now that they’re on Earth.”
Evelyn scowled and looked into her cup.
“But these papers can help. Most of them are the typical drivel but read this.” Sara handed the page she’d finished over to Evelyn who scoffed.
“You can’t be serious. You know what this is, right? Or did this kind of crap not make it onto military bases?”
Sara rolled her eyes and pushed the paper into Evelyn’s hand. “They did. Just read it.”
Evelyn opened it and her sapphire eyes skipped over the page, fast at first and then slower as she took in what it meant. “Well, shit. They’ve begun claiming people as their own,” Evelyn said setting down the paper.
Claiming people. Sara shivered. “It appears that way. These papers are filled with all sorts of crazy things. Natural disasters that I’m sure are in no way natural, an uptick in missing people all over the world, wild accidents or man-made structures failing. An entire highway in L.A. cracked the other day. The fissure was ten feet wide. They’re blaming it on the San Andreas Fault line but . . .”
“It’s not that.”
“No. It’s not that. This journal had the most obvious article. And if this woman is being claimed, she can’t be the only one. She’s probably just the only one willing to step forward, and this journal is the only one out there enough to print it.”
Evelyn smirked. “My dad would die if he heard you call this rag a journal. You’d no longer be ‘my level-headed, smart sister.’ Too bad you’re not interested in business. He’d hire you in a second. But you’re right, none of these things are normal and that mark is definitely a fata mark. Even worse, it’s not Dimia’s or Noro’s, which means regular fata have started claiming.” She sipped her coffee and looked around. “Where’s Lily? She’s usually up before me.”
Sara quirked an eyebrow, raised her mug of tea to her lips, and sipped it before placing it on the table. “She was up late last night texting. One guess who.” A lopsided grin spread on her face, raising her freckle-spattered cheekbones high.
A low whistle ran through Evelyn’s pursed lips. “That girl has got it bad.”
Sara shrugged off her heavy robe. The fire had made the room toasty warm, and the tea had done the job of heating her insides. Even for a fire witch it was hot. “She does. But she deserves it after the whole Liam/Amon catastrophe. When your first boyfriend turns out to be a psychopath vampire, you get a break on the second. From what Lily’s told me, he’s the total opposite of Amon.”
“Opposite personality wise. Looks wise he’s a hottie too. Lil must attract the tall, dark, and handsome types,” Evelyn smiled a knowing smile. “She’s opened up a bit and told me a little more about him since we got back. Have you seen that letter he sent? So sweet! He really wants to get to know her. But that was obvious to me the moment we met—you should have felt the energy radiating off of him outside the safe house. He was practically vibrating looking at her.”
“When are you two going to get love interests of your own so you can stop gossiping about mine?” a groggy voice from the corner of the room mumbled.
Sara turned to see Lily, her wavy brown hair sticking out in all its bed-headed glory, smiling shyly at them. Sara pulled out the chair next to her and patted it. “I’m focused on other matters right now, but if someone comes along, I’ll try to be open. Alfred’s just so sweet it’s hard not to want to talk about him.”
“I’m off men for obvious reasons. The secrets of my siren talents and skills are at your complete disposal, sister dear.”
A blush rose in Lily’s cheeks. Happiness becomes her. It’s hard to imagine she’s the same person from a month ago, Sara looked down at the papers before her so Lily didn’t feel too much like the center of attention. Her oldest sister could only take so much. Wordlessly, she took the article she’d shown Evelyn and handed it to Lily.
“Oph, you’re going to lay it on her without coffee first? I’m getting a refill. Do you want any, Lil?” Evelyn stood up and made her way to Brigit’s ancient coffee maker.
"Sure, thanks. Can you add cream until it’s the color of a brown paper bag?" Lily turned Sara. "What’s this about?"
“Read it.”
Lily picked up the paper, and her eyes widened as she caught sight of the article’s title. “Is this . . .?"
Sara pushed the paper to Lily’s face.
A minute later Lily sat down the paper and sighed. “So it started already?"
“Looks like it. I’ve been on the web daily looking for clues, but you know how the Internet is. The term fata is useless, and mostly stuff about celebrities or super crazy conspiracy theorists who have a huge following comes up when I search aliens and magic. It’s nothing having to do with real witches or aliens, and if there is it’s hidden too deep in the internet for me to find it. A few days ago I realized that papers might give me more insight if I focused on smaller articles and not the front page. The smaller papers are more willing to give interviews to locals, even if they sound a little crazy, or report on smaller disasters to fill their pages. I asked Mary to bring some by.”
Lily nodded and took the cup coffee Evelyn offered. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. The Acolytes worked so fast last time—why would this time be any different? The new fata must be acclimating fast to be claiming
people already.”
“Or King Dimia ordered the few Eve brought over thousands of years ago to get to work while everyone else was accruing and becoming familiar with Earth’s magic. It’s not like they need to sleep, so they can work around the clock. That’s what I would do. Like sending a scouting team out before an army.” Evelyn joined her sisters at the table, her full lips set in a thin line.
“Did Noro ever let slip exactly how many came over?” Lily asked.
“No way. He’s too secretive and smart for that. He didn’t even tell his own children who their mother was. Anyways, I only remember a couple dozen jumping through the portal, but I was also minutes from death if my pneuma didn’t return. There were hundreds in The Crystal Palace, though. It was amazing: an entire palace made of gemstones and all those colorful fata waiting. I remember one, in particular, it was fuchsia and looked a little scared of me.” Evelyn looked thoughtful, as if recounting her memories this time around was helping her unearth new information.
Her magic is coming back slowly; it’s possible her memories are, too, Sara thought. “Let’s hope you’re right and only a couple dozen fata got through. That’s still a lot but not compared to all the magical creatures on Earth. I don’t like the fact that we know so little about their magic or how to fight them. If there are hundreds we could be in real trouble.”
Also by Ashley McLeo
Prophecy of Three, Book One of the Starseed Trilogy
Rogue Fae, A Starseed Universe Novella
Find Prophecy and Rogue Fae here on Amazon
Siren Falling, A Starseed Universe Novella - coming soon
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Acknowledgments
Thank you to my husband, Kurt Leopoldt for always believing in me, even when my drafts were not so great, and allowing the space and time to follow my dreams. You keep me thankful for your love, unyielding compassion, and support everyday. I love you babe.
To Jennifer Roop, my editor, I'd have so many misplaced commas without you! In all seriousness, you brought my work to a new level and gave me valuable, constructive, kind input when I needed it. You're the best!
A huge thank you to all my family and friends. Especially the ones I bugged with strange but pertinent questions to make Souls of Three seem more real. Thank you for indulging and always supporting me.
To my critique partners, Kelly Eggleston, April Taylor, and Susan Robinson, I seriously could not have written Souls of Three to a higher standard without your input. You ladies are amazing writers and I’m so happy we can grow together.
Max Tsikhach, my talented cover artist. Thank you for creating such a beautiful cover and being a delight to work with.
Sometimes an artist author more than critiques on their work, and that is where my Indie Author Business Group came in. Thank you to everyone in the group who helped open my eyes to a whole new world of marketing and promotion that every book needs to be successful. I learned so much in our Friday meetings.
With love and light,
Ashley McLeo
About the Author
Ashley lives in Portland, OR with her husband, Kurt and their dog, Flicka. When she’s not writing she enjoys traveling the world, reading, yoga, cooking, and connecting with family and friends. She’s currently studying to become a yoga instructor and obsessed with poke bowls and moon water rituals. Souls of Three is Ashley’s second novel.
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