Shadows Fall
Page 4
Before her mother could say a word, she said, “I can’t talk, not right now. I need to pack. I need to go. I just… I just can’t. Okay?”
“Baby, it’s going to get easier,” her mother told her.
“I know.” She nodded, but she didn’t believe it. “Look, I appreciate you stopping by, but I don’t feel like talking. I just want to curl up and forget.”
“Preston said he heard you crying.”
She laughed sadly. “Yeah, well I told him to go away too. Just please, go. I’ll be okay.”
“You don’t have to move now, sweetie.”
“I do. I really do. I’ll talk to you later.” She tried to push the door shut, but her mom pushed back.
“You did the right thing,” she said, but when Amethyst glared back, she finally turned to go.
The right thing? That was the right thing?
She felt like a two bit whore. Everything in her apartment reminded her of Carl. That last terrified look he gave her broke something inside her soul. She hated what she did, absolutely hated it, but she couldn’t change it.
No matter what he did, she never wanted to see that look in his eyes. It just felt wrong.
* * * *
Carl tore through his apartment, looking for the ingredients to the spell he would need to cast. He had the archaic fae scroll spread out on the floor in the center of the room. He found the last of the herbs and brought them to the counter.
In a large bowl, he mixed the goats blood, salt and potent herbs. Then he spilled the contents in a circle on the floor. It was now or never, and he couldn’t wait. He knelt in the center and began to read from the parchment.
As he finished the incantation, he closed his eyes. He never saw the shadow flow from the corner to pick up the dagger lying beside him.
He felt the sharp blade plunge into his chest as it buried itself to the hilt. His heart burst as he collapsed on the floor, grabbing for the dagger, but his hand kept slipping.
Cold seeped into his veins as the life drained from his body.
Chapter 6
The phone rang, and Amethyst jerked awake as she rolled off the couch and onto the floor in a heap of blankets. Terror twisted through her entire being, but she didn’t know why. Something felt off.
The phone rang again and she jumped at the sound. She blindly reached for her cell and answered with a shaky voice. “This is Amethyst.”
“Are you okay?” Preston’s voice managed to soothe her jumbled nerves.
“Yeah, I was just sleeping,” and having nightmares about a shadowy being she couldn’t quite remember.
“Sorry.” He took a deep breath. “I have some horrible news for you.”
As warm as she was in the blankets and footy pajamas, she felt a chill all the way to her toes. “What happened?”
He sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “The best we can figure is that Carl committed suicide.”
“What?” she whispered, her heart started thumping a thousand miles a second. “Why? How?”
“It’s the damnedest thing. He stabbed himself through the heart with some weird ass blade. His prints are the only ones here. There’s a note, he’d been planning this for a while. I guess he finally got the guts to do it last night.”
“Crap,” she whispered. “I did that to him.”
“No, babydoll. You did no such thing.”
“I did. If I hadn’t…,” she let the words trail off.
“This isn’t your fault.”
“Thanks for calling. I’m going to leave a little early for Edenton. I don’t think I can stay here anymore.”
“Need a hand?” he asked gently.
“No, but thanks. Really Preston.” She hung up before he could respond, and picked herself up. She needed to get away from San Francisco so she could start over.
About the Author
Brandy L Rivers is the author of the Others of Edenton Series. In Too Deep and New Beginnings are already out nearly everywhere ebooks are sold.
Shadows of the Past will be coming out by the end of November. It will cover Hayden and Amethyst’s story.
As an avid reader, Brandy has always loved writing. She became serious about it as a stay-at-home-mother. She has a file full of manuscripts she plans to edit and put out there eventually.
She lives in Western Washington with her husband and three kids, where she is already working on the future stories in the series.
If you are interested in receiving emails about future book releases, please sign up for her email distribution list by visiting her site at: www.brandylrivers.com
You can also find her on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/brandylrivers
And at Twitter: www.twitter.com/brandylrivers
Also at Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/brandylrivers
Reference Guide
Compulsion - Sirens and nymphs can force a suggestion on someone during sexual release.
Druids - Humans who possess mostly nature magic. They aren’t as common as mages. Most tend to stick to other druids. They cast mostly earth and air spells, though most can manipulate fire and water. Druids can shift into most animals with practice.
Fairy Struck - This happens when a human has become addicted to a faerie’s affection. This is rare and usually done on purpose or when the faerie is careless
Mages - Humans who possess elemental magic. They can either sling spells like weapons or heal, though it is rare for a mage to be a healer.
Nymph - There are water nymphs and wood nymphs. The water nymphs originated in faerie near lakes, oceans and rivers. Wood nymphs originated in the oldest forests. Most of their magic is powered by love, lust and similar emotions, and enhanced through orgasm. Some nymphs have other forms as magic as well. Unlike most faerie, they have no glamour and are stuck with their unusual coloring.
Others- Any being that isn’t quite human. Werewolves, vampires, shaman, druid, mages, witches, warlocks, fae are just some examples.
Magistrate - Somewhat like the Silver Council’s Sheriff, though their territory is larger than just one city.
Silver Council - Organization of mages. They are the governing force of most Others. Not everyone recognizes them as the law, but they do try to police all Others. The Silver Council is mostly made up of formally trained mages. They occasionally will employ other casters.
Silver Council Enforcer – The mages who police Others.
Siren - Sometimes called mermaids. They do change forms in water. Fine scales cover their skin, and they develop gills behind their ears. Their coloring often changes with this form. They have similar forms of magic to nymphs.
Werewolves - Specific type of wereanimal. A werewolf is created when a werewolf in either its beast form or half-man form bites and sometimes scratches a human. They are incredibly strong, and faster than a normal human. Powerful werewolves can not only shift into their wolf form but a form bigger than human, covered in fur with enormous claws and bestial head. Their sense of smell and sight are very strong, especially in their beast forms.
Ward - A spell that protects, sometimes keeps people from entering.
Warlock - A human who is highly sensitive to magic, and can cast a limited amount of magic. Abilities vary from clairvoyance, empath, telekinesis, and various other psychic abilities. Most are adept at potions that combine natural ingredients with magic.