Vampires of Moscow (Blood Web Chronicles Book 1)
Page 22
My investigations take me to the darkest places in this shitty Paranormal sub-world of ours, but I know that’s where I’ll find my sister. It’s why I need this job and why I’ll never give up my search.
“I have a new job for you,” he says. “If you’re ready.”
I nod and wait. Silence.
“You look worried,” I say, looking at the lines forming on Jackson’s forehead. “Tell me my next assignment is Fae tax evasion in New Jersey, or a missing Shifter kitten in Boston. I could do with an easy mission this time.”
“You’re not going to like it. It’s a Witch one.”
“No.”
“You’re the perfect person to get in there and check it out.”
I sigh and lean back in my chair. He’s not going to stop until I listen.
“Aren’t there some Gnomes in the Maldives that would make a great story, or Nymphs in Bora Bora. Send me there.”
He has the decency to smile at my joke. I’m not that lucky, Paras rarely settle in calm exotic locations.
“There’s been some upheaval in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. An unknown sigil has appeared and there are rumors that the head of the MA has gone missing.”
“Maribel?” I exclaim. Is that the ‘trouble’ my mom was referring to?
“You know her?” Jackson asks. “Of course, you know her, she must be friends with your mother.”
I nod. “My mom has been trying to call me for the last couple of days, wants me to go out to her. She sounds worried.”
Jackson leans back in his chair and gives a rare wide grin.
“No.” I say. This shit has Catalan Bruixas written all over it. They love a bit of anarchy. “Why me? Send someone else.”
“Your mother has asked you to go out anyway. The Mage Association won’t suspect you. That way you can get to the bottom of the strange sigils and Maribel’s disappearance and see if they are linked. Plus, you’ll make your mother happy.”
“I don’t want to make my mother happy,” I say, like a premenstrual petulant teen.
My mom has no idea I’m a reporter, so this could easily work, but the only thing worse than stepping foot anywhere near the MA is having to pretend to my mother that I actually want to see her and spend time with her. She still blames me for Mikayla’s disappearance. I also heard she has a new lover – and I’m so not up for playing happy families.
“Don’t make me call my mom,” I beg Jackson.
“No need. You’ll be seeing her face-to-face soon enough. You leave on Monday.”
“What? But today’s Friday!”
“Nuquam vero.”
The truth never waits - a slight deviation of The Chronicle’s Latin slogan, Veritas Nuquam Perit - the truth never perishes.
“You know when Para chicks on Paramour say they’re looking for a Latin lover? They don’t mean a Latin speaking Shifter, right? In case you think you’re impressing anyone.”
He contemplates me, his teeth tugging at his bottom lip.
“So much sass,” he says. “Yet so little work ethic.”
“Fine, I’ll take the assignment.” I flick him the finger on my way out, accompanied by a wink. “But I want a promotion. Adios muchgato!”
I giggle inwardly at my Spanish take on bye bye pussy, then speed up so I get the last word, but I fail when I hear his thundering voice trail behind me.
“Hasta luego, Witchling!”
Acknowledgments
Oooof it’s been a year!
This book is one-part quarantine, one-part deep female friendship, and one-part reader support. We both wanted to sit down and write something for fun - something R-rated, funny, and sexy, and we couldn’t have picked a better year to do so. Thank you to the Blood Web Chronicles for serving as our refuge in these weird, messed up times. Reader, we hope Saskia’s story gives you some much-needed escapism too.
It’s a challenge dedicating a sexy book to someone, you don’t want your aunt to feel like she helped you pen your wild sex scenes, but still, this book wouldn’t exist without the help and support of a number of people. A deep thank you to author Anna Day for being an early reader and champion of our work. Thank you to wildly supportive and nourishing Facebook groups like 20BooksTo50K, MWHITL, and Writer’s Café (special hugs to Emma and Wendy), as well as Jennie at Collab Writers who has supported us from the start – Hollywood, we’re coming! Thank you to Jenn Faughnan for being so generous with your time and teaching Jacqueline Photoshop so that we could have such beautiful covers. Thank you to our loyal and amazing street team the Verity Knights – especially beta reader extraordinaire Claire Knight and the super supportive Rachel Goodson. Thank you to the Sitting Room, and its fearless leader MMT for the world-class education on sex-positivity.
To our husbands Pete and David, thanks for being good sports during endless conversations about paranormal sex and what goes where (sorry, it’s not going to end anytime soon!). Thank you to Jacqueline’s ancestral home Moscow for inspiration on our first stop in the Blood Web journey. Thank you to Andrey for your insights into the Moscow strip club world, and to our immigrant parents for making it possible for us to have lived in so many places so we’ve been able to describe them with a degree of authenticity. And a cuddly thanks to our pets Laika, Bruce, and Buttercup for being our cozy fluffy apocalypse serotonin boosters. But the biggest thank you goes to one other - for the long non-writing conversations, patience, hard work and phone therapy sessions. Because sisterhood is as vital to humans as it is to our Witches - especially in hard times. Here’s to many many more Blood Web adventures!
Also by Caedis Knight
Want to find out how Saskia’s story began?
Discover the Blood Web Chronicles prequel novella
SIRENS OF LOS ANGELES.
Out now on Amazon!
Verity Knights
Want to play an active role in shaping the Blood Web Chronicles and Saskia’s story?
Visit the Caedis Knight website and apply to be a part of the elite Blood Web Chronicles street team- the Verity Knights now!
About the authors
Caedis Knight is the pen name of two established fantasy authors, Jacqueline Silvester and N J Simmonds. Silvester began her career in screenwriting and lived all over the world before going on to pen her highly successful YA series Wunderkids. Spanish Londoner Simmonds' background was originally in marketing before writing her fantasy series The Indigo Chronicles, along with various Manga stories and writing collaborations. Together they created Blood Web Chronicles - their first paranormal romance series set in Europe. Great friends and avid travellers, you can find them whizzing between one another's homes in Germany and the Netherlands, or having Zoom calls to excitedly plot Saskia's next humorous sexy adventure.
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