by TR Cameron
The detective shrugged. “I’ve seen too many people supposedly get out, only to be right back in line the moment things got tough.”
“Trust me, lady, things would be way tougher for me in than they are out.”
“So you say.”
He shook his head, clearly exasperated. Cali interrupted. “So, you’ve checked in. It was lovely to see you. You can go now.”
“One more thing.” Barton chuckled. “You did me a solid, and you were right. Those four were ready to leave town once they discovered they’d attacked the other gang without orders and gave us information in exchange for transport. There is a group of Atlanteans coming in on a cruise ship next week.” She tossed a card on the table with the normally blank side upward showing a name and date written on it.
The woman gave them a dismissive wave as she walked back to the bar, shared a word and a laugh with Zeb, and aimed toward the door. Before she left, she turned and stared hard at Cali with her blank detective face. “I’ll have my eyes on you both.”
She called, “Not if we see you first,” but the woman was already out of the tavern.
Tanyith laughed. “Mature.”
“I don’t need to be mature. You’re the old one. Well, you and Zeb.”
The dwarf joined them at the table with three cups in his hands. Each was half full, and she recognized his cask special inside. “It’s the last of the batch so it’s fitting that we share it.” He raised his cup. “To the three of you. Because of your actions, New Orleans is a little more just than it was a week ago.”
They clinked the glasses together and drank half of it. The liquid burned its way down into her stomach. It was cleansing, leaving a purity in its wake. She smiled at her friends, feeling freer than she had since the discovery of her parents’ secret restraint of her magic. Despite the drama of the notion, she knew in her soul a connection existed between the city’s need for champions and the revelation of her power. Perhaps Tanyith’s return was part of fulfilling that same need. In any case, this moment felt more like a beginning than an ending.
She raised her own glass. “To all those who are willing to stand for what’s right.” They touched glasses in silence and finished their drinks.
Zeb collected the empty glassware and frowned at her with mirth in his eyes. “All right, hop down off your fancy pedestal and get to work. Break time’s over. I’m not paying you to sit around.”
Her scathing reply never reached her lips. The Draksa dispelled his veil and snorted icy mist over her, which made her yelp and fall off the bench in an attempt to avoid it. By the time she got back up, the others were laughing so hard they wouldn’t listen. She glared at Fyre, who gave her a completely innocent look. “Oh, you’ll pay for that, lizard breath. When you least expect it.”
His fake scared look made them laugh more. Cali gave up and headed to the bar to prep for the dinner crowd. You’ll all pay. Wait and see.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Rion Grisham sat on the new couches that decorated his basement office. After the violation of the space by the Atlanteans several nights before, he’d had it ripped down to the frame, then fixed and redecorated. The teams had worked around the clock and overall, it was an improvement.
On the couch arranged at a ninety-degree angle to his own were the two men who had accompanied him to the dwarf’s tavern. The one on the left was his second in command and clearly attempted to model himself after his boss—same clothes, same hair, and same shaven face. The one on the right was a highly paid wizard who had a personal grudge against the Atlanteans and had thus been willing to ally with the gang. He wore jeans and a sweatshirt, and there was no way to be certain that the face he saw was the mage’s real one. The disguise he’d worn at the meeting had been an entirely different person.
Grisham asked, “What are your recommendations?”
His lieutenant responded instantly. “Hit the streets harder. We’ve been gentler than we need to. Let’s put the screws to anyone who resists. If we move quickly, we can expand our territory so fast the Lants won’t be able to stop us. Then, we’ll have more resources to squash them like the bugs that they are.”
The wizard had begun to shake his head from the first words. “That’s not enough. Yes, let’s do that. But we need to strike directly at those who oppose us now. We can’t wait until the situation improves. We must do both immediately. And not only the Atlanteans. Everyone.”
The first man countered, “That adds considerable risk. We were here before them and can outlast them.”
“No. You don’t understand. Right now, you picture a two-sided battle with spectators. But it’s not that at all. We have more than one set of enemies—the other gang and the allegedly neutral dwarf and his friends. They’ve joined the game and present a danger to us. You don’t really buy that the items somehow happened to come to the Dark Elf, I’m sure.”
Grisham nodded thoughtfully. “Those are both valid points. But there’s one more thing. You need to track down the ones who were in here. You saw them on the security footage. We need to make a public example of them or no one will believe us when we threaten them.” He leaned forward and stared from one to the other. “Do it. Do it all. Locate them, put pressure on the streets, and find a way to strike at the dwarf and his people. I want results, and I want them now.”
He leaned back as they filed from the room. Blood is the only thing that will cleanse the stain on this house.
Across town, at the bar of the otherwise empty Shark Nightclub, Usha and Danna sat with short glasses of heavily spiced rum in front of them. She drained hers in one drink and set it down hard. Her subordinate did the same, then asked, “Ready?”
She nodded. “As ready as anyone can be for this experience. Remember, you are present but silent. She will not take kindly to any interruption.”
“Got it.” Danna stood and straightened the bright blue tie she wore over her black shirt. “Quiet as a mouse.”
“Quieter.” The boss smoothed her dress, which was covered in a colorful pattern that resembled light shining through blue waves. With a deep breath, she strode deliberately through the back door. She turned into the room the Zatora intruders had wrecked and shook her head at the damage. It had been left in disarray to remind herself of what was at stake. She crossed to the right-hand wall and whispered a spell to reveal a hidden door. The large pearl ring on her finger fit perfectly into a small hole, and she rotated her wrist.
The door unlocked with a click and swung outward. Inside was a cramped room, barely the size of a walk-in closet. They crowded in and the door closed, leaving them in darkness. The sound of waves filled the space as a glow appeared in the front of the room and the increased illumination revealed a sphere in the center of a basin of water that rested on a stone pedestal. A mist slowly gathered above it and undulated in place.
After several minutes, the vapors suddenly coalesced into a face. It was clearly female, with high cheekbones, sculptured eyebrows, and piercing eyes. Her hair was made of thick tentacles that waved softly in the air as if it was water, and the hint of a thick necklace was present where the image ended in the middle of her throat. She sounded irritated and a palpable sense of dread filled the small chamber. “Yes? What do you have to report?”
Usha locked her spine and raised her chin. “Our plans proceed apace, Your Highness. However, new players have entered the field.”
“And this matters why?”
“A former member of this group, Tanyith, is among them.”
The image laughed. “Ah, there is a name from the past. I presume he is as troublesome now as he was then?”
She raised an eyebrow in surprise as she’d expected anger, not amusement. “Indeed so.”
The woman shrugged. “Then eliminate him. Eliminate them all. We must control this city if our plans are to succeed. You are the linchpin. Do you require assistance?”
Pride warred with practicality, and the latter won. She bowed her head. “Yes. A couple of enforcer
s would be helpful.”
“You shall have them within the day. But fail me, and they will be your doom.”
“Understood.”
“Do you have anything more?”
“No, Your Highness. Thank you.”
The image vanished without a response. Her subordinate exhaled noisily as the door swung open again and stepped quickly from the room. Usha followed and laughed inwardly at the effect of the audience on the other woman. It was much the same for me, once. “Are you well?”
Danna sank to the floor and worked visibly to control her trembling. “She is…uh, overwhelming.”
“Yes. That is only one of the reasons she is our empress. And we cannot—must not—fail her. There are indeed fates worse than death, and unless we claim this city for New Atlantis, we will experience all of them.”
The adventures don’t end here. Join Cali, Zeb and their band of magical outsiders as they try to keep New Orleans safe in Mystical Alley Groove!
Magic Ops
If you enjoyed this book, you may also enjoy the first series from T.R. Cameron, also set in the Oriceran Universe. The Federal Agents of Magic series begins with Magic Ops and it’s available now at Amazon and through Kindle Unlimited.
FBI Agent Diana Sheen is an agent with a secret…
…She carries a badge and a troll, along with a little magic.
But her Most Wanted List is going to take a little extra effort.
She’ll have to embrace her powers and up her game to take down new threats,
Not to mention deal with the troll that’s adopted her.
All signs point to a serious threat lurking just beyond sight, pulling the strings to put the forces of good in harm’s way.
Magic or mundane, you break the law, and Diana’s gonna find you, tag you and bring you in. Watch out magical baddies, this agent can level the playing field.
It’s all in a day’s work for the newest Federal Agent of Magic.
Available now at Amazon and through Kindle Unlimited
Author Notes - TR Cameron
October 15, 2019
Thank you for reading the first book in the Scions of Magic series! I hope you loved it as much as I loved writing it. I am grateful every day for the continued opportunity to connect with you through the stories we share.
This novel was written at home, at my gym, in airports, on planes, at a conference in Florida, on the bus, in the hospital (not as a patient fortunately), and in Panera. It’s been a busy time, but the characters and story have made me eager to return to the page every day and provided a refuge from the stresses around me. I hope they’ve done the same for you!
This tiny corner of the Oriceran Universe is a collaboration between me, Martha Carr, and Michael Anderle (who have written a ton of other works in the Oriceran timelines). It was just under a year ago that I wrote a short story for the Oriceran “Fans Write” anthology to try to convince Michael and Martha I had the chops to write in the fantastic world they’d created. Nine novels later, it’s going smashingly well (from my perspective, anyway. Their author notes are after mine, so perhaps there’s a conflicting view in there somewhere). I come up with a half-formed idea, and they bring their giant brains to bear and make it a trillion or so times better. I am exceedingly lucky to have such amazing people to work with.
I came to this one with the idea of a Dwarf owning a bar, a desire to flesh out the Atlanteans who were a really cool feature of the Leira Chronicles series, and a main character who was just starting to grow into her powers. Several elements of the plot and characters came from my collaborators, including the trope-breaking pacifist Dwarf, the prison break from Trevilsom, and some other fun stuff that will appear in future books.
New Orleans is my second favorite city in the United States, right after my hometown of Pittsburgh, so to write in that setting is truly a pleasure. It’s also the perfect melting pot for the Atlantean subculture to blend in and work their plans to establish a foothold on the continent from which to expand.
I’m an avid gamer in my occasional spare time, and I’m playing Control at the moment, and waiting for Outer Worlds. I’m totally a sucker for story-based computer RPGs, and that one has some real promise. And I’m counting the days to season four of the Expanse. Plus, since I’m a Star Wars fan, December is going to be a big month, and as a Star Trek fan, January will be just as big!
My eight-year-old daughter wants to write books with me, so that’s our current background project: figuring out where our interests meet to do it. She’s all about Minecraft and Spider-Man at the moment, and doesn’t understand licensing issues yet, so negotiations continue.
If you’re looking for another new read until book 2 comes out and haven’t checked out my other series, you totally should! There’s the Federal Agents of Magic, also set in the Oriceran Universe, and the Chaos Shift Cycle, a military sci-fi space opera set in its own universe. They share a focus on action, sharp banter, and imperfect heroes taking on powerful enemies. Plus, of course, there’s the incredible library of collected works from Martha Carr and Michael Anderle!
Until next time, joys upon joys to you and yours – so may it be.
PS: If you’d like to chat with me, here’s the place. I check in daily or more: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTRCameron. For more info on my books, and to join my reader’s group, please visit www.trcameron.com.
Author Notes - Martha Carr
October 25, 2019
It was a lively week in New York City hanging out with my godchild, Janine. We were there for my friend David’s birthday and we came a little early to do some shopping and take in the 911 memorial, maybe walk through Central Park.
The day of the guided tour for the memorial was as clear and blue as the day it happened over 18 years ago. If you go, take the guided walking tour because there is so much to find out about how carefully they laid out the trees and how the names are arranged on the memorials, and more. It adds something even deeper and richer when you walk into the museum, which by the way is so much bigger than it looks from the outside.
Here and there, tucked into an occasional name was a white rose placed there by a volunteer to signify that person’s birthday.
Over thirty-five years ago when I was in my early 20’s and living in New York City I used to travel through the Twin Towers (the North building I think) picking up a few groceries as I caught the subway. There were a lot of stores inside the very big building. One of those times I stopped in a small grocery store and went up to the counter and held up the last bit of money I had for a month.
“I have eight dollars. What will that buy me?” I asked.
The older store owner who looked like someone’s dad picked up a full-size brown paper bag and wrote $8.00 on the outside and handed it to me, saying, “Fill it.”
“With anything?” I asked, doing my best not to cry. I hated crying in public, but it was tough. He nodded his head and repeated himself. “Fill it up.” I’ve never forgotten his kindness and as I looked over the edge at the memorial I wondered where his shop had once stood and hoped he had long since retired.
The museum is deep and winds around and around with a carefully curated display that starts with the 1993 bombing and moves to just before the planes hit and includes the Pentagon and the crash in rural Pennsylvania. All of the lighting is lowered giving a solemn air and everyone moves through the different displays quietly and respectfully. One small room is on a continuous loop announcing the name of someone who died, a brief memory and their photo. Another room shows things donated by the families and plays a voicemail from someone on an upper level of the North Tower, which means he didn’t survive. A destroyed fire truck and the cement stairs from inside the building that were used by some to successfully escape were in there. Some of the items stretch for two stories and some are small enough to hold in the palm of your hand. There’s so much and it’s apparent that so much thought and care went into everything.
By the time we emerged into th
e sunlight we were exhausted and had walked over ten thousand steps. It all seemed a little surreal and spoke to the courage, resilience and in the end, the hope of the American people. As someone said in one of the recorded voices, “Hold your grief gently.” And then we get up and rebuild and go forward and believe in the possibilities again, changed by our experience. More adventures to follow.
Other series in the Oriceran Universe:
THE DANIEL CODEX SERIES
I FEAR NO EVIL
THE UNBELIEVABLE MR. BROWNSTONE
ALISON BROWNSTONE
SCHOOL OF NECESSARY MAGIC
SCHOOL OF NECESSARY MAGIC: RAINE CAMPBELL
FEDERAL AGENTS OF MAGIC
SCIONS OF MAGIC
THE LEIRA CHRONICLES
REWRITING JUSTICE
THE KACY CHRONICLES
MIDWEST MAGIC CHRONICLES
SOUL STONE MAGE
THE FAIRHAVEN CHRONICLES
OTHER BOOKS BY JUDITH BERENS
Books by Michael Anderle
For a complete list of books by Michael Anderle, please visit
www.lmbpn.com/ma-books/
All LMBPN Audiobooks are Available at Audible.com and iTunes. For a complete list of audiobooks visit:
www.lmbpn.com/audible
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