by Taki Drake
She watched as the light of life left his remaining eye, and his body tumbled in a heap to the ground. She felt no anger, no rage. Her focus had been to see justice done and to remove a source of evil in the land.
She was sure that later on she would cry and shake. She would throw up, and she would shiver. But for right now, she was content. She had done what she said she would do, and she had done it with honor. There was one less blood mage to prey on her people, one less man of no honor to subvert those that were trying to build their own understanding of life.
He would have been a blot on the land for those that were trying to find their Shade of Honor. The movement toward a new place for the Russian witches in the world was starting. And Krava and people like him had no place in that.
TAKI DRAKE
Thank you for taking the time to read my book. I appreciate everyone that chooses to visit the products of my imagination. I have read extensively for many decades, delighting in the wonderful worlds that other people have created for me. After a lot of encouragement from friends and colleagues, I was convinced to turn my own writing skills to fiction and nonfiction works for public consumption. For a Midwesterner, happily ensconced in the midst of the chaos of cats, dogs, and husband, it has been and amazing, and humbling, experience.
The sheer act of writing things to share with others has given me a new appreciation for both the power and the cost of the written word. I have learned that, just like sleep is an optional luxury for single parents, so is it a totally expendable currency for writers. The drive to write, to create, can be relentless. I find myself taking notes at strange times, wanting to discuss space battles in the middle of expensive restaurants, and other behavior that only a loving and tolerant spouse could accept.
Writing in TS Paul’s Federal Witch World has been an exhilarating experience. It has stretched me to write in different ways then I have before and ones that I am looking forward to doing again. We meld well in our energy and in the way that we feed ideas off of each other. He is an amazing person, and one that I am pleased to call “friend.” Look for many more things from us over the next few months. It will be FUN!
I hope you have enjoyed this book. Comments and feedback can of course be entered into Amazon and good reads. But you can also reach me at [email protected] or by signing up for my newsletter at http://www.takidrake-author.com/. The blog also will let you know about the things that are new with me and some sneak peaks and advanced information about publication.
There several series that I have started to publish. In the fantasy and science fiction areas I have two: Becoming Sephera about a woman’s journey from a pampered heir to a self-reliant, and responsible member of society, and the Unfettered Mage about technology and magic among the stars. Both of these series fall into an emerging genre called techmage where technology and magic combine for explosive and interesting mixtures. The books in each series are listed below. Please feel free to chime in about how you like them and what you would like to see next.
I would love to hear from you!
TS Paul
Wow! What a crazy time this has been. The Federal Witch Universe just got a whole lot bigger. I met Taki last year on the 20bks to 50k facebook group. I think it was on a conference call when we first met and became friends. She’s a fan and one day mentioned she had a marvelous idea for books explaining the Russian connection and where the mercenaries all came from. My answer was cool! This book and the sequels to come were born from that conversation.
Coming soon from me is Night of the Unicorn, Book 5 in the Federal Witch series. I’m also working on a short novel about what exactly happened to Agatha’s Aunt Camilla at the end of Book 4. That will be called Darkness Revealed. I am also working with Taki on more cookbooks set in the Universe.
Check in with my Book Bub, Goodreads, or Amazon Author Page for more information and updates for Books coming soon. My website contains Shorts and Snippets weekly just for me readers. Follow me on Facebook to catch early release information as well as the occasional Cat video.
Becoming Sephera
A Learning Experience
You Just Go On – July 2017
The Unfettered Mage
We Are Not Prey
Fleet of the Mage – June 2017
Tachyon Wars
Tachyon Landfall – July 2017
Badger Hole Bar
Thru the Badger Hole – June 2017
The Passage Beyond – July 2017
Anthologies
Holiday Heartwarmers
The Expanding Universe (Book 1)
The Expanding Universe (Book 2)
The Tide - The Multiverse Wave
Inanna’s Circle: The Game Begins
Inanna’s Circle: Flight of Imagination - Through the Darkness
Cupids Bow
Cookbooks
A Food Palate - Holiday Heartwarmers
A Tasting Sampler
Marcella’s Garden Cookbook
Fergus Favorites
Badger Hole Bar Food
Marcella’s Summer Bounty Cookbook – June 2017
Instapot Magic – June 2017
Taking it on the Road Cookbook – June 2017
Cooking for the Apocalypse – July 2017
Happy reading, joyful eating!
The Federal Witch
Born a Witch Drafted by the FBI! Now Available in Audio!
Conjuring Quantico Now Available in Audio!
Magical Probi Now Available in Audio!
Special Agent in Charge Audio Coming Soon
Witness Enchantment
Night of the Unicorn
Invisible Elder - TBD
Blood on the Moon - TBD
Child of Darkness -TBD
A Draft of Dragons -TBD
Cat’s Night Out, Tails from the Federal Witch Audio Coming Soon
Co-written with Author Taki Drake
Shade of Honor
Coven Codex -TBD
A Confluence of Covens -TBD
Conflict of Commitments -TBD
Standard of Honor -TBD
The Mongo Files
The Case of the Jamaican Karma -TBD
The Case of the Lazy Magnolia - TBD
The Case of the Rugrat Exorcist -TBD
Cookbooks From the Federal Witch Universe
Marcella’s Garden Cookbook
Fergus Favorites Cookbook
Badger Hole Bar Universe
Badger Hole Bar Food Cookbook
Athena Lee Chronicles
The Forgotten Engineer
Engineering Murder
Ghost ships of Terra
Revolutionary
Insurrection
Imperial Subversion
The Martian Inheritance - Audio Now Available
Infiltration
Prelude to War
War to the Knife
Ghosts of Noodlemass Past
Athena Lee Universe
Shades of Learning
Space Cadets - Coming Soon Early 2017
Short Story Collections
Wilson’s War
A Colony of CATTs
Box Sets
Chronicles of Athena Lee - Books 1-3
Chronicles of Athena Lee - Books 4-6
Chronicles of Athena Lee - Books 7-9 plus the prequel
The Federal Witch Book 1
Standalone or tie-ins
The Tide: The Multiverse Wave
The Lost Pilot
Uncommon Life
Kutherian Gambit
Alpha Class. The Etheric Academy book 1
Alpha Class. The Etheric Academy Book 2
Alpha Class The Etheric Academy Book 3 - Coming soon
Non Fiction
Get that Sh@t off Your Cover!
Don’t forget to check the Blog every week for a New Wilson or Fergus story.
A series of deep tones and subtle vibrations begin to build within the room. As the sounds got more musical and louder, t
he swirling lights began to subside. Pawlik’s figure became more visible although Cal was having some difficulty seeing his mother. She appeared almost fuzzy to his eyes, which made him repeatedly rub his eyes in a vain attempt to see what was happening more clearly.
Finally, the sound transformed from a cacophony to a small repeated musical motif. The strength of the sound rattled against the hard surfaces of the room and rebounded to assault ears everywhere. There was a moment of an almost unbearable sound and intensity before all noise abruptly ceased, just as the swirling lights disappeared.
No one moved for a moment, as the entire room stared at the tableau. Pawlik was frozen in a kneeling posture with Ruth’s body held to his chest. His face was contorted in a grimace of pain, but his hold on Ruth was gentle. Flickers of light continued to crawl across his skin in small tendrils. His appearance was startling but paled in impact beside that of the body he was holding. Ruth’s face was calm and unlined, seemingly serene and untroubled. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her legs were extended, toes pointed. Wrapping her lower body in multicolored leaf shapes were shiny, veined petals of a reflective material.
The shapes appeared to be slowly building a covering around Ruth that reached from her toes to her mid-thighs. Even as the onlookers stared, the shrouding encased another handwidth of her body. Cal started up with a cry and lunged for his mother’s form, only to have his motion arrested by Gray. The man had ceased his muttering and was looking resigned but in control. He gave Cal’s arm a small shake and said, “You can’t help her now boy. Let Pawlik take care of her. He’s the only one that can touch her.”
Cal stared uncomprehendingly at Gray and asked, “What do you mean? I have to do something to help her.”
“They have bonded, and Pawlik is now her Anchor. All Mages are said to need someone that connects them to a planetary residence. When she broke her mind, her harmony with the place of her birth was forever destroyed. She will never again be able to live inside or on a planet without an Anchor.”
Cal drew a shaking breath and straightened up. He looked over at Ruth and saw that Pawlik had stood up, still cradling Ruth’s body. In total silence, Pawlik carefully strode across the floor and through the doorway, taking his burden to the privacy of a different place.
Find this book and more here!
“Agatha snap the hell out of it! It’s not your fault this time. How were you to know they were behind you?”
“Fergus, I should have checked. Magnus always said to cast a reveal spell before attempting any diagnostic of any kind. I didn’t do one first!”
“Magnus? Which one was he?”
“He was the first trainer, remember, the one with the funny white hair?”
“Are you sure he wasn’t the one with the hooked nose?”
“No, that was Erik. He was the German one. Magnus was the guy with the funny accent who always called me Missy.”
“I think you’re wrong. The Missy guy was the Texan. Mannerly or something like that. He didn’t stay very long.”
That is the problem right there. The FBI only had mercenaries on staff. The Witch Council had promised the FBI that they would send trainers to fix my magical problem as part of the deal that allowed me to join.
I kept breaking them.
They gave me conflicting instructions or approached my problem the wrong way. None of them were actually injured; well, except that one guy. Brady something. How was I to know the bridge by the highway had an actual troll living under it? I have to agree with Fergus though. He did look pretty funny being chased across the front lawn by a large hairy beast.
My magic is broken. I can do little stuff, but anytime I try a large spell or something off-the-cuff, there is a fifty-fifty chance of something unusual happening. That is what happened today.
“Agatha, cast the spell exactly as I have written.”
“But, Sir. Shouldn’t I cast a reveal spell first? I really should check first.”
“Young lady! You will do as I have asked or I will tell the Witch Council you are refusing to cooperate. Now do as I say! Cast the spell.”
The instructor’s name was Montgomery. Not Monte and definitely not Gomer. He resembled that old guy from the first Dinosaur movie. The one about the theme park.
“OK, Montgomery. Here goes.” I cast my first diagnostic spell. It was supposed to examine the crime scene and identify any magical traces. The effect was that each foreign trace would light up and glow. It was pretty cool when he did it. I glanced at my cheat sheet and began the spell. It must have been either my pronunciation or a hand motion but something was wrong.
“Stop! Stop! You must stop! Stupid girl!” Stupid him. I was committed and had to finish the spell, even he knew that.
As I said the last word, a bright flash of light lit the field up and I heard a sound behind me that was a cross between a grunt and a screech. “Uh, oh.”
I spun around just in time to see what looked like a large rabbit hop by. The animal was twice the size of a normal rabbit but now had antlers.
“What did you do? That is not the spell I gave you!” The new Council teacher was beyond mad. His face was inflamed and fire was spitting from his eyes.
“Sir, it is. See!” I held out the spell to him. He grabbed it from my hands and began checking it line by line.
“What is this notation right here?”
I peered at the line halfway through. “It looks like the word verða.”
“It’s not. It’s the wrong tense. It needs to be umskipti. I didn’t write it that way. Why is it on here?” He thrust the paperwork back at me.
“Sir, I copied it exactly from your notes.”
“I do not make mistakes! You are trying to blame this disaster on me and I won’t have it!” He stormed away, ranting to the heavens. I stared at the paper in my hands. We used old Norse as a modern magical language for all our spells. The word ‘change’ actually has five different spellings in old Norse. I guess now I know what happens when I use the wrong one.
“You just broke another one, Agatha!”
“How? I don’t see what it is I did wrong! He just walked off.”
“Uh, did you see the creature a minute ago?”
“Yeah it looked like a rabbit or something.”
“You made another one, Agatha. That used to be a rabbit and a deer.”
That horrified me. Those poor creatures. Somehow my use of the wrong word for ‘change’ made my magic modify those beautiful creatures. “I guess he is going to report me...”
Read the first book in the Federal Witch series Here!
Copyrights
This book is a work of fiction, All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.
No actual Unicorns, Demons, Fae, Dragons, Witches, Spirits, or Gods were harmed in the making of this book. Promise.
Copyright © 2017 T S Paul
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
The phrases ©Badger Hole Bar and ©Badger Hole Bar Universe are creations and property of Author Taki Drake and are used here with her permission.
Cover designed by Heather Hamilton-Senter
http://www.bookcoverartistry.com/
Great Big Thanks to :
Developmental Editing by Diane Velasquez and Dorene Johnson AKA the (real) D’s.
Final Editing by Kat Lind, The Dragon Lady
All writing was done on Scrivener and Google Docs
Special thanks to my wife Heather who keeps me grounded and to Merlin the Cat, we are his minions and to all the members of Phoenix prime.
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