Magic Below Paris Complete Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 8): Trading Into Shadow, Trading Into Darkness, Trading Close to Light, Trading By Firelight, Trading by Shroomlight, plus 3 more

by C. M. Simpson

  To Marsh’s surprise, the Master of Shadows shook his head, his eyes turning dark gray streaked with flashes of silver.

  “It’s too late.”

  “Master?”

  The head of the monastery indicated the trail, gazing in the direction.

  “Ring the bells and bar the gates. Gather the shadow guard in the main hall. They have taken the road. Send me Masters Herenvel and Kaspar. I need shadow speakers on the walls.”

  His eyes were still a swirling mix of black and silver when he turned away from the cavern and moved for the stairs, touching the Master of Stone on the shoulder as he passed.

  “I must apologize, but I think you might be staying longer than planned. I trust you left your best in charge?”

  “Master Voclain,” she replied, and Marsh saw some of the tension leave the Shadow Master’s shoulders.

  “Very good. Will you join our council of war?”

  He included the Master of Beasts in his invitation, and the man nodded.

  “It would be our pleasure.”

  Marsh barely noticed when they left the tower, although she was aware when the space around her grew less crowded. She had looked beyond the Master of Shadows and out into the cavern, noting the long line of glows and the few that indicated the trade route, but that wasn’t why she kept staring into the dark.

  No. She knew why the Master of Shadows had called for the bells to be rung and the shadow guard gathered. The glows indicating the main trail were going out one at a time until the shadows bled over where the trade route had once been clearly marked. She saw that it was worse than that. Far worse.

  As she looked out across the cavern, Marsh saw the trail of lights growing shorter as shadows swallowed the road leading to the fortress. On one side of her, Tamlin took her hand. On the other side, Roeglin drew a sharp breath. Marsh knew they were watching the same thing she was—the glows being extinguished one by one.

  Tamlin’s grip tightened, and she took her eyes from the vanishing trail long enough to meet his gaze.

  “We’re going to have to learn really fast, aren’t we?”

  Marsh lifted her eyes to the trail and nodded.

  “Yeah, Tams. You up for it?”

  “Brigitte’s going to teach me how to use shadow blades,” he said, “and you’re going to show me shields.”

  It was news to her, but Marsh didn’t argue. Roeglin didn’t sound impressed.

  “And what am I going to teach you?”

  But Tamlin had no doubts.

  “Everything,” the boy said. “We’re gonna need to learn all the things.”

  “Yeah. All the things,” Marsh said, breathing a sigh of relief when the shadow stopped its inward creep. “We need to know all the things, and then we need to stop them.”

  Of that, she had no doubt. They had to learn to master their magic, and they had to learn fast. Then they had to find the raiders and stop them, or the Four Settlements were finished. Looking into the encroaching dark, she couldn’t stop a shiver from running through her.

  The trail of glows leading toward the cavern’s edge was shorter, but it was still there. All Marsh could hope for was that it would shrink no farther and they could restore it. She also had to hope Ruins Hall still stood and Kerrenin’s Ledge had not fallen by the time they reached them.

  No pressure, right?

  Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and she turned away from the view in time to see two mages in black robes trimmed with silver emerge into the tower. They were followed by four mages in black leather armor.

  “You need to clear the tower.”

  “We’re leaving now,” Roeglin told them. “May the threads be kind.”

  “And your sleep be deep.”

  It was as close to an order as Marsh had ever heard, and Marsh did not argue when Roeglin signaled for her and the children to follow him from the tower. Up until that moment, she hadn’t noticed the silent presence of her four guards. Now she did.

  “What are you going to do?” she asked, and Lennie gave her a fierce grin.

  “Exactly what the cavern founder wanted,” she said. “I’m going to hole up here until the baby’s born, and then I’m going to go and kick some raider ass.”

  “And the rest of us will be guarding you and Master Roeglin, as Monsieur Gravine hired us to do. You have yet to give him the Shadow Master’s answer.”

  Marsh took a deep breath and followed Roeglin down the stairs, aware of Tamlin walking at her side. Aware too that her future was not going to be what she’d thought it would. Gone were her plans to be a seeker of ancient artifacts, but she didn’t regret their loss. What she was planning now was so much bigger than searching for clues to the past.

  Now she had to find a way to preserve both the present and future, and looking at those descending the stairs with her, Marsh knew she was in good company. Together they would drive the raiders back and find the ones they’d taken, but first, they needed to master the skills they had and take back the cavern they were in—and they had to do it fast.

  All she could hope was that they’d be fast enough and the four settlements would still be there when they reached them.

  Author Notes - CM Simpson

  February 22, 2019

  Firstly, THANK YOU. For picking up this book, and for reading to the author notes… which, by the way, are really, really hard to write. I am currently tempted to sneak a short, short story in here, because it would be fun, but I’m pretty sure Michael would notice.

  However, if any of you would LIKE to see… er, no?

  Wow. The man can yell….

  Kidding – he hasn’t seen these yet, and I’m nervous so I’m poking the bear… Not… that Michael is a bear, okay? Soooo…perhaps I’d better change feet, and maybe talk a bit about the book and the characters, and what a blast it’s been to write it—because it has been; it really has.

  I love stories. I love creating them, writing them, and discovering the worlds and people hiding out in my head. Okay, I admit it—most of the time it’s me hiding out in my head, and the characters and stories just happen to be there when I arrive—and, sometimes, just occasionally, I like to take a walk in someone else’s universe and discover the amazing people and places that exist there.

  It’s always a privilege when I am invited or allowed to do this, and I’m always honoured when someone is kind enough to let me. Thank you, Michael. It’s quite a universe you have here—and I have loved the time I’ve so far spent in this small corner of it. And thank you Amy, L.E. and C.M.

  Who knew there were so many mushrooms beneath Paris? Or creatures?

  And the people… well… I hope they’ve kicked a sufficient amount of ass. Trust me, they’re planning on kicking a whole lot more.

  The last week has been a bit of a whirlwind, as I’ve been writing Book 4 for this series, but also balancing editing for Books 1-3 with homeschooling my youngest and working out covers and all the rest of the things that go with being a writer. Today, for instance, was spent editing this book, and putting the next to last pieces together for its release. Tomorrow, I get to head out to spend some time with my family, who, for some reason are still talking to me...

  Actually, they’re a funny bunch; the busier I get, the more they invade the writing corner and hug me. There are days I think I need a box I can stuff them all into so I can have fifteen minutes’ peace, but then it would be too quiet, and I’d get nothing done, anyway. They keep me sane, while driving me absolutely crazy.

  And they’re not the only ones, I’ve met some of the very nicest people while putting these stories together, both in the KGU and Age of Magic Facebook groups, and in the amazing teams that support the creation of these books. I have the best editors in the world, and the most scary-awesome Beta and JIT teams… and a cover artist whose work I love. And I get to write stories set in the Age of Magic? Hell, yes! Sign me up.

  Oh, wait… you did already… and you what?

  When’s the next book coming out?r />
  Soon, I promise. Soon.

  Now, go bug Michael, while I get it done.

  Thanks for having me, for reading this far, and for enjoying this universe as much as I do.

  I look forward to catching youall on the flip.

  If you want to catch me sooner, you can find me on my blog, or on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest, or you can sign up for my newsletter.

  Whatever you decide, thank you for sharing this part of my journey.

  Author Notes - Michael Anderle

  February 24, 2019

  THANK YOU for not only reading this story but these Author Notes as well.

  (I think I’ve been good with always opening with “thank you.” If not, I need to edit the other Author Notes!)

  RANDOM (sometimes) THOUGHTS?

  I’m going to riff on what C.M. Simpson talks about (well, part of what she talks about), and that is the voices and characters in our heads.

  Especially when we are growing up.

  For a long time in my life, I assumed everyone had these episodes of activity in their heads. So, imagine my surprise (and new understanding) when I realized I was the one listening to the story in my head, and others had no comprehension why I wasn’t listening to them speak to me.

  Didn’t others have these troubles? Didn’t others have characters talk to them when their father was displeased, and they couldn’t focus on their father because two tiny elves just started a fight on his shoulders while they were trying to look meek and mild?

  Apparently not.

  He didn’t appreciate my smirk that slipped out, I don’t think.

  “But I was listening!” I would argue. Then my eyes would look at his shoulder to see if the elves would peek out.

  I think I got grounded three extra days for those damned elves.

  AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS

  One of the interesting (at least to me) aspects of my life is the ability to work from anywhere and at any time. In the future, I hope to re-read my own Author Notes and remember my life as a diary entry.

  Las Vegas, NV USA

  Right now, my wife is watching the Oscars as I type these Author Notes. The Divine Miss M just performed a song, and I’m fighting a splitting headache.

  I’m reminded, as I’m staring at the tv in the other room, that one year ago we did not have that tv in my household, and my wife was watching the Oscars on YouTube TV.

  On an iPad.

  She missed the last ten minutes because of a screw up on YouTube TV, and it killed the Oscars feed to the iPad. My nice world, at that moment, ended in our household.

  Thanks a lot, Google. YouTube TV cost me over a thousand dollars to make sure she never missed ten minutes of the Oscars again.

  Happy wife, happy life.

  It seems money can buy happiness.

  FAN PRICING

  $0.99 Saturdays (new LMBPN stuff) and $0.99 Wednesday (both LMBPN books and friends of LMBPN books.) Get great stuff from us and others at tantalizing prices.

  Go ahead. I bet you can’t read just one.

  Sign up here: http://lmbpn.com/email/.

  HOW TO MARKET FOR BOOKS YOU LOVE

  Review them so others have your thoughts, and tell friends and the dogs of your enemies (because who wants to talk to enemies?)… Enough said ;-)

  Ad Aeternitatem,

  Michael Anderle

  Trading Into Darkness

  The Magic Below Paris™ Book Two

  1

  Shadow-Raid Ambush

  The trail ahead passed through a tall stand of calla shrooms, but Marchant had no time to admire their graceful white trunks or the soft glow coming from the undersides of their caps. Nor did she have time to collect any of the smaller shrooms and toadstools growing at their feet. Stretching her magic into the cavern around her, she knew Mordan had sensed the ambush, too.

  The big kat stalked silently a half-dozen yards to her right, moving through the cavern dark as Marsh adjusted her eyes to see better. The problem with calla shrooms was that they were hard to see over…unless you weren’t from the world below and were built a little taller and wider than its inhabitants.

  But Marsh wasn’t that lucky. She was slender and slight of build like all cavern folk, her skin pale and shaded like the cream-colored stones among which she made her home. Her eyes were a touch darker than her skin, with green flecks, and a golden tinge, and her hair a disciplined cascade of copper drawn back into a braid to keep it out of her eyes. She didn’t need it blocking her vision, even when she was using her magic to see.

  She walked down the path, drawing on the shadows as she went and asking them to show her who else shared the spaces they connected. Carefully, she gathered the shadow threads that answered her so she could see what they revealed.

  Not that the shadows spoke, but they connected the spaces in the cavern, and what they touched, Marsh touched too—which meant she could use the shadows to transmit an image of what was in the dark or use them to hear what was spoken out of range of her ears—if she could find the right connecting thread.

  She kept going forward, knowing she was moving farther into the trap that had been set. She had the kat, though, and the big beast was confident they could take the small force that awaited them. Marsh just had to draw their attention until she was ready…

  Before she could do that, though, the threads slid out of Marsh’s grasp, and she frowned. Someone else was using the shadows, pulling the threads she was calling on to search the dark right out of her fingers. Someone was using the shadows to shelter those waiting in ambush around her.

  Marsh pulled on the threads, trying to take them back, but the other mage had a stronger grip and she couldn’t. Maybe she and the kat had made a mistake. If they were facing a more powerful mage among their attackers, they might not be able to take them down.

  The attack began before she could act on that thought, the first strike coming from behind. Marsh felt the twist of the shadows and bounced two quick steps forward, pivoting even as the darkness came alive around her. Shadows thinned and dropped away, revealing the body heat of those hiding beneath them.

  The damn shadow mage had cloaked the waiting force so well she hadn’t seen through it using either her shadow magic or the nature magic that allowed her to sense the life forces around her.

  “Merde!”

  One of the ambushers laughed.

  “Got you this time, girl!”

  “Yuh think?” Marsh stepped forward, pushing her hands in front of her and then taking them wide.

  He gave a startled shout as a wall of shadow slammed into his chest and threw him back. More shouts came from either side of him as the attackers emerging from the shrooms were also flung back. As they fell, Marsh brought her arms back down and drew her sword.

  Magic was good for some battles, but the blade was always there when she needed it, and she could always call a shield to her arm. Behind her, the kat roared, and a man screamed.

  “Yield! I yield!”

  There was a growl, and he yelled again. Shortly afterward, there was another scream. The shield could wait. Marsh gave the fighters in front of her a feral grin, lifting her shield arm and opening her hand. Shadow drew together above it, forming an ebony dart. Marsh flicked her fingers, pointing at a man on the ground, and the dart flew toward him, slamming through the fabric of his cloak to pin him in place.

  “Hey!” he shouted, and Marsh laughed.

  Truth be told, that had been a little close for training purposes. When she called and directed the next two darts, she made sure they dissipated into harmless smoke just before they hit the tunics of her other targets. Both men stopped their advance and dropped to the ground as though they’d been hit, waiting for the battle to end.

  Behind her, the screams had stopped. By her count, Marsh figured the kat had taken down the other three members of the raiding party, which was strange because she was sure there was supposed to be one more. She reached out with her mind, touching the threads of shadow
that connected her with whoever else might be hiding in the dark.

  Once again, they slid out of her control, refusing to show what or who shared their touch.

  “Roeglin!” Marsh growled as he slid onto the path beside her.

  She caught the movement from the corner of her eye, but only barely. Turning, she raised her sword, calling shadows to form a shield on her free arm. His blade slammed against it seconds later.

  “Getting careless,” he said as they broke apart, circling each other warily.

  Marsh knew she was in trouble when the air at her back moved. She turned side-on, keeping her shield between her and the mage even as she parried the blade coming at her from behind.

  Mordan, she called, using her connection to the kat to show her where her opponents stood.

  The silence that met her was far from reassuring.

  Marsh backed up so both opponents were in easy view. Roeglin she knew, but the shadow guard who’d stepped into the fight was new. Faced with two experienced swordsmen and no kat to help her, Marsh knew surprise was her only hope for a win. Tossing the sword into the air, she made a quick sweeping gesture with her hand.

  Black tendrils lashed out, snaking around the shadow guard’s feet…or they would have if he hadn’t quick-stepped to one side and brought his shadow-coated blade down to sever them. Marsh realized that she and Roeglin weren’t the only ones who could work shadow magic. The guard retaliated with a dart that Marsh caught on her shield as Roeglin’s eyes flashed white.

  Merde, Marsh thought, wondering what the mage was trying to conjure in her mind.