Author: Maggie Mundy
ISBN: 978-1-62420-250-6
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Excerpt Heat Level: 1
Book Heat Level: 4
Clare and Trevi made their way through a portal to get
back to Earth. Instead, they find themselves on a dying world as a mysterious
mist closes in. Trevi’s scarred twin brother, Celi, has accompanied them. He meets
a female magician called Fane, who has been an outcast just like him. In this
world only men are magicians and they believe her existence is the cause for
the mist. Fane and Trevi learn to trust and eventually love each other as they
fight to find a way to save the world. There are people who want Fane dead and
to use her to get off the dying world, but Celi will use all his powers as a
vampire to stop them.
EXCERPT
Celi awoke with
a start as the door to the room opened and a young woman entered. He huddled
against the wall. She held her hand to her nose. Did he smell? He sniffed
himself, he had not considered what he looked or smelled like before. No one
had cared or would have wanted him, so what did it matter? His jailor’s in the
past would sometimes strip him of clothes and throw cold water on him. Usually
if they knew Sari was coming. So many things were occurring to him since he had
joined his mind with Trevi. He wished in some way he could have his ignorance
back.
"They
weren't lying when they said you stink. Typical I get this job. You and I, the
rejects."
Two men entered
with a big tub and plonked it down. They returned and filled it with hot water,
muttering under their breath as they gawked at him.
"You sure
you'll be alright with him? He bites, you know?" They laughed but they had
their hands on the hilts of their swords as they spoke.
"If I can
cope with his smell, I can cope with his teeth. He's fed, and I can look after
myself. You won't bite me, will you?" She stared straight at him, waiting
for an answer.
Celi shook his
head and watched as the men left, then he glanced back at the woman to see if
she wanted to follow them.
"Well come
on. Come here," the woman said, as she motioned for him to move away from
the security of the wall. She didn't look frightened; instead she tapped her
foot as though she were impatient.
Celi moved and
sat as he was told. Doing what he was told was something he was good at. The
woman grabbed his hair and the pain speared across the top of his head. He
turned on her, his fangs lengthening in anger. She shook her head at him as
sparks left her fingertips and sent shocks throughout his body. He pulled away
and hobbled back over to lean against the wall again, covering his head with
his arms. Her footsteps got closer and he waited for the next onslaught of
pain. Pain was what he expected and knew how to deal with. Maybe she wanted him
to kill someone?
"Sorry,
you caught me off guard. I shouldn't have been so rough. I didn't mean to hurt
you. It's just that sometimes I can't control the magic as best as I'd like to.
I'm Fane. I'm just here to wash you and cut your hair." She held out her
hand.
Celi didn't
move. He crouched against the wall with his hands over his face. He was
disfigured and repulsive. His long matted hair reached down past his shoulders
and had always offered some protection so that nobody would have to look upon
his deformed face. The guards who had taunted him over the years would
sometimes show him a mirror so he could see the scarred reflection. He hadn't
needed to see it to know it was there. He lived with the agony of it every day.
He retracted his fangs, for fear she would hurt him again.
"You don't
need to look at me, but I need to chop this hair off. The days of a comb doing
any good here are long gone. Do you have a name?" Fane said, as she gently
touched his head and offered her other hand to help him stand.
"Celi."
He took her hand in his, hesitant in case the same sparks he had felt before
would return. He limped across to a chair and sat, while still keeping the
other hand covering his face. He could hear the snip of scissors and gazed
between his fingers at the pile of matted hair growing on the floor at his
feet.
"Damn,"
Fane yelled as she moved away, holding her hand.
Celi's fangs
popped through his gums again at the smell of her blood. It was unlike any he
had smelt before. She backed away as he reached out and grabbed her hand in
his. He didn't care if she hurt him again. She smelled so good, he had to taste
her.
"Let
go," she shouted.
She had cut her
thumb and the beautiful trail of red blood was flowing down her wrist. He
leaned forward and licked the wound clean. Trevi had showed him how this had
healed Clare when she had been injured. He hoped the result would be the same
now. The aroma of her blood was so alluring he would have found it hard not to
resist, even if he didn't heal her. The door to the room was flung open as two
guards rushed in with their swords drawn. Celi scuffled across the room and
pressed up against the wall, waiting for the onslaught. His heart beat fast,
but the attack never came. Fane stood in front of him and put up her hand to
stop them.
"It's
alright. I just nipped myself with the shears."
"You
should have left the hair on. At least it covered his ugly mug. He's more of a
freak than you are." The soldier laughed and shook his head as he left.
Fane glanced
across at him. "Take no notice of them. You're a strange one though.
That's the first time I've seen a bloodsucker heal a person and not feast on
them. Didn't know they could heal wounds with a lick. It's a secret they've
kept well hidden in this world. Now, put those fangs away and sit down and let
me finish."
His head felt
lighter and his breathing became slower as his body relaxed. He didn't speak
but he let Fane continue until he was shorn. He tried to understand the
sensation her blood had given him. It was not like the humans or the animals he
knew of, and it was not evil like Sari's, but even the small amount he had
taken had eased his pain. For a second, the cloud covering his right eye had
cleared and the room had come more clearly into focus. Now it had clouded again
and was the same as before. He had glimpsed something else, too. The blood had
given them a connection for a moment, before she had shielded her mind. The
Lady Alicia had sent her here but Fane had not wanted to come. She had feared
him, but felt she had no choice. If she was to be allowed to stay longer with
this clan, she had to gain information for them.
He watched now
with more understanding, as she gathered up the hair and placed it in a basket.
Celi moved one of his hands away from his face and stretched out to touch the
cut hair which was hard and gritty between his fingers. Then he ran his hand
over his head, the hair was short and prickly. It was as if what had made him
who he was had been removed. The men were right. No one should have to gaze
upon his misshapen form, least of all this person who was showing him kindness.
He was once again lost, not knowing what to do or how to react.
For so many
years the sound of High Priestess Sari's voice echoing in his head had been all
he knew. She had told him how to think and what to do. His brother's thoughts
had been there briefly, but they seemed faint now and beyond his grasp. He had
his brother's knowledge, but no experience, nor the ability to cope with it.
The pain in his body was strong again. The only thing that had kept it at bay
was Sari's blood and now he didn't have her blood any longer.
Fane eased his
clothes off and helped him into the tub. That he was naked did not matter to
him, but he didn't want to inflict such a sight on her. He wished Trevi were
here so he could explain everything about his life to her, so she would
understand and not be offended. Fane knelt beside the tub and soaped up her
flannel. She had not cringed or shown pity. In fact she had not reacted, apart
from the show of painful magic. Now she washed his face as she hummed. The
sound was beautiful and Celi found himself smiling, or attempting to. He must
have appeared grotesque as the scars on his cheek pulled his lips into a
contorted grin. For the first time since she had come into the room, he peeked
at her.
She had long
black hair that was tied back in a plait and her eyes were brown with gold and
green flecks in them. He had always thought Sari beautiful, but now he realized
she was evil hiding inside a pretty cover. Fane's body wasn't skinny like Sari,
or the other servant girls he had seen. He tried not to stare but could not
draw his eyes away from the neckline of her dress which revealed her breasts.
He had never touched a woman, apart from feeding, but he appreciated the curves
of Fane's body, with her small waist and rounded hips.
She scrubbed
away the layers of dirt and the warm water eased his aching body. Celi grasped
her hand in his good right one. "I'm sorry." She squinted at him as
if she didn't understand. "For my body. You should not be made to
look."
She shook her
head at him. "Shut up. I had a brother and a cousin who walked around
naked all the time. I'm no shy thing. You, my friend, have been a long time in
need of attention. The Lady Alicia sent me to care for you because she didn't
think you could manage. It's why I'm here and happy to do it. She thought you
might be slow in the head. You're not though, are you?" She raised an
eyebrow as she gazed at him.
"Maybe."
Celi heard a sound come from his throat that he had not heard before and he
guessed it was his first laugh.
"You've a
sense of humor then? I don't know why you've not taken care of yourself, but if
you don't look after this hair from now on, I'll do a spell and make you bald
forever. Understand?" She wagged a finger at him.
"Yes. I
promise I will," he answered, knowing what she had said would probably be
true. He didn't want to feel the pain of her magic again.
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