Courting Darkness (43 page)

Whispering Mirror:
A magical communications device that links Otherworld and Earth. Think magical video phone.

Y’Eírialiastar:
The Sidhe/Fae name for Otherworld.

Y’Elestrial:
The city-state in Otherworld where the D’Artigo girls were born and raised. A Fae city, recently embroiled in a civil war between the drug-crazed tyrannical Queen Lethesanar and her more level-headed sister Tanaquar, who managed to claim the throne for herself. The civil war has ended and Tanaquar is restoring order to the land.

Youkai:
Loosely (very loosely) translated as Japanese demon/nature spirit. For the purposes of this series, the youkai have three shapes: the animal, the human form, and the true demon form. Unlike the demons of the Subterranean Realms, youkai are not necessarily evil by nature.

I listen to a lot of music when I write, and when I talk about it online, my readers always want to know what I’m listening to for each book. So, in addition to adding the playlists to my website, I thought I’d add them in the back of each book so you can create your own if you want to hear my “soundtrack” for the books.

 

Aerosmith:
“Sweet Emotion”
Air:
“Napalm Love,” “Clouds Up”
Alan Parsons Project:
“Breakdown”
Alice Cooper:
“Some Folks”
Alice in Chains:
“Man in the Box”
Bon Jovi:
“Wanted Dead or Alive”
Bravery:
“Believe”
Buffalo Springfield:
“For What It’s Worth”
CCR:
“Born on the Bayou”
Chester Bennington:
“System”
Chris Isaak:
“Wicked Game”
Clannad:
“Newgrange,” “Banba Oir,” “I See Red”
Cobra Verde:
“Play with Fire”
David Bowie:
“Fame,” “Sister Midnight”
Death Cab For Cutie:
“I Will Possess Your Heart”
Deftones:
“Change (In the House of Flies)”
Depeche Mode:
“Dream On,” “Personal Jesus”
Disturbed:
“Down with the Sickness”

Everlast:
“What It’s Like”

Faun:
“Ne Aludj El,” “Deva,” “Punagra,” “Konigin,” “Iyansa,” “Rad,” “Sieben”

Gabrielle Roth:
“Mother Night,” “Rest Your Tears Here”

Gary Numan:
“Hybrid,” “Cars (Hybrid Remix),” “Down in the Park,” “Melt,” “Halo,” “Soul Protection,” “Walking with Shadows,” “Survival,” “Sleep by Windows,” “My Breathing”

Godhead:
“Penetrate”

Godsmack:
“Voodoo”

Gorillaz:
“Stylo”

Hedningarna:
“Gorrlaus,” “Juopolle Joutunut,” “Chicago,” “Ukkonen”

Hugo:
“99 Problems”

Jay Gordon:
“Slept So Long”

Lady Gaga:
“I Like It Rough”

Ladytron:
“Mu-Tron,” “Black Cat,” “Ghosts,” “Burning Up”

Lenny Kravitz:
“American Woman”

Lindstrom and Christabelle:
“Lovesick”

Little Big Town:
“Bones”

Loreena McKennitt:
“The Mummer’s Dance,” “All Soul’s Night”

Low:
“Half Light”

Madonna:
“Four Minutes (To Save the World)”

Marilyn Manson:
“Godeatgod,” “Arma-Goddamn-Motherfucking-Geddon,” “Tainted Love,” “Sweet Dreams”

NIN:
“Closer,” “Sin,” “Get Down Make Love,” “I Do Not Want This,” “Down in It,” “Deep”

Nirvana:
“Heart-Shaped Box,” “You Know You’re Right,” “Come As You Are”

Notwist:
“Hands on Us”

Orgy:
“Blue Monday,” “Social Enemies”

PCD:
“Don’t Cha,” “Buttons”

Radiohead:
“Creep,” “Climbing Up the Walls”

REM:
“Drive”

Rob Zombie:
“Never Gonna Stop”

Rolling Stones:
“Gimme Shelter”

Saliva:
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” “Broken Sunday”

Seether:
“Remedy”

Simple Minds:
“Don’t You (Forget about Me)”

Sully Erna:
“Avalon,” “My Light,” “The Rise”

Tears for Fears:
“Mad World”

Thompson Twins:
“The Gap”

Tina Turner:
“One of the Living”

Tool:
“Sober,” “Schism”

Tori Amos:
“Professional Widow,” “Caught a Lite Sneeze,” “Muhammad My Friend”

Transplants:
“Diamonds and Guns”

Vartinna:
“Riena (Anathema),” “Maaria, Miero (Outcast),” “Mierontie (Path of the Outcast)”

Warchild:
“Ash”

Woodland:
“Rose Red,” “Lady and the Unicorn,” “Blood of the Moon,” “The Grove,” “The Dragon,” “I Remember,” “Morgana Moon,” “Gates of Twilight”

Wumpscut:
“The March of the Dead”

Zero 7:
“In the Waiting Line”

 

I hope that you enjoyed
Courting Darkness,
the tenth book in the Otherworld series, as much as I enjoyed writing it. The book was dark, but it had to be, given the nature of Hyto and his anger. And I’m very happy with the way it ended.

To clarify the time frame: Iris’s story was told in
Ice Shards,
which came out in the
Hexed
anthology in June 2011. So
Blood Wyne
took place in early December, immediately followed by the events in
Ice Shards.
Then
Courting Darkness
takes place. The three stories are boom, boom, boom, one after the other—all within about a three-week timeline.

I hope you’re looking forward to reading
Shaded Vision,
book eleven of the Otherworld Series, available in February 2012.

For those of you new to my books, I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome you into my worlds. For those of you who’ve been reading my books for a while, I wanted to thank you for revisiting the D’Artigo Sisters’ world. I loved writing
Courting Darkness,
and though it was a dark book, it lays the path for so many adventures to come. As the series continues to branch out, I look forward to seeing just where the sisters and their friends end up next. Which is why I’m giving you a taste of
Shaded Vision
by including the first chapter in the back of
Courting Darkness.

But if you’re one of my Indigo Court readers, don’t fear—book three in that series,
Night Seeker,
will be out in July 2012.

So, without taking more of your time, I’d like to present the beginning of
Shaded Vision,
and I hope it whets your appetite for the next book!

 

“I’m going to be sick! Move!” Iris shoved past me and ran to the bathroom. I could hear her retching and then, after a moment, the toilet flushed and the sound of water ran in the sink.

Grimacing, I decided she could manage on her own and busied myself by putting the finishing touches on my outfit.
Please, oh please, let me be dressed up enough for tonight.
My jeans were new, for a change, with no rips, and dark black, and I was wearing a bright fuchsia tank top with a rhinestone kitty on the front. I’d traded my utilitarian leather belt for a white leather one with a silver buckle, and I’d grudgingly changed my shit-kicker boots for a pair of suede ankle boots with three-inch heels, which put me at an even six four.

My spiky hairdo was back to the golden shade it normally ran, although I’d waffled and finally asked Iris to add in some chunky platinum highlights and a few thin black ones, and now I had tiger-striped spikes. Camille had helped me with my makeup, and I looked reasonably ready for clubbing, even though my usual night was spent hanging around in front of the TV with Shade, curled up eating junk food and trading kisses.

I slipped into my black leather jacket and patiently sat on the edge of the bed, playing with one of my kitty toys. The squeaky mouse had become a favorite of mine and—even in human form—it made me grin.

Iris poked her head out of the bathroom.

“Will you stop that damn noise? You’ve been obsessed with that mouse night and day for the past two weeks.” She’d fixed her makeup and, with a look that told me she wasn’t at all sure about our plans, she edged out of the tiled room and shouldered a smile. “Do I look okay?”

Grumpy notwithstanding, I could tell she was anxious. Six weeks pregnant, even though she wasn’t showing yet; her hormones were playing her like Jimi Hendrix played his guitar. Add to that, tomorrow she was getting married, and our Talon-haltija sprite was as jumpy as a cat in a thunderstorm.

“You look beautiful,” I said.

Iris looked radiant, for all she was going through. Her ankle-length hair shone like spun gold, and her face was smooth and flawless—pregnancy agreed with her in the skin department. Her eyes were luminous, round and blue as the early morning. And she still had her figure—she was curvy and buxom and for all her size, at three ten, she put me to shame.

She stared at me for a moment. As she cautiously dashed at her tears, trying to keep from messing up her mascara, she gave me a blissful smile. “You’re so sweet. Can you braid my hair for me? I sure wish I had Smoky’s abilities and could order it to fix itself.”

“I think a lot of people want a taste of Smoky’s talents.” I sat her down and divided her hair into three sections. “I know
I’d
love to come out looking peachy clean every time we fight a battle.”

After I wove one section over the other and finished it off with an elastic-coated rubber band, Iris coiled it around her head in an intricate pattern, leaving the tail end of it hanging down to her midback like a tidy, intricate ponytail.

“I wish you could, too. Then I wouldn’t have so much laundry to do.”

She laughed and smoothed her skirt—a gorgeous cobalt blue number she’d paired with a pale gray button-down shirt and a pair of white pumps. The Finnish house sprite looked like a pretty secretary rather than the high priestess she was. Talon-haltijas were good at blending in. Even when they could whip your butt in a battle.

“Ready?” I stood, reaching for my purse.

She closed her eyes and pressed one hand against her stomach. “My stomach feels like it won’t ever be ready for anything again, but let’s get a move on.” As we left my room, she glanced up at me. “By this time tomorrow, I’ll be Iris O’Shea. Bruce’s wife. What the hell am I doing?”

I laughed at her panicked expression. “You’re marrying the leprechaun you love, Iris. And you’re going to have his baby, so you might as well get used to it. Life’s changing.” Cocking my head, I added, “So you’re taking his last name?”

She nodded. “If Kuusi was my family name, I’d hyphenate. But . . . as much as I loved the Kuusis, they weren’t . . . I worked for them. I tended to them but when it comes down to it, they were my employers. So I figure, I’m starting over yet again, I might as well start with another new name. Only this time it’s just the last name, not both. You’re right. Life is changing. And I’m embracing it.”

As we headed downstairs, I realized that was so true for all of us. Life was changing all around us. Some things for the better, some things not. And there was no way to stop the ride now that we’d all gotten on board.

 

The guys were sitting around the living room looking guilty. Not sure what they were up to, I gave them a sideways glance as we passed into the foyer and then the kitchen where my two sisters—Camille and Menolly—were waiting with Menolly’s lover, Nerissa. A trail of wolf whistles followed, and Iris gave me a look and shook her head.

“They’ll be out like a light by the time we get home, want to make a bet?”

“I kind of hope so.” I really didn’t want to think about what kind of trouble they could get up to without us there to supervise.

Menolly’s coppery cornrows shimmered under the lights, and she was dressed in blue—tight jeans and a denim jacket over a rust-colored turtleneck. Her boots were even made of denim, and they sported thin stiletto spikes, almost as high as Camille’s.

Camille, on the other hand, was fully decked out in her usual fetish noir. Chiffon skirt, a green underbust long-line waist cincher with black boning and silver hooks and eyes, beneath which she wore a shiny black spaghetti-strap top that left nothing to the imagination with regard to her DD breasts. She balanced on a pair of sky-high stilettos that I couldn’t even imagine wearing and was carrying a sparkly black wrap.

And Nerissa, who was munching on a bread stick she’d found in the cupboard, wore a flirty tiered powder pink skirt that barely covered her butt, and a glitzy tank top. An Amazon of a woman, she was a werepuma who wasn’t afraid to tackle life with my sister the vampire—and she was always ready to party.

Camille lit up as we entered the room. “You both look great. Sharah’s meeting us at the club. Come on, let’s get this show on the road and leave the house to the guys. Trillian told me they’ve got a fully stocked bar, but he didn’t say anything about a stripper . . . I’d be surprised if they don’t just end up playing that damned Xbox all evening.”

Supes or not, some of our lovers and cohorts had developed an addiction to video games. It seemed odd to watch two grown demons battling it out over Super Mario or whatever was the latest Xbox rage.

“What about Maggie? Who’s looking after her?”

“Don’t you worry about our baby gargoyle. Hanna’s watching her.” Iris picked up her purse. “I’m ready.”

“Then we’re ready.” Camille arranged her shawl. “Bruce gave us the use of his limo and driver. Ladies, our chariot awaits.”

“At least we aren’t headed out to get our butts kicked.”

I peeked back in the living room at the guys. They looked innocent enough, but the amount of trouble an incubus, a demon, a leprechaun, a dragon, an FBH (full-blooded human), one of the dark Fae, and a half dragon, half shadow walker could get into boggled my mind. I had a bad feeling that without us to watch over them, they’d wreck the house.