On Wicked Ground (Solsti Prophecy Book 4)
Read On Wicked Ground (Solsti Prophecy Book 4) Online
Authors: Sharon Kay
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ICKED
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ROUND
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HARON
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AY
This is a work of fiction. Any actual places are used in a fictional context. Other names of places and people are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual places or people is purely coincidental.
Edited by Janet Michelson
Cover art by Amanda Simpson at Pixel Mischief
Interior design by
Ink Slinger Editorial Services
FIRST EDITION
O
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ICKED
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ROUND
Copyright © 2014 Sharon Kay
All rights reserved.
A
LSO
BY
S
HARON
K
AY
WICKED WIND (Solsti Prophecy #1)
WICKED WAVES (Solsti Prophecy #2
WICKED FLAMES (Solsti Prophecy #3)
KISSED BY A DEMON SPY: A NOVELLA
A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
First, a huge, sincere THANK YOU to my readers! Without you, these stories would remain untold. Your support, comments, and messages motivate me and mean more to me than I can possibly express.
Thank you to my amazing husband, for your patience and support of my writing. You are wonderful to brainstorm with about plots and powers. I love you!
Thank you to my son. I love everything we do together. I love your bright and curious mind, and your endless questions (and thank you to Google for helping me answer them)!
Thank you to my parents and siblings, my in-laws, and my extended family for your love and encouragement of my creativity.
Thank you to my critique partners and beta readers for taking time to read the various drafts of my first novella: Auburn, Cam, Claudia, Cristin, Gina, Heather, Jamie K., Jamie S., Nicola, Racquel, and Skye. Your opinions, advice, and nit-pickiness are invaluable, sometimes hilarious, and always spot-on!
Thank you to the trio of women who make my plain Word document into a professional-looking book: Amanda Simpson, my cover designer at Pixel Mischief; Janet Michelson, my eagle-eyed editor; and Cheryl Murphy at Ink Slinger Editorial Services, my formatter and savior from the scary world of ebook html-coding.
And a big hug and kiss to the many bloggers I have had the joy to work with. The support you give to indie authors is amazing. Many of you have jobs and families and still make time to read and review dozens (if not hundreds) of books each year, providing exposure for us through insightful and witty reviews, blog tours, cover reveals, and contests. THANK YOU!
C
ONTENTS
C
HAPTER
O
NE
A
LINA
STARED
INTO
THE
MIRROR
that was lying on her bed, hands hovering over the surface as if she could actually touch the women she saw reflected in its depths. Two brunettes and one blonde, they looked like they knew each other well. They embraced in a crowded hallway, confused expressions streaked with tears.
What were they saying?
Had the mirror worked? Alina had cast a blood spell upon the reflective surface and attempted to find the three, pushed by an insatiable urge for knowledge stemming from the weirdest night she’d ever had.
The job she had worked tonight with her dad had gone south fast. She acquired the item they were after, but her getaway hadn’t gone so well. She ended up unconscious at the bottom of a ravine.
Yeah, she’d worked smoother ops than that.
But even more unusual was the fact that she’d shifted the ground to free herself, something no one should be able to do.
No one, except the one female who could command the earth. One of four legendary women who each controlled an element. And that had compelled her to search, to see if she possibly could have a blood connection to the other three. They had all been recently found, commanding air, water, and fire…but their counterpart was missing.
Gazing into the mirror now, the question screamed in her mind.
Are they my sisters?
Nervous anticipation sent tingles down her bare arms. Which was silly, because she was on the outside looking in. She didn’t know if they were aware of her at all. Still, her heart slammed with the tantalizing possibility.
Seeing their images magnified the intense and sudden pull to uncover her origins. She’d asked the mirror to reflect her childhood, most of which was a blur of darkness. No memories. No family. Nothing until a vampire named Sebastian had found her in a subterranean cave and cared for her as his own daughter.
The first images the mirror showed her had been a family with four small girls. Two brunettes and two blondes. Alina smoothed back her own pale hair, a match of the blond woman in the mirror. The lighting was dim around the group…were they in a fancy home, or a hotel maybe? The blonde leaned against a large man who was as tall as the door and almost as wide.
Alina peered closer. The women gestured and rubbed their eyes. Was it night wherever they were, just like it was here? Had something woken them?
The door to her bedroom flew open. “Alina!” Sebastian stood in the doorway, eyes wild. “What’s going on? The amount of magic coming from this room is going to—”
“Nothing. I—” Her concentration shattered, and the images in the mirror disappeared.
His gaze dropped to the mirror. “Gods, no! What have you done?”
“I wanted to find out about when I was young, before you found me.” She stared at the man who had raised her. “I needed—”
“You used it.” He braced his hands on the doorframe, breath ragged. “You know the rules. No scrying unless it’s an emergency. And call me first. If you don’t do it properly, you create waves of energy that can attract the wrong kind of attention. Especially with that.” He pointed to the mirror.
“But Dad, tonight, when I fell—”
“We have to leave. Right now.”
“Why? What does this have to do with anything?” She waved a hand angrily over the mirror.
He shoved a hand into his blond hair and cursed under his breath. “Using that mirror put us in danger.”
“Danger? From who?” Alina’s heart pounded with dread, shaken by the disappearance of his easy-going nature.
“I can explain later. Pack your things.” He stalked out and a minute later she heard cabinet doors being opened and closed. Items slammed as they were set down, then rustled as they were packed.
Alina stood, frowning at the glass surface for a minute before changing out of the slinky dress she’d worn for her job tonight. She pulled on a black tank top and slim black jeans, wincing as the denim brushed over her still-healing ankle. She didn’t possess the rapid healing that predatory demons did—at least, not at their accelerated rate, and her ankle still showed the evidence of meeting the ugly jaws of a hellhound in her escape-turned-clusterfuck tonight.
Stupid canine. The wound had closed but was still tender and she tugged on soft socks before attempting her boots. She eased the leather gingerly over her bite, then slid a blade into each boot. Straightening, she surveyed her tiny room. Living as thieves meant lots of overnight changes of address, and this tiny rented house was no different than dozens of others they’d lived in. She was used to it, but this time her dad was acting more unsettled than she’d ever seen.
She bent to retrieve a duffel bag from under her bed, and began her standard process of packing essential items. Clothes, knives, amulets, jewelry with secret compartments to hide poison or blood. A bracelet that unfurled into a rope.
Just your standard equipment for a life of crime.
“Ready?” A nervous edge bled through her dad’s voice as he called from the hallway.
“Ready,” she mumbled.
“Good.” He walked into her room, mouth drawn in a thin line, jaw clenched. He held the transportation amulet she’d stolen earlier that evening. It had been a perfectly executed joint heist, with him creating the distraction of an explosion, while she nabbed the goods. Well, it
had
been perfect, until she was bitten by a hellhound and then fell down a ravine.
“Looks like we got that just in time,” she said, trying to lighten the mood.
His face was grim. “We’re out of time. Grab the mirror.” He slipped the amulet’s chain over his head.
She’d never seen him look so grim and her stomach knotted with guilt for causing it, even though she didn’t fully understand why. Grabbing the padded case they used for storing the mirror, she packed it and slung the strap over her shoulder before clasping his hands.
He muttered a spell and a wall of mist rose around them. Next, a feeling of weightlessness. But no nausea. The little amulet she had stolen provided smooth travel, not the sick feeling induced by jumping into a portal.
Hands squeezed tightly in his, she felt like she was floating for a minute. Then her feet registered the sturdiness of ground. She took a deep breath, the mist dissipated, and Alina found herself on the side of a dark road outside a big city whose buildings were bathed in a sea of bright light.
“Is this Halice?” She studied the jagged skyline.
“Yes.” Sebastian dropped her hands but remained otherwise motionless, wary blue eyes scanning their nearest surroundings first, and then farther away. He did it with the practiced ease of someone who’d looked over his shoulder his whole life.
Alina paused too, listening and watching. Not that her senses were that good. She struggled to identify most species by scent, a skill that came so easily to everyone else.
Halice vibrated with life. It was the time of the winter solstice, and creatures of all species were restless with a seasonal fertility drive. Alina and Sebastian stood on the side of a main road that led into the maze of tall buildings. The road was draped in shadows, but inside the city proper, fire bulbs hovered over every street corner. The city was so bright Alina had to search to find Torth’s twin moons, thin crescents that appeared carved low in the sky.
“I don’t sense any predators,” Sebastian said. “Let’s go.”
Their road merged seamlessly with another, and then they were under a bright arch of fire bulbs. The white balls of flame were powered by the ley lines running under and around the city, as was everything mechanical. The arch was a nice touch, probably from some architect hired to play up the city’s glitter and distract from its seedy underbelly.
