I sat on the side of my bed, looking out the window into the quiet street, the buzzing streetlight below me oddly comforting. I'd tried to sleep after returning home, put Gabriel to bed with Charlotte who met me at the front door after Sass, Galleytrot and I strolled home in the sharpening night air. Her massive scowl told me I was in horrible trouble as she took my son from me.Okay, so I didn't exactly put him to bed.Snort.Galleytrot and Sassafras naturally abandoned me for her room, leaving me alone. Which was fine, it really was. I had a hot shower, pulled on my favorite robe. Had a little cry. Not much. Just a pathetic little spill of tears I held over from the Gate.From Liam.And felt my heart ease at last.Wrapped myself in the love in my house, the people sleeping there. Shenka and Charlotte, Galleytrot and Sass. Gram and Demetrius. All of us, happy just to be home.But sleep wouldn't come. My mind struggled with belief. That Ameline was really dead. That Gabriel was
Another mirror. Another dress. Totally different experience.I stood on what amounted to a pedestal as at least a dozen or so giggling vampires tugged, pushed and laced me into the biggest, heaviest mass of fabric and jewels I'd ever seen in my entire life. The thing weighed so much I had to have my alter egos help me carry it so it wouldn't drive me to my knees.This was the punishment I got for picking out my first wedding dress alone.This one was, at least, the pale ivory I'd requested. White would have felt disrespectful to Liam's memory. And Mom happily acquiesced before losing her freaking mind.And when I appealed to Sunny for assistance in my mother's sudden loss of sanity?Yeah.I was surrounded by vampires, wasn't I?Shenka hovered, her ball gown sparkling, covered in as many gems as could possibly be stuck to her. Again Mom went with the jewel tones. I guess she figured a good idea was a terrible thing to waste.And considering only a handful of people had seen the
How was this for a happy ending?Bittersweet, this walk down the halls of the newly restored mansion. I'd been through this before, but I knew this time, I didn't have anything hanging over my head.I loved Liam. But I was finally marrying the man I was meant to be with.The pressure was off this time too, our battles won. I could enjoy my wedding without worrying about Fate or the Brotherhood or Ameline looming in the near future.Awesome.I even found Wilding Springs was fine without the influence of the Gate, just as Fergus said. That it still felt like magic. Probably a combination of the century or so of the Gate's influence deeply mired in the whole town. Not to mention the presence of the Wild Hunt still snoozing in my back yard.And the coven.I didn't worry we'd have to move anytime soon. Good thing. I kind of liked being in one place for once.Made me think of Sonja, of Liam again. His mother disappeared after the night she met Gabriel. I tried to look for her, feelin
Prequel: Dreams and EchoesI loved the smell of the ocean, the crashing sound of the waves as they hit the pier with frothing, white enthusiasm. It had been years since we'd moved to a town with water for a back yard, so when Mom told me we'd be staying a while in Sable, New Jersey, I crossed my fingers, toes and every other body part, begging the elements to just make it so.Our last town hadn't been anything to write about in my diary, mostly dull, quiet and all kinds of hum blah drum. That was, until a long-forgotten artifact came to life and tried to kill my little sister.Mom was a bit temperamental when it came to Meira. Especially when the eight-year-old half- demon girl's life was in danger. Come to think of it, I felt the same way. The fact it had been my fault the little box I'd bought at the neighbor's yard sale turned out to be possessed by the spirit of a dark witch really didn't help matters.The resulting brouhaha left our house in shambles, the neighborhood on high aler
"I'm sorry," the big man's black mustache twitched as he shook his head, the motion setting his large belly into a slow-motion wobble. "No experience, no job."I was getting very sick of hearing that. Had spent an entire day being told the same thing over and over in various wordings. "Oh, you've never waitressed before? I'm sorry, this job requires someone who has." "Our spring training for summer students is already over. Unless you've done this before?" "Our customers expect our staff to be knowledgeable and confident."Grumble, mumble."How," I said, trying to keep my voice down, my temper in check, knowing it brought out occasional sparks of magic and absolutely needing to keep a lid on my power if I was ever going to make Mom trust me, "am I supposed to get experience if no one will give me a job?"He didn't seem to care. Turned his back on me. The line of sweat down the middle of his white t- shirt made me gag. I left the bakery, thinking maybe this rejection was for the b
The ball leaps from my foot, back and forth, right and left as I run and dodge my way down the soccer field. The crowd roars their appreciation, my team one goal off the world championships.This is it, my moment, my chance to prove I'm the best soccer player who has ever been born. The sky overhead turns a multi-hued rainbow of colors as the demons on one side of the field stomp their feet in time with the human crowd screaming my name.I feint as a demon player rushes me, her horns down, charging me like a bull, bright red uniform matching her skin. She rushes past me, missing me as I twirl like a ballerina, the ball still in perfect balance between my feet. I complete my pirouette and pull my right foot back, the goal only feet away.Easy in. Easy win.The roaring crowd goes wild, my name chanted wildly, the air thick with heat.No, wait. Cold. Icy cold, prickling goosebumps on my arms as my foot slips and I fall-***I jerked upright, breathing out a gasp of air in a mist of
I was up and out of the house as early as I could manage. Partly because I didn't want to have to talk to Mom about the night before, and partly because I hadn't slept and just needed to get away from home.Sassafras caught me sneaking my way through the front door, his humming growl stopping me in my tracks. I turned to see him standing at the foot of the stairs, glaring his cat-glare at me."Have a nice day at work," he said. Like he totally meant it. Not.I stuck my tongue out at him, turned to go again when he laughed wickedly. "Don't forget Ethpeal wants her hair done."I spun back on him, feeling the blood rush from my face, neck, chest to pool in my suddenly unhappy stomach."You wouldn't dare." Would he?Syd. This was Sassafras we were talking about. Oh crap.I bolted before he could say another word, shivering internally at the thought of Gram having a major-or even a minor-explosion at Evie's. Everything would be my fault, naturally, and we'd be forced to move less tha
I felt my hackles rise even as Jared Runnel, Erica's boyfriend, rose from the table and headed for the door, past me. He rolled his dark eyes, one hand rising to squeeze my shoulder on the way out.Normally, I would have taken a few seconds to sigh over the very handsome, dark-haired Jared, to feed my secret little crush on his broad shoulders, muscles and chiseled jaw, but not now.Not while doom waited for me in the faces of three witches and a demon cat.I ground my teeth together, considered a dash for the stairs and my room, but before I could bolt, Mom spoke up."Sydlynn," she said, words heavy with concern, "we need to talk about the echo you encountered."The what? Oh, right. A part of my fear faded, stomach unclenching as I realized this wasn't about my job or Evie. In fact, I hadn't done anything wrong this time, not technically. It was Mom's fault formissing him when she swept the house.A little spark of smug woke inside me as I shrugged, confidence rising."What