Kindle Edition
Amazon
Amazon
Category:
Fantasy
Publisher: Primedia E-launch, LLC
ISBN-10: 9781640076228
Type: Fiction
Pages: 426
Copyright: May 15, 2017
ISBN-13: 9781640076228
Price: $3.99 (eBook)
He needs to stop a war. She needs to start a revolution. Together, they'll have to find a way to stop the predators from tearing the world apart.
For too long, Chiari Jhahn has been forced to watch her elder sister’s savage regime destroy the very heart of the Shifter Realm. And now it seems as if her leaders are hell-bent on starting a war with their long-time enemies. After a disastrous confrontation leaves a prominent leader dead and the peace negotiations stalled, Chiari feels she has no choice but to start a revolution—it’s either that, or watch her people become nothing more than prey for a much stronger predator. Chiari must use every ounce of her intellect and cunning to build a rebellion that will topple her sister from power. But when her friends prove to be worse than her enemies, Chiari finds herself drawn into an intricate web of political intrigue and personal betrayal that could end up igniting the war she'd hoped to stop.
For Chiari to succeed, she must uncover a conspiracy of continental proportions and root out the war-mongers who are threatening to destroy the fragile peace between the realms. But Vampires aren’t the only monsters in the dark---and they’re not the only predators out for blood. Her dream of peaceful coexistence may be nothing more than a naïve fantasy. When political ambition is matched against predatory instinct, the phrase “coming back to bite you” takes on a whole new meaning.
Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
“Forty-three members of the Wolf Clan may have been killed by Vampires, but it wasn’t murder,” said Huntress Reyhani Jhahn, leader of all the Shifter Clans. “We regret their deaths, but their own arrogance lead them to make such a tragic mistake.”
The eighteen Clan-Leaders seated around the Council table erupted into shouting dissent, making Chiari Jhahn wince and fight the urge to transform her ears, just so she could flatten them against her skull. She sat in her designated Council seat, to the right and just behind her elder sister’s place at the front of the large chamber. This was supposed to have been her debut as the newest Omega to the Huntress, her first time sitting at the right hand of the most powerful Clan-Leader in the entire Shifter Realm. She’d longed for this her whole life, yearned for it, practically counted the moons until she, too, could add her accomplishments to those of her ancestors.
Now, she wished she’d waited one more cycle.
Focus, Chiari. She forced herself to sit up straighter and ignore the simmering emotions swirling around the room. She watched as the Huntress leaned forward a little, knuckles pressed into the darkwood Council table as she met the gaze of every Clan-Leader seated around it. “Those deaths, while tragic, were not caused by simple malice or a Vampiric need to feed. Nor did they take place in Shifter territory. That bachelor Wolf Clan willingly flouted the law by choosing to make a settlement on the south side of the river Enex. They were in Vampire territory, and thus considered fair game.”
Several voices raised in anger, talking over one another so that Chiari had a hard time picking out anyone’s words. She scrunched her nose, feeling phantom whiskers twitch as her inner cat begged for release. Were she alone, she would have shed her biped form and let the Jaguar out for a good stretch and fur ripple. Right now, though, she could only settle for allowing her fingertips to morph into retractable claws. Digging them into the wooden arms of her high-backed Council chair, Chiari tried to release a little of her own tension, but it did little good.
Not here, not now. Not with the threat of open war hanging in the air.
Vague unease tinged with a growing anger rippled through her body, despite her efforts to tamp it down. Her job was to remain focused on facts and historic precedent, to provide the Huntress with the practical information that would help her make the decisions that would affect the entire Shifter Realm. Before this meeting started, she’d been ready to do just that. But now, after hearing about the tragic deaths of all those Wolves—at the hands of their long-time enemy, no less—she was finding it hard to remain aloof. Sweat wetted her temples, and a cauldron of bubbling outrage simmered in her belly. So many dead, and to no good purpose. Had the Vampires been trying to provoke a reaction? Did they want to restart the war? It all seemed so horrible, so tragic.
And so preventable, Chiari acknowledged silently. Reyhani is right about one thing—that Clan did settle on the wrong side of the river. The Grand Accord we formed with the Vampires nearly two-hundred annums ago is very specific about that. It only guarantees Shifter safety from Vampire fangs so long as no Shifter ventures south of that landmark. But still, all those Shifters…murdered…ripped apart and drained of blood, according to the reports. How can we possibly let that go unchallenged? Just because a piece of parchment says the Vampires were within their rights?
She looked toward Reyhani to gauge her reaction, but all she could glimpse was her sister’s stoic profile. The Huntress looked impeccable as always, with her soft, brownish-blonde hair tucked behind pointed ears and a bland expression on her handsome face. There was a glassiness to her yellow eyes, a sense of her being far away, and her mouth was set in a straight, flat line—though Chiari could just make out the tips of her sister’s fangs peeking over the edge of her lower lip. She looked almost…bored. Unfazed, at least, by the growing outrage permeating the Grand Council Chamber. But she couldn’t be that uncaring…could she? Not at a time like this.
Not unless I’ve always been right about my sister’s complete disregard for those beneath her, Chiari thought with grim twist of her lips. She pushed the thought away.
“This is madness!” shouted Jathan Thorohk, Clan-Leader for the Tigers of North Bay. He slammed his fist on the table-top, making the whole thing shudder and groan. He thrust one claw toward the Huntress, his golden, cat-slit eyes filled with something bordering on open hatred. “You allow these blood-thirsty creatures free reign to murder our Clans? You sanction the killing and slaughtering of innocents? You—”
“Enough,” Reyhani cut him off. She resumed her seat, sitting back with a sigh. “I do none of those things, Jathan. The law in this matter is very clear—”
“Law be damned!” snarled the Wolf Clan-Leader. Chiari tried, but couldn’t remember her name. She was gray-haired and stooped, the oldest Clan-Leader there by far, and her eyes were the distinctive pale-yellow of the canine races. “The Vampires killed them in cold blood. It was clearly an attack against us, and we must respond in kind!”
“Cersei, please,” Reyhani said, the words clipped by impatience. Chiari saw her sister’s claws clench around the arms of her chair. “The deaths happened on the south side of the river. We have no cause for action here.”
Cersei. That’s right. Cersei Whorehk. Chiari shook herself a little. She’s my friend Maroni’s great aunt. I ought to remember something like that.
The Wolf let out a menacing snarl, glaring until her eyes nearly glowed. “I don’t care which side of the river it happened on. The Vampires murdered them, plain and simple. The treaty is broken!”
More shouts of outrage echoed through the room, ratcheting the tension even higher. Was Reyhani even paying attention? This meeting was about to get completely out of control. Although, Chiari herself wasn’t doing anyone any good merely sitting there like a tree stump.
She waited for a lull in the shouting, and ventured, “Do we know why that Clan chose to settle there?”
Nineteen pairs of Alpha eyes—her sister’s included—turned and focused on Chiari. The weight of those powerful stares nearly flattened her. She tried not to let it show.
“What I mean is, did they think they were still north of the Enex river? There are many rivers in that area of the realm, after all.” Not that Chiari knew that for certain, aside from all the maps she’d studied. She’d never been out of the Citadel, much less that close to Vampire territory. “Perhaps they thought…”
Cersei shot her a withering look, then scoffed. “Of course they knew, Omega.” The last word dripped derision. “And they settled there because the Vampires lured them there.” Pale-yellow eyes swung over to focus on Reyhani. “Those creatures invited my Wolves to cross the border. They promised safe passage, gave them free reign to settle and cultivate the land. Then, once my Wolves were settled in place, those fanged bastards tore them apart!”
Chiari frowned. “Invitation? But, I thought…”
Reyhani held up a hand, silencing Chiari, while her golden eyes remained locked on those of the Wolf. “There was no invitation, Cersei. Repeating a false claim doesn’t give it the weight of truth.”
Cersei’s upper lip rippled, revealing elongated, yellowing canines. “I do not make a false claim! My Wolves…”
“Signed their own death warrants,” Reyhani interrupted, voice like a whip-crack. “Your Wolves crossed the border of their own accord. That arrogance got them killed, Cersei. Had you kept a tighter leash on them, they might be alive today.”
Tense, heavy silence.
Chiari hid a shiver—or tried to. Reyhani was terrifying when she got like this. She’d seen her sister do terrible things when driven to this level of anger. If Cersei pushed Reyhani now…
But Cersei was hyperventilating, her eyes wild, much too far gone to heed the warning in the Huntress’ tone. “You accuse me of neglecting my Clan? Sending them to their deaths? Willfully ignoring the Vampire threat?” She surged to her feet, blue light rippling across her skin. When it passed, her face had a light coating of gray fur, and her fangs were more pronounced. “How dare you…”
Reyhani stood up—and every other Leader, save Cersei, cringed back. “Carefully, Wolf Leader. There are lines you may not cross. Especially here.”
Chiari’s heart pounded, sweat pouring down her back. The other Leaders seemed frozen, too stunned—or too off-guard—to intervene. For a moment, the tableau held, with Reyhani and Cersei standing at opposite ends of the table. Reyhani, calm and unyielding. Cersei, breathing like a bellows and shaking with pent-up emotion.
Then Cersei threw back her head, bellowing, “I will not suffer these insults!”
Several things happened at once.
As Cersei threw her head back, she raised her arms to shoulder-height while flashes of blue light crawled over her upper body. She let out a Wolf-song that echoed eerily through the vast Council Chamber. Head and arms lowered at the same time, but now all her fingers were tipped in lethal-looking claws, and her entire head had morphed into that of a massive, silver-coated wolf. She howled again and took one step forward.
One step. Just one.
Reyhani moved like a lightning flash. Between one breath and the next, she had vaulted onto the Council table and leaped across the distance between her and her opponent. Another breath, and Reyhani’s now-clawed hand whipped forward, slicing through the air in a sideways motion. Next breath, Reyhani landed on the floor beside Cersei—
And a fountain of blood sprayed from the ragged remains of Cersei’s throat.
No one moved as the Wolf staggered, gurgling as she reached for her wound. In her panic, she couldn’t seem to manage the change, and her own claws snagged in the jagged flesh at the edges of the gaping slash. She staggered back a step, then dropped to one knee, all the while spraying blood across the table and floor. She gurgled, yellow eyes darting wildly around the room as she slowly, slowly, sank to the floor.
Then the leader of the Wolf Clan slumped to the flagstones—and died.
Chiari sat frozen, staring at the gore that covered the once-pristine darkwood table-top. This was it. Reyhani had finally gone too far. She’d feared this, ever since her sister was named Huntress—she knew, all too well, the depths of her sister’s volatile temper. Surely the other Clan-Leaders would rebel against a leader who was so obviously unstable. Here lay one of their own, someone who had been sick with mourning and unchained grief, who had only been trying to get her Huntress to understand the depths of her pain. She wouldn’t have followed through with her aggressive movement. She hadn’t been thinking clearly, too lost in her rage to make any sort of decision. If Reyhani had only given her a moment to calm herself—or, better yet, tried to calm her down—they could have moved past the momentary show of temper and started looking for solutions. But Reyhani had acted out of spite and rage, taking down a rival who dared to show defiance. Surely, surely, the other Clan-Leaders would come to the same conclusions Chiari had—Reyhani couldn’t be trusted to think before acting. Surely, they would see Reyhani for the threat she was, and take steps to remedy the situation.
Chiari braced herself, ready to leap away the moment the other Leaders began their coup. She trembled, wishing she could flee as her instincts demanded, but didn’t dare. Not unless they moved first. Predators pounced—only prey ran. So, she sat, motionless yet vibrating with tension, waiting for the best moment to escape the coming bloodshed.
And…nothing happened.
The Clan-Leaders just sat there, unmoving. Some stared at the blood covering the table and floor. Others watched as Reyhani wiped her claws on the breast of her leather vest. As the Huntress stepped around the growing pool of blood, the sound of her boot scraping across the floor echoed through the chamber.
Reyhani stood quietly for a time, eyes moving from face to face. Finally, she spoke.
“Would anyone else like to declare their impatience with insults today?”
Total silence. No one even dared to move.
“Excellent,” Reyhani said. Her voice had no inflection whatsoever. She glanced down, noticed a tiny speck of blood on her claw, and carefully wiped it on the front of her vest. Then she crossed her fists at the small of her back and looked back out over the other Leaders. She remained standing, still tense and ready, and spoke from her elevated position.
“As I was saying, the deaths of the forty-three members of the Wolf Clan were tragic, and we will all mourn the loss of those young lives. However, this tragedy was preventable. The terms of the Grand Accord are clear and unchanging—no Shifter may cross the border, for any reason. That statute has remained unchanged since the treaty’s inception. For the record, if any…invitations…come to any of you, I advise disregarding them, or reporting them to me. Any Shifter who crosses the southern border takes his or her life in their hands. Have I made my point clear?”
Seventeen heads nodded in unison. Chiari alone remained frozen.
Reyhani nodded once. “Very well. Now, to the second matter I called you all here to discuss. The annual visit of the Vampire Speaker is set to occur in seven cycles. She was sighted at the ferry crossing of the Roux river last cycle.”
Murmurs filled the chamber. Jathan cleared his throat. “Huntress, forgive me, but is it wise to hold this meeting? Surely…tensions will be high.”
Understatement.
Reyhani acknowledged him with a wry nod. “Indeed, they will. Which is why I asked all of you to meet with me now, before the Vampire arrives. We cannot and will not allow hot tempers or thoughts of vengeance to mar this meeting. The Grand Accord is too important to our survival to risk it for the sake of petty revenge.”
Petty revenge? Was she serious? Chiari scowled, but forced her expression to clear when Reyhani glanced her way. She wasn’t fast enough, though—Reyhani raised an eyebrow in her direction before refocusing on the Clan-Leaders.
“While I expect none of you to hide the news of the Wolf Clan’s tragic deaths, you are not to allow any of your hot-tempered youths to take matters into their own hands. I remind all of you now—while Shifters may be killed on Vampire soil under the terms of the treaty, the death of a Vampire on our soil is cause for the treaty’s dissolution. One death. That’s all it will take to set us back two hundred annums. We cannot allow that, no matter the outrage we may feel about these tragic circumstances.”
Nervous rustling and angry murmurs filled the room.
Finally, someone rumbled, “Huntress? May I speak?”
Chiari craned her neck, trying to figure out who had spoken. Then she saw the only white-haired individual in the room raise his chin. Polar Bear Clan, Chiari thought. They were the only Clan with that distinctive hair color. They were also the only other Clan—besides the Wolves—who lived right on the edge of the southern border. Chiari couldn’t remember that one’s name, either. I’ve got to study that chart Maroni gave me some more.
“Byroni?” the Huntress prompted.
“Huntress,” the Bear said, husky voice resonating through the room, “will the…deaths…be discussed at this meeting? Or are we to say nothing at all?”
Reyhani inclined her head. “Yes, we will discuss them. We must prevent further occurrences, and that will take collaboration with the Vampires. While there has been no proof of this so-called ‘invitation,’ I am certain that rumors have already circulated. That means the Vampires will also hear of it, in time—and they may decide to take advantage of such an ‘effective’ lure. We must maintain our relationship with the Vampires under the terms of the treaty, but we also must take action now to prevent any future tragedies. Nipping this idea in the bud is our only option.”
“You expect our people to simply accept this?” Jathan asked bluntly. He was scowling, and he wasn’t the only one. “When those fanged monsters arrive here, you expect our people to simply turn away? It’s not only our hot-headed youths who’ll be angry. I know for a fact my Tigers won’t accept letting them get away with what they did.”
“Then you’ll have to make them accept it,” Reyhani replied evenly. “We’ll resolve this diplomatically, not with fangs. Am I understood?”
Grumbles and snarls filled the air, but most of the Clan-Leaders nodded assent. All but one. Jathan stared at Reyhani, eyes blazing. Reyhani met that gaze, unflinching and resolute. The staring contest lasted far, far longer than Chiari would have expected. For a moment, she thought Jathan was going to challenge Reyhani after all. He kept his gaze locked on hers for as long as he could—shaking and growling under his breath the whole time. The tension built, and built, and built some more, until it felt like a dark, suffocating cloud filled the Council Chamber.
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