Ill
Fated
The
Maurin Kincaide Series
Book
5
Rachel
Rawlings
Genre:
Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Date
of Publication: 2/11/15
ISBN:
978-1508456711
ASIN:
B00TI20TZC
Number
of pages: 271
Cover
Artist: Eri Nelson
Book
Description:
Some
things are destined to end in death. After the first attempt on her
life Maurin wasn't scared. Hell, she was almost flattered. But
someone put a price on her head and things are getting complicated.
Trouble
is brewing in the fae courts and it's spilling over into Salem. The
UnSeelie Dark Guard have answered the call for her head on a platter
and people closest to her are disappearing.
Can
Maurin master court politics and find her missing men before someone
claims the bounty on her head?
Excerpt:
"You're
awake?" He sounded more than a little surprised.
"I'm
not really sure the state I'm in qualifies as awake."
"Here
I was, terrified to poke the dragon, and you're already drinking
coffee and talking in complete sentences."
I
snorted and took a sip of the aforementioned liquid gold. "Are
you always like this in the morning?"
"If
you'd let me sleep over you'd already know the answer to that
question. Why aren't you asleep?"
In
general or just tonight, I silently wondered. "Bad dream. I've
been tossing and turning all night. I finally gave in and got out of
bed."
Papers
rustled in the background and when he spoke again, his voice was
lower, intimate."You want to talk about it?"
"Something
tells me my nightmares are the least of our problems."
"You
have no idea. I need you to come down to my office."
I
sighed. "Can it at least wait until after sunrise?"
"Would
I be breaking the no phone calls before noon policy if it could
wait?"
“There
really is no rest for the wicked, is there?”
He
laughed and the sound warmed me more than a hundred cups of coffee.
"Apparently not, in your case. Now, there's a dirty chai latte
and a croissant for you if you're here before Amalie. I can't promise
real coffee and pastries will survive beyond five minutes of her
arrival."
"It's
four-thirty in the morning, Mas. If you know what's good for you,
you'll make sure at least one dirty chai and croissant remain
unmolested."
"I'll
see you soon." He was laughing as he hung up the phone.
Three
hours ago I’d practically crawled through the doorway, exhausted
from cleaning up after a newbie vamp who’d broken the Jus Sanguinis
Intergentes when she killed her donor. The blood pact between people
and vampires had a clear no killing, no exceptions clause.
It
was up to the maker to ensure their child was ready to feed
unsupervised. If something went wrong and the Council found out about
it, we cleaned up the mess and the sire was subject to heavy fines
and possible revocation of their rights to expand their blood lines.
She’d been quite literally a bitch to track and take down.
It
had been a long night and it was shaping up to be an even longer day.
I
wasted little time getting dressed, opting for a slip on black jersey
dress, eighteen hole Docs and a leather jacket. Jewelry was a
hindrance in my line of work. My meeting with Mason could easily turn
into a run. Choked with my own chain? No, thank you. Unclasping the
necklace, I set it in a glass dish on my bathroom counter. I ran a
brush through my hair, a toothbrush over my teeth and slipped into
the between. I stepped out of the alley two buildings down from the
station and walked the last block and a half.
Amalie
was swarmed by detectives trying to get at the goodies she brought
over from the Daily Grind. She greeted me with a warm smile, shaking
her head when I offered to pull her out of the fray. She had managed
to endear herself to the entire department in record time. All it
took was real coffee and fresh pastries. I pointed to Mason's office.
She'd make her way over once the starving masses had their fill.
Mason
was so engrossed in the file on his desk he didn't hear me come in.
He looked as tired as I felt - too many double shifts. Despite an
uptick in activity, SPTF was short staffed due to budget cuts.
Without enough man power to staff the shifts properly overtime was
mandatory.
"Is
that for me?" I pointed at the to-go cup and white paper bag on
his desk.
He
finally looked up and gave me a smile which lit up his whole face.
"As promised."
I
stole a quick kiss, grabbed the coffee and croissant, and settled in
the chair across from him. I took a long sip of my latte, savoring
the delicious mix of tea and espresso. "Man, I needed this. Is
that the case you're working on?"
"Yeah,
we've got a real problem on our hands."
"Don't
we always." I tried to peak at the file.
Mason
closed the manila folder. "I'd rather wait until everyone is
here."
"Who
else is coming besides Amalie?" My curiosity was definitely
peaked now. I reached across his desk, hoping to grab the file.
"You
look exhausted. Tell me about your dream while we wait."
I
narrowed my eyes and glared at him. "I see this for the obvious
distraction it is but you're right.” Sighing, I rubbed my
temple.“However, I'm exhausted, too exhausted to argue. So I'll
tell you. Prepare to be confounded."
He
listened intently as I filled him in on the nightly visits from the
weathered old woman who washed my clothes and hauntingly called my
name. I expected him to laugh and tell me it was just a dream, that I
had nothing to worry about.
I
didn't expect him to look so stricken.
"Bean
Nighe." He all but whispered the name.
"You've
heard of her?"
"Of
course I've heard of her. How long has she been coming to you?"
I
stared at him curiously. "A few weeks. Why?"
"A
few weeks and this is the first I'm hearing of it?” He closed his
eyes and took a deep breath, obviously struggling to control his
temper.“We talked about this. No holding things back, remember?"
"I
thought it was just a dream.” I shrugged.“Honestly, I didn't
think it was a big deal."
"It
was a big enough deal for you to research it." Agitation rolled
off him in waves.
When
I agreed to give this thing with Mason a chance I also agreed to some
conditions. No more flying solo, no more rash decisions or rushing
off to play the hero. We were a team, in everything. This was just
one of many set-backs.
"I
got curious, did a little digging. Until tonight, everything I found
pointed to deep seated family issues, particularly with a mother
figure. I've told you about my childhood, does that dream analysis
surprise you?"
His
growl told me he wasn’t in the mood for reasonable—at least to
me—explanations. "When did you discover the true meaning of
the dream? How long have you known about the Bean Nighe?"
"Tonight.
This morning. Before you called me." I held up a hand to stop
the tongue lashing I knew he wanted to give me. "I would have
told you. I got the impression on the phone there were more pressing
matters than my insomnia."
"Is
this why you won't let me stay at your place?” His gaze roamed over
my face, searching.“Why you never stay at mine?"
"Is
that the real reason why you're so upset?" I arched my brows.
“Because we’re not having sleepovers?”
"I
stayed at your lovely apartment the first night we met."
I
turned to watch Aidan glide into the room, stopping behind my chair.
Rolling my eyes, I snorted and muttered, “In the closet.”
Mason's
jaw twitched but he didn't take the bait. "Aidan."
"It's
almost sunrise. Shouldn't you be hunkered down for the day?" I
sighed, wondering what he was doing here. I was too tired to deal
with Aidan and Mason and their combined testoserone.
Putting
the three of us in a room together was like throwing lit matches at
sticks of dynamite - eventually one of them will explode.
About
the Author:
Rachel
Rawlings was born and raised in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. Her
family, originally from Rhode Island, spent summers in New England
sparking her fascination with Salem, MA. She has been writing
fictional stories and poems since middle school, but it wasn't until
2009 that she found the inspiration to create her heroine Maurin
Kincaide and complete her first full length novel, The Morrigna.
When
she isn't writing, Rachel can often be found with her nose buried in
a good book. An avid reader of Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, Horror and
Steampunk herself, Rachel founded Hallowread- an interactive
convention for both authors and fans of those genres.
More
information on Hallowread, its schedule of events and participating
authors can be found at www.hallowread.blogspot.com
and www.facebook.com/Hallowread
.
She
still lives in Maryland with her husband and three children.
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