Witchlight Read online

  Witchlight

  By Sonya Clark

  Book two of Magic Born

  In 2066, the Magic Born are segregated in urban reservations. The laws do not protect them, or their allies.

  Councilwoman Elizabeth Marsden is a powerful player in New Corinth politics, but a closely guarded secret could destroy her life—she’s a hidden Magic Born. Her family has gone to great lengths to erase all her magic-related records, until a trancehacking outlaw discovers the last remaining one...

  Vadim Bazarov smuggles Magic Borns through the underground railroad and threatens to reveal Elizabeth’s secret unless she helps him access blank ID cards. Elizabeth wants to hate him for having a stranglehold on her life, but can’t help being attracted to someone so sure of who and what he is.

  Vadim initially sees her as a political ice queen, but is intrigued by her suppressed magical abilities. He trains Elizabeth to use her magic, and before long finds himself falling for her. But their newfound love may be shortlived; an anti-magic ordinance forces one of them to make a choice that will change both their lives for good.

  86,000 words

  Dear Reader,

  June seems to be a time of both magical beginnings and wishful thinking, as we combine the wedding season with the last month of school. Here at Carina, our jobs are filled with a combination of both magical beginnings and wishful thinking, as we work in the land of fiction and allow ourselves to drift through fantastic worlds, happily ever afters and action-filled stories. Okay, maybe our jobs are a lot more rooted in reality than that, but the books we publish do allow us a brief escape and I hope they’ll do the same for you this month.

  Powerhouse erotic romance author Lynda Aicher is back with Bonds of Courage, in which an alpha professional hockey player finds himself the one bound and at her mercy. Joining Lynda in the erotic category is Samantha Ann King with another fantastic ménage, Tempting Meredith. One man is risky, but two might teach her to trust and love again.

  June brings quite a lineup of male/male romances. Ava March always stands out for me because not only does she write a fantastic male/male erotic romance, but she sets it in historical times, when it was even harder for two men to be in love, lending even more delicious romantic tension. Don’t miss Sharp Love, followed by The Viscount’s Wager releasing in December 2014.

  And speaking of magical beginnings, we have two debut authors in the male/male category. This month we’re pleased to introduce Tyler Flynn and Chasing the Rebel. One man is fleeing the French Revolution, the other sympathizes with the Revolution. How can they fall for each other when they can’t even trust each other?

  Also debuting with Carina Press this month is G.B. Lindsey, who leads off a three-part anthology, Secrets of Neverwood, which includes novellas from returning Carina Press authors Diana Copland and Libby Drew. As three foster brothers renovate a stately mansion to reopen it as a home for troubled gay youth, their love lives are complicated by the whimsical ghost of their foster mother in One Door Closes, The Growing Season, and The Lost Year.

  Rounding out our male/male selections for the month is returning author L.B. Gregg with her popular Men of Smithfield series. In Men of Smithfield: Sam and Aaron, Sam’s in a rut and looking to break out of it, so he’s thrilled when a newcomer to town introduces more than an edge of naughty nights and risky days into his life.

  There are so many more incredible books coming in June, it’s hard to know which world to lead you to next. How about some angels and demons in The Fire Within by Dana Marie Bell? Or why not take a trip on the high seas on a pirate ship—only this one captained by a woman in Mutiny of the Heart by Jennifer Bray-Weber. Danube Adele isn’t shy about taking new adult to a whole new level in her paranormal romance Dark Summer Dreams, in which Shandria is forced to rescue a sworn enemy of her people, only to find herself kidnapped by that same rugged warrior who promises retribution of his own. And who wouldn’t want to spend time with an outlaw witch, a society ice queen, and illicit magic that lights up the night in the tense futuristic world of the Magic Born in Sonya Clark’s Witchlight.

  In another twist on the new adult genre, Anne Tibbets joins Carina Press and introduces The Line Book One: Carrier and her dystopian world. In a futuristic society, sex slave Naya is released and given a choice—find someone willing to take her place, or fight against the ruling corporation to save her unborn children.

  Amylynn Bright also joins Carina Press, bringing contemporary romance Cooking Up Love to our virtual shelves. When anonymous food critic and lousy chef Holly signed up for cooking classes, she didn’t realize that she and her yummy instructor would be whipping up more than dinner in the kitchen—or that he’d blame her bad review for closing his restaurant and killing his career.

  We have two additional debut authors to introduce this month, both writing contemporary new adult romance, but in two freshly original and very different stories. In Hate to Love You by Elise Alden, hatred and guilt battle love and desire as Paisley and James confront the past, each other, and the unwanted attraction that sparked between them the night she ruined his wedding. This is one book that will have people firmly on either side of a line: hate Paisley, or love her?

  And we welcome Sybil Bartel and her new adult romance, No Apologies. No heart, questionable morals, one hundred percent attitude, Graham Allen is the perfect rocker; nothing can break him—except her.

  Last, this month we introduce a new trilogy, Shore Secrets, from Carina Press author Christi Barth. A hard-nosed businessman with contempt for small-town America is forever changed by the love of a sexy hotel owner and a quirky but tight-knit community famous for its anonymous journal by the lakeshore. Don’t miss Up to Me, the first of this trilogy featuring three strong heroes, fighting for the love and trust of three even stronger heroines on the shores of Seneca Lake.

  I hope your month of June is as wonderful as ours, spending it among our reader friends at different conventions and getting to gab about the books we love. Maybe we’ll see you at one of them! And if you do, we hope you’ll stop us and tell us your favorite Carina Press book. There just might be some Carina swag in it for you if we have any on us!

  Coming in July: Falling for Max by Shannon Stacey; a debut author, Caroline Kimberly, brings us a historical romance pitched as “Regency Romancing the Stone”; and Jeffe Kennedy offers up a hot new BDSM novel.

  Here’s wishing you a wonderful month of books you love, remember and recommend.

  Happy reading!

  ~Angela James

  Executive Editor, Carina Press

  Dedication

  For the real Lizzie, who is learning to live with her

  demons since they can’t be exorcised.

  Acknowledgments

  Once again I was fortunate to have invaluable beta reading, critique and advice from Amy Burgess and Ashley Christman—thanks so much to them both. Thanks also to Kim Wilbanks, who came up with the standing sigils idea for the Corinthhenge scene and loaned me her maiden name of Murphy. Thanks to Nerine Dorman and Carrie Clevenger for being a constant source of support and encouragement.

  I’m so grateful to have an editor like Jeff Seymour, who believes in my writing and pushes me to make it better. The Carina Press team makes publishing a joy—so much thanks for all of their hard work!

  I couldn’t do this without the love and support of my husband, or without our little girl whose toddler dance breaks keep me sane and laughing.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

&n
bsp; Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  Vadim Bazarov began his day with a wicked nightshade hangover and three guns pointed at his head. He stubbed out his cigarette on the metal table of the interrogation room. “If you’re going to drag me out of bed this early, the least you could do is offer me coffee.”

  Agent Grant stood behind three uniformed officers holding guns. “It’s noon, hardly early.” He sneered. “I’ll start bringing coffee to the likes of you the same day I start wiping your ass.”

  Vadim smiled. “Everybody’s got their kinks. Interesting to know another one of yours. Which one does it for you best, wiping asses or hitting women?”

  Grant stepped out from behind the uniforms and came at Vadim with a shock baton, striking him in the sternum. The two-foot-long device delivered less voltage than a stun gun but was still powerful enough to cause a lot of pain if concentrated in the same spot long enough. The initial burst of current knocked Vadim out of the rickety chair. His hands flat on the dank concrete, he kept himself steady as the current coursed through his nerve endings and danced along his skin. Grant stood over him and hit the button again, an obscene glint in his eyes. The idiot had no idea the jolts of electricity were better for Vadim than a week at a spa and a cocktail of the finest drugs combined. It lit him up inside, burning off the hangover and making up for the lack of sleep.

  Somewhere in the flash of blue-white current, the Enchantress of Numbers whispered to Vadim in a language of ones and zeros. Vadim reached out and listened intently to what she had to say. Someone in the room had a device capable of internet connectivity on them. Narrowing his focus, Vadim found it. Grant had a cell phone clipped to his belt.

  Vadim wanted to smile. The DMS agent was going to pay for getting him up so early.

  Grant waved the baton over Vadim’s head. “Still feeling like a smart-ass, witch?”

  Vadim adjusted his vest and jacket and ran his hands through his hair while settling himself into a more comfortable position with his back to the wall. “What can I do for you, Agent Grant?”

  Somewhat mollified, Grant paced a short path between Vadim and the armed officers, bouncing the baton on his palm. “Where were you last night, right after midnight?”

  “My club. Plenty of people saw me.” Sinsuality had been packed last night. He knew from overhearing gossip that the university had just finished midterms, which accounted for the higher-than-usual number of Normals in the dance hall. Grant would know that too, though, and that Vadim had been seen several times during the night. If this was serious they would have searched him before throwing him in an interrogation room, and they hadn’t done that. Casually, Vadim stretched his legs and placed his hands in his pants pockets.

  “Oh, I’ll be checking that. You can be sure. But here’s the thing, Bazarov.” Grant came to a halt directly in front of Vadim.

  One sweep of his legs and Vadim could have the agent on the floor. Then he’d wind up shot to death, so he set the temptation aside. He had a better idea anyway. “What’s the thing?” he said, not having to fake his lack of interest. In his head he carefully recited a chant to activate the barely visible strip of carbon nanomaterial affixed to the short, antique touch screen stylus he used as a wand and kept in his pocket. The addition was an extravagance, but it would absorb the light normally created by trancehacking, the spell acting as a funnel that would draw the excess energy bleed into his wand. Satisfied it was working, he kept his eyes on the agent and the bulk of his concentration on the agent’s phone. If he could have touched the device, he probably wouldn’t have needed the stylus. As dumb as Grant was, though, even he wasn’t dumb enough to hand over his phone to just anyone.

  “I think you know.” Grant knelt, placing the business end of the baton on the concrete and leaning one hand on the other end. “About what’s been going on.”

  Vadim closed his eyes for a count of three and reopened them. Blue-white lines coalesced in his vision as he slipped partially into trance, hacking into Grant’s phone with practiced ease. A quick flip through the apps brought him to the agent’s banking site.

  Vadim allowed himself a small smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about and I’m getting sleepy. Cut to the chase.” Voices sounded underwater and the room had taken on a pale blue glow.

  Grant turned a mottled shade of purple, tapping the baton on the floor. “There was another disturbance in the city last night. A bunch of witch punks hid their cowardly faces behind glamours and put on a light show in Rockenbach. And I’m betting you know who those punks are.”

  One of the first spells Vadim had developed when he began trancehacking was a simple decryption spell. It had served him well for years and he used it now. “I’m just an ordinary businessman, Agent Grant. I do my best to stay away from unsavory elements.” He silently congratulated himself on being able to say that with a straight face. “But I am curious. Why do you care what happens in the Rock? It’s a slum. Full of Normals, yeah, but still, a slum.”

  Grant leaned forward. “I care because it’s my job, witch. Practicing magic off the zone is strictly illegal and the punks that are doing this, they’re going all over the city and doing it.”

  “What makes you think I know anything about it?” A series of lights flashed in cyberspace as the decryption spell found the password and briefly superimposed it over realspace. Vadim blinked to sharpen his focus. The next part would be tricky. If he used too much energy, it could cause both the phone and the app to react badly, confused by the strange signals. Gently, he pushed his will through the phone, the app and cyberspace to take a peek at Grant’s bank account.

  “You like to pretend you’re just a businessman, but nothing much happens in FreakTown without you knowing about it or giving the okay. So why don’t you cut the bullshit and tell me who those punks are?”

  Grant’s account was still flush from being paid. The last time Vadim had done this it had been after the agent’s rent was due. Slim pickings that day. He closed his hand tighter around the wand and cast a spell to move money from Grant’s account into a secret one of his own, first hopscotching the funds through several dummy accounts. This was a newer spell and so far nicely lucrative.

  “Even if I did have the kind of knowledge and power you attribute to me, Agent Grant, keeping up with petty pranks wouldn’t exactly be a priority.”

  Grant reached into a pocket and dropped a small red-and-black package on the ground. “There’s nothing petty about what’s in that.”

  Vadim took a closer look at the box. His pulse ticked up a notch. Cyber and realspace ran together as he nearly lost control of the trance. “Isn’t that a deck of cards? A poker game seems like a small thing to roust people over.”

  Grant used the baton to nudge the pack closer to Vadim. “Open it and see for yourself.”

  Vadim had intended to leave Grant rent money. Instead he tamped down his anger and sent another spell, this time cleaning out the account. “I’d rather not, thank you.” He kept his hands firmly in his pockets.

  The agent mov
ed the baton under one arm, then picked up the pack. He opened it, withdrawing a white card with a government logo and a magnetic strip over an RFID chip embedded in the plastic.

  Fuck.

  “Not a playing card, huh, Bazarov? Know what this is?”

  Vadim knew exactly what it was and where it came from. “I have no idea.”

  “ID cards, ready to be imprinted with data. You have any idea how much blank ID cards might be worth? What somebody could do with this?” Grant wagged the single card. “Much less a whole pack full of these things.”

  “I imagine that would be worth quite a lot, if anybody could do anything with them. But you’d need tech to do that, wouldn’t you?” Vadim shrugged, his vision wobbling for a moment as he ended the spell. “I’m just guessing. It’s not like we know much about that sort of thing.”

  Grant issued a derisive chuckle. “Oh, nobody thinks you people could do anything with these cards. Growing vegetables and doing laundry for rich people is more in line with your abilities. But if you could make a buck off selling these things, it wouldn’t surprise me to find you all over this.”

  If only he had the time, Vadim would have loved to turn off the agent’s utilities. He filed the idea away for another day and backed out of cyberspace. The room came into sharper focus, the light harsh and pounding. “Sorry to disappoint but I don’t know anything about this.”

  Grant watched him for a moment, then returned the card to the pack. “A city cop tangled with those witch punks, almost caught one. The cards fell out of the punk’s pocket in the fight. Up until now these kids have been a nuisance but they haven’t hurt anyone. Now they’re gonna get hurt when they get caught, and they will get caught. Mark my words, Bazarov.” The agent stood, pressing the baton against Vadim’s chest but not pushing the power button. “This isn’t something somebody can bribe their way out of.”

  Vadim held up his end of the staring contest. His lips twitched into a tiny smile. “Surely you don’t mean to suggest the fine, upstanding agents of the Department of Magic Security could be bribed. Or members of the New Corinth police department.”