Book Title: Embers of Fire (Guardian
Witch Legacy Book 1)
Author: Ally Shields
Publisher: Etopia Press
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Romantic Paranormal
Author: Ally Shields
Publisher: Etopia Press
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Romantic Paranormal
Description:
A chilling prophecy. A child in danger.
Following
the defeat of the vampire elders, Guardian fire witch Arianna Calin and vampire
prince Andreas De Luca are considering moving to his estates in Italy to raise
their daughter in its idyllic setting. As if being descended from two powerful
witch bloodlines wasn't challenging enough, Rayne was born with a mysterious
star tattoo on her shoulder. Her parents suspect she is the Chosen, the focus
of the Star of Esielen prophecy. But that's something to worry about in the
distant future. Isn't it? After all, their child may be precocious, but she is
only five.
Then
the murders begin. The stench of demonic activity hangs over Olde Town, and a
symbol carved in blood indicates Rayne may be the next victim. Suspicion points
in several directions: a rival vampire prince, a mysterious stranger, and a
werehyena leader attempting to break the bank at Andreas's new casino.
Abandoning plans for a quiet life, Ari and Andreas hunt
for the killers. While Rayne may someday have to face her destiny alone, it's
up to them to make sure she's ready...and to keep her alive.
Excerpt
A crisp
breeze caught the last of the early morning fog and swirled it over the gravestones.
The Olde Town cemetery slowly emerged from the mist, its silent memorial to the
dead marred by an unusual amount of activity. A uniformed Riverdale cop
completed a final loop of bright yellow tape around several stone vaults and
two small crabapple trees. CS techs snapped photos and set out evidence markers
as they processed the crime scene.
With a
hot Styrofoam coffee cup in each hand, Arianna Calin bumped her jeans-clad hip
against the iron entrance gate, knocking it open, and slipped inside, her
footsteps crunching the brittle September leaves. When an eerie chill nudged
her senses, she swept the scene with a sharp glance.
Nothing
she hadn’t expected. Not yet. Nothing bad enough to trigger her witch alarms.
But then, it was a graveyard. The remnants of so many dead souls could mask a
great deal.
She
ducked under a high section of the bright tape and focused on the blond man in
jeans and a dark gray sweatshirt crouched beside a still form. “ME’s not here
yet?” she asked.
Lt.
Ryan Foster, her partner from the all-human Riverdale Police Department, looked
up and stood, his blue eyes lighting on the cups in her hands. “On his way. One
of those for me?”
A smile
touched her lips, and she handed him one, withholding further comment until
he’d taken his first jolt of caffeine. “Dispatch said it was a stabbing. Human
female victim. Is the suspect one of mine?” As a supernatural cop and guardian
for Riverdale’s Olde Town district, Ari wouldn’t be notified of an RDPD case
unless the Otherworld was involved. Usually that meant vampires or
werewolves—the predominant species in town—had run amok
Ari
nearly choked on her coffee. “Oh, no you don’t. That’s my line. There’s only
room for one of us with spidey senses in this partnership.”
“Cop
instincts,” he corrected. His early-morning face was grumpy, displaying his
constant annoyance with things he didn’t understand. “It works for us mere
mortals.”
“OK.
Show me. What have you got?” She stepped around him, the humor slipping from
her lips at first sight of the victim.
“Judge
for yourself if something doesn’t feel off.”
Vivid
red blood stood in stark contrast to the middle-aged woman’s light lemon
sweater. Not a typical stabbing…her throat had been slashed, leaving a spray
pattern of arterial blood on the fading grass around her and a glistening trail
down the sides of a gaping wound. It had soaked her neckline.
Ari’s
nostrils flared, taking in the sharp, metallic scent and seeking something
more, whatever had triggered Ryan’s reaction. All kidding aside, working with
him for eight years meant she trusted his gut feelings almost as much as her
magic.
A crisp
breeze caught the last of the early morning fog and swirled it over the gravestones.
The Olde Town cemetery slowly emerged from the mist, its silent memorial to the
dead marred by an unusual amount of activity. A uniformed Riverdale cop
completed a final loop of bright yellow tape around several stone vaults and
two small crabapple trees. CS techs snapped photos and set out evidence markers
as they processed the crime scene.
With a
hot Styrofoam coffee cup in each hand, Arianna Calin bumped her jeans-clad hip
against the iron entrance gate, knocking it open, and slipped inside, her
footsteps crunching the brittle September leaves. When an eerie chill nudged
her senses, she swept the scene with a sharp glance.
Nothing
she hadn’t expected. Not yet. Nothing bad enough to trigger her witch alarms.
But then, it was a graveyard. The remnants of so many dead souls could mask a
great deal.
She
ducked under a high section of the bright tape and focused on the blond man in
jeans and a dark gray sweatshirt crouched beside a still form. “ME’s not here
yet?” she asked.
Lt.
Ryan Foster, her partner from the all-human Riverdale Police Department, looked
up and stood, his blue eyes lighting on the cups in her hands. “On his way. One
of those for me?”
A smile
touched her lips, and she handed him one, withholding further comment until
he’d taken his first jolt of caffeine. “Dispatch said it was a stabbing. Human
female victim. Is the suspect one of mine?” As a supernatural cop and guardian
for Riverdale’s Olde Town district, Ari wouldn’t be notified of an RDPD case
unless the Otherworld was involved. Usually that meant vampires or
werewolves—the predominant species in town—had run amok
.
“I’m
not sure….” Ryan rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Sorry to drag you out so early
on a hunch, but I have a weird feeling about this one.”
Ari
nearly choked on her coffee. “Oh, no you don’t. That’s my line. There’s only
room for one of us with spidey senses in this partnership.”
“Cop
instincts,” he corrected. His early-morning face was grumpy, displaying his
constant annoyance with things he didn’t understand. “It works for us mere
mortals.”
“OK.
Show me. What have you got?” She stepped around him, the humor slipping from
her lips at first sight of the victim.
“Judge
for yourself if something doesn’t feel off.”
Vivid
red blood stood in stark contrast to the middle-aged woman’s light lemon
sweater. Not a typical stabbing…her throat had been slashed, leaving a spray
pattern of arterial blood on the fading grass around her and a glistening trail
down the sides of a gaping wound. It had soaked her neckline.
Ari’s
nostrils flared, taking in the sharp, metallic scent and seeking something
more, whatever had triggered Ryan’s reaction. All kidding aside, working with
him for eight years meant she trusted his gut feelings almost as much as her
magic.
