Teaser

Muddy River is just about ready for one last rewrite.  It’s short, but I’ve tried to pack a lot into it.  Four of the ancient, powerful supernaturals in Europe are tired of the continual challenges there, so they come to the “New World” to carve a dynasty for themselves.  They see the supernaturals who live in Muddy River as their biggest challenge, so they decide to destroy them first.  Hester and her coven strengthen the magic wards that create an invisible shield around their town.  No enemy can pass them, but the old ones are cold and clever.  They’ll find ways to draw them out:

Strike ran a hand through his toffee-colored hair.  “When you called your family in Europe, did they have any names of the old supernaturals who left there?”

“Namir, Ulric, and Deloo.”

The bar went silent.  All of us had heard those names in the Old World.  Namir was known as the most ruthless vampire in Yugoslavia when my family fled England to wander Europe.  He’d expanded his territory since then.  Ulric was a wolf shifter whose pack terrorized Germany and France.  And Deloo was a witch whom everyone tried to avoid.

Raven let out a long breath.  “You said there was a demon, too?”

Cein locked gazes with him.  “Ewan.”

I was surprised by Raven’s reaction.  His eyes blazed and flames licked his knuckles.  “My successor when I left Lillith.  He loved her power, stayed with her until she got tired of him.  I heard that he didn’t take that well.  He burned down an entire town, he was so angry.”

“So he’s as old as you are?” Strike asked.

Raven nodded.

Strike’s wife, Amaris, spoke up for the first time.  “What happens when two fire demons battle?”

“Anyone smart stays out of the way.”

“Can you beat him?” I asked.

“I don’t know.  Can you beat Deloo?”

A good question.  “She wouldn’t come alone.  She’d have brought her coven with her.  They’ve practiced black magic for so long, the stench is going to gag us.”

“Can you beat her?” he repeated.

I glanced at the witches in my coven.  “I’m not sure.”

Cein drained his glass.  “Then it’s a good thing none of us has to battle alone.  We’re all in this together.”

Every person in the bar raised their glass in a toast.  “We live or die as one,” Derek said.

It could go either way, but Derek was right.  None of us wanted to survive if our enemies won.

(I only created this image for my blog.  I have a different cover for the book).