Dear Reader -- I'm delighted to share a sneak-peak at my newest Mageverse novel, Master of Magic, coming in October, 2017 from Berkley Sensation.
Return to New York Times bestselling author
Angela Knight’s Mageverse in this never-before-published novella about a man
with mysterious abilities and a hidden past—and the woman who must help him
decipher his secrets.
Olivia Flynn finds herself on the brink of death, unable
to call upon her Sidhe magic, when a handsome stranger rescues her. But this
male is no ordinary human, and Olivia wants nothing to do with him. The foreign
magic boiling around him is far beyond the power of even the Sidhe.
Rhys Kincade has never been able to explain his magical
abilities. Olivia is the first person he’s encountered who shares his gifts.
But before he can ask her about them, they find themselves under attack by a
pack of werewolf assassins. An even deadlier threat follows, and the pair is
forced to rely on each other as they fight unknown enemies—and an ever-growing
attraction between them.
You can pre-order the ebook here:
Excerpt:
Olivia Flynn shivered as the March wind cut
through her thin sweatshirt. The metal park bench she lay on held an icy burn
against her side. She drew up her knees, curling more tightly in a futile
effort to conserve body heat. It had to be near freezing. Goddess, I've got
to get off this bench. But she couldn't.
It wasn’t paralysis: she could move her
arms and legs. But every time she attempted to rise, it felt as if she were
chained there.
The cause was obvious. When she looked down
her body with her Sidhe senses, sparks of green swirled over her skin. A
compulsion spell. Someone had put a geas on her.
Why? The
thought pounded through her head for the hundredth time since she’d awoken
here, like this. Who did this?
It didn't feel like Sidhe work. Olivia was
no lightweight; she had more than enough power to shield against a compulsion
cast by one of her people.
Grimly, she focused her will yet again, trying
to unravel the binding. As if angered, it clamped so tight, it burned. She let
her head fall back against the bench with a hissed curse.
Basically, she was screwed.
Shivering, Olivia peered around. She lay in
a puddle of light from a nearby streetlamp, one of several along the sidewalk.
Directly behind her stood Noodle Monsoon, evidently some kind of Thai
restaurant, now closed and dark. On either side of that stood an antique store
whose sign read “What’s Old Is New Again,” and a consignment shop called
“Southern Notions.” Both appeared to be the kind of mom-and-pop operations
found in small towns. She’d lived in in a lot of places like this since fleeing
to Mortal Earth.
Looking up and down the street, Olivia
realized none of the other buildings were taller than three stories. There was
no traffic whatsoever, though she could hear the occasional rumble of a car in
the distance.
Well, Toto, it looks like we’re not in New
York anymore. No more arugula dog treats for you.
The last thing she could remember was
walking out of Bushido, the Manhattan martial arts studio where she took
classes. Hikaru Sensei was a spry old fox of a man, surprisingly quick for a
human. He was so damn good with a blade, he'd taught her a few tricks even
though she'd been studying swordplay for two centuries. And then...
...She woke up here. The goddess alone knew
how she’d gone from point A to point B.
Impotent anger warmed her. All these
centuries she’d sworn she’d never be helpless again. She’d worked her ass off
learning how to fight, up to and including using glamour to disguise herself as
a man so she could study swordplay. Hell, she’d even gone to war twice, partly
out of idealism, but mostly so she could learn courage under fire.
All so she’d never again be helpless…
The worn rug he lay on was dyed red with blood. A
small arm lay flopped over one of his shoulders as if the child had fallen
asleep in his arms.
And a sword thrust straight up on the other side of
him, point buried in the floor.
With
a shudder, Olivia dragged herself from the memory. She couldn’t afford to lose
herself in guilt and grief, or she’d never get off this bench.
Teeth
chattering, she wrapped her arms around her body and watched her breath curl in
front of her eyes in a streaming white plume. Trying to distract herself, she
wondered what happened to her parka. She wore only the jeans and sweatshirt
she’d had on under it. If I don't break the compulsion soon, I'm going to
freeze to death.
But
she’d been beating her head against that particular concrete wall for the past
half hour. Time to try something else. Again. Hadn’t worked the last
time, but maybe her efforts had weakened something…
Closing her eyes, Olivia drew on the
Mageverse – the source of all magic — straining to conjure a jacket, a blanket,
hand warmers… Hell, a candle. Anything at all.
Nothing happened. She tried again. It went
right on not happening.
Olivia snarled under her breath. She was
going to find whoever laid this geas on her and gut him, her, or it.
Assuming she didn't die of hypothermia
first.
The rumble of an engine approached. She looked
around as the car purred down the street toward her, slowing as if to get a
look at her.
Oh, what now? No, I'm not a hooker. Go
away. Though on the other hand,
if he let her in that car, at least she'd be warm...
Olivia grimaced at her running nose,
automatically tried to conjure a tissue, and swore when one didn't appear. With
no alternative, she wiped her nose on her sleeve. Maybe it would turn off the
would-be john. Or maybe I’d better hope it doesn't.
The white Porsche 911 pulled into one of
the diagonal parking spaces in front of her bench. Even stopped, it looked as
if it was speeding.
With my luck, I'm going to have to fight
this idiot off. Which would be
an issue, since she couldn't even get off the bench. Think positive, Liv.
Maybe he’s a good Samaritan.
More likely, he’s a serial killer, retorted her inner pessimist.
Unfortunately, her inner pessimist had the better track record.
Sniffling miserably, Olivia watched as the
Porsche's driver's door swung open. Compensating for something, buddy?
Then she got a good look at him as he rose
to his full height — and knew he damned well had nothing to compensate for. The
man seemed to tower in the trench coat that swirled around his long legs as he
started toward her. He had the muscle to go with that height too; his shoulders
were obviously broad under the coat's fine black leather. Blond hair, cut neat
and short, gleamed under the glow of the lamp. She had the impression he was
handsome, though it was hard to tell in the harsh shadows the light cast.
Then again, Ansgar had been handsome, and
look what a murdering bastard he'd been.
As if that wasn't alarming enough, her
Sidhe senses detected magic radiating from him in a blizzard of blue-white
sparks. As he approached, that sense of power grew until she found herself
shrinking against the back of the bench in dread. Oh, sweet Goddess, what
does he want?
She ached to jump up and run, but her body
refused to so much as twitch.
What was he? Not Sidhe — he had far too
much power, much more than Olivia. Not Magekind either. Male Magekind were
always vampires, and vamps couldn’t cast spells.
If he’d cast the geas, no wonder she
couldn't break it.
Anger came to Olivia's rescue with another
shot of heat and determination. No, dammit, she wasn’t just going to give in to
whatever he had in mind. When I said ‘Never again,’ I meant it.
She threw all her will, all her magic,
against the smothering blanket of the geas, fighting to punch through.
Nothing.
Shaking, longing to scream in defiance, she
stared up at the man as he looked down at her from his considerable height. The
light of the streetlamp painted the rise of his cheekbones, the swoop of his
nose, the full curve of his lower lip. Shadows modeled the sculptured contours
of a square jaw line, while his eyes gleamed in the shadows cast by thick
brows. Oddly, there was no trace of malevolence or gloating in his expression.
Instead he looked concerned. "Ma'am, are you all right?" His voice
held a honeyed southern drawl. "You need me to call 911?"
"L…Leave m…m…me a…a...alone." Her
teeth chattered so hard, even she could barely understand what she'd just said.
He frowned, his obvious concern growing.
"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just afraid you've got hypothermia."
Dropping to one knee, he leaned closer. She had to fight the urge to recoil
from his snapping, roiling power. "My name’s Rhys Kincade. What's
yours?"
She eyed him suspiciously. Why was he
trying to act like an ordinary mortal when he was obviously anything but?
Still, she’d learn more by talking to him. At the very least it would give her
more time to think of a way to save herself. "O…Olivia...
F…F...Flynn...Did you... Did you d…do this to me?" She supposed it was
possible he hadn’t.
Though it was damned unlikely.
Rhys drew back, sensual lips tightening
with a hint of offended surprise. He studied her, and whatever he saw on her
face made his expression warm. "No, I've never seen you before. How'd you
get here?” His tone was so compassionate, it pissed her off even more. He
scanned the length of her body as if looking for injuries. “Are you hurt
anywhere?”
Olivia had no intention whatsoever of
answering, so she was shocked when the words came out of her mouth anyway.
"I d..don't...know." Had to be the geas. Which seemed to confirm he
was the one to cast it.
"What's the last thing you
remember?"
"Walking out of a d…d...dojo... in New
York."
"New York? You're in South Carolina
now. A town called Pinedale. How’d you get here?” Frowning, he sat back on his
heels and shook his head. "We'll figure that out later. Here."
Sliding his coat off broad shoulders, he
draped it over her, then caught her elbow and lifted her upright. The binding
spell seemed to vanish at his touch. It was all Olivia could do not to gasp in
relief.
Even better, the coat’s silken lining felt
deliciously warm and smelled of expensive leather. Whoever he was, he had
money. Despite her fearful anger, the heat was an exquisite relief.
“T..thank…you.”
"You're welcome." Rhys laid one
big hand on her shoulder. Magic began to rise.
Instinctively, she sought to raise a
shield, but again the geas blocked it. It wasn’t broken after all. Dammit.
But instead of the attack she expected,
precious heat rolled from his palm on a wave of pale sparks. Instantly,
Olivia’s shivering stopped and her teeth ceased chattering, though pain stung
her hands and feet from returning circulation.
Rhys released her. "Is that
better?"
"Yes, thank you." She eyed him
warily and shrugged into his coat, biting back a moan of pleasure as she slid
her frozen arms into its warm sleeves. Her muscles felt stiff and resentful,
but at least they obeyed. The geas had evidently released that much, though it
was still forcing her to answer his questions.
Had he kidnapped her or not?
"Do you know what day it is?" He
helped her to her feet.
What the hell kind of game he was he
playing? Once again, her mouth moved without the intervention of her brain. "March
4th, 2019. It was six p.m. when I left the dojo."
"Well, that's the right date, though
it's 11:45 right now. I guess it's possible you could've flown here...
Or..." His expression closed.
The pretense of ignorance was seriously
pissing her off. "You think I’m lying?”
"Are you?"
"Would you believe me if I said
no?"
"Actually,” Rhys said thoughtfully,
"I think I would."
I’m not in the mood for this. "Look, drop the act. Why did you put
me under this spell?" With a flick of her fingers, she tried to conjure a
magical shield.
Nothing. Again.
"Spell?" Rhys took a cautious
step back, broad shoulders tensing. Goddess, he really was big. A good five
inches taller than she was -- and she was 5'11" every one of which was
hard with muscle. His impressive build was obvious, given he now wore only a thin
blue dress shirt that hugged his powerful torso, along with black slacks, a
black leather belt and well-shined black shoes. He should be freezing, yet he
seemed completely unaware of the cold.
He also looked absolutely flabbergasted.
"You think I cast a spell on you?” His lips took on a mocking twist. “What
have you been smoking?"
"You think I’m too stupid to spot a
geas while you stand there radiating more magic than Gandalf? What are you,
anyway? You're not Sidhe. Dragon?" He had almost enough power to be
Dragonkind, but if he was, she was screwed.
He laughed. It sounded strained.
"Those must be some really good drugs."
"I am not high!" Olivia’s hands
balled into outraged fists, but she couldn't seem to swing them. It was
infuriating. She’d trained for two centuries, yet now she was just as helpless
as she’d been last time. "Take a good look, dammit -- it should be obvious
I'm not a mortal drug addict. Or is my power beneath your notice?"
His eyes narrowed, and he reached out a
hand, fingers spread as if to sense her magic. She glared at him, refusing to
cower.
Rhys recoiled, eyes widening with an
emotion that looked like wonder. "Oh." He said it in a soft, yearning
voice. "You're like me."