The Ruby Blade Read online

  I was aware of waking up long before I clawed my way out of unconsciousness. I heard voices talking near me and tried to pay attention to what was happening.

  “Is it always like this?” Emma said. Her voice had a weird echoing quality like it was coming through a wall of water.

  “Usually,” Florence said. “Although she’s not usually unconscious for more than a couple of days. The magic backlash from the gate combined with having to do it bound with iron is probably more than her system can handle. She’ll be awake soon.”

  I was closer to the surface now, and the voices sounded more like my friends and less like friend-impersonating aliens. I wiggled my toes and was delighted to feel them move. I felt stiff, and when I moved, pins and needles stabbed my extremities.

  “Urgh,” I said. That noise was loud enough to interrupt the conversation because there was a flurry of movement and suddenly I sensed several people standing over me.

  “What do you need?” Florence asked.

  “I have coffee,” Emma said. The scent of hot coffee wafted to my nose, and I tried to open my eyes. They felt glued shut, and it took a couple attempts before I managed to peel them open. Emma and Florence were hovering over me, and Petrina stood at the foot of the bed determinedly not hovering.

  “Coffee?” I asked, my voice hoarse and croaky like a career lounge singer after a bender.

  “Food first,” Florence said firmly. My stomach rumbled in agreement, echoing in the small room. Just then, another much more pressing need made itself known.

  “Bathroom,” I croaked. “Help me.”

  Florence and Emma helped me to a sitting position. When I moved my legs with the intention of standing up, I collapsed on the floor before they could catch me and had to suffer the indignity of getting pulled back to my feet and carried to the bathroom. Fortunately, I was only wearing panties and a tank top, so I didn’t need any help once I got there. After peeing for an eternity, I stood and leaned against the wall while I pulled my underwear back up. I washed my hands and splashed water on my face, trying to chase away the last vestiges of sleep. I wobbled back out to the main room in the motel and sat at the table in front of the coffee and plate of sandwiches.

  “Where are we?” I asked before commencing the face-stuffing.

  “Beaumont, Texas,” Florence answered. I must have looked blank because she continued. “East of Houston. You said west, but didn’t say where.”

  “The desert southwest,” I said. “Cliff dwellings.”

  “Of course,” Florence said.

  “How long has it been this time?” I was determined to not ask the real question in my mind.

  “Five days,” Florence said. “It’s the 25th of March. We have just a little over a month to get to this cliff dwelling, figure out how to disarm the landmines, and open the gate.”

  “And then there will only be one gate left. The master gate and I’m the master key,” I said. I tried to scan the room surreptitiously. “What time is it?” Not going to ask my other question. Nope, nope, nope.

  “Early evening,” Florence said. “We’d have time to get on the road now if you wanted.”

  “Does the shower work?” I glanced longingly back towards the bathroom. The tap had worked, and the toilet had flushed, but that didn’t mean there’d be hot water.

  “As long as you travel with me, you’ll have hot water,” Petrina said.

  I smiled at her and did another extremely subtle sweep of the room.

  “He’s not here,” Florence said.

  “I didn’t ask.”

  She didn’t roll her eyes, probably because she knew that was my thing, not hers, but I could tell she wanted to.

  “I’m going to shower,” I announced after finishing the last of the sandwiches and washing it all down with a third cup of coffee. I did not lick the crumbs off the plate, although I did contemplate it.

  Twenty minutes and some hot water later, I started to feel human—or Fae—again. I reached out my mind, eager to make sure I was truly whole again. I felt the magic flow through me and called forth tiny tongues of flame to dance on my fingertips. I closed my eyes in pleasure and let the heat roll over my skin. I wanted to shift. I needed to stretch my wings and soar, but I knew it would have to wait. There was one thing I could do, though. I concentrated and pushed. The wings erupted from my back and spread awkwardly in the tight space that was the cheap motel bathroom, but I didn’t care. Just feeling them there, whole and unfettered, was enough for now. There was really only one thing still missing. But I wasn’t going to think about him. Not yet.

  I retracted my wings and got dressed. It was nearly midnight, but we had plenty of time to drive before dawn.

  Epilogue

  FINN BOWED IN front of the dark throne. “She is separated from the vampires, now. Eleanor, the witch, and the wolf are headed to my trap at the penultimate gate, and the vampire and his get stayed to help Marie stabilize the city.”

  Medb gazed down at him, her face impassive.

  “What news of the government?” she asked. Finn jerked his head up and looked at her, but her attention was focused on someone else. He bowed his head again, not wanting to be caught looking at her face.

  “Complete destabilization,” a voice said. The register could’ve belonged to either a man or a woman. When they stepped forward, it was clear that the body could be either—or both. “With the exception of Texas and some other parts of the southwest, the United States has no power to run their machines. It is my belief, as well as the belief of the other leaders of this government and those around the world that the final gate will sound the death knell for the industrial age. Machines will cease working. Technology as that world knows it will no longer exist. The gates will be open, the population will be panicked, and the world will be ripe for your plucking, Your Majesty.”

  “And the pretender?”

  “What of her?” they asked.

  “Is the damage done to her at my command still in place?”

  “She was tattooed by a Fae using iron and dragons blood ink. I aided in the preparations myself. You’ve seen my work before and know how skilled I am.”

  Medb tapped her finger on the arm of the throne before looking at the person before her. “You’ve served me well for many years.”

  A sweeping bow was her only answer.

  “What is your goal?”

  “Majesty?”

  “What do you hope to gain from this?”

  “Power.” The answer came promptly. “I want the kind of power Eochaid never would offer. Being a part of the brave new world we’re creating is heady.”

  “You will continue to protect the pretender until the end?”

  “Of course.”

  “Wait a minute,” Finn sputtered. “I thought you wanted her dead!”

  Medb sighed. “I’d forgotten you were still here. You’ve accomplished what I sent you to accomplish. Go to the location of the next gate and await my orders.”

  “Should I not kill her?”

  “You should do exactly as I ask you to do. That includes leaving my presence when I say.” Her eyes blazed, and he backed quickly out of the room.

  “He is a problem, Your Majesty.”

  “We need him yet. Without him, the final gate cannot be opened.”

  “He is stupid and petty.”

  “But he has his uses. Do you question me?” Medb’s eyes blazed again.

  “Of course not. I only question whether or not his incompetence and personal feelings for the girl will cause him to do something foolish now that he knows her death is not your goal.”

  “Not my goal, yet. I want the gates open. This world is too small for me now.”

  “Shall I catch him and have a mage erase his memory of this meeting?”

  “I’ve had so many memory spells cast on that incompetent half-breed it’s a wonder he has two thoughts left to rub together.”

  They waited. They wouldn’t act without a specific order from the queen.
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  She waved her hand. “Yes, cast the spell. He needs to think that the only reason she’s alive is due to his bungling, and not because you’ve been protecting her on my orders.”

  “As you wish, Your Majesty.”

  “You may go.”

  “Thank you.” The person bowed, then turned and walked away.

  Just before they reached the door, the queen called out, “Arduinna?”

  She turned. “Yes, Your Majesty?”

  “If you allow her to be killed before it’s time, I will be very, very cross with you.”

  Arduinna smiled. “Have no fear. I will guard her life as if it were my own.”

  About the Author

  AMY CISSELL IS an urban fantasy and paranormal romance writer. She grew up in South Dakota and received her BA in English Literature from South Dakota State University. That degree has carried her far in her career as a financial administrator.

  Her first exposure to fantasy was when she picked up her father’s copy of The Hobbit while in elementary school and an enduring love affair was born. Although Amy reads anything and everything, her first love is fantasy.

  Amy is the author of the Eleanor Morgan Series. Visit Amy online at www.amycissell.com, and stay up to date with her on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter. You can (and should!) sign up for her newsletter. In addition to receiving deleted scenes and excerpts from her upcoming releases, you’ll get the newsletter-exclusive serial following the origins and first millennium of Raj Allred—everyone’s favorite sexy vampire.

  The Broken World

  An Eleanor Morgan Novel, Book Four

  I SAT UP slowly and tried to orient myself. The last thing I remembered was getting in the car just after sunset to drive west. Now I was fighting a crick in my neck, an ache in my lower back, and the nausea that comes from disorientation and motion sickness. The seatbelt was still strapped firmly across my lap and I could feel it cutting into my side.

  “Where are we?” I croaked.

  “Almost to San Antonio,” Florence said.

  “We’re still in Texas?”

  “We will always be in Texas,” Emma said. “Texas is huge and goes forever and I hate it here.”

  I blinked a couple times. She wasn’t usually so negative. “What’s wrong, Emma?”

  “I’m hungry and Florence won’t let me drive.”

  I cocked my head to one side. I’d obviously missed something, because Florence hated driving and Emma never copped to be hungry. “How long was I asleep?”

  “Six hours,” Florence said. Her voice was as serene as always.

  “Why aren’t you letting Emma drive?” I couldn’t shake the grogginess. I’d done nothing but sleep for the past few days and would like to stay awake for more than a couple hours at a time.

  “She speeds.”

  “There aren’t any cops,” Emma pointed out.

  “There might be. Texas is different. There’s power here. There are other cars on the road. There might be cops.”

  “I don’t see any other cars,” Emma groused.

  “It’s one-thirty in the morning,” Florence said. “There was quite a bit of traffic earlier.”

  “You drive like an old woman.”

  “I am an old woman.”

  “Stop!” I said. “Both of you. Oh my god. Maybe it’s time to take a short break. Get out, stretch our legs.” My stomach growled. “Grab a bite to eat while we’re not moving.”

  “That would be wonderful,” Emma said. “Florence won’t let me eat in the car.”

  “Seriously, Florence? Why do you want a starving werewolf riding shotgun?”

  “She gets carsick when she eats while we’re moving.”

  I shook my head. “How far to San Antonio?”

  “Less than ten miles,” Florence replied.

  A few minutes later and I saw a glow light up the horizon in front of us. It’d been so long since I’d seen a city glow at night that it took me a moment to figure out what I was looking at. “They have electricity,” I said. San Antonio wasn’t lit up the way you’d expect a modern city to be, but it wasn’t a skyline of dark, abandoned looking high-rises like we’d been seeing the last few months, either. Wouldn’t it be funny if Texas became the bastion of civilization?

  “Duh,” Emma said. She was clearly in a fantastic mood.

  “Do they have fast food?” I was feeling an excited tingle in the pit of my stomach. I would cheerfully eviscerate someone for a Crunchwrap Supreme.

  “Probably not at this time of night,” Florence said. “We’ll be better off looking for an all-night diner at a truck stop.”

  “Don’t you know about fourth meal?” I asked. My mouth started watering. I was going to get some Taco Bell. I did a little shimmy of excitement.

  “I’m sure we won’t be able to find one easily,” Florence said. A sign appeared in the headlights advertising the food options at the next exit. Taco Bell was the first one listed. “Dammit,” she muttered.

  “Yay!”

  Florence sighed, hit the blinker, and exited the freeway.

  There was an open Starbucks next to the Taco Bell and I screamed, “Hazelnut latte!”

  I’d really fallen a long ways when I got this excited about a Starbucks. Ohhh…maybe if there was a Starbucks, there’d be other, better coffee shops around. I wondered how they were getting the supplies they needed to keep things going, but decided that for some things—coffee beans being one of them—there must be shipments coming in from Mexico and Central America. I wondered how prices were affected by the Pacific Northwest no longer able to bring in shipments. Maybe it was for the best that I’d left home. I don’t know how I would’ve survived without the ability to buy coffee beans.

  “Where would you like to go first?” Florence asked, interrupting my coffee-flavored reverie. “Taco Bell,” I said after giving it some serious thought.

  There was a “cash only” sign in the window, but other than that, it was exactly like every Taco Bell I’d ever been in. I bought a Crunchwrap Supreme, two burritos, and an order of nachos, then stood aside so Florence and Emma could order.

  “Where you from?” the cashier drawled. “You look like you’ve been travelin’.”

  “New Orleans,” I replied.

  “What’s been going on there, then? We’re not gettin’ a whole lotta news from outside Texas.”

  I thought back to what the President had said and not said regarding current events. I didn’t want to give away any secrets, especially not secrets that would mark me as other. “Lots of unrest. No power. Martial law.”

  “That why you left?”

  “It seemed time to move on.” I was getting impatient. I wanted my damn food. I sighed. This might be a good time to get some information since we hadn’t seen a news broadcast in three months.

  “What’s the word here on what’s going on?”

  “You know what the President said,” he stated. There was no room to believe that I wouldn’t. “We’re mostly tryin’ to prepare in case we lose power, too, but I don’t think we will. If we see any of those supernatural freaks, we’ll take them down before they can mess us up, too.”

  “Have you seen any supernatural…uh…freaks around?” I didn’t have to work too hard to sound nervous. “I wouldn’t want to run into anything strange.”

  “Nah. Maybe they know to get out while the gettin’s good. Everyone is armed with silver now. No freaks are going to take us on.”

  Our order was finally up and I turned to go. “Thanks for the news,” I called over my shoulder.

  After picking up a coffee order, Florence found us a hotel and rented two adjoining suites. Petrina showed up as soon as we were settling in and stayed just long enough to exchange a couple sentences with Florence before taking off again.

  Emma devoured her fourth meal and then she and Florence, hatchet buried over their mutual disdain for my dinner choice, retreated to the other room, leaving their barely touched coffee drinks.


  I finished their coffees—leaving that much caffeine abandoned violated one of the major tenets of my religion—then got in the shower. All this hot water was sporting me.

  After I was clean, full, and caffeined up, I climbed into bed. Only then did I allow myself to think about Raj. No one had mentioned him since I’d woken up. If something had happened to him, I was almost positive that someone would’ve mentioned it, but I was starting to bounce back and forth among worried, disappointed, and angry. How was I supposed to work through my feelings about his pseudo-betrayal if he wouldn’t show up to continue begging for forgiveness?

  I didn’t realize how worked up I was getting until I noticed the bedspread was smoking. “Dammit!” I yelled. I whipped it off the bed, dragged it into the tub, and turned the shower on. Apparently, weeks of no magic and a huge power surge had eroded my carefully fought for control.

  I looked at the clock next to the bed. Seven. The sun would be up soon—the eastern sky was already lighter. I wouldn’t get my answers from Raj today, if he even intended giving me any. I crawled back into bed and tried to slow my breath and my mind. I shouldn’t be tired after all the sleeping I’d done, but I felt my eyelids drooping almost immediately.

  I woke to the smell of food and hot coffee. I opened one eye and then the other, squinting through the sleep haze that still blurred my vision. Right there, in the middle of the chest of drawers, was a tray replete with pancakes, bacon, three kinds of syrup, bowls of butter, fruit, and whipped cream, and the largest carafe of coffee I’d ever seen next to a pitcher of cream.

  “Florence?” I called, my voice throbbing with reverence. “Did you do this?”

  “Yes. I hope you enjoy your breakfast.”