Fate's Edge

our relationship is over.”
    George scanned the list. Several subjects, with examinations and scores required. Necromancy testing.
    “Your summers belong to me.” Lady Virai leaned back. “If you agree, your childhood is over. Do we have a deal?”
    He didn’t hesitate for a second. “Yes.”
    “You are dismissed.”
    George rose. At the door he paused. “What about my brother?”
    “All in good time,” Lady Virai said. “Don’t worry. The realm won’t run out of enemies while the two of you grow up.”
     
    THE air smelled of ripened grapes. Sunshine warmed Spider’s hands and face. He tilted his head to the sky, rolling his wheelchair to the stone rail of the balcony. He loved it here. Below him, rows and rows of grapevines crossed the green hills. He used to walk there, between the rows of vines.
    It felt like an eternity ago.
    Footsteps echoed behind him, uneven. Someone was limping.
    Spider turned.
    Helena emerged into the sunlight, dragging her left foot. A blue bruise claimed most of her neck. Her beautiful hair was a tangled mess caked with blood.
    His heart clenched. He still remembered her when she was small, a serious, solemn child. She had laughed so rarely, each giggle was a gift.
    “How badly are you hurt?” he asked.
    “I will heal.”
    She knelt by his wheelchair. Her eyes were luminescent. “I have a gift for you, Uncle.”
    Behind her, Sebastian moved into the light and set a steel box on the ground. Helena flipped open the lid. Inside, bags of blood lay buried in the ice.
    “The blood of Kaldar Mar,” Helena said. “I’m sorry. That’s all I could get.” She bowed her head.
    He patted her hair. “Thank you. Thank you, child.”
    I will walk the hills again. I will run through them. And then I will settle my debts.
     
    THE house perched on the green lawn next to a lovely lake. It looked beautiful. Audrey smiled.
    Kaldar hugged her, and she leaned against him. “So this is it?”
    “Mhm. I bought it for a steal. The merchant who had commissioned it backed out at the last minute, leaving the builder with the bill.”
    He swept her off her feet and started toward the house. He was still weak and swayed a little as he carried her over the threshold, but she said nothing. It was important.
    Kaldar set her down inside. The walls and floor were golden, and as the sunlight spilled through the huge windows, the place seemed to glow. Ling the Merciless snuck in behind them and slunk through the house, her claws clicking on the floor. “You have no furniture.”
    “I had to buy the place with cash. It wiped me out. Besides, I was never here long enough to need any furniture. Until now.”
    “We don’t need much,” she told him. “A table, two chairs, and a bed. With both of us working, we’ll get it set up in no time.”
    “Come, sit on the porch with me,” he said.
    They went out the back door and sat on the wooden porch, guarded by a wooden rail. He put his arm around her. Audrey snuggled against him.
    “I thought I had lost you,” she murmured. “Are you going to be all noble and chastise me for coming to rescue you?”
    “Hell no! I’m bloody thrilled to be alive.”
    Ling padded out onto the porch and sniffed the air. She paused, poised for a long moment, and trotted down to the water.
    “I believe she approves of my glorious palace,” Kaldar said.
    Audrey wound her arms around him. “I think we’ll be very happy here.”
    “We will. The best thing: no neighbors. Well, except for my family, but they are five miles down.”
    “So nobody could see us?”
    “No.”
    She grinned at him. “Hey. Do you want to make out?”
    Kaldar gave her the wicked grin that made him unbearably handsome. “Do you really need to ask?”
    She pulled him to her, and they landed on the boards. He kissed her, and Audrey melted into the kiss.
    “You make me feel so wonderful,” she said.
    He squeezed her to him. “Did I ever tell you that you are like sunshine in the middle of the night?”
    Audrey shook her head. Being with Kaldar felt so good. If this is a dream, then please, God, let me keep dreaming. “I hope you know you are caught, Kaldar Mar,” she whispered.
    “You have it wrong,” he told her. “I caught you.”
    They kissed and made love on bare porch boards. Later, they drank sweet berry wine and ate sandwiches out of their picnic basket, watching the water lap gently at the shore in front of their home.

COMING JUNE 2012 FROM ACE BOOKS
    GUNMETAL MAGIC
    A NOVEL