A Northerly Breeze

Published by EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ® at Smashwords

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2018 Serenity Snow

ISBN: 978-1-77339-539-5

Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

Editor: CA Clauson

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

To my muse, the real storm and passion in my life. Thank you for being there no matter what.

A NORTHERLY BREEZE

Windswept, 3

Serenity Snow

Copyright © 2018

Prologue

Elaina come out. His voice held a bit of mirth and that irked Elaina, but she knew her chances of survival were truly very slim.

She was a woodland nymph—a warrior—but she didn’t have the heart for killing unlike others of her breed. And she was wounded, bleeding badly. She wouldn’t be able to survive another direct hit.

I’ll kill you quick if you show yourself, the demon said. I just want your power.

You’re strong enough without it, she replied weakly and grimaced as pain radiated through her side.

Yes, but there are just some things your kind can do that mine can’t, he murmured. Like connecting with the aurai.

The wind nymphs. The ones that lived here now were warrior wind. They fought to ensure the balance between good and evil remained intact even if they had to allow evil a small victory over good.

Most of them were gray. They lived in that place between good and evil themselves, especially the storms. They were forces of destruction that carried out great deeds of good.

And she’d been sent here to relay a message and act as liaison between the woodlands and the aurai.

Elaina. Stop playing hard to get. His voice held an edge of impatience now.

She listened, straining hard. Those were footsteps coming toward them.

Elaina forced herself to stand and gripped the thick branch of a tree to keep upright.

Strengthen me, Gaia, she prayed as she forced her feet to move and pain shot up her hip. Where I am weak, be my fortitude, Lady Divine.

Elaina moved quickly as the even tempo continued toward her.

You’re a pathetic excuse for a warrior, he said mockingly. If this is what your race has to offer, we’re safe from your sisters.

Elaina got her labored breathing under control as she leaned against a tree. She’d only been there a half a second before a woman came to an abrupt halt before her in the sprawling park. The night-dark sky was filled with fluffy clouds blocking out the moon.

The woman gasped, but she didn’t scream, and Elaina knew how she must look—face swollen and bloody, clothes torn, and her eyes—well she knew her eyes glowed a little lighting her way. Twigs were already starting to grow in her hair as the Goddess began to reclaim her.

The demon would be able to feed off her, taking her powers of earth for his own unless…

Help me, Elaina lurched forward, knowing she only had one chance to defeat this demon’s true purpose in attacking her.

The woman caught her when she stumbled and the rush of power stunned her. Their eyes met and Elaina’s lips tilted in a faint smile.

She was one of the seeded who’d yet to come to power. Well, she’d fix that, and transform her into something better.

Elaina gripped her head tight between her hands and the woman’s brown eyes widened.

I’m sorry, Elaina whispered. My place is yours now. My power yours. The woman’s eyes glowed a vivid green and Elaina knew her power had been successfully mingled with the energy already inside the woman.

No, the woman said weakly, fear in her eyes.

Don’t fear this change, others were chosen through bloodline to carry the mantle of woodland power, but I bequeath mine to you. I choose you because you are you.

Stop, the woman said as she attempted to push her off and back up.

I know you don’t understand, Elaina said, holding on tighter. But I’ll explain.

Even as the words sighed from her in the language of the plants and flowers, Elaina knew the woman wouldn’t understand her now, but in three days when she woke and the energy of the earth took her, this night would come back to her, and she’d wake with full knowledge of what she was and what she had to do.

Elaina stumbled backward and her torso stretched, turning into dark bark and her arms reached up, becoming long and leafy.

Elaina!

The woman put a hand on the stranger’s forehead, and said, Sleep until the demon’s retreat. When you wake, it’ll be safe exit, and the House of Rose will continue to Flourish.

The stunned woman staggered into the tree just as the demon came into sight.

No! he shouted.

Elaina’s bark was covered over with moss from the trunk up as she gave herself over to be reborn in peace.

****

I got the information, Avery Northerly said into the secure line of the cell phone in her office.

You need to take care of them as soon as possible, the woman on the other end ordered. They’re power brokers, and I know one of them is out hunting tonight. I lost him, but if he catches his prey, he’ll gain some woodland nymph powers to sell. And we can’t risk a demon running around with those powers.

She rubbed her shoulder. I know. She’d been at work since seven this morning thanks to an emergency.

I think it’s a safe house or something. The most you can afford to wait on this is three days.

Okay. Listen, someone’s at the door, and I can’t just ignore them. They might be hurt. The clinic catered to the witch community and sometimes fairy.

Be careful, honey, her aunt said into her ear. I’m sorry to leave you like this especially knowing the demons are planning to strike at the four most powerful covens in the city before going after the Big Thirteen, but I have to get out of the country tonight.

They’re going after Vesta?

Yes, her aunt told her. The demon Margeau and I killed last night was part of the offensive. They’re going to finish off Spring Skye and then go after Vesta and Daye before taking on Silken Cord. Sam’s coven is last because she’s part of the Dual Congress and the coven has a few traitors in it.

The Dual Congress was the governing body of witches—and now demons thanks to some foolish notion by someone that the demons went along with.

Who are they? she demanded. The four most prominent covens in the city all had members in the Local Council, the local arm of the Dual Congress.

If they didn’t have members in the Local Council, they were part of the Round Table known as the Big Thirteen. Those families were known for influencing policy, protection outside of the Local Council, and had influence in human politics and business.

I don’t know yet, but you need to be careful and get out of Vesta. You’re aurai so they have no jurisdiction over you.

I can’t just leave the coven, Avery protested. They need me.

Will you do me another favor, honey? her aunt asked as if she hadn’t spoken, which meant she expected Avery to obey despite her objections.

Yes. She wasn’t leaving the coven.

Margeau’s traveling with me, so Tamari’s taking over the underground network for witches who might need to flee the city. Margeau’s house is one of those stops and it’s going to be unmanned. I need you to look in on it.

The Lakeview Drive area was notoriously quiet with many homes widely spaced on acres of land. There were only two other houses on that street and one of the neighbors was rarely home.

You want me to man the place?

No, I just want you to be there in case Tamari needs you, she said. Do you still have the keys?

Yes, Avery replied with a smile.

And I know you can unlock the ward since you created it.

She chuckled. She was somewhat of a ward specialist with words or with items. She could create or break them with no problems.

Be safe, my love.

You, too, she said and ended the call. Avery hurried to the door, the tile floor gleaming beneath her feet.

Her aunt and her aunt’s best-friend had co-founded the Black Moon Clinic twenty years ago. She’d come to work here when she was twenty-one after graduating medical school.

She came to a stop in front of the glass door to find a tall woman with gray eyes standing on the other side. The suit she wore looked tailored through the thick glass and her expression impassible. However, she didn’t look wounded.

Avery started shaking her head and opened her mouth to tell her the clinic was closed, but lightning flashed in her eyes sending chills down Avery’s spine. With wonder and consternation, she immediately lifted a hand to disengage the locks.

She’d heard about the storm aurai, but had never met one of the breed she was to become once she’d fully connected with her powers and the energy of air. While the connection was nearly finished, she hadn’t expected anyone to just appear on her doorstep.

Hello, Avery. The woman’s voice was cool, yet soft as a breeze.

Come in, Avery said with a sweep of her hand. She moved aside to allow her guest to enter before locking the door and then facing her.

I’m Storme, Tylor Storme, the reigning aurai leader of the tri-state area.

Avery nodded, studying the woman. Her curly hair rippled around her face as if a breeze caressed it.

You’re not what I expected, Tylor said. We’ve never had a healer in our ranks as we heal pretty quickly, but not all the marked will have our abilities. So, I suppose you are a perfectly designed addition.

Thanks, I guess. Avery frowned. Why are you here? I mean, I guess you have a reason other than to pronounce me fit.

Tylor’s lips quirked up in amusement. I had Vesta Tradition Coven investigated when I heard an aurai-marked could be part of the coven. That’s why I’m here. You can’t be allowed to continue outside the aurai structure.

I’m not leaving the coven right now, but I’ll take my place in aurai ranks, she retorted. Everything in her hungered for the connection with those of her kind. She wouldn’t deny where she belonged, but she wouldn’t forsake the coven that had been a mainstay in her life since she was nineteen.

She’d outstripped them all in power, but they were always there for her even though they couldn’t possibly understand what she’d been going through in the last year as she began becoming the power she would be.

Tylor’s gray eyes became storm-gray and flashed with lightning. Avery expected her to attack and mentally prepared for it, allowing her power to surge forth in an icy wave.

Then, Tylor walked around her and she held her ground, listening to the footfalls, tracking the heat of her energy. At the same time, Avery kept her power from spewing forth in a spell that was a tight web of energy designed to confine an attacker.

I can’t hear your thoughts, but I can feel them rippling down my spine in a cold wind. Her voice held tensile strength and the underlying hint of a dare.

Avery faced her then and found an enigmatic look on the pretty face.

Energies of the black tourmaline serve you well, Tylor said. They allowed you to create a strong mental shield.

Circumstances had ensured that a long time ago, but Avery wasn’t going to correct her. The black tourmaline stones in the bracelet she wore—partnered with moss agate to enable her connection to the north winds—assured her survival when she was a child lost in the clutches of dark breeds.

Demons are stalking aurai, as well as good witches. So we need to end them before it goes much further.

Avery studied her. Your investigator just determined that I was aurai-marked?

Not quite, Tylor said. You were researched and you’re an anomaly. Your mother was only ever part of a small family trad coven. The Northerlys were quite strong air witches.

My mother’s strength didn’t save her. The ice in her tone almost turned