I rummaged around inside the trunk, glancing over every few moments at her. Her stillness, and shallow breaths concerned me, but I could do nothing but wait for his arrival. The Quartermaine would heal her, and to my advantage—he would be far too concerned for her safety to carry out an attack on me. I hated him harder then, that he was the only one who could heal her, but had left her so vulnerable. Abaddon, Callista, Lucius and their hoards were all after her, and it was only I who rendered the threat from Lucius obsolete. I glowered at the closed door. If any of them entered, I would tear out their still-beating heartstrings.
I decided then to transmogrify, hang upon a gable in the ceiling, and spy upon his return. I closed the lid of the trunk. With a snap, I transformed, fluttering upward to a concealed perch in the dark, cobwebbed corner near her bed, and waited.
To be continued . . .
A Note from the Author
I wrote this series because I wanted to read a story like it.
The Nefarious world and all the strange people and creatures inhabiting it were created from my love of all things dreary, macabre, and steampunk. A dash of the risqué never hurt, either.
I’m in therapy. I promise.
If you’d like real time updates on the series, please feel free to join my Facebook group, Moncrief’s Minions. Let me know if you’ve read any good books lately.
If you enjoyed the Nefarious world and can’t wait to go back until the next book is published, download the free short story, Hannibal Steele and the Bone Elixir, by joining my mailing list.
Hannibal Steele, chief alchemist of the High King Abaddon, would leave the Scion Hive just as he’d entered it more than three millennia ago—covered in blood.
The night called to him, whispering a siren song through the driving rain. He tightened his grip on the copper head of his cane, and proceeded through the mist to the alleyways. The bricks of the buildings were eclipsed in shadow, darkening in waves from the precipitation, as if the buildings themselves wept for his princess Emmeline.
Contact Lucille
www.moncriefs.net
Also by Lucille Moncrief
The Nefarious Series
Volume Two: Honor the Suffering
Volume Three: The World is Our Exile
Volume Four: The Dirigible Airship Disaster
The Prurient’s Bluff Series as Penelope Pattelbottom
Volumes One through Eight
Copyright © 2018 by Lucille Moncrief
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