Bitter Wind (Death's Handmaiden Book 2)

  ‘It’s dawn,’ Melissa said. Nava had won the bet. Faced with anyone she thought might be a candidate for her one-night stand, Melissa had been too nervous to talk to them. She had come a long way, but she still cracked when faced with attractive men.

  ‘Our first year at SAS-squared is definitely over,’ Mitsuko responded. The sex had been tailing off for the last hour, but no one had felt like moving so the three of them were in a somewhat tangled group on the sofa. ‘I have a proposition for the two of you.’

  ‘Haven’t we been propositioned enough?’ Melissa asked. ‘I think, maybe, we should get a little sleep.’

  ‘Not that kind of proposition. Nava’s moving in with me next year, right?’

  ‘That’s still the plan,’ Nava replied. ‘I’ve even less reason to back out of it now.’

  ‘Okay, so I did some research and there’s nothing stopping us from renting a house on the Estate.’

  ‘Isn’t that expensive?’ Melissa asked.

  ‘Not hugely so. It’s heavily subsidised. Students don’t do it because, well, no one thinks of it mostly, but there’s also a case to be made that if you can afford to do it, you can afford an apartment like this one that’s closer to the teaching buildings.’

  ‘So, uh, why would you want to?’

  ‘Because, we can get a four-bedroom place and the three of us can move in. With my allowance and Nava’s allowance and your grant, we can cover the cost without any trouble. We each get a room, even if Nava will spend most nights in mine, and we’ll have a spare for guests. Our own kitchen, so we could save some money on evening meals by cooking for ourselves.’

  ‘You just want easier access to threesomes,’ Nava said.

  ‘While another interesting benefit, that only applies until August. Then Mel turns seventeen and becomes off-limit.’

  Nava nodded. ‘Now that is a good point. When I turn seventeen in November, I won’t have to give up sex entirely. It’ll just be you that has to be celibate.’

  ‘You’re evil.’

  ‘I’m aware. I’m fine with it. It’s up to Mel.’

  Melissa frowned. ‘I’d feel a bit like I was sponging off you two.’

  ‘Part of the reason I want to do this,’ Mitsuko said, ‘is that I can’t stand the thought of Nava moving up in the world and leaving you in that dingy capsule on your own. If it makes you feel better, we’ll get you a maid uniform and you can wander around cleaning the place with a feather duster.’

  ‘That doesn’t sound like an especially efficient way to clean.’

  ‘It’ll be a kinky maid uniform.’

  Melissa grinned and shook her head. ‘You’re terrible. I’d be stupid to decline, I guess. I will be doing something to make up for my smaller contribution to the rent.’

  ‘Maid uni–’

  ‘Aside from that. Fine. I’m in.’

  Mitsuko smiled and leaned back against the sofa cushions. ‘Good. Here’s to a new year of good friends and new challenges.’

  ‘I think I’d prefer to cut down on the challenges,’ Melissa countered. ‘There’ve been far too many this year.’

  ‘You know you’ve just jinxed the whole of next year, don’t you?’ Nava said.

  ‘Sorry.’

  ‘A new year and hard challenges,’ Nava said. ‘That’s what we need to wish for.’ Then she shook her head. ‘No, that’s just like trying to make it rain by washing your windows. We’re doomed.’

  ###

  About the Author

  I was born in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall so perhaps a bit of history rubbed off. Ancient history obviously, and border history, right on the edge of the Empire. I always preferred the Dark Ages anyway; there’s so much more room for imagination when people aren’t writing down every last detail. So my idea of a good fantasy novel involved dirt and leather, not shining plate armour and Hollywood-medieval manners. The same applies to my sci-fi, really; I prefer gritty over shiny.

  Oddly, then, one of the first fantasy novels I remember reading was The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper (later made into a terrible juvenile movie). These days we would call Cooper’s series Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy and looking back on it, it influenced me a lot. It has that mix of modern day life, hidden history, and magic which failed to hit popular culture until the early days of Buffy and Anne Rice. Of course, Cooper’s characters spend their time around places I could actually visit in Cornwall, and South East England, and mid-Wales. In fact, when I went to university in Aberystwyth, it was partially because some of Cooper’s books were set a few miles to the north around Tywyn.

  I got into writing through roleplaying, however, so my early work was related to the kind of roleplaying game I was interested in. I wrote science fiction when I was playing Traveller. I wrote “high fantasy” when I was playing Dungeons & Dragons. I wrote a lot of superhero fiction when I was playing City of Heroes. I still love the idea of a modern world with magic in it and I’ve been trying to write a novel based on this for a long time. As with any form of expression, practice is the key and I can look back on all the aborted attempts at books, and the more successful short stories, as steps along the path to the Thaumatology Series.

  Recently I took the big step of quitting my day job and taking up full-time writing. My favourite authors are Terry Pratchett, Susan Cooper, J.D. Robb, and Kim Harrison. Kim’s Hollows books were what finally spurred me to publish something, even if the trail to here came by way of Susan, back in school, several decades ago.

  For More Information

  Take a look at the Witches and Ray-guns blog: http://witchesandrayguns.wordpress.com

  Links to book vendors and other information can be found there, along with a view on what I’m up to and when it might happen.

  Other Books by this Author

  The Thaumatology Series

  Thaumatology 101

  Demon’s Moon

  Legacy

  Dragon’s Blood

  Disturbia

  Hammer of Witches

  Eagle’s Shadow

  Ancient

  Dragonfall

  The Other Side of Hell

  For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll

  Vengeance

  Anthologies in the Thaumatology Universe

  Tales from High Towers’ Study

  Tales from the Dubh Linn

  The Aneka Jansen Books

  Steel Beneath The Skin

  The Cold Steel Mind

  Steel Heart

  The Winter War

  The Greatest Heights of Honour

  The Lowest Depths of Shame

  Hope

  The Ultrahuman Books

  Ugly

  Shadows

  Hunting Mink

  Frostburn

  Guardian

  True Dark

  Liberty

  Royal Flush

  The Unobtainium Books

  Kate on a Hot Tin Roof

  The Reality Hack Books

  Reality Hack

  The Fox Meridian Books

  Fox Hunt

  Inescapable

  DeathWeb

  Criminal Minds

  Emergence

  The Ghost in the Doll

  Eden Burning

  Dominance

  The Hellas Find

  Dancing with The Devil

  The Princeps Venator Books

  Hunter’s Kiss

  Be My Valentine

  Blood Magic

  The Gunwitch Books

  Gunwitch: Rebirth

  The Children of Zanar Series

  The Zanari Inheritance

  The Misfits Series

  Misfit Magic

  Misfit Witchcraft

  The Sondra Blake Series

  The Vanity Case

  The Shil the Huntress Books

  The Eyes of the Huntress

  The Twilight Empress Trilogy

  The Iron Princess

  The Last Emperor – coming when it’s ready

  The Death’s Handmaide
n Series

  Death’s Handmaiden

  Bitter Wind

  Other

  The Girl Who Dreamed of a Different World

  * * *

  Table of Contents

  Part One: Love Hurts

  Part Two: Grey

  Part Three: When Life Gives You Lemons

  Part Four: Tests, Trials, and Tribulations

  Part One: Love Hurts

  Part Two: Grey

  Part Three: When Life Gives You Lemons

  Part Four: Tests, Trials, and Tribulations