Caught by Nightfall: Star Crossed, #2

By J.R. White

Meredith Blackburn finds herself between a rock and a hard place now that her relationship with Malcolm has led her to magical breaking and entering. Someone is playing around with the rivers of magic that flow over the planet and the oldest library around expects her to figure out who.

All Malcolm Blackwood wanted was a handful of new tracking spells. What he got was an angry lover, a conflicting revelation from his brother and some old kook trying to start a war. Now it's up to him and Meredith to set things right.

Will they save the day? Or will family get in the way?

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.R. White
• Release date: Feb 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393054719

Book preview

Caught by Nightfall

By J.R. White

© J.R. White 2018

Terms and Conditions:

The purchaser of this book is subject to the condition that he/she shall in no way resell it, nor any part of it, nor make copies of it to distribute freely.

All Persons Fictitious Disclaimer:

This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and co-incidental.

Star Crossed Series

Just Beyond Daybreak

Caught by Nightfall

Chasing High Noon

Witching Hour Madness

Knot in Destiny

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter One

THERE WERE A HUNDRED and one other things Meredith could and should have been doing. Contracts needed reading. Phone calls needed returning. A damn book that needed reading. So many other countless things that she should have been doing instead of sneaking through the halls of a massive library. Not just any library. No, Meredith Blackburn, head of a well-known and well-respected magical family, was walking around the basement of the world’s oldest library, the Lacuna Library. In its halls it held thousands of years’ worth of knowledge that most people would never even imagine still existed.

The ancient library had been kept a secret from most of society after its supposed destruction at Constantinople. Silently, Meredith breathed a prayer of thanks that the old pagan priests had thought ahead enough to save the bulk of the knowledge. They had also kept adding to it over the years as the world went through turmoil, creating the most extensive collection of historical knowledge known. It wasn’t just full of magical secrets. It held true histories that had been forgotten over the long expanse of time.

Of course, getting access to that library hadn’t been easy. Meredith and her family had spent years working through red tape just to get her access to the main areas when she was in college.

That morning, however, it had only taken Malcolm Blackwood five minutes to convince her to break in and disregard all of that red tape. Holding up the magical orb of light and walking her fingers over the spines of countless books, Meredith chided herself for giving into temptation. To think that a map of the ancient dragon lines would drive her to breaking and entering.

It agitated Meredith now that she was standing in the silent and dark hall. Glancing over at Malcolm, she asked, What the hell are you looking for, anyway?

Leaving his fingers on the aged spine of a thick book, Malcolm looked back at her through his own magical light and smiled. A set of tracking spells.

Stopping, Meredith lifted her hand to her hip and stared at him. Really? All of this for a few tracking spells? You’re already one of the best magical trackers, she pointed out. Still, that crooked smile and the light that sparked in his crystal blue eyes was enough to put her at ease.

Shrugging, Malcolm turned back to looking over the various labels. These are special.

Why?

His finger sliding down the spine of another leather bound book, Malcolm countered, Why are you looking for a map of the ley lines when you already have them memorized?

Clamping her mouth shut, Meredith bit her tongue. Malcolm had a point in his own way. The ley lines were a widely-known set of magical pathways. Even he, slacker in his studies that he was, knew most of them. She didn’t really want to share why she wanted to compare the current lines to ancient ones. She’d much rather work on that project on her own. Throwing up her hands, she gave in and said, Okay. Look for whatever you’re after. I’m going to go find that map.

As Meredith turned to leave, the light of her magical orb lamp was joined with his and Malcolm’s hand came around to rest on her waist. His lips dropped a quick kiss on her cheek. Looking back at him, she saw him wink. Go find what you need, Babe, and call if you run into any trouble.

His hand slipped away, and Meredith watched him drift down the dark hall. Malcolm’s confident strides down the narrow aisle gave the impression that he’d traveled those paths a hundred times before. Anything he did, he did with the same swagger that only he seemed to possess. Shaking her head, she turned and started her journey to find the ancient maps that had caught her interest in the first place.

She could still see the sly look in Malcolm’s eyes and the cheeky half smile on his lips when he’d brought up the maps. He knew just how to trigger her reckless side and he knew how to look good doing it. Bringing up the dragon lines had been a good idea. Even with all his masculine charm she still wouldn’t have helped him get into the library without that leverage.

The dragon lines, as the ley lines were more commonly known, were the rivers of magical power that circled the earth. Every wizard, sorceress, witch and warlock that ever used magic could feel the pull of the lines. They also drained power away from those rivers. Static wards were used to dam up some lines and others were just siphoned from. The use of the dragon lines were highly negotiated between the large magical factions.

Meredith was still new as the head of her family, but she’d been preparing for the Dragon Line Negotiations for years. The ancients had charted the lines long before treaties and negotiations started. She had always assumed that having those maps of the original lines might help her find the best angle to take during the talks. Her family didn’t rely on the magic. Her goal was to free it up for the less powerful factions and groups in the magical community, restoring some of the balance that had been lost over the centuries.

The library was alive with scents; sandalwood mingled with a lingering sage. Meredith had the distinct feeling that following the sandalwood would lead her just where she wanted to go. After a lifetime spent honing her divination skills, she’d learned to follow her gut instincts.

It didn’t take Meredith long to find her way through the winding hallways. Her hunch about the sandalwood had been right. The scent tangled in the air, leading her right to a wooden box displayed on a shelf below a large framed map.

The frame itself was unremarkable and most people would see the plain, aged parchment as useless. Meredith knew better though. Pulling a polished quartz crystal from her jacket pocket, she stared at the outline of the faded writing. Twitching her free fingers, she drew the glowing orb through the air closer to the framed piece and its faded ink.

Meredith could make out the shapes of the landmasses clearly. It wasn’t quite like modern maps. It was missing so much of the detail. But the rivers made it easier to locate other landmarks. Just what I was looking for, she said, palming the crystal and touching it to the old paper.

As the quartz began to glow, Meredith felt the magical energy of the map copying itself. The stone was slowly filling up and etching out a duplicate. As she moved it slowly over the map, she lost herself in tracing out the lines and committing them to memory as well. Already she could see large redirections in