Silver Unleashed: Magic, New Mexico

By DB Sieders

She doesn't believe in magic. He is magic.

Gillian Hohenwald knows magic isn't real. Her mother was delusional, as are her sister and aunts who claim to be witches—and who claim she's one, too. Like her father, Gillian believes there are rational, scientific explanations for all so-called paranormal phenomena. She's determined to find them, starting in the odd little town of Magic, New Mexico. What she doesn't expect to find is a sexy dragon shifter from another dimension.

Aiden Silver fled his dimension, Tarakona, before the ruling wizards could indenture him and steal his dragon magic. He's been hiding in the enchanted Earth town of Magic, New Mexico ever since, plotting a way to rescue his sister, Nadia. When an alluring—and possibly mad—scientist captures him, she accidentally lets a powerful wizard slip through the interdimensional portal linking Earth and Tarakona.

Now they must form an uneasy alliance to stop the wizard from his conquest of Earth while making sure their attraction doesn't distract from the mission. But can science and magic blend seamlessly, or will the mixture prove more explosive than any dimension can handle?

NOTE: No dragons were harmed in the making of this novella.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Meankitty Publishing
• Release date: Jul 19, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386481331

DB Sieders

Award-winning author D.B. Sieders was born and raised in East Tennessee and spent her childhood hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains and chasing salamanders, fish, and frogs. She loved to tell stories while sitting around the campfire.   She is a working scientist by day, but never lost her love of telling stories. Now, she’s a purveyor of unconventional fantasy romance featuring strong heroines and the heroes who strive to match them. Her heroes and heroines face a healthy dose of angst as they strive for redemption and a happily ever after, which everyone deserves. You can find D.B. Sieders on her Website, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. Join Sieders’ Sirens for giveaways, sneak peaks, bonus content, and upcoming releases!

Book preview

SILVER UNLEASHED

By

DB Sieders

SILVER UNLEASHED, 2nd ed

By DB Sieders

Meankitty Publishing

Copyright ©2018 DB Sieders

Cover by Melody Simmons

Contributor: SE Smith

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This ebook is licensed for the original buyer only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people at sharing sites, loops, discussion boards or through other means. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

The Author of this Book has been granted permission by S.E. Smith to use the copyrighted characters and/or worlds created by S.E. Smith in this Book; all copyright protection to the characters and/or worlds of Magic, New Mexico are retained by S.E. Smith.

Author’s Note to Readers: This novel was originally published by Kindle Worlds. This edition has been reedited, reformatted, and updated with an unbranded cover but has not been substantially altered.

About the Book:

She doesn’t believe in magic. He  is  magic.

Gillian Hohenwald knows magic isn’t real. Her mother was delusional, as are her sister and aunts who claim to be witches—and who claim she’s one, too. Like her father, Gillian believes there are rational, scientific explanations for all so-called paranormal phenomena. She’s determined to find them, starting in the odd little town of Magic, New Mexico. What she doesn’t expect to find is a sexy dragon shifter from another dimension.

Aiden Silver fled his dimension, Tarakona, before the ruling wizards could indenture him and steal his dragon magic. He’s been hiding in the enchanted Earth town of Magic, New Mexico ever since, plotting a way to rescue his sister, Nadia. When an alluring—and possibly mad—scientist captures him, she accidentally lets a powerful wizard slip through the interdimensional portal linking Earth and Tarakona.

Now they must form an uneasy alliance to stop the wizard from his conquest of Earth while making sure their attraction doesn’t distract from the mission. But can science and magic blend seamlessly, or will the mixture prove more explosive than any dimension can handle?

NOTE: No dragons were harmed in the making of this novella.

Dedication:

To Jody, my amazing collaborator

Acknowledgements:

Big thanks to S.E. Smith for letting us play in her amazing, quirky, and super fun world of Magic, NM! Shout out to Narelle Todd for wrangling and promoting all of the authors in this round. I had so much fun with these amazing and talented authors and appreciate their help and support. Thanks also to L.M. Sylvian for beta reading and giving me wonderful, constructive feedback. I’m eternally grateful to my editor/collaborator, Jody Wallace. She writes the coolest stuff and I encourage fans of quirky, fun romance through a feminist lens to check out her work.

DEFINITELY check out Silver Bound, the companion novella for Silver Unleashed. There’s an excerpt at the end of this novella. Check out the whole set! We have some super cool stories for you.

I owe a debt of gratitude to John Aragon, amazing writer and Santa Fe native who was kind enough to give me and my family a tour during our recent visit to New Mexico. He inspired the character of Rocky. If you’d like a virtual tour of New Mexico and the old west, you should definitely check out his work.

I have been overwhelmed by support and love from readers, bloggers, and reviewers, and I thank each and every individual who has taken the time to read my work.

And, as always, thank you to my family and my furballs for love, cuddles, and unwavering support.

MORE INFORMATION:

At the end, don’t miss About the Author and a bonus excerpt by Jody Wallace from Silver Bound, the first book in the Dragons of Tarakona series!

About Magic, New Mexico

Imagine The Worlds of Magic, New Mexico... A series that brings together outstanding paranormal and science fiction authors to expand a town where witches, aliens, vampires, werewolves, goblins, sorceresses, pirates, time travelers, and paranormal live in harmony - when they aren’t joining forces to defeat the bad guys. A magical town where being abnormal is the norm!

I’m S.E. Smith, the creator of Magic, New Mexico and I invite you to curl up with each book now and discover all the action, the magic, and the love that makes Magic, New Mexico the ultimate go-to series for Paranormal / Science Fiction Romance readers.

For all the stories, go to MagicNewMexico.com/books/. Grab your copy today!

Chapter One

"I found something!" Gillian squealed when her sister picked up the phone. Instead of sharing her excitement, Amy sighed. Loudly.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Amy asked, Where are you this time?

I’m hanging out near a town called Magic in New Mexico. Cute, right? Only it’s a cover. They have some kind of cloaking system that makes people think it’s a just a quaint little town, but there’s all kinds of weird stuff going on here. I can see it with the new anti-masking glasses I engineered.

Another sigh echoed across the connection. Gil, you can see it because you’re a witch. We’re witches, sweetie, and you just need to come to terms with that.

Not this again.

Gillian Hohenwald loved her family more than anything in the world, but they were all nuttier than fruitcakes. Well, almost all. Her father had been a rational man, a skeptic, and he’d instilled that into his youngest daughter. Magic didn’t exist. No matter how much her mother, aunts, and sister droned on about the merits of spells, divination, and paranormal woo woo, it was all a load of crap. There was a perfectly reasonable, scientific explanation for what her family and the hordes of people who watched those ghost and monster hunter reality shows believed, and Gillian was on a mission to prove it.

She propped the phone against her shoulder so she could check her equipment for the twentieth time, cringing at the sand and grit dusted across the metal and plastic surfaces. She hoped it wouldn’t jam the delicate internal electronics. Maybe she should take them back to her van for a few quick adjustments and a cleaning.

But first, she needed to deal with her sister.

I’m on the verge of uncovering some next level, sci-fi grade secret technology that will explain this so-called magic nonsense you keep trying to ram down my throat. Come to terms with that, sis.

Discovering the town of Magic had been a huge leap forward in Gillian’s quest. The town was sitting on a gold mine of hidden technology for stealth, and its residents were just so secretive, evasive, like they had something to hide. Amy clearly believed they were hiding their paranormal powers, but Gillian knew better. This close to Roswell? The town had to be a smokescreen for some kind of covert government repository of advanced military tech. Or maybe a private sector operation with a government contract. Either way, they didn’t like outsiders asking a lot of questions. Genius, really, the way they played the sleepy little small town role. It was the perfect cover.

I get it, Amy said gently. I know what Dad told you, but I saw what Mom could do.

Gillian’s chest went tight, and she had to blink a few times in spite of the arid climate. It wasn’t fair. Amy remembered so much more about their mother. She’d been older when Mom died. Gillian only got a flash of memory here and there. Then again, when it came to memories of their father, Gillian and Amy were on equal footing. They both knew their father’s views on magic and his wife’s delusions. That Amy followed their mother’s path was a source of contention between them, as was Gillian’s decision to follow their father’s footsteps and prove scientifically, once and for all, that magic was not real. If she could do that, she could save her sister and aunts from living lonely, isolated lives as community eccentrics and frauds.

Or from being attacked. It had happened before, and the memory still haunted her.

Amy’s voice brought her out of her musings. I know what I can do. You can do it, too. That’s how you get all of those devices you build to do what you want.

You can’t just magically grow plants any more than Aunt Begonia can magically calm animals or Aunt Millie can bake perfect cupcakes through enchantment, Gillian said. "Those are skills. And my designs are a product of skill, intellect, and hard work."

Of course you used your smarts to make those gadgets and gizmos, Amy said. You just enchanted them, too, like I enchant my orchard, like Aunt B charms horses, and like Aunt M enchants her confections. She even makes gluten free stuff taste delish!

Whatever. Gillian paused to wipe a few stray locks of hair and more than a little desert sand from her face before adjusting her specialized glasses, the ones she’d designed and fabricated to detect secret technology mistakenly identified as paranormal or magic.

Enchanted my ass.

She’d designed the eyewear herself, in secret, of course. The government would probably kill to get their hands on her prototype. Not only did the nanosensors give her excellent night vision and detect movement and heat with advanced, military-grade precision, but she’d spent countless hours in her laboratory tweaking the design until the detectors could also reveal whatever sort of camouflage technology the powers that be were testing in the world around her. The town of Magic had proven to be the perfect location for further testing and refinement.

Gillian? Hello? Have you heard a word I’ve said?

Talking to Amy was getting her nowhere, and besides, she had work to do. Look, I’ve got to go. I’ll call back later, okay? With any luck I’ll be able to tell you what they’re really hiding out here. You’ll see. There’s no such thing as magic.

Before Amy could protest, Gillian ended the call and shoved her phone into one of the many pockets of her cargo pants. Then she ducked behind a patch of juniper trees so she could keep an eye on the strange anomaly shimmering several yards away. She’d noticed it a few days ago while surveying the area around the town. At first glance, she could have easily dismissed the disturbance in the air as heat haze, but it persisted long after the sun set. And her glasses revealed it as something more. Barely visible air currents seemed to undulate and then swirl into some sort of vortex. Was it breech in the city’s cloaking device? A teleportation system? Some small-scale experiment to manipulate the weather?

The only way to find out was to observe.

She’d been at it on and off