The Veils: Earth Angel, #20

By B.C. Burgess

In a fiery tale filled with villains and heroes, this installment of the Earth Angel series takes readers on a magical journey rich with emotion, intrigue, and danger. Fans of Twilight, The Red Queen, The Selection, and Harry Potter will devour this breathless fantasy set in a modern mystical world.

 

While chaos consumes Maganthia, deep below the city in the Dark Vault, terror consumes Layla. The Dark Guild has discovered the key to enter Ava's tomb and taken Quin. Now Layla is forced to choose between her bonded mate and the rest of the world.

 

Will she find the strength to follow her fated path and protect the servants? Or will she follow the love of her life and let the world burn?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bandit Publishing
• Release date: Dec 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781953071507

Book preview

Contents

Title Page

Title Page

the veils

Earth Angel Series

Book 20

B.C. Burgess

Copyright

Copyright © 2021 B.C. Burgess

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, store in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the above author of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status or trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

This is the Young Adult version of The Mystic Series.

Bandit Publishing

Madeira, FL

ISBN: 978-1-953071-50-7

Chapter One

Chapter One

Much of Maganthia was intoxicated when her shriek echoed from Heavens Hall, reverberating throughout the city before fading into the music blaring from Low-tier’s equinox celebrations.

Armored guards lounged at the hall’s entrance, sneaking sips from flasks while keeping the party-crashers away, but as the mountain behind them wailed like a banshee, they shot to their feet and spun around.

Eerie stillness captured the atmosphere as everyone nearby blinked at Goddess Ava’s towering statue, fearful the blood-curdling scream had tumbled from the ancient sediment sculpting her serene smile. Then more shouts echoed from the hall as panicked guests poured from the stairwell and flew through the reception room, fluttering the white runner that had led them into the gala less than two hours earlier.

The guards at the entrance glanced at one another; and following a round of deep breaths, they charged into the hall, dodging fleeing magicians.

As they neared the cylindrical stairwell, one of them spotted a council member and snagged him by the arm. Sandino!

The tug nearly pulled Sandino out of flight as his feet whipped forward, but he managed to steady his balance as the guard yelled over the tumult.

What happened?

Sandino glanced back as he jerked his arm free. Someone took the angel’s mate.

Without waiting for a response, Sandino soared toward the exit, quickly catching up with his worried wife. Taking her by the hand, he flew with her down the stairs and landed on High-tier’s footpath.

I want you to go to your sister’s, he insisted. Wait for me there.

She clutched him tighter. How bad is this?

He swallowed, desperate to ease his wife’s fears, but unwilling to lie. You saw her eyes. There’s no predicting what she’ll do if she doesn’t find him. He kissed her cheek and pried his hand loose, nudging her away. I’ll call you soon.

She hesitated to go, so he turned his back on her and swiftly walked away, checking the time as he went. As Maganthia’s sole Irrigation Master, he worked out of a cave system beneath the southern side of the district wall, where he spent much of his time monitoring the spells he’d set on the city’s drainage system. The majority of the council was undoubtedly en route to a gathering at the capitol to discuss the disastrous gala and troublesome events unfolding, but before Sandino could attend, he needed to make sure the city would stay dry in such uncertain times.

Ducking into the nearest flight tunnel, he made his way to the fast lane and soared south. As he crossed beneath Low-tier, barely aware of the muffled music from the equinox celebrations above, the mountain trembled, carrying the dull rumbles of distant explosions. Everyone in the tunnels felt it, and most of them scrambled for the nearest exits, but Sandino quickened his pace while delving deeper into the maze.

He emerged beneath the tallest part of the district wall and bypassed the public stairwell, following a long hallway to a sealed door. Keep Out signs warned average citizens away from the restricted area, but the seal magically branded on Sandino’s inner wrist granted him access.

His apprentice glanced up from a book then jumped to his feet, his astute gaze sweeping over his boss’ aura. What happened?

Sandino crossed the vast chamber to a spiderweb of intersecting canals. Then he shouted over the rushing tide while measuring the water levels. Did you hear those explosions?

I felt a few tremors. I assumed it was fireworks going off in Low-tier.

No. These originated in the north, near High-tier. The earth angel’s mate vanished. Now she’s on a rampage.

Oh, shit.

Oh, shit is right.

Sandino flew south, instructing his apprentice to follow him along ancient, stone ditches that flowed toward the city’s main drain. After measuring the water output and pressure, he double-checked his spellwork then turned toward his nervous protégé. I need to check in with the council. When I get back, you’ll relocate to our outer station and stay there until the situation is under control. Given her power and rage, we need to consider this a state of emergency. That means we man our stations around the clock, so cancel whatever plans you had tonight.

Yes, Sir.

The young man headed for the phone, and Sandino flew toward the exit, which opened to four of his fellow councilmen, their foreheads pinching and their noses wrinkling as they took in the dreary surroundings. Most council members had seen the sewer sector only once, during a customary tour granted to new recruits. Having taken up the task from his father, Sandino earned the title of Irrigation Master long before he joined the council, so the dimly lit caverns were like a second home to him, but most of his colleagues considered themselves too high-class to toil away their days in the shittiest section of the city. Of the four who’d entered, two of them ran the weather council from a fancy perch high atop a spire on the western wall; another spent his days in an office near the capitol, overseeing the power grid; and the fourth was the lead engineer in the air filtration system, splitting his time between the jungle and Avasummus, the city’s surface town.

Sandino landed a few feet in front of them and held out his arms. What’s going on? I was about to head for the capitol.

The entrance opened to five more council members as the engineer passed Sandino a memo with the High Priest’s seal. We were told to meet here.

Never had Sandino witnessed such an order, but they’d never had a pissed off angel loose in the city. Worse still, Sandino had a sinking suspicion that some of his colleagues may have played a part in her ire.

Who gave you this? he asked, scanning those present, none of whom were on his radar as possible traitors.

We all received one, a witch answered, flashing her memo. Mine came from Mekhi’s new messenger.

Sandino narrowed his eyes. When did the High Priest get a new messenger?

The witch shrugged. Within the last few days I presume, a young man barely old enough to grow scruff.

The man next to her whipped his gaze around. A wizard? A witch claiming the same title delivered mine.

Sandino’s gut churned. Something’s not right.

Everyone took three steps back, their knees bent and their fingers twitching as they alertly scanned the shadows. Then they turned their cagey stares on one another. The whoosh of rushing water merged with rapid pulses to roar across their eardrums, so the flutter of black velvet went unnoticed until a cloaked body dropped into the center of their skeptical circle, hitting the floor with a bone crushing thud.

Sandino jolted and lowered his gaze to the twisted corpse, catching a glimpse of his apprentice’s bulging eyes. Then the world blurred into a bloody hue as a blade closed over his throat.

~***~

The keen edge of Zephora’s dagger slid through sinew and flesh as if they were sand, her stroke smooth, her chest bubbling with glee as she reveled in the council members’ shocked faces, all ten of them wide-eyed and blanching, front-row witnesses to the blood pumping from their gaping necks.

Still clutching her victim’s hair in her deadly fist, Zephora drew a deep breath. Then she pointed her dagger at the carnage, siphoning the magical life force from the crimson rivers. The sizzling energy congregated into a crackling orb, flashing in her dilated pupils as she eyed the large drainage ditch gushing with water, and with a slight flick of her wrist, she shot the deadly storm across the chamber.

The stolen power of the ten dead council members hit the tunnel with a deafening boom, and Zephora’s team stumbled as the cavern shook, raining dust and pebbles from the rafters.

Zephora cackled while dropping her dead man, intoxicated by the foreign energy that had transferred from the orb into her bloodstream. That was fantastic. Then she twirled toward her pets, flicking her tongue out over the blood dripping down her dagger. And this is just a prelude to the fireworks. Tonight, we raise hell.

~***~

The abduction of the guardian was much easier than Alec thought it would be. Not that he was too concerned with success. By the time the gala began, the wheels of mayhem were already in motion, and there wasn’t anything anyone could do to stop them, not even Layla. The only reason the guild agreed to take Quin was to keep their allies in the council clueless about the true nature of their plans.

Alec had been given full access to the ball, as well as an outfit and mask, so he’d spent the evening in the shadows, watching Aradia glide across the dance floor with Banning. Alec wished he could freeze time right then, stop the city in its tracks and let that be the end, his view eternally beautiful. But time kept moving, and Alec used it to track Quin until he finally left the angel’s side to speak with Drexel, the Crusaders’ lead commander.

Alec had been briefed on the locations of seven secret passageways that branched off the ballroom, so he and a throwaway team of soldiers used the nearest to grab Quin and Drexel. Once Alec had them behind the banner that concealed the passage, he reinforced the mental magic he’d used to knock them out. Then his team scooped them up and scrambled away, terrified of the angel behind them.

Two council members had slipped into the tunnel with them, offering their help while guiding them toward the exit, and one of them chatted along the way, confirming what Alec already knew.

Your boss isn’t sticking to the plan. He took our priest hostage as soon as the winners’ ceremony began.

That wasn’t all Henrick Murdock had done, and the consequences of the council members’ sins finally hit them when they entered the top floor of the library to the charred remnants of murdered Maganthians. The two officials stumbled and stuttered, attempting to absorb the carnage. Then a large group of corrupt locals joined them in the smoky lobby, tripling Alec’s numbers.

Still unaware of the depth of Henrick’s betrayal, the council members led everyone into the main shaft of the buried library, where Layla caught up and nearly killed them all. A week earlier, Alec would have let her, hopeful she’d move on to procure a victory, but the guild had outwitted the whole damn world, and they’d broken him, so he stuck with the plan and managed to stall her long enough to escape through the Dark Vault.

As he and what was left of his team swept through the immense underground chamber, they came across the dying priest, whose bloody wounds further instilled in the council the havoc they’d wrought.

He’s our way out, one of them panicked. We don’t know where the exits are.

Soldiers scattered, searching for a way forward, but Alec drew closer to Mekhi, briefly meeting his terrified eyes before scanning the floor near his body.

There’s a map, Alec noted, pointing it out to a council member, who urgently snatched it up, but Alec was just playing along and didn’t care how this unfolded. Either way, it would end tonight. For all of them.

The map took them to another tunnel with seven exits, and as the councilmen studied the legend, trying to figure out where the corridors led, a distant explosion rumbled the cavern. The locals froze, frightened and confused, but Alec knew who’d lit the fuse. While he and the angel had been destroying the library, the Murdocks aimed to destroy the world.

Shaking off their shock, the council members pointed left while taking what remained of their security to the right. You hide her guardian. We need to find Kyanna and Henrick.

Good luck, Alec smirked. Then off he went, solaced by the inability to turn back.

~***~

Henrick still had the priest’s blood on his hands when eight council members came upon him at the gate to the exit tunnel, the cobblestone paths shaking in the aftermath of Zephora’s explosion. Two guards lay dead at Henrick’s feet, and hundreds of Dark Guild soldiers flanked him, so he remained relaxed as he watched the newcomers stumble to a halt and gawk at the dead locals.

What have you done? their spokeswoman demanded.

What? Henrick returned. This? He nudged a dead man with his foot. They had the gall to try to detain me. You were supposed to have your guards under control.

Kyanna pushed back her shoulders, jutted out her chin, and took a step. You were supposed to wait for us in the library. We were willing to give you the key. Why would you kill for it?

Your priest turned as stingy as a virgin when I asked to see his precious vault, and if you’re referring to the death of your librarians, they were wasting my time.

They were doing their jobs! You’ve senselessly slaughtered our people and destroyed our reputation. You’ve taken us to a point we’ll never come back from. Are you also responsible for the explosion we just heard?

Henrick raised his dark eyebrows. It sounded serious, didn’t it? Perhaps you should go check on that.

We don’t even have time to check on our families, she rebuked. The angel will emerge from those tunnels soon, and if she doesn’t follow her mate, she’ll come for our throats. And after what you’ve done, our citizens will gladly join the hunt. We’re going to have to go into hiding after the damage you’ve inflicted. The deal was – we give you what you need, and in return, you leave our city intact. We could have done this without the masses even knowing you were here. Now you’ve alerted everyone to our plans, and the entire council will burn for it, whether they were involved or not. Maganthia will never recover.

Henrick let her complaints float in one ear and out the other as he cleaned his hands. That’s a shame.

A shame? she shrilled. Shame doesn’t begin to describe what you’ve done. This is a monumental disas—

The rant hissed into a gurgle as Zephora’s blade pierced the base of Kyanna’s skull and plunged through her gaping mouth. A moment of silence passed as her colleagues tilted their heads and curiously looked at her. Then Zephora snickered as Henrick released a relieved sigh.

Thank you. I’d had quite enough of her chatter.

Zephora yanked her blade free and released Kyanna’s hair, dropping her to the ground. We all needed a break from that bitch.

Kyanna’s comrades stumbled backward as her aura disappeared. Then the city’s power grid failed as the seven remaining council members twirled around, intent on darting away from the devils to which they’d sold their souls, but it was too late.

A mere wave of Henrick’s hand set a dozen soldiers in motion, and within seconds, the seven locals were back-to-back and bound with magical cords, their feet