Recon Mission: Bee (Amplifier 5.5)

By Meghan Ciana Doidge

Concerned that we hadn’t heard from her in over a year, Fish had dragged me all the way into the middle of Russia to follow up a lead on the whereabouts of our telepathic team member. Amanda, aka Bee. But what was supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission — gathering intel so we could formulate a plan that might need to involve the rest of the team — went sideways within twenty-four hours.

Because even though the bonds that held we Five together in life were tied so tight that the death of one of us might mean the death of all ...

I was apparently the only one who took the responsibility that came with those ties seriously.

***

Recon Mission: Bee is a 22k novella in the Amplifier series, which is set in the same universe as the Dowser, Oracle, Reconstructionist, Archivist, and Misfits of the Adept Universe series.
•The Amplifier Protocol (Amplifier 0)
•Close to Home (Amplifier 0.5) (bundled with A0)
•Demons and DNA (Amplifier 1)
•Bonds and Broken Dreams (Amplifier 2)
•Mystics and Mental Blocks (Amplifier 3)
•Idols and Enemies (Amplifier 4)
•The Music Box (Amplifier 4.5) (bundled with A4)
•Instincts and Impostors (Amplifier 5)
•Recon Mission: Bee (Amplifier 5.5)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Meghan Ciana Doidge
• Release date: Sep 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9781989571552

Meghan Ciana Doidge

Meghan Ciana Doidge writes tales of true love conquering all, even death. Though sometimes the love is elusive, the vampires and werewolves come out to play in the daylight, and bloody mayhem ensues.

Book preview

Recon Mission: Bee

RECON MISSION: BEE

AMPLIFIER 5.5

MEGHAN CIANA DOIDGE

OLD MAN IN THE CROSSWALK PRODUCTIONS

CONTENTS

Author’s Note: Amplifier Series

Author’s Note: Adept Universe

Introduction

Recon Mission: Bee

Amplifier 6 Sneak Peek

Extras and Freebies!

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Also by Meghan Ciana Doidge

AUTHOR’S NOTE: AMPLIFIER SERIES

Recon Mission: Bee is a novella in the Amplifier series, which is set in the same universe as the Dowser, Oracle, Reconstructionist, Archivist, and Misfits of the Adept Universe series.

---

The Amplifier Protocol (Amplifier 0)

Close to Home (Amplifier 0.5) (bundled with A0)

Demons and DNA (Amplifier 1)

Bonds and Broken Dreams (Amplifier 2)

Mystics and Mental Blocks (Amplifier 3)

Idols and Enemies (Amplifier 4)

The Music Box (Amplifier 4.5) (bundled with A4)

Instincts and Impostors (Amplifier 5)

Recon Mission: Bee (Amplifier 5.5)

Endings and Empathy (Amplifier 6)

AUTHOR’S NOTE: ADEPT UNIVERSE

Recon Mission: Bee is a novella in the Amplifier series, which is set in the same universe as the Dowser, Oracle, Reconstructionist, Archivist, and Misfits of the Adept Universe series. While it is not necessary to read all five series, in order to avoid spoilers, the ideal reading order of the Adept Universe is as follows:

---

Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1)

Trinkets, Treasures, and Other Bloody Magic (Dowser 2)

Treasures, Demons, and Other Black Magic (Dowser 3)

I See Me (Oracle 1)

Shadows, Maps, and Other Ancient Magic (Dowser 4)

Maps, Artifacts, and Other Arcane Magic (Dowser 5)

I See You (Oracle 2)

Artifacts, Dragons, and Other Lethal Magic (Dowser 6)

I See Us (Oracle 3)

Catching Echoes (Reconstructionist 1)

Tangled Echoes (Reconstructionist 2)

Unleashing Echoes (Reconstructionist 3)

Champagne, Misfits, and Other Shady Magic (Dowser 7)

Misfits, Gemstones, and Other Shattered Magic (Dowser 8)

Graveyards, Visions, and Other Things that Byte (Dowser 8.5)

Gemstones, Elves, and Other Insidious Magic (Dowser 9)

The Amplifier Protocol (Amplifier 0)

Demons and DNA (Amplifier 1)

Bonds and Broken Dreams (Amplifier 2)

Mystics and Mental Blocks (Amplifier 3)

Idols and Enemies (Amplifier 4)

Instincts and Impostors (Amplifier 5)

Endings and Empathy (Amplifier 6)

Misplaced Souls (Misfits 1)

Awakening Infinity (Archivist 0)

Invoking Infinity (Archivist 1)

Compelling Infinity (Archivist 2)

---

More books in the Amplifier, Archivist, and Misfits series to follow. This reading list doesn’t include the shorter stories interspersed throughout all of the main series, but more information can be found at www.madebymeghan.ca

INTRODUCTION

Concerned that we hadn’t heard from her in over a year, Fish had dragged me all the way into the middle of Russia to follow up a lead on the whereabouts of our telepathic team member. Amanda, aka Bee. But what was supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission — gathering intel so we could formulate a plan that might need to involve the rest of the team — went sideways within twenty-four hours.

Because even though the bonds that held we Five together in life were tied so tight that the death of one of us might mean the death of all …

I was apparently the only one who took the responsibility that came with those ties seriously.

RECON MISSION: BEE

I was fairly certain I’d been hit by a truck. And yes, I knew what actually being hit by a truck felt like.

My head was pounding. Every joint in my body ached. And in the moment between a deep sleep — okay, it was pretty clear I’d passed out — and surfacing into the gray morning, I couldn’t remember where I was.

I did, unfortunately, know exactly where I wasn’t.

I wasn’t on the West Coast of Canada. The lack of magic tingling along my spine told me that instantly. But the too-soft bed, scratchy sheets, and stale air of the hotel room were big giveaways as well.

I wasn’t where I wanted to be.

Not that I would ever admit that out loud.

Not while Emma was in hearing range. And the amplifier had hearing so heightened that it almost rivaled her superiority complex, so I kept my contentment over living under her roof to myself. Perpetually.

Or I would blame that feeling of rightness, and my need to stifle it whenever I was away from her, on the blood tattoo that bound us, magic to magic. Blood to blood and bone and sinew.

I tried cracking my eyes open, halfway hoping I was wrong.

I wasn’t.

The room was just as gray as the triangle of sky I could see through the window while sprawled across the bed. I’d managed to remove my jacket, pants, and belt before passing out, at least. So I was slightly more comfortable in a black cotton T-shirt and boy shorts than I would have been otherwise.

Emma favored lacy underwear, even though she didn’t need a bra any more than I did. And yes, I secretly coveted the pretty lacy things the amplifier hid under her thrift-store sundresses. But I’d never been able to force myself to buy any, to admit that I wanted anything pretty or sweet in my life. And I certainly wasn’t interested in titillating anyone with that underwear, not in the way that Emma had her dark sorcerer panting after her.

I wasn’t jealous.

I just honestly wasn’t all that interested in being intimate with anyone who wasn’t already embedded under my skin. Certainly not long enough to woo and then wed them. And … even then … I’d only climbed into Fish’s bed, so many years ago now, because Emma had done so first. And where Fox in Socks went, we — Knox, Bee, me, and even Fish — were sure to follow …

Until she’d kicked us all to the curb.

And sure, that was a bit of revisionist history I had going on. But since it was all in my head, I could play the wounded party all I wanted.

Bee had been curvier than Emma and me. She’d needed a supportive bra around the age of twelve, and the Collective had provided the barest of essentials.

But then, we hadn’t been bred for beauty.

We’d been bred for power.

And I was that.

Pure power.

Though I didn’t feel particularly powerful this morning. Or perhaps it was early afternoon …

I turned my head, already knowing that the second bed was not only empty but hadn’t been slept in at all. After dosing my whiskey with whatever witch brew he’d had in his flask too many times, Fish had taken off with a slightly older witch with pretty curves, bright-blue eyes, and the palest of blond hair.