Land Mysteries Series

The world keeps changing.    Alexander's world was upended three years ago when a spot of espionage had ripple effects that transformed every part of his life, even his relationship with his own magic. Now, he's compelled by politics to spend the summer of 1938 in America instead of with his family and friends. No problem, he can tend to loose ends, like a threat that's been looming over his chosen family for more than a decade.    Alexander knows his duties and his obligations. He's more than adept at the delicate dance of diplomatic parties and careful conversations with scientists and innovative magicians up and down the eastern seaboard.    He's not expecting who has been waiting for him in New York City. Nor how the past few years have changed everything about how he solves problems.   Nocturnal Quarry is a character-focused historical fantasy novella about how every change has consequences. Best read after Best Foot Forward, Nocturnal Quarry is full of ongoing conversations, art, shared myth and legend, and unexpected solutions to complicated questions. 

On the Summer Solstice of 1940, Gabe made a solemn oath. Two parts of it were easy enough, he was already doing them. The third part has haunted his every choice since.    When he is asked a question that August, Gabe knows he must answer yes. His answer will change him, his family, and everything around him. There is no other way through but keeping his word and dealing with the consequences.    No one said he had to do it the way anyone else expects.    Upon A Summer's Day is a short novel that takes place in the autumn and winter of 1940 as World War II moves into a second year with the start of the Blitz Join Gabe, his wife, his family, and their allies in unweaving a tangle of ancient magics, turning assumptions on their heads, and refusing to follow destructive traditions. The fourth book in the Land Mysteries series, Upon A Summer's Day directly follows the events of Old As The Hills, and is best read in sequence.

What would you risk so others could live?   It is the early months of WWII and Rathna already has an idea of how bad it might get. If she can make the final connections she needs to create a new portal in a matter of weeks rather than years, she might just be able to get a few more people out of Germany's ever expanding grasp. But she's also been asked to take on a new apprentice. Rathna has no idea whether he'll be willing to help, if she can trust him, or if he can trust her enough to do what needs to be done.    Her husband Gabe has a challenge that will use every single one of his skills and then some. He's been charged by the Council to coordinate magical responses to the war, not only in Albion itself, but among the many esoteric and occult groups of Great Britain. His own apprentice is brilliant, in a different way than Gabe, but this project will ask everything of them both.    Together, Gabe and Rathna have built their lives to bend their passions, talents, and magics to making things better for the world around them, including their three growing children. Now their war work is going to separate them, certainly for months, possibly for much longer. As they tangle with ancient magics, seeking new ways forward, there are more unanswerable questions, tremendous risks, and a few glimmers of hope.    Old As The Hills follows Gabe and Rathna's adventures from the autumn of 1939 through the summer of 1940, a time of desperate plans to save lives and hold back invasion. It is full of ancient fae magic, the power of place, urgent witchcraft rituals, and unexpected encounters. The Land Mysteries series explores the Second World War in the magical community of Albion. 

In May of 1945, as the war in Europe is coming to an end, three women can turn their attention to an old and lingering problem. Lizzie never met her brother-in-law, Temple. He died in 1922, in what she and her husband now know was a desperate attempt to stop further damage to the land magic.   No one has been able to figure out what damaged Temple's magic or why he'd insisted on such self-destructive choices. Lizzie hasn't, her husband Geoffrey hasn't, and neither have their friends who are experts in a dozen relevant fields.   Now, as the demands of the war begin to ease, Lizzie asks Alysoun and Thesan - their friends and allies - to help her solve the mystery. She hopes that Alysoun's clear-sighted experience and Thesan's ability to see hidden patterns will be enough of a help. Perhaps together they can finally find and make sense of long-hidden information and do their best to make sure this sort of tragedy never happens again.   Three Graces is a novella tackling the long-standing question of what happened to Temple Carillon and brought him to his death in 1922. It is full of intelligent friends supporting each other, the changes that come with the end of the war, and navigating a new world. It is best read in series sequence, as it draws on a number of situations during the Second World War and its impact on Albion.

  In 1946, four second year students at Schola have challenges to face. Leo, Ros, Avigail, and Jasper need to make some key decisions about their lives. Being at the most elite of the schools of magic in Great Britain has advantages, but that doesn't mean everything comes easily. First, they have to figure out what they want to do and be when they grow up. It's a hard choice to make at fourteen. Next, second year is when Schola's secret societies pick new members, a decision that can change the course of a life. Third, there are all the ordinary challenges and joys of a school, ranging from dealing with other students to sports matches. Finally, it's 1946, with all the lingering effects of the Second World War, the changes it's brought, and the changes to come. These four friends come from different backgrounds, sharing some skills but not others. None of them want what society assumes they do. It's a new world and they have some ideas of their own. The Magic of Four is full of friendship, surprises, commitments, and a great deal of magic. It takes place in the magical community of Great Britain in the wake of the Second World War, from the perspective of young adults who have a good idea what their parents did during the war years and what that cost. The last book in the Land Mysteries series, The Magic of Four includes a number of characters who have appeared in other Celia Lake books, but can be read in any order. Unlike most Albion books, this is not a romance - after all, they're all fourteen.