Unrepentant: The Reckoning - Book One Read online

  Unrepentant

  The Reckoning - Book One

  Daphne Moore

  Vaughn Publishing

  Unrepentant © copyright 2020 Daphne Moore

  * * *

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Cover by: D. Fischer

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Unbroken

  Author Notes

  About the Author

  Also by Daphne Moore

  Blank Page

  1

  Lily had lost a bet, so today was the day to inspect, buy, and eat two vegetables from a human market. Playing cards with Johann Schmidt, while exciting and challenging, also meant she lost half the times. And while he’d had to eat a mouse the last time he lost, she thought this forfeit was cruel.

  Vegetables tasted bad even in human form.

  Markets were full of flickering lights and moving people, making her want to pounce. Even in human form, some instincts were hard to suppress.

  She went every month to buy tea and cookies for her occasional guests, but she avoided the produce section. Fruit was tolerable in jelly, but not fresh. However, Anastasia was due to visit soon, and the rusalka loved berry jelly. The fact she could taste things while being a creature entirely composed of water was a mystery that Lily wished the rusalka would explain. As was common with many of the NightQueen’s children, the rusalka was contrary.

  A scent teased her nose even over the deodorants and perfumes of the other shoppers. Her sense of smell was better than human in this form but nowhere near as good as in her tiger form. She stopped the cart, earning a glare from a baby-powder scented, blue-haired older woman who strode past her and inhaled deep.

  An aroma unlike any other, it sent a warm flush through her as the breath ended in a splutter. A lilim, one of the kin the vampire legend had grown from, in the supermarket in rural Ohio? Wonders never ceased in this world.

  Lily pulled random preserves into her cart, a dozen or so, and then some cookies and candy as she began wandering the aisles, searching for the lilim. It would be good to know the sex and appearance just in case. Lilim were normally a nomadic lot, but if this one settled, they would need to discuss ground rules.

  This was her territory after all.

  The trail led to the bitter green and citrus-scented produce section. Three people stood there: a child selecting apples with a middle-aged woman, and a tall, well-built man, dark hair hanging loose to his shoulders.

  A laugh stuck in Lily’s throat. Which one could possibly be the lilim?

  As if in response to the sound, he turned, exposing an intent expression, storm-grey eyes above sharply defined cheekbones, and an angular face that contrasted with a full mouth. Attractive, as all lilim were attractive, the pull of desire made a growl of irritation rumble low in her throat.

  Wisely, he refrained from movement as she pushed her cart next to him.

  “Well?” she murmured as she poked at the broccoli with a disdainful finger. It looked like trees and tasted like bark; she knew this because she’d lost another bet to Johann. She still had to select two to eat today.

  “Greetings; I am Gaius. You are?”

  “Lily. This is my place, but I’ll tolerate you as long as you don’t prey too heavily.”

  He blinked down at her. Not too far a distance; Lily was only a finger’s width below six feet in height. None of the tiger-born, changing kin were small people.

  “Why thank you.” His voice was very dry.

  “You’re welcome. As part of acknowledging my territory, you’ll tell me which of these is sweet enough to be edible.” Lily’s gesture encompassed the stacks of vegetables surrounding them.

  A smile tugged the edge of his mouth as he looked down at the contents of her cart. “Carrots can be covered with honey after they’re cooked. And many people put brown sugar and butter on the interiors of sweet potatoes.

  She’d tried carrots long ago and not liked them much, but they hadn’t been cooked and covered in honey. Lily poked the sweet potato distrustfully. “How is this different from a regular potato? Potatoes are bitter.”

  The faint smile deepened. “They are sweet; the only similarity to a potato is the shape and the skin.” He picked one up and offered it. “Smell.”

  Her finger brushed his, releasing electricity forking up her arm. She sniffed the vegetable; it didn’t have the bitter dirt scent that potatoes had. She put the carrot and the potato in her cart. She would look up recipes on her phone.

  “Farewell, then. Remember my rules.”

  He gave her a shallow bow, drawing a stare from a produce worker bringing out strawberries. Polite, as lilim often were.

  Triumphant, she headed to check out. Back home, she’d take pictures of the food and her eating it, as Johann required, after she made ready for Anastasia’s visit. The rusalka would arrive in the afternoon.

  Purchases stored, recipe found, Lily eyed the sunny day and green grass and stepped outside, shucking her clothing as she went, melting into tiger form to better enjoy the day. Life’s greatest pleasures were often the simplest.

  Lily stretched then settled into short soft new grass, her nose next to a patch of yellow and blue crocuses. The rich smell of the loam coming back to life and the tentative birdsong combined with the unseasonably warm sun beating down on her thick fur in an irresistible lullaby.

  A purr of contentment rumbled in her throat as she languidly rolled onto her back, exposing her white belly to the sky. Her people’s Father, the DayKing, created them to enjoy His light.

  Her eyelids drooped. It was a couple of hours before Anastasia would arrive, and a nap beckoned. The walls that enclosed her property had been built to keep human eyes at bay, and this was the first warm spring day of the year.

  The unfamiliar tang of dust filled her nose; not the earth of anyplace she’d traveled. She winced, opening her eyes to the glare of a relentless sun. A wasteland baked before her, heat shimmering, cruel and unrelenting. She sprang to her feet and backpedaled. Her hind legs splashed into water, and Lily jumped, spinning.

  Waves rolled up, and she danced backward while odors of fish and salt overpowered the dust. She sneezed- she liked to swim, but not in unfamiliar water, even in a dream.

  Realization settled on her bones like a lead blanket. A dream vision of an unknown place…the Reckoning had started again. She and a few lucky, lucky others were ‘gifted’ with these dre
ams. They showed the locations of the pieces of the Keys.

  There would be a dream in the next few years of a third place waiting for her to see it. The place where the final part of the Key was hidden.

  Lily closed her eyes and willed herself to wake. She would not be a pawn in the Reckoning again, no matter the pressure.

  The clanging of the ringtone she assigned to family gave her a rope to grasp, pulling her out of the sucking quicksand of the dream. It wanted her to see the third place.

  Her fur ruffled in a breeze. The scent of an overbold rabbit nearby caught her attention; then a quick thump thump when she stirred, opening her eyes. It bounded further away. The hush of wings stirred nearby air as a bird took flight.

  She was done with the futility of the zero-sum game between the DayKing and NightQueen, bitter ex-lovers living in the Godhome. That Dominion, an endless sea dotted with islands, contained them where no other dominion could. The Reckoning freed them to walk in humanity’s world for a short time, and disasters followed them like well-trained dogs.

  Her answers to arguments to come were already planned. Yes, she was one of the eldest of the changing kin; yes, she’d fought in ten Reckonings and survived. No, age didn’t touch the changing kin the way it did humanity. Yes, she loved her nieces and nephews and all of their descendants.

  No; she would not participate or share her visions this time.

  The downside of her decision was the line that would form to try to force her. The time leading up to the Reckoning, when the children of the King and Queen fought to find and assemble the Keys, was always hectic, full of people trying to be the one who delivered a Key and, better yet, took possession of both. The only thing they liked better than walking the earth was walking it alone, their counterpart imprisoned still.

  The daoine sidhe had delivered both Keys last time and been richly rewarded by the King.

  She’d found out the troll she’d killed to take a portion of the Queen’s Key had been forced to fight, his clan held hostage against his performance. She’d been too late to save them though she’d promised him she’d try as he died, and the bitter taste still lingered in her mouth, a century later. It led to her determination today to not share the key’s location: and being the last known living seer gave her a chance to see it through.

  It took teeth and claws to enforce neutrality. She had both of them in spades.

  Lily sighed, flattening herself on the ground, digging claws into the dirt. There’d be far too much talking, starting very soon.

  Her ears flicked at the staccato click of heels on the paving stones outside the fence. The entire yard was walled, the gate door a thick slab of oak. Forest surrounded the property, no neighbors for miles, so she could relax in whichever form appealed.

  It was impossible to talk as a tiger, so she didn’t shift to human. Depending on who was knocking, that would end the discussion unless it was a telepath. Telepaths cheated.

  An irritated voice joined the knocking. “Lily, open up! You invited me over last week.”

  Drat; she’d forgotten that. Anastasia remembered every social engagement she agreed to, hospitality a razor-edged gift among the rusalki. Lily rose, the transition from tiger to woman instant, pulling on the robe she’d draped on a chair for emergencies. A bank of fog had formed outside the wall, tendrils lazily spiraling over it and gathering on the ground.

  Pale with annoyance, the statuesque blonde brushed past Lily, leaving a film of chilly water on Lily’s exposed flesh. The illusion that allowed her to walk among humanity gifted her with golden hair that shone with health, complimenting her flashing blue eyes and sun-kissed skin. The rusalka, a spirit of water and darkness, was genuinely annoyed, which meant everything surrounding her would remain cold and wet if she wasn’t coaxed into a better mood.

  “I’m sorry. I’m hiding.” Lily followed Anastasia into the house. The rusalka’s wet dress alternately clung and flapped as she walked.

  “I’ll start the samovar; do you want savory or sweet to go with the tea?” Lily tossed a cinnamon bun to Anastasia as she turned on the modern glass samovar. With practiced grace, she measured tea into the matching teapot. She and Anastasia liked their tea strong, so she added two more teaspoons for the pot.

  “Both.” Cinnamon bun eaten in two bites, Anastasia settled in a wooden chair by the table. She crossed long legs encased in tights that matched her dress. She didn’t remove her heels, watching as Lily assembled a platter. “You are a terrible hostess, Lily. You should remember when you invite people to visit.”

  Lily grinned. The mist had dissipated though water pooled under the chair on the blue tile. Anastasia was amused now.

  “It’s the only way to keep visitors from dropping by all day, every day, wanting something. Rude works when everything else fails.”

  The phone rang and, after two rings, went to voicemail.

  The snacks carefully arranged to expose the willow tree in the blue and white central picture on the willowware platter, Lily placed it on the table next to Anastasia as she set the teapot to steep.

  “What happened?” Anastasia’s eyes, black pits in her deathly pallid face, fixed on Lily’s hands as she served tea. She’d dropped the glamour, the illusion she’d purchased to appear human, to conserve it. Glamours had limited time spans and cost in favors and money.

  Loose white hair dissolved into mist at the ends as Anastasia perused the offerings before selecting a sugar cookie and dabbing berry jam on it. Lily joined her, selecting a roast beef sandwich.

  “I dreamed.”

  Anastasia inhaled sharply. “One of those dreams?”

  “Yes.” The pause stretched while Anastasia waited.

  Lily regarded her hands, not meeting the rusalka’s gaze. “I’m sitting this Reckoning out. I refuse to throw away friends because they’re children of the moon, like you. I refuse to hunt for the Keys and kill others to take them just to satisfy the lover’s quarrel of my multi-grandfather with his ex. Sorry, I’m old, and I’m done with it.”

  Refusing to tense in expectation of being blasted by sun or moon, Lily took a big bite of her sandwich. Terrible things had happened the last time some of the kin refused to participate. The enkimmu, an entire kin, was wiped out; the tuatha de danaan had not been seen since that day either. Two races obliterated.

  Lily swallowed the bite to clear out the tightness in her throat. “There’s plenty of up and comings who can do the heavy lifting. Others get the visions. Storm can still fight. The rest of the family avoids me until the newest Reckoning comes. I make them uncomfortable.” Lily set down her teacup hard enough the liquid sloshed. Another loss of dignity, the thing that made them avoid her.

  Even to Anastasia, she didn’t want to admit she was sick of the fighting; showing weakness wasn’t a good idea.

  Anastasia regarded her. “Be careful, Lily. People are watching. They know who you are, and it might push your family to make an example of you.” A measured sip of tea. “Or push others to recruit you.”

  2

  The air chilled, and Anastasia played with the droplets condensed on the table. “Vasily asked me to…” Her voice trailed off as the room grew misty. It was hard for her not to obey the head of her family. Lily had given up on trying to understand the dynamic; as far as she could tell, Anastasia was the oldest and most powerful of the rusalki community, but she obeyed Vasily when he put his foot down.

  The black tea tasted closer to iced tea at Lily’s sip. “I don’t plan to align at all. Or talk about the visions. You can tell him you asked and I said no.”

  The answering smile exposed Anastasia’s rows of tiny sharp teeth like a pike’s. “I will.”

  Lily dumped the cold tea out and poured more, hoping for a hot drink, as Anastasia fiddled with her rings. She wore four, all silver. They signified she was an adult and indicated her status in the rusalki community; Lily was unsure if there were extra layers of meaning. Anastasia had never removed them in Lily’s presence.

  “V
asily’s been looking at trying to take Johann’s place.” Anastasia leaned forward as if afraid of eavesdroppers.

  “That would be a fight.” A mist of droplets hung in the air, and Lily’s tea lost all its warmth as she held it. Again.

  “Yes, he could get hurt, and you’re Johann’s…you two have been lovers, right?” Even distressed, Anastasia probed for gossip.

  “I’ll try to prevent it happening.” Lily sighed and poured a glass of milk instead, rescuing the cookies from the damp by eating them. Anastasia helped, the mist lightening as she ate jam by the spoonful.

  The last cookie safe in her belly, Lily smiled at the rusalka. “There’s a lilim down here. Did you know that?”

  “Really?” Anastasia ran her finger around the interior of the jam jar, and a little water dribbled in so she could drink the remains. “Male or female? Planning to stay?”

  “Male, apparently planning to stay. I told him the rules. I met him at the market. He recommended those.” Lily pointed at the carrot and sweet potato for vegetables. “You can cook them in honey.”

  Anastasia laughed at Lily. “Let me know how they taste, then. I have to go back to Columbus.”

  “Traitor.” Lily had hoped Anastasia would help eat the vegetables.

  Anastasia left when she finished the jam, and Lily wiped down the wooden surfaces still shining with moisture. The movement involved in the housework helped her with puzzling over the visit.

  Anastasia had been far more upset than she should have been- rusalki tended to be low-key. She was unhappy with her family, which was very unusual. Their kin tended to be close-knit, the major decisions made by their elders. Their communities followed the humans they’d lived next to, in the beginning, exported from Russia to all the places the people traveled.