Julie remembered finishing off Adams, seeing Derek fall as he turned human again, and then running too fast up Pillar Rock. She’d dropped to her knees and put her head on his chest, and when she’d heard the strong, even heartbeat, she’d cried and then kissed his lips gently, because he was asleep and he would never know. He’d scared her so much.

Stupid wolf. Her stupid, stupid wolf.

Kate wouldn’t understand, and she didn’t need to know. “Nothing happened.”

“That’s odd. We dropped by the office on the way home and there is a check from Luther in the payment box. A large check.”

“I sold him a magic arrow,” she said. “It was very old. The arrowhead was stone. Ask him if you don’t believe me.”

Kate squinted at her.

It was time to beat a hasty retreat before more questions came. Julie headed for the kitchen door.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to give Peanut her nightly carrot.”

She stepped out and shut the door behind her. Escape accomplished.

The air was comfortably cool. An early evening had fallen, and the sky was a deep purple studded with stars. They winked at her as she walked.

Keep winking. As long as you stay up there, we won’t have a problem.

She opened the stable door, grabbed a carrot from the treat bag hanging from a hook, and walked to Peanut’s stall. The horse reached for the treat, and the soft velvety lips brushed her palm.

A presence appeared behind her. She felt it—a knot of arcane power, burning from within, like standing with her back to a stove, if heat were magic. That’s what old nuclear reactors must’ve been like. An unimaginable potential for destruction concentrated in one small space.

“You finally used your power,” the immortal wizard said.

She didn’t turn around. “Yes.”

“How did it feel, Herald?”

The memory of power ripping from her in a torrent surfaced in her mind, followed by a spike of pain as she said the power word after her incantation had paved the way. She heard the sound of Adams’ bones breaking and patted Peanut’s nose.

“How did it feel?”

The Herald of Atlanta smiled. “It felt good.”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many people have helped make this novella a reality.  With gratitude we would like to thank

Nancy Yost, our agent, whom we continue to drive nuts and who was on board with this project even though it came out of the left field;

Deanna Hoak for the wonderful copyedit;

Doris Mantair for the amazing cover;

Shannon Daigle, Kristi DeCourcy, Kate Scheu, Toni Grasso, Robin L. Snyder, Chris Schanck, Jeanne L.D. Osnas, Hagar Michaeli, Julie Heckert, Hasna Saadani, Mindi Mymudes, Jessica Haluska, Ying Dallimore, Helen Gordon, and others for beta reading the manuscript;

Natanya Wheeler, for the formatting and upload and troubleshooting all things ebook;