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Back The Night and Its Moon
Chapters (64)
  1. Front Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  6. Pronunciation Guide
  7. Prologue
  8. Part One
  9. One
  10. Two
  11. Three
  12. Four
  13. Five
  14. Six
  15. Seven
  16. Eight
  17. Nine
  18. Ten
  19. Eleven
  20. Twelve
  21. Thirteen
  22. Part Two
  23. Fourteen
  24. Fifteen
  25. Sixteen
  26. Seventeen
  27. Eighteen
  28. Nineteen
  29. Twenty
  30. Twenty-One
  31. Twenty-Two
  32. Twenty-Three
  33. Part Three
  34. Twenty-Four
  35. Twenty-Five
  36. Twenty-Six
  37. Twenty-Seven
  38. Twenty-Eight
  39. Twenty-Nine
  40. Thirty
  41. Thirty-One
  42. Thirty-Two
  43. Thirty-Three
  44. Thirty-Four
  45. Thirty-Five
  46. Part Four
  47. Thirty-Six
  48. Thirty-Seven
  49. Thirty-Eight
  50. Thirty-Nine
  51. Forty
  52. Forty-One
  53. Forty-Two
  54. Forty-Three
  55. Forty-Four
  56. Forty-Five
  57. Forty-Six
  58. Forty-Seven
  59. Epilogue
  60. Excerpt from The Sun and Its Shade
  61. The Night and Its Moon Playlist
  62. Acknowledgments
  63. About the Author
  64. Back Cover

She knew, however, that she did not possess such a gift for speech. Two of the men she’d killed in her journey of mastery over her feeding frenzy had been from foreign lands. The sea-fresh faces of the foreign sailors had been safe practice marks, Millicent had said, as they were too far from home for their families to come looking for them. The Madame had always applauded Nox for her effort, reassuring her of her progress whenever she had to clean up a body. Hers and the Madame’s companionship was not a virtuous one, but she had been grateful for Millicent’s assistance and encouragement in those early days.

She thought of this now as she listened to the voices above. While she knew in the pits of her stomach that the sounds were not the vowels and consonants of the common tongue, somehow she found herself comprehending their words. Their male voices carried well enough as they floated down through the barn.

“I’m telling you, she saw us. Gadriel can confirm.”

Nox positioned herself behind the ladder. She had gone as close as she dared before the demons in the loft might spy her. The dullest murk of moonlight filtered from the upper windows of the barn’s loft down into the lower levels. She kept herself hidden from sight of whoever, or whatever, sat atop in the hay.

“He’s telling the truth,” the one they’d referred to as Gadriel responded. “I don’t know how it’s possible, but she saw us. Truly saw us, and wasn’t afraid. If it weren’t for her gift of sight, her companions would have killed us.”

“And? How do we proceed with this information?” asked another.

Nox absorbed their words but felt as if the sounds were coming out in monstrous shrieks. There was something inhuman and beastly about what her ears heard, yet deeply sentient regarding what her mind understood. Perhaps if Millicent was correct and Nox was part demon, it was her demon half now that found itself able to comprehend the shrieks and gnashing teeth of the damned, no matter how her human ears attempted to block it out. The contradictory noises horrified her, but she pressed herself into the ladder and continued listening.

The two voices above pushed each other for plans and seemed determined to head southwest toward Aubade. If they were going southwest, she could leave and intercept them closer to home where she had the safety of reinforcements. She could have the troops of Henares rallied the moment she arrived. What good would she be now, caught in a legion of demons alone on a lakeside?

“I’ll leave another letter for Theresa telling her we’re headed south but to leave our outpost in Yelagin available for retreat,” the first voice responded.