Newsletter Exclusives [Volume I] Read online

  The feather sparkled even in the dull light spilling over from the street but it was the fairy that captured Elena’s attention.

  Her smile lit up her whole face. “Look at that. I never saw her before.”

  “Her name’s Sina,” Talu said, holding out the feather but keeping Sina close.

  “Pretty. It suits her.” Elena angled her head as a siren neared. “That’ll be this asshole’s ride.”

  Two cops joined them seconds later and were soon hauling away the junkie. Elena nodded at Talu’s treasures afterward. “Important enough to die for?”

  “Sina is.”

  The guild hunter’s startling eyes held hers, the rim of silver around her irises seeming to burn. “Name?”

  “Talu.”

  “Mother? Father?”

  Talu’s hand tightened around Sina. “Dead.”

  “Thirteen?”

  “Nearly fourteen,” she said automatically before suddenly realizing what day it was. “No, I am fourteen. Today’s my birthday.”

  “You on the streets?”

  Talu began to surreptitiously sneak Sina back inside her jacket. Maybe Elena would forget about the fairy. “Yes,” she admitted, then began to shake her head as her brain finally woke up. Elena was one of the good guys. If she knew Talu was on the street, she’d want to help and help would inevitably mean being sent back to her aunt. “No, I’m not—”

  “Too late, Curls.” Elena plucked Sina right out of her hand without ever breaking eye contact with Talu. “Follow me if you want her back.”

  It was no real choice.

  Walking out onto the sidewalk beside the guild hunter, she found herself dazzled by the long sweep of Elena’s wings. They were so many colors. Black as night at the top, then indigo and so many other shades including that color Talu had heard a teacher describe as dawn. One of Elena’s feathers was as prized as the sparkling feather Talu had put back into her secret pocket.

  Other people on the street whispered and moved out of their way but mostly, Elena got quick nods and deep smiles. She was a New Yorker and they were proud of her. Talu was proud of her, too. “Is it nice?” she dared to ask. “Living in the Tower?”

  Elena smiled. “I actually live in the Enclave across the river, but the Tower is very nice. A lot of my friends live there.”

  Talu couldn’t imagine what it might be like to live in that stunning tower of light. All she knew of it came from the outside, from the ground looking up.

  Stopping by a hotdog cart, Elena handed over some money to the beaming owner and said, “Two, with extra everything.” She gave both to Talu. “Eat.”

  Talu ate, but she never took her eyes off the fairy in Elena’s hand.

  “So you don’t want to go back to wherever it is social services would put you?”

  Talu nodded, since Elena had already caught her. “My aunt was going to let her skeezy vampire boyfriends feed from me.” She’d known it’d never be a one-time thing. “I want to go to school.”

  Shooting her a hard glance that made Talu freeze, Elena said, “What’s your aunt’s name?” It was a soft question.

  Talu numbly shook her head. Her aunt was still her mom’s sister even if she was a junkie who would’ve sold out her niece.

  Shaking her own head at Talu's silence, but not getting angry at her, Elena stopped by a cab. “I’m going to pay this cabbie to take you somewhere. Make sure you don’t get out partway.”

  Talu was still gulping down the second hotdog, managed to stuff the rest into her mouth then catch the bottle of water Elena threw to her, having had it strapped to her other thigh. “Until then, Sina stays with me.”

  Talu’s stomach was full for the first time in days as she got into the cab.

  She stared out the window as Elena strode off down the street rather than taking off into the sky as Talu had expected. But the hunter was waiting in front of the Tower when the cab pulled up.

  Talu’s heart thundered. She’d never been so close to the place from which Raphael ruled the city, had never dared. Angels flew in and out from the upper floors and balconies, their wings dark silhouettes against the night sky. She’d never seen so many at one time. But even they couldn’t hold her attention. She looked at Elena’s hand, felt the knots inside her chest finally vanish when she saw Sina safe and sound.

  “Here.” Expression softening, Elena put the fairy in Talu’s hands. “They’re sparks of laughter you know. That’s what Aodhan calls them.”

  Talu shook her head; she knew she shouldn’t be arguing with the guild hunter angel but she was unable to stop herself. “She’s a dream.”

  A smile from Elena. “Yes, I think so, too.” She walked Talu inside the Tower and through an intimidatingly huge and expensive looking lobby. The entire area was watched over by vampires so dangerous that the hairs rose on her arms. No, the street vamps definitely had nothing in common with these lethal eyed men and women.

  She didn’t really breathe until she was in the elevator. Looking at Elena, she whispered, “How can you hunt vampires? They’re so scary.”

  Elena snorted. “These guys are scary, but the ones that cut and run before their hundred years are over? Mostly, they’re just idiots.”

  Talu laughed at the echo of her own thoughts about street vamps, slapping a hand over her mouth too late to stifle the sound. But Elena was grinning anyway and then the elevator doors opened.

  Elena led Talu down a corridor painted in a pale gray and carpeted in a luxurious dark gray. It could’ve felt so cold, but there were vases full of wildflowers at several points that made the whole area look cheerful and welcoming.

  Reaching half-way down the corridor, Elena poked her head into a room. “I’ve brought you a stray for your project, Honor. Her name’s Talu and she has a hell of a kick.”

  She nudged at Talu to go inside.

  Talu resisted despite the pounding of her heart, the dryness in her throat. “What project?”

  “Nothing nefarious, Curls, though I do salute your sense of distrust.” Eyes holding Talu’s, Elena touched her hand to Talu’s shoulder. “Honor’s set up a program with two other hunter friends of ours to help kids get off the streets—and it doesn’t involve forcing you back into the situation you ran to the streets to avoid.”

  Elena’s expression hardened again, but this time, Talu knew the guild hunter’s anger wasn’t directed at her. “All you have to do is go to school and not do drugs or alcohol, and they’ll find you a safe place to stay, make sure you have what you need.”

  Talu’s eyes stung. Blinking rapidly, she stared at Elena. “Really?”

  “Yes, really,” said a clear voice from the room. It was followed by a woman with deep green eyes, black hair and a gentle expression that didn’t hide the way she moved—like a hunter. “Come in so we can talk about it.” She turned to include Elena in her smile. “Can you stay, Ellie?”

  “No, I’ve got a hunt to complete, but Talu has Sina for company.” The hunter began to walk backward down the corridor. “Curls—I’ll give you some self-defense lessons once you’ve settled in. Agreed?”

  Talu didn’t want Elena to go, grabbed at the possibility of further contact. “Agreed,” she said and watched Elena until the hunter disappeared into another room.

  “She’ll take off from a balcony there,” Honor said. “Want to see?”

  Nodding eagerly, Talu followed Honor to her own balcony, which had a railing. She was just in time to see Elena sweep off the railingless balcony next door in a glory of color made even more brilliant by the lights of the Tower; the guild hunter rode the air currents for a long distance before she began to use her wings to maneuver around the skyscrapers lower down.

  “I really don’t have to go back onto the streets?” she whispered to Honor once she could no longer see Elena in the sky.

  The dark haired woman nodded, her smile so warm that Talu couldn’t help but smile back. “Let’s go figure out where you go from here.”

  “Okay.” Despite h
er words, Talu deliberately lagged behind. Just long enough to bring Sina out from the pocket where she’d tucked her and whisper, “Thanks.”

  The fairy on her hand didn’t answer, just continued to smile that mischievous smile, but something made Talu glance back over her shoulder…to catch sight of a falling star streaking across the night sky.

  Copyright © 2015 by Nalini Singh

  One Night In The Refuge

  Author’s Note: I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into the past, when two of our favorite dangerous angels were just beginning to grow into their wings.

  One Night In The Refuge

  By Nalini Singh

  Illium crept down the hallway, freezing in place when he heard movement. But no, his parents were still asleep.

  He continued his creeping, trying really hard to keep his wings from making noises by dragging on the floor—only it was so tough! His wings were bigger than his body right now. His father told him he’d grow into them but at the moment, he could only fly a little far before becoming tired.

  And they were heavy when he walked, but his mother said if he didn’t learn to hold them up, they’d go all droopy and fall off. Illium wasn’t sure she wasn’t fibbing, but he knew for sure that all the strongest warrior angels held their wings off the ground—you had to be strong to be a warrior, so Illium would be strong.

  Sometimes, the older kids teased him by saying he couldn’t be a warrior because his wings were blue, but he figured he could always color his wings like some angels colored their hair. His hair already had colors.

  Eee, he was at the door! Not the back door though, the one that dropped off into the gorge. His mom really would scalp his feathers if he went out that door. The wind currents in the gorge were really powerful—after Illium kept wanting to sneak out, his dad had taken him out into the gorge, let him fly there, made him see for himself.

  It had been hard, so hard. The wind had almost crumpled his wings and thrown him to the stone walls of the gorge. But his dad had made sure he was okay. And Illium knew never ever to go out the back door—not until he was bigger.

  But he could go out the front. Okay, maybe he wasn’t meant to go out at night, but this was a special ’casion.

  Reaching up to the doorknob, he stretched and stretched. Ugh. It was too far. His mom had made his dad move the handle after Illium kept getting out when he wasn’t supposed to.

  Looking around, he saw a chair. But it was too big and heavy and it’d make a lot of noise if he tried to drag it over. His mom woke at just little noises—she said she’d turned into a bat after he started walking—so he had to be very careful.

  His wings whispered over the floor as he turned and looked to see if he could—Stupid! Sometimes, he was a stooooopid.

  Moving further back into the kitchen, he clambered up onto the chair, then from there onto the table. That should be high enough. Jumping off, he got enough air under his wings to kind of sweep over and grab the door handle. He made a noise, but that was all right, because he was opening the door and dropping to the ground and running out.

  “Illium!”

  Laughing gleefully as his mother’s voice drifted into the night air, he clenched his jaw and beat his wings real hard until he managed to get aloft. He couldn’t wait to be big like Raphael, when he could just take off like it was nothing. Right now, it took forever. But he was fast enough to be up and on the roof of the house before his mom came out. He hid behind the chimney as she flew into the air and went looking for him.

  His dad went out the back door, to check the gorge. That made Illium mad. He’d made a promise hadn’t he?

  Only when the coast was clear did he pick up the little bag he’d hidden by the chimney when he was playing before dark. Flying off the roof with the bag held to his chest, he winged his way over to Aodhan’s house. He was still wobbly, but he wasn’t as slow as he’d been before.

  Reaching Aodhan’s house, he couldn’t see his friend at first, but then Aodhan waved at him from the other side of the roof and flew over to join him. He had a little bag, too.

  Not talking because it would be too noisy if they shouted at each other—and they weren’t good enough at flying to go real close without getting their wings tangled—they flew in silence. The grown-ups didn’t all sleep at night so they stayed low, where there was less chance they’d be spotted.

  Aodhan was usually too sparkly to hide even at night, but he’d covered himself with the charcoal they’d found in a fireplace, so he only sparkled a tiny bit.

  Then they were there, at last.

  Landing, they walked to the edge of the gorge, sat down with their legs hanging over the side and their tired wings draped behind them, and opened their bags to pull out their supplies.

  “What did you get?” Illium asked his friend.

  Sneezing, Aodhan rubbed his nose. “Charcoal makes me sneeze.” His fingers left smudge marks on his bag when he opened it. “I have cookies and I found a bottle of milk.” A big smile. “It didn’t spill!”

  Illium grinned and took a sooty cookie. “I made sammiches.” He’d put cheese and tomatoes in them just like Aodhan liked. “And I got grapes.”

  They laid out their booty on top of the bags, both bags between them. While Illium ate a cookie, Aodhan ate the sandwich, and they kicked out their feet.

  “Look,” Aodhan whispered.

  Illium’s eyes widened. “Here they come.”

  He knew some grown-ups raced at night. That’s why they’d come to watch, but he’d never thought it would be this fast. They were like the lightning bolts in the sky during a storm, so fast he could barely keep track of them. “Who’s winning?”

  “Raphael maybe?”

  They watched, saw Uram take the lead, laugh wildly as Raphael overtook him. Two other angels were behind them, suddenly powered forward. Illium was trying to figure out who the angels were since it was dark and hard to see when he felt a grip on the back of his shirt. A hand gripped Aodhan’s shirt at the same time.

  “What do you two have to say for yourself?” his mother asked as they looked over their shoulders at her. Illium’s heart thumped from the surprise and he knew Aodhan’s was probably doing the same thing.

  Then his best friend held out a cookie and Illium said, “Wanna watch the race?”

  “What race?” Frowning, his mother looked over their heads. “Is that Raphael? Good grief, what are those four doing?”

  “Racing!” Illium patted the stone. “Please, Mom. Can we watch?”

  His mother looked first at him, then at Aodhan, her pretty eyes bright. “Make a spot in between.”

  Grinning, they moved the food to either side and shifted to make enough space for her. She sat down with one arm around him and the other around Aodhan. She tucked them both close, her beautiful wings strong and warm behind them...just as the racers passed right underneath. The wind from their passage blew Illium’s hair back from his face, had his heart beating in fast thumps all over again.

  Raphael grinned at seeing them and waved. Then he was zooming around to overtake the two angels who’d gotten into the lead after catching a good draft. Uram flew on his heels, as if just waiting for a chance to slip past.

  Illium watched until all four were out of sight but he couldn’t tell who won. “Did you see?” he asked Aodhan.

  His friend shook his head, his eyes sparkling in his charcoaly face. “They were going too fast.”

  “They’re still racing,” Illium’s mom told them. “I think this is a long race.”

  Disappointed at not getting to see the end, Illium picked up a sandwich and bit into it, then lifted it to his mom. She smiled and took a bite. When Aodhan offered her milk, she drank some and kicked her feet just like him and Aodhan. And it was okay that they didn’t see the end of the race. This was fun, too. Sitting here with his best friend and his mom.

  Then his dad flew up along the gorge and stopped in front of them. “What, I’m not invited to the picnic?”

  And it was
even better.

  It was the best picnic ever.

  Copyright © 2016 by Nalini Singh

  Weapons Training

  Author’s Note: For those of you unfamiliar with the Guild Hunter series, this story features Galen, weapons-master to the Archangel Raphael, and Jessamy, Historian of the angelic race and teacher of their young.

  For Guild Hunter fans, this story takes place during Archangel’s Kiss, after Galen has just completed a training session with Elena.

  Weapons Training

  By Nalini Singh

  Jessamy followed Galen into the weapons salle after he dismissed Elena for the day. The hunter had walked away from the training ring with more than a few bruises, her wingtips dragging along the earth like one of Jessamy’s young charges—but not before she’d drawn some of Galen’s blood.

  “Let me look at the wound,” Jessamy said, closing the door of the weapons salle behind her, her simple gown a whisper of delicate blue around her ankles. When she turned back to the huge space used for indoor training, it was to see Galen putting the training swords on a scarred wooden table, a cleaning cloth already in his hand and a scowl on his face.

  “It’s nothing, a scratch.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that.”

  The scowl didn’t disappear but her big, heavily muscled lover stood in place, wings folded neatly to his back, as she used a clean handkerchief to wipe away the blood and saw that he was right. The wound was already close to healed, a silent symbol of Galen’s strength. “You were very hard on Elena.” As an angel new-Made, Raphael’s consort would be wearing her bruises for far longer.

  Galen returned to the swords, and to the cleaning process he always completed, no matter how tired he was after a session. She knew today hadn’t strained him at all, Elena a novice with long blades—not to mention her lack of experience fighting with the winged body that was now her own.

  “She could get Raphael killed,” Galen said, running the cloth along the first blade.