Weary beyond belief, we stood and headed into the main room. I paused, turning Grieve to face me.
“Whatever comes, at least we have each other. Know that I love you, and I’ll never leave you again.”
“I know . . . and you know . . .” He didn’t finish, just wrapped me in his arms and kissed me long and slow and deep. “When this is done . . . Cicely Waters—when we are triumphant, will you marry me and be princess to a prince with no kingdom?”
Kissing him back, I knew. I knew in my heart he would stay with us, would keep control. I knew that he couldn’t entrance me with his venom. I knew that he loved me beyond life itself and would do everything he could to protect me—and the others.
“I will. If we can defeat Myst, I will be your wife, and we’ll do our best to repair the damage.” I took his hand and we joined the others. Luna was scrubbing down a makeshift stove—a pair of hot plates Kaylin had found for her. Rhiannon and Chatter were making up beds for everyone out of ragged blankets and seat cushions from old love seats. Peyton was helping Lannan test the locks on the windows and doors. My father was consulting a bag of bones he carried on his belt, divining our next move.
This was our new home, and would be until we could regroup and figure out our next step. Come good or ill, we were the Moon Spinners—standing against Myst alone, unaided. The vampires and Lainule were going to be a problem, but mostly, I thought about Myst. About the past and the future. We were facing a conflict that might take months to resolve.
But in the back of my mind, I wondered—how much time did we really have to carry out our private little war? I scooted closer to Grieve and took his hand, leaning my head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around my waist.
“For better or worse,” I whispered. “This is as good as it’s going to get. We can’t count on anybody else.”
“No,” Grieve said, brushing the hair out of my face. “But we have each other.”
I laughed then—just a little laugh, but it felt like a shock wave. “Yeah, and that is a priceless resource.”
Character List
CICELY AND THE COURT OF THE MAGIC-BORN
Anadey:
Friend of Heather’s and mentor to Rhiannon. One of the magic-born, Anadey can work with all elements. She owns Anadey’s Diner and is Peyton’s mother.
Cicely Waters:
A witch who can control the wind. One of the magic-born and half-Uwilahsidhe (the Owl people of the Cambyra Fae). Born on the Summer Solstice at midnight, a daughter of the Moon/Waning Year.
Heather Roland (
see
Indigo Court):
Rhiannon’s mother and Cicely’s aunt. One of the magic-born, an herbalist, now turned into a vampire by the Indigo Court.
Kaylin Chen:
Martial-arts sensei, a dreamwalker, has a night-veil demon merged into his soul.
Leo Bryne:
Rhiannon’s fiancé. A healer and one of the magic-born, Leo’s a day-runner for Geoffrey.
Peyton MoonRunner:
Half-werepuma, half–magic-born, she’s Anadey’s daughter.
Rhiannon Roland:
Cicely’s cousin, born on the same day as Cicely, only at daybreak, a daughter of the Sun/Waxing
Year. Rhiannon is also one of the magic-born, who controls the power of fire.
THE COURT OF RIVERS & RUSHES
Chatter:
One of the Summer Court. Grieve’s best friend. Has a crush on Rhiannon.
Grieve (
see
Indigo Court):
Prince of the Court of Rivers and Rushes, one of the Cambyra Fae (shapeshifting Fae) now turned Vampiric Fae. Obsessed with and in love with Cicely.
Lainule:
The Fae Queen of Rivers and Rushes, Grieve’s aunt, the Queen of Summer.
Wrath:
Cicely’s father—one of the Uwilahsidhe (the Owl people of the Cambyra Fae).
THE INDIGO COURT
Myst:
Queen of the Indigo Court, mother of the Vampiric Fae, the Mistress of Mayhem. Queen of Winter.
Grieve (
see
The Court of Rivers and Rushes)
Heather (
see
Cicely and the Court of the Magic-Born)
THE VEIN LORDS/TRUE VAMPIRES
Crawl:
The Blood Oracle. One of the oldest Vein Lords, made by the Crimson Queen herself. Sire to Regina and Lannan.
Geoffrey:
NW Regent of the Vampire Nation and one of the Elder Vein Lords. Two thousand years old, from Xiongnu.
Lannan Altos:
Professor at the New Forest Conservatory, Elder vampire, brother and lover to Regina Altos, hedonistic golden boy.
Regina Altos:
Emissary for the Crimson Court/Queen. Originally from Sumer with her brother and lover, Lannan. Was a priestess of Inanna. Turned by Crawl.
Playlist for
Night Veil
I write to music a good share of the time and have been sharing my playlists on my website. I finally decided to add them to the backs of the books for my readers who aren’t online.
—Yasmine Galenorn
Air:
“Napalm Love”
“Mike Mills”
“Surfing on a Rocket”
“Clouds Up”
“Playground Love”
Audioslave:
“Set It Off”
Beck:
“Scarecrow”
“Black Tambourine”
“Nausea”
Black Label Society:
“Rust”
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club:
“Shuffle Your Feet”
“Fault Line”
Blue Oyster Cult:
“Godzilla”
Cake:
“The Distance”
Cat Power:
“I Don’t Blame You”
“Werewolf”
CC Adcock:
“Bleed 2 Feed”
Chester Bennington:
“System”
Chris Isaak:
“Wicked Game”
Cobra Verde:
“Play with Fire”
David Bowie:
“Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed”
“Sister Midnight”
“Fame”
“Without You”
Death Cab for Cutie:
“I Will Possess Your Heart”
Depeche Mode:
“Dream On”
“Route 66”
Eddy Grant:
“Electric Avenue”
Evans Blue:
“Cold”
Faun:
“Satyros”
“Königin”
“Rad”
“Sieben”
“Tinta”
Gary Numan:
“Survival”
“Noise, Noise”
“Call Out the Dogs”
“Dead Heaven”
“Sleep By Windows”
“Melt”
“Hybrid”
“Pure”
“Cars (Hybrid Mix)”
“Soul Protection”
Godsmack:
“Voodoo”
Gorillaz:
“Clint Eastwood”
Hives:
“Tick Tick Boom”
Jace Everett:
“Bad Things”
Jay Gordon:
“Slept So Long”
King Black Acid:
“Rolling Under”
“Great Spaces”
Lady Gaga:
“Paparazzi”
“Poker Face”
Ladytron:
“Mu-Tron”
“Destroy Everything You Touch”
“Ghosts”
“Black Cat”
“I’m Not Scared”
Lindstrom and Christabelle:
“Lovesick”
Low:
“Half Light”
Marilyn Manson:
“ Arma-Goddamn-Motherfuckin-Geddon”
“Tainted Love”
“Godeatgod”
Metallica:
“Enter Sandman”
Nine Inch Nails:
“Sin”
“Get Down, Make Love”
“Closer”
Nirvana:
“You Know You’re Right”
“Come As You Are”
Oingo Boingo:
“Elevator Man”
Orgy:
“Blue Monday”
The Police:
“King of Pain”
“Don’t Stand So Close to Me”
Puddle of Mudd:
“Psycho”
Ricky Martin:
“She Bangs”
Rob Zombie:
“Living Dead Girl”
“American Witch”
“Never Gonna Stop”
Roison Murphy:
“Ramalama Bang Bang”
Rolling Stones:
“Gimme Shelter”
Saliva:
“Ladies and Gentlemen”
Sarah McLachlan:
“Possession”
Seether:
“Remedy”
Shiny Toy Guns:
“Major Tom”
Shriekback:
“New Man”
“Dust and a Shadow”
Simple Minds:
“Don’t You (Forget About Me)”
Soundgarden:
“Spoonman”
Stealers Wheel:
“Stuck in the Middle with You”
Susan Enan:
“Bring on the Wonder”
Talking Heads:
“Psycho Killer”
Tears for Fears:
“Mad World”
Thompson Twins:
“Love on Your Side”
“The Gap”
Tina Turner:
“One of the Living”
Toadies:
“Possum Kingdom”
Tool:
“Prison Sex”
Transplants:
“Diamonds and Guns”
Warchild:
“Ash”
Yoko Kanno:
“Lithium Flower”
Zero Seven:
“In the Waiting Line”
Dear Reader:
I hope that you enjoyed
Night Veil,
the second book in the Indigo Court series, and I hope you’re looking forward to reading
Night Seeker,
the third book in the series, available summer 2012.
For those of you new to my books, I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome you into my worlds. For those of you who’ve been reading my books for a while, I wanted to thank you for revisiting Cicely’s world. I loved writing
Night Veil
, and as I go deeper into the series, I hope you’ll begin to see the scope of the Indigo Court world and the storylines that are evolving.
But don’t fear—I am not done with the D’Artigo sisters and the Otherworld series (aka Sisters of the Moon)—and I want to assure my longtime readers that, yes, there are more books coming in that series. That’s why we’re including the first chapter of
Courting Darkness
—book ten of the Otherworld series—in the back of this book.
If you’re a new reader, you’ll get a taste of what my trio of half-Fae, half-human demon-hunting sisters are like. And if you’ve been reading the Otherworld series for a while, I wanted to give you a sneak peek at what lies in store for Camille.
Courting Darkness
will be available in November 2011.
So, without taking more of your time, I’d like to present the beginning of
Courting Darkness
, and I hope it whets your appetite for the next book!
Bright Blessings,
Yasmine Galenorn