Earthbound: An Otherworld Novella
Read Earthbound: An Otherworld Novella Online
Authors: Yasmine Galenorn
EARTHBOUND
-An Otherworld Novella-
Yasmine Galenorn
A Nightqueen Enterprises LLC Publication
Published by Yasmine Galenorn
PO Box 2037, Kirkland WA 98083-2037
EARTHBOUND
An Otherworld Novella
Copyright © 2016 by Yasmine Galenorn
First Electronic Printing: 2016 Nightqueen Enterprises LLC
Cover Art imagery licensed via Shutterstock.com
Cover Design by Yasmine Galenorn
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any format, be it print or electronic or audio, without permission. Please prevent piracy by purchasing only authorized versions of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, or places is entirely coincidental and not to be construed as representative or an endorsement of any living/ existing group, person, place, or business.
A Nightqueen Enterprises LLC Publication
Published in the United States of America
Table of Contents
Biography and Complete Book List
Introduction
Ever wonder if the monsters under your bed are real...?
Meet the D’Artigo Sisters-three half human, half-Fae wild and sexy members of the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. Camille, a witch, Delilah, a werecat, and Menolly, an acrobat extraordinaire turned vampire, are sent Earthside, where they end up in the middle of a demonic war. Together with friends and lovers, they must use put a stop to Shadow Wing, the Demon Lord, as they attempt to save two worlds, one monster at a time.
For a long time, my readers have been asking me what happened when the D’Artigo Sisters first came over to Earthside from Otherworld. EARTHBOUND is that story. EARTHBOUND takes place around two years before Witchling, twelve years after Menolly was turned into a vampire.
So here you have it—the story you’ve been asking for. I truly hope you enjoy it!
I want to thank my usual team: Samwise, my husband, who is also my formatter and my support system. My assistants, Andria Holley and Jenn Price, neither of whom I could manage without. Thank you to my furry Galenorn Gang who make writing more fun and difficult, with their purrs, meows, hissy fits, and blankie-attacks. Most reverent devotion to Ukko—Lord of the Wind and Sky, Rauni—Queen of the Harvest, Tapio—the Hunter of the Forest, Mielikki—my bright Goddess of the Woodlands and Dark Fae Queen. And to Brighid, Goddess and Muse. And to the Fae, both dark and light, who walk this world beside us.
Thank you to my Moon Stalkers—my fans and readers—for your support and enthusiasm. You can find me on the net at
Galenorn En/Visions
. To make certain you get all updates on new releases, please sign up for my
monthly newsletter
.
Bright Blessings,
~The Painted Panther
~Yasmine Galenorn
Chapter 1
“What the hell are you talking about?” I stared at my supervisor, unable to believe what I was hearing. He had to be joking. I couldn’t have heard him right.
“I told you exactly what you need to know, D’Artigo. I’m ordering you and your sisters to report to the Otherworld Intelligence Agency tomorrow morning, where you will be reassigned Earthside. From today until your new appointment begins, Kristal will be in charge of you and I can wash my hands of your Windwalker ass.”
Lathe didn’t even blink, although I detected a smirk behind his steely cold eyes. He was enjoying this, all right, and he was going to do everything in his power to rub it in. “Perhaps on your new reassignment, you’ll have better luck with your new superior. Or, maybe
he’ll
have better luck with you. We’ll see how you like the boys over Earthside.”
The sneer in his voice told me everything I needed to know. This was my punishment for refusing to give him a blow job or spread my legs for him. There was nothing I could do about his harassment unless I chose to resign my commission. And Lathe knew that I wouldn’t dream of leaving service. I was a soldier’s daughter and I never shirked my duty.
But that didn’t mean I had to keep my mouth shut. Not now. Done with playing nice, I leaned across his desk. “So you didn’t get your rocks off.
Boohoo
for you. But you can’t exactly put that in our files, so what’s the
official
reason for our reassignment, if I might ask? You owe me that much.”
Lathe leaned back, eyeing me carefully for a moment before answering. “You and your sisters aren’t exactly exemplary employees, you know. Your track records are pathetic.”
“You never give us any cases worth bothering with.”
“Well, we don’t want another slip like your sister Menolly had, do we?”
I knew it. I knew there was more than my refusing him behind this. We were also being punished for making the YIA stand up to the mistake it made that ended up with my sister being turned into a vampire.
“You know that was directly a result of the YIA refusing to assign her backup when she asked for it.”
“All I know is that she failed to complete her mission and cost the YIA a great deal of time and money.” He closed the file and set it aside. “No, I’m positive a sabbatical over Earthside will give you time to think about your job performance. So there you go. Your answer.”
And that was all she wrote. There wasn’t any more to be said. Arguing was useless. There was no way I could change his mind, except by giving him what he wanted, but I doubted that it would do any good, even if I was willing. The pervert would probably promise me anything and then laugh as he came.
I came to attention, saluting him. “Will that be all, sir?” I wasn’t about to let him think he had won.
Lathe studied me for a moment, his gaze slinking over my body. “Are you sure you don’t want to beg me to…rethink my decision? After all, this affects your sisters as well.
Do you understand me
? I’m a reasonable man. Down on your knees…a simple task…and you can stay. What’s your decision, Camille?”
I held his gaze, refusing to even blink. Regardless of whether he relented, if I gave in and got on my knees in front of him, he’d own me for life. And I’d lose every scrap of dignity I ever had. But I knew Lathe. This was just one more head game in a long line of humiliation games.
With a shake of the head, I stepped back and saluted again, as abruptly as I could.
“Obviously, Sir, you think the reassignment is best,
Sir.
I can only agree. May I be dismissed,
Sir
?”
His eyes narrowing, he nodded. “As you will, Agent D’Artigo.”
I turned on my heel and headed toward the door, stopping to glance over my shoulder. “Does this officially end your role as my boss?”
“It does.”
“Then, since you are no longer my supervisor, I’m going to say this once and only once. If you ever try to force my hand—or mouth—again, you won’t have a dick to suck. Do
you
understand me?
Sir
.”
Before he could answer, I sashayed out the door, slamming it behind me. After fifteen years of putting up with his harassment, I was finally free. That the price for that freedom came with leaving my home world along with everything I knew…Well, it was a price I was willing to pay.
So, my name is Camille D’Artigo, and I live with my sisters and father in Y’Elestrial, a city to the southeast of the Tygerian Mountains. Located on the shores of Lake Y’Leveshan and west of the Erulizi Falls, our city-state can be a rough place to live, but it’s also beautiful. As with too many countries, our government has fallen into corrupt hands. The Opium Eater was a good leader when she came to power, but now she’s ruining our home. There’s still hope that Lethesanar’s sister, Tanaquar, will come to the rescue, but until that happens, there’s nothing anybody can do. But corrupt leadership and sleazy bosses aside, we still love our home.
We
being my sisters Delilah and Menolly, and our father Sephreh. My sisters and I are half-Fae, half human. Our father is full blooded Fae and our mother Maria was human. Maria came over from Earthside at the tail end of World War II, when she met Sephreh and fell in love. She died a long time ago when we were very young. Our father has been in the Guard Des’Estar since he was young, like his father before him. Naturally, we followed in his footsteps, going into service because that’s the way things are done in Otherworld.
Because of our mixed heritage we all have different abilities, but things get frazzled and boom, problems come out to play. I’m the oldest, and I’m a Moon Witch, in service to the Moon Mother. My magic fritzes out all too often, leading to both embarrassing and dangerous situations. But the Moon Mother holds my heart, and she holds my oath. I take care of my sisters as best as I can, but sometimes, I just want to chuck it all and run away. But I couldn’t leave them. I love them too much.
Delilah’s second born and a werecat. She turns into a gorgeous golden tabby, but not always by choice. When she’s upset she’ll spontaneously change. Delilah may be second born but in so many ways she’s the innocent of the family. She reminds me of our mother, in both her fair looks and her heart. She’s a golden child, happy and kind, and gentle to a fault. And the rest of us do our best to protect her.
And my sister Menolly? The youngest, she’s a
jian-tu
—an acrobat/spy. She can climb the walls like a spider. But some ten years back, her abilities hit a glitch and she slipped and fell into a nest of vampires. The Y’Elestrial Intelligence Agency was to blame—they assigned her to spy on Dredge and then failed to deliver backup. What the Scourge did to her was unthinkable. Even now, we don’t discuss it. Long story short, he tortured and killed her, turning her into a vampire. Then, he sent her home to destroy all of us, but I managed to trap her in the safe room. The YIA put her in rehab. A year later, she regained her sanity, as much as any vamp ever can. She returned to work, but she carries a dark shadow in her heart and I fear one day it may prove too much for her.
Together with our father and the housekeeper and the cook, we live in a snug house on the edge of the city. The only thing missing from our lives is our mother. Some days, I think I’ll never get over missing her, even though she left us when we were all so very young.
I wasn’t sure how to approach Menolly and Delilah about this new development but when we met for our midnight lunch, I realized they already knew. They were staring at me like it was all my fault which, in a way, it was.
“I guess you’ve heard.” I set my tray of food on the table and swung my leg over the long bench. The cafeteria was bustling, but we always managed to find a place together when we were eating lunch in the building. Nobody bothered us, or wanted to sit near us. We weren’t exactly the poster girls for the A-List.
Delilah rolled her eyes. “Oh, we’ve heard all right. What the hell happened?”
I stared at my tray, not wanting to admit what Lathe had said to me. They’d be furious, Menolly would want to kill him, and that wouldn’t change the fact that we were headed Earthside, no matter what. I was still irked that I hadn’t been able to put a stop to his sleaziness early on.
“We’re not performing up to expectations. Lathe’s labeling it a sabbatical.”
“Right, and I’ll walk into the sun if you believe that.” Menolly reached across the table to take my hand. “We know what he wants from you. Don’t give in.”
“This is horrible. I don’t want to leave Otherworld,” Delilah said. She stopped, glancing over at me. “I didn’t mean you should…I’m sorry. It’s just that the thought of leaving home scares the hell out of me.”
If I were honest with myself, I’d admit that it scared me, too. But Delilah counted on me to be the strong one, and I wasn’t going to let her down. I reached out and bopped her nose.
“Well,
I’m
looking forward to it. Haven’t you ever wondered what Mother’s home world is like? Remember all the stories she used to tell us? Think of it—we get to see cars and electricity and all sorts of wonders. It’ll be one big adventure. And the time will pass before you even know it. We’ll be coming back soon enough.”
Menolly leaned in from the other side, though she was careful not to touch Delilah. Even though it had been over ten years, Delilah was still squeamish about the fact that our sister was a vampire.
“I think it’s going to be a blast. I’ll be able to go out at night easier—the city lights and all. And really, if things get too bad, we can come back home, quit our jobs, and strike out for somewhere else. I’ve always wanted to see more of Dahnsburg. And we’ve never been to Ceredream.” Menolly flashed Delilah a toothy grin. She was still, on occasion, unable to control the way her fangs worked but she had almost mastered the techniques.
