Kindred of the Fallen (51 page)

Kindred
: a species descended from ancient beings who were cursed. If they are able to fully meld with the anima or energy stream of their
kabashem
at least once, it will awaken aspects of their
ingenium
that lie dormant and prevent the onset of the dark veil or
sangre saevitas
.

Peret
: second season of the ancient Egyptian calendar, a time of emergence and growth.

Pesedjet
: the Great Council of nine comprised of the Triumvirates of the Houses. It convenes once a century. Each House is allowed to bring one hundred Kindred to bear witness.

prodigierium
: offspring between Kindred who are not
kabashem
—runts; they are weaker than
eligien
and have shorter life spans. House Herut considers them abominations, unnatural products of spiritual impurity.

record-keeper
: a servant of Lady Neith who watches Kindred, documenting major events and bloodlines; forbidden to interfere in the affairs of the Houses.

sangre saevitas
: a torment of the curse manifesting as uncontrollable blood rage, where they lose all sense of reason and compassion. Warriors are usually afflicted with this manic state of extreme violence and madness, but there have been rare cases amongst the Psi class. In the later stages, physical mutations and a surge in their
ingenium
can be expected. Only connecting to the energy stream of one’s
kabashem
can prevent the onset.

sealed
: consensual bonding for life between chosen mates, not necessarily
kabashem
; males and females may only have one sealed mate, but consorts are still taken sometimes. In House Herut, it is forbidden to be sealed to anyone other than one’s
kabashem
.

Shabanu
: age of harmony, beginning with the settlement in Rekhem.

Shemu
: third season of the ancient Egyptian calendar, a time to harvest.

Triumvirate
: a Council of three members, presiding over a House.

uxora
: a female sealed to a male as his lifelong chosen mate; not necessarily one’s
kabashem
.

vadeletor
: a warrior from a noble bloodline sworn to euthanize those afflicted with the dark veil or
sangre saevitas
and to protect Kindred from exposure to humanity. Each House has several teams of
vadeletori
stationed worldwide. A
vadeletor
is chosen by their respective Triumvirate.
Vadeletori
from opposing Houses have been known to work together under dire circumstances, but this is not routine. It is a temporary position due to the high stress and high operations tempo; however, it often results in one being called to serve as battle-guard.

vitrien
: a male sealed to a female as her lifelong chosen mate; not necessarily one’s
kabashem
.

Whitescape
: a painful episode, so excruciating it is literally blinding, followed by a brief euphoric state of unconditional love. Only Blessed Kindred experience this when their
kabashem
is born.

Advenuati

Serenity Ameliora Shaw—only child of Lord Lucien (deceased) and Lady Sothis; has ties to all three Great Houses based on her lineage, but belongs to none as she was raised amongst humans away from Kindred; Blessed.

In addition to the birthmark on her neck, she has another identifying mark. A tattoo on her stomach of an exquisite flower with petals shaped like sharp blades and black thorns.
 

CYRUS HARMERTY’S COLLECTIVE

Cyrus Ambrose Harmerty—only child of Lord Dominicus and Lady Gaea (deceased), grandson of Constantine who serves on the Council leading House Herut; Blessed.

Abbadon Vitalis Nekheny—Cyrus’s longtime friend, advisor, and blood-sworn protector.

Cassian Amatus Harmerty—Cyrus’s ward.

Talus Petra Harmerty—Cyrus’s ward.

Vadeletori
under Cyrus’s command—Spero, Ptolemy, Beset, Micah, Amon, Hotep, and Carin.

HOUSE HERUT

They believe in practicing spiritual purity, only mating with one’s
kabashem
, existing peacefully with humans and striving for redemption—no matter the cost. The afflictions of the curse,
sangre saevitas
and the dark veil, are devastating their species. It is only a matter of time before Kindred are extinct if the curse is not broken and their souls redeemed. If they must sacrifice their exceptional power to preserve their species, they will not hesitate to pay the price. Although they seek unity and cooperation with the other Houses, they are willing to go to war over their principles.

The practice of heka is forbidden in their House and amongst their people. They view it as unnatural.

They value discipline, duty before self, and above all honor.

Primary
Ingenium
Class
: Warrior

Creed
: Purity, Sacrifice, Redemption

Sigil
: Heru as a falcon, one eye the sun, one eye a crescent moon, holding a double bladed sword

Key Members

Lord Cyrus Ambrose Harmerty—chosen at birth to succeed his grandfather as a member of the Triumvirate; Blessed

Lord Constantine Harmerty—comes from one of the noblest and purest bloodlines in Herut; sits on the Triumvirate; paternal grandfather of Cyrus

Abbadon Vitalis Nekheny—Cyrus’s blood-sworn protector; brother of Lysandra

Lysandra Nekheny—sister of Abbadon; Blessed

Lord Lucien Alcaeus Nopheros (deceased)—bloodline holds many prominent positions within House Herut; father of Serenity;
kabashem
and
vitrien
of Lady Sothis

Lord Dominicus Harmerty—father of Cyrus;
kabashem
and
vitrien
of Lady Gaea;
consort-misère
of Lady Leta; no longer speaks to his son

Lady Gaea Har-Si-Ese (deceased)—mother of Cyrus

Lady Leta Har-Si-Ese—aunt of Cyrus, sister of Lady Gaea; took Lord Dominicus as a
consort-misère
, against the wishes of her
kabashem
and
vitrien
; member of the Triumvirate

Lord Phane Nefer—uncle of Cyrus,
kabashem
and
vitrien
of Lady Leta

Caelius Khenty-Irty—trusted friend of Cyrus; Blessed

Jude Alucio Har-Wer—friend of Cyrus

HOUSE SEKHEM

The Fallen and all of their descendants were cursed, condemned to suffer the torments of the dark veil and
sangre saevitas
until their souls are redeemed. They also have exceptional gifts such as superior strength, longevity, and a myriad of Psi class
ingeniums
. House Sekhem accepts the afflictions of the curse as a necessary consequence for their greatness. They would do anything to retain their elite gifts and prevent Kindred from being relegated to the mediocrity of humanity. They often take consorts, choosing not to live with their
kabashem
as a life partner, or in extreme cases not mating with one’s
kabashem
at all. However, they will seize any opportunity to meld with the anima of their
kabashem
at least once, to inoculate themselves from
sangre saevitas
and the dark veil, and to trigger the emergence of their latent powers. Their lifestyle is a demonstration of free will to choose who they will love and their own fate.

Primary
Ingenium
Class:
Warrior

Creed:
All who obstruct our chosen path shall know our fury

Sigil:
A fiery sun with a double-sided axe in the center

Key Members

Lord Archimedes Custos—grand uncle of Serenity, brother of Arcturus

Lord Archippos Custos—grand uncle of Serenity, brother of Arcturus

Lord Archelaus Custos—grand uncle of Serenity, brother of Arcturus

Darius—
vadeletor
, aspires to be battle-guard; Blessed

Evane—battle-guard, being groomed to lead as Chief General; Blessed

PALADINS
: suspected wing of House Sekhem, with substantial autonomy, comprised of elite Kindred; identity of most members is unknown. Primary
Ingenium
, Creed, and Sigil are unknown.

Key Members

Lord Arcturus Custos—descended from one of the most powerful bloodlines; current leader of the Paladins, member of House Sekhem’s Triumvirate; maternal grandfather of Serenity

Kasmira—
kabashem
of Abbadon

HOUSE ATEN

The Immortals practice heka and carry significant influence amongst all Kindred, except with the Great Historian, Lady Neith. They are very selective in the bloodlines accepted in their House. Espousing harmony and peace, they seek diplomacy in the resolution of all disputes. Their House is shrouded in mystery.

Primary
Ingenium
Class:
Psi

Creed:
Long may the flame burn bright and true

Sigil:
A mark of one of the Fallen, Aten, with a cobra in the center

Key Members

The Immortals: Nefertiti (has not spoken since the Great Divide), Seshata, and Tholitis—founded House Aten and preside as permanent Council members

Lady Aurora Tyet—gifted in heka; maternal grandmother of Serenity; maintains a strained relationship with her
kabashem
, Arcturus

Lady Sothis Callidora Tyet—mother of Serenity; strong ties to House Sekhem

Lord Marius Usir—paternal grandfather of Serenity

Lady Dayanara Nopheros—paternal grandmother of Serenity; granted permission to leave House Herut to join her
kabashem
, Marius

Joshua—Blessed

Scill—Blessed

Junia—Blessed

OTHERS

Evan Wade—surrogate family and fiancé of Serenity

Lady Neith—the Great Historian, maintains records of Kindred history and bloodlines; once favored by Seshata, but broke the immortal’s heart when she renounced the Houses and claimed the Library;
has neutrality based on conditions of a treaty made with the three Houses; Blessed

Ravich—an immortal who was declared an enemy of Kindred by Nefertiti; seeks to undermine the political and financial stronghold of the Houses through the Gallacom Consortium

Artemis—mercenary and second in command to Ravich

Jagger—mercenary

Stone—mercenary

Krieg—mercenary

Mrs. Carter—family friend and housekeeper of Cyrus

Dougie Alexander—Serenity’s business partner and friend

About the Author

Isis Rushdan was born and raised in New York City. She has a B.A. in psychology from The Ohio State University. Wanderlust has taken her across the globe and has kept her moving every three years. Fortunately, she is blessed with a husband who shares her passion for travel, movies and fantastic food. Prior to following her bliss as a writer, she had a bright career as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force. She currently resides in sunny Florida, where she hopes to finally establish roots, with her husband, son and canine kiddies. Visit her website at
www.IsisRushdan.com
, blog at
IsisRushdan.blogspot.com
or follow her on
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She was ready for his steel, but not for his flesh.

Mistress of the Stone

© 2012 Maria Zannini

Luísa Tavares has a list of sins the length of the Antilles, but there’s no time to repent for them now. When a pockmarked Frenchman hands her Papa’s ring—still attached to his severed finger—she orders the
Coral
back to the Caribbean, despite her father’s earlier warning never to return.

It’s Luísa’s luckless fate that the only man who can help her is a blasted Inglés pirate hunter who’s more dead than alive and locked in a curse he doesn’t want lifted. Worse, his feral sensuality sparks a hunger she can’t ignore.

Xander Daltry hadn’t planned on kidnapping this wild woman—or succumbing to his uncontrollable desire for her. But he needs Luísa and the moonstone she wears around her neck to rescind a witch’s spell. His sister, long dead, and others like her have been cursed to remain in the mortal plane for eternity. Only the stone can set them free.
 

The only way to convince the reluctant pirate queen to help him is to withhold one small bit of the truth. For if she learns who really betrayed her father, the longing in her fiery eyes could easily turn to murderous wrath…

Warning: Contains a pirate queen with a sacred gem, a werewolf with an agenda, an island where nothing is as it seems, and a hero with a Jolly Roger that’ll make you purr like a kitten.