Authors: S. L. Gavyn
Tags: #vampires, #urban fantasy, #demon, #paranormal romance, #magic, #werewolves, #witch, #elves, #djinn, #incubus, #pheonix
The Fabled
The Fabled
Book One of the Fabled Series
S. L. Gavyn
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2014 S. L. Gavyn
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The Forged by Magic Trilogy:
Brimstone (Book 1)
Iron Made (Book 2)
Ange Noir (Book 2.5)
Dragon’s Flame (Book 3)
The Avery Tywella Series:
Darkened (Book 1)
Deadened (Book 2)
Deceived (Book 3)
Balancing The Scales
As always I’ll start by thanking my family
for their support. Without you I would be lost at sea without an
anchor. (Or a paddle. A paddle would be nice but nope.)
Next I would like to thank my book cover
model Kimberly Crabtree for agreeing to pose for this shoot and
also, I can’t forget the photographer Siara McCormick who took some
amazing photos. You guys are awesome.
Lastly, I’ll give a shout out to my beta
readers. You know who you are.
Egypt 800 A. D.
“And so it is said. So it shall be.”
“Halt Aerystasia. You speak of our
destruction. How can we possibly reverse this future?”
“I speak of warning. That is my gift. Some
might be changed while other fates are inevitable. This, I believe,
might be altered.”
“How? You say we will be destroyed by the
Humans. You say they will possess weapons capable of annihilating
us but say this future can be changed. Do you suggest we kill them
before they have opportunity to obtain such weapons?”
“No Augustus. That is not of which I speak.
The Humans are too precious to our kinds.”
“We must shield ourselves then. But we live
secretly as is. How can we shield ourselves further?”
Aerystasia smiled at the council. “I do not
believe staying adumbrate is appropriate. Perhaps announcing our
presence is key.”
“You must have the fevers, Aerystasia.
Announcing ourselves to the Humans will only bring our destruction
faster,” Lucian, the head of the Council of Elders spoke up for the
first time.
“You misunderstand. I believe you are right.
The Humans consider us monsters and if we were to confirm our
existence then much bloodshed will pursue. But, if we were to
spread stories with false details about the monsters the Humans
believe us to be, they will one day become common tales told among
them young and old.”
“You speak of fables. Ones depicting our
kinds as the terror in the night. How will that make them want to
kill us less?” Augustus asked.
As second in command of the council he was
always trying to show his leadership while Lucian sat back,
observed and came to far better conclusions.
“These fables will one day become common
knowledge. Were they to have details untrue to our kinds…”
“The Humans would not be able to spot a true
Lycan or Vamprene or any other of our kinds,” Lucian finished.
Aerystasia smiled and nodded slightly. “Might
I suggest sending fable tellers to all the continents? Even the one
undiscovered yet. The natives there do love their stories.”
“Hiding in plain sight. Will this be enough
to change your vision?” Augustus asked.
“I cannot be certain but I believe so. I will
inform you if I have another vision concerning this,” Aerystasia
told the council before bowing and leaving the room.
After she left Lucian turned to the other
four members of the council. Each member represented one of the
major species, other than Humans, that inhabit this planet.
“How can we be assured this is fact?”
Augustus asked once she was gone.
“Aerystasia is the most powerful oracle in
the world. Since her birth over a millennium ago no one has bested
her accuracy. If she says this will come to pass, it will come.
Unless we stop it,” Lucian said.
“Aye, she is powerful indeed,” the Bruce
added.
Lucian nodded then looked at Augustus to see
if he would argue further. When he stilled his mouth Lucian turned
to the rest of the members.
“Council, now is the time to act. I think it
would be prudent if each member of the council determine the false
characteristics of your people. I will send for the best
storytellers to speak these fables across the globe. We will spread
the tales and we will join together to protect ourselves against
this future threat.”
There were a round of nods and everyone
started to disperse. Lucian turned to the open balcony doors and
looked out into the night beyond. With any luck these tales would
be enough to deter their future enemy. Aerystasia was right, they
couldn’t kill all Humans. Not only were they needed but if they
killed the Humans that would make them no better. No, they would
spread these fables until the Humans no longer suspected the real
thing actually existed. Their people would no longer be separate
species coinciding in secrecy against the Humans but would unite as
one. They would become the Fabled, those of myth, those of
legend.
“
Dream a little dream”
“Sam, hurry up. All the good looking guys
will be gone before we even get to the club.”
I opened the door to the bathroom and looked
at my business partner. “I didn’t realize we were trolling for men.
You said we would just meet for drinks to unwind after a busy
day.”
“We have been busy. Do you know how many
small businesses fail because the owners didn’t take the time to
set them up correctly to begin with? A lot I can tell you that. And
what’s a better way to unwind than to sit back, drink a few, and
admire some good-looking hunks?”
I smiled at her. I always did like to people
watch. I was actually pretty good at guessing something about them.
Either what they were there for (sometimes that one was too easy)
or what they did for a living or just something about their
personality. My ex-friend back home used to tell me it was my sixth
sense. That was before I found out her and my husband had been
meeting up for a romp every time I was out of town. Needless to
say, he’s not my husband anymore and she’s not my friend. Guess my
powers of observation only extend to strangers.
Karen reached out and grabbed my hand. “Come
on. I can tell your thoughts have gone south so let’s get out of
here.”
I couldn’t help smiling at her double
entendre. That I live in Florida made her statement mean something
else. Perhaps it was the affair that made me seek business
opportunities elsewhere or maybe it was just fate that I ran into
Karen just as she was ready to leave the publishing house she had
been with for years. We started talking and before you could say
“Bob’s your uncle” we had started our own small publishing company
in Vegas since that’s where K was from and she was the one with all
the publishing knowledge. I was the asset that was able to speed
read through dozens of books a week and tell which ones had the
possibility to become bestsellers and which ones would bomb. While
K was the one that met with the clients and filed the necessary
paperwork.
After only six months in business we already
had three authors on the bestsellers list. That fact alone was
bringing in business like you wouldn’t believe. This trip had been
to take care of the final touches of our shared business. And to
celebrate our striving business.
At the club (which looked more like a bar to
me) there were several middle aged people like ourselves sitting
around having drinks. K found us a table off to one corner because
she liked my ability to guess people as much as I liked guessing
them.
“What about that guy over there?” K pointed
to a man across the room who looked to be in his late thirties.
“He’s looking to cheat on his wife.”
“How do you know that?”
“Well, besides the light colored ring around
his finger where he normally wears his wedding band, see how he’s
looking around. He looks desperate. He’s drinking too much which
means he’s nervous and he keeps running his hand through his hair
which is starting to thin. It’s probably a habit. That means he’s
been stressed quite a bit recently and marital problems is the
number one cause of stress in middle aged men. Also, judging by the
timid nature he’s exuding I’d say he’s looking for a woman to take
control of the situation.”
“So you’re saying if I walked over and told
him to get in my car for some quality time of domination, he’d be
my bitch for the night.”
“Pretty much. If you’re into that kind of
thing.”
“No thanks. I like my men, men.”
“You and me both.”
She laughed as did I. The thought of K as a
dominatrix was funny. She just didn’t look the part. She was only
five-two with light brown hair and eyes. Her small frame and
delicate features made her look almost pixie-ish.
As we sat there people watching what appeared
to be a woman walked into the club and headed for the bar to order
a drink.
“What about her?” K asked me.
I looked at her and raised a brow. “That’s a
man.”
She looked at me then at the woman then back
to me. “What makes you say that? She’s not really tall or big
boned.”
“First, she has an Adam’s apple. That’s a
dead giveaway. Second, it’s in the brow. I’m not one hundred
percent sure but I would be willing to put money on it.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
About that time the woman’s eyes met the
man’s and they shared a look. She took her drink from the bartender
and walked over to the man’s table. Even though we couldn’t hear
their conversation, she obviously asked him if she could sit and he
told her yes. She had a seat and they were instantly engulfed in
conversation.
I looked over at K and raised my brows.
“Looks like cheater might get more than he bargained for
tonight.”
She pulled her eyes away from the couple and
when she looked at me hers were wide. I started laughing and she
joined me. The thought of what’s going to happen when that “woman”
takes that cheater to her place was hilarious. That’s what he gets
for cheating on his wife. Then again, he might actually like it. If
so, I feel sorry for the wife. It’s bad enough to be cheated on
without the other woman turning out to be another man. Even though
I felt bad for her the thought made me laugh harder.
By the time I finally gained my composure a
man had joined our table. He looked to be in his mid-twenties with
black hair and eyes so dark brown that they almost looked black. He
wore a gray t-shirt, dark jeans, and a black leather jacket and
boots.
