Autumn Whispers (An Otherworld Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Opium Eater had no choice. She did not like it, but her whims were not—and are not—my concern. By the by, remember, Lethesanar still lives. Never forget that—for she has a long memory for those who helped cross her.”
    A sly smile crept across her face and I caught sight of the predator that lurked within her. Not predator . . . no.
Instigator. Judge, jury, and executioner.
Grandmother Coyote was not afraid of her power.
    “I replaced two of the statues on the building with the brothers, and told them to keep watch, to note the changes in energy, and there they have stayed these past eighty years and more. Until two nights ago, when the balance began to shift even further, and it became necessary to act.” Here, she stopped.
    Mithra cleared his throat. “My brother and I have done as requested. We’ve kept watch on the building and the comings and goings within. Over the years, there has been a steady increase of what we first thought of as demonic energy. It infused the aura of the structure, and during the past three years, that growth has been disturbing.”
    Astralis nodded. “Two nights ago, the strength of that energy grew again—so much so that we contacted Grandmother Coyote. Something big is waking. Something that could rock the city and surrounding areas. The entire building was being infused with demonic energy.
Or so we thought.
But we were mistaken. When the shift occurred, we realized that rather than Demonkin, the building’s aura is infused with energy from the
daemonic
realms.”
    Grandmother Coyote nodded. “I’d first thought they were possibly in cahoots with Shadow Wing, but apparently not.”
    Daemons
. She was right. Most of the daemons detested the Demon Lord’s attempt to rule them. In fact, we were in unwilling cahoots with Trytian, one of the leaders in the daemonic realm who was over here, Earthside, leading a resistance faction against him. We didn’t like him, or trust him. But like it or not, we needed his help, and the help of his kind.
    • • •
    When my sisters and I first were sent ES—Earthside—by the OIA—Otherworld Intelligence Agency, we knew we had been exiled to the backwoods. We had always done our best, but none of us was ever up for employee of the year, and Camille’s boss had a long-time vendetta against her. He was determined to run her out. Thanks to his grudges against her, we
all
became targets.
    One of the reasons we weren’t so hot at our jobs was that we’re half-Fae, half-human, and because of our mixed lineage, our powers can be erratic. Meaning, we fuck up a lot.
    Sephreh ob Tanu, our father—full OW Fae—was a member of the Guard Des’Estar for most of his life. Back around the middle of World War II, on an ES mission in Spain, he met Maria D’Artigo, who was as human as they come. Sephreh fell head over heels in love with her, and swept her home to Otherworld, where they married, had us kids, and lived happily ever after until Mother fell from a horse and broke her neck, which ended any idea of Cinderella stories for the three of us girls. She left our father a widower and the three of us motherless at an early age.
    Camille, the oldest, took over and did her best to guide Menolly and me, even though she was scarcely old enough to run a household. It was she who first knew our mother had died, and I don’t think our father ever forgave her for playing the part of the messenger.
    A Moon Witch and priestess, she’s married to three alpha men—a dragon shifter named Smoky, a youkai-kitsune named Morio, and Trillian, a Svartan—one of the dark and charming Fae. They make one hell of a powerful quartet. With raven black hair and violet eyes, Camille is hot.
Curvy pinup woman hot
. Busty, with hips, and thighs that could crush steel, she sports a wardrobe that would furnish half the fetish bars in Seattle and has an easy self-confidence that I’ve always envied. She is the owner of the Indigo Court Bookshop—which, like all of our