On Midnight Wings

LLYGAID COMPOUND

VON DECIDED THAT HE preferred getting his neck broken to being interrogated. Worse, he wasn’t even being questioned by the filidh.

“I suggest you start talking,” Galiana said. She sat in one of the Bards’s great chairs, the tops of each carved into stag horns. “Otherwise it will be one of the mortals who will pay the price.”

On his knees, hands cuffed behind his back, Von slid a sidelong glance at Merri. Her stiff posture and frozen expression spoke volumes. She had no idea her mere de sang had been using her. Silver was beside Merri, also on his knees, also cuffed.

Jack, Thibodaux, and Annie had been stashed elsewhere. But Von had been assured all three were safe and unharmed. He didn’t know if he believed that.

Dammit. They’d all be safe if I’da nixed the rescue plan.

Von drew in a deep breath of smoky air fragrant with myrrh. He remembered the feel of the charcoal sketch beneath his fingers, remembered the image it bore and the penciled-in title—Secrets. Felt precious time slipping away.

Remembering the rage, loss, and madness simmering in Dante’s sending—I ain’t playing your game, Papa—Von realized that the time for secrets was over. Too much was at stake.

Forgive me, little brother.

In a low voice, he started speaking, holding nothing back.

“CREAWDWR,” GALIANA BREATHED, BOTH wonder and worry chiseling her dark face. “A vampire Maker. But a damaged one.”

“He just needs time to heal,” Von said. “And I need to get to him, move him somewhere safe. Somewhere quiet. And I need to go now. We all do.”

“I have a private jet,” Galiana mused. “We could be in Baton Rouge in a little over an hour.”

The floor started shaking. A chair toppled over. Light fixtures swayed.

“Outside!” someone yelled.

Von jumped to his feet and ran, dodging falling furniture and broken lightbulbs on his way out the front door. He raced down the steps and onto the lawn, then looked up. His mouth dried. His vision—if that’s what it was—was coming true.

An aurora borealis of fire danced across the southern sky. The ground shuddered, then quieted once more. The Great Destroyer had awakened. Von’s heart sank. Dante had chosen a path. A dark one.

Galiana stared at the sky in horror. “What does it mean?” she whispered.

“We’re going to need that plane,” Von said. “Now.”

Hold on, little brother. Hold on.

About the author

ADRIAN PHOENIX is the critically acclaimed author of The Maker’s Song series: A Rush of Wings, In the Blood, Beneath the Skin, Etched in Bone, and On Midnight Wings. She is also the author of Black Dust Mambo and Black Heart Loa, a new series featuring hoodoo apprentice Kallie Riviere. She has published stories in several magazines and anthologies. She lives in Oregon (with three cats, of course), but travels to New Orleans, the city of her heart, whenever possible.

BOOKS BY ADRIAN PHOENIX

The Maker’s Song Series

A Rush of Wings

In the Blood

Beneath the Skin

Etched in Bone

On Midnight Wings

The Hoodoo Series

Black Dust Mambo

Black Heart Loa

Praise for Adrian Phoenix and The Maker’s Song series

“The Maker’s Song has a raw and complex storyline, incredible world building, and characters with multiple layers. Adrian Phoenix has developed Dante into someone who feels real, with flaws, faults and little quirks. . . . A must-read series for paranormal and urban fantasy fans.”

—Paranormal Romance Addict

ETCHED IN BONE

“Edgy, fast paced and tantalizingly addictive, this is without a doubt the best novel in this amazingly enjoyable series to date.”

—Black Lagoon Reviews

“There are not enough words to describe how much I love this series, or just how emotional this series truly is. Each book is better than the last.”

—VampChix

“The intensity starts off with a bang and ends with the same sizzling impact! . . . This is one series that I will never miss a page of.”

—Fresh Fiction

“Darkly haunting and impressively imaginative.”

—Night Owl Reviews

BENEATH THE SKIN

“Adrian Phoenix has done it again! Complex, lyrical, and beautifully written . . . another unique and compulsive page-turner.”

—Jenna Black, acclaimed author of Dark Descendant

“This violent, wrenching tale is something special.”