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Sacrificed
Nancy Corrigan
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Wild Hunt Dictionary
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter Five, plus next book preview
Also by Nancy Corrigan
Please Read
About the Author
Acknowledgments
…intriguing and original
The Library Journal on the Wild Hunt series
In the game of good vs. evil, the Devil unleashes… Hell
They call him the Devil, Satan, Lucifer…a monster. He answers to anything, but if you ask him, he'll tell you the truth. His name is Arawn, Lord of the Underworld, and he's made a mistake. He fell in love and neglected his duties. Now, the Unseelie Court is terrorizing the human world, and innocents are suffering.
Righting his wrong won't happen without a sacrifice. Arawn knows that. The woman who holds his heart and soul knows that. Neither will like the price he has to pay to ensure the Unseelie Court is returned to the lowest pits of the Underworld.
But nobody ever said being the devil was easy. Luckily, Arawn knows a thing or two about hell… and love.
Arawn's story does not have a happy ending. It doesn't even have a safe ending, but the devil has a plan to turn his mistake into a victory. Come join him on the Wild Hunt for a blistering, twisted fairy tale of love, betrayal, mystery, and redemption.
Wild Hunt Dictionary
Huntsmen – the immortal riders of the Wild Hunt; also known as the Teulu
Teulu – family of Hunters; members consist of the bastard children of Arawn, Lord of the Underworld, and those humans invited to ride in the Wild Hunt
Wild Hunt – the endless nightly hunt of those beings infected by Chaos
Chaos – the raw power from which the world was formed; disorder in its purest form
Fairy – an otherworldly creature; either Seelie or Unseelie
Seelie – a fairy who is “good” or “pure”
Unseelie – a Seelie who has either willing or unwilling been infected with Chaos; a fairy who is “bad” or “evil”
Seelie Fairy Court – the ruling faction of the Seelies; no known members; once led by Dagda
Unseelie Fairy Court – the ruling faction of the Unseelies; included are the Unseelies and the redcaps; led by Dar (formerly known as Dagda)
Redcap – a human who has sold his soul to an Unseelie in exchange for immortality and power; leaders of the Unseelie Fairy Court’s army of sluaghs
Sluagh – the walking dead; a human who has been tricked into a redcap’s fairy ring
Glamour – the magic of the fairies (both Seelie and Unseelie)
Chapter One
The greatest game of all time starts now, and the devil is making the first move.
Author’s Note: This is a short story that introduces the Devil and the beginnings of the Wild Hunt.
This story does NOT end in a happily ever after.
However, every other book in this series will end with a happy, forever love.
Screams reverberated inside Arawn’s head. He knew the story behind each one, had shared in their agony, and had experienced their deaths. All had been avenged. None would be forgotten. It was his gift and a reminder of why he oversaw the punishment of the corrupt.
Or so the Triad had told him the day he was chosen as the Lord of the Underworld. The day he was sacrificed to Hell.
Damned and forgotten.
Hands clenched, he strode across the balcony of his fortress. At the railing, he stopped and swept his gaze over his realm. The endless barren landscape offered little in the way of scenery or comfort. It wasn’t meant to give any.
The unfortunate beings who found themselves on the desolate plains stayed only long enough to be judged before moving to the lower sections of Hell, where they faced their eternal punishment. The nine shimmering portals dotting the horizon provided access to each level.
He studied the barriers, looking for any additional signs of deterioration. All remained secured. He nodded, pleased that his efforts to mend them had found some measure of success. The horrors and inhabitants contained within the Underworld could not be released, not ever again.
The demon sentinels who guarded the gateways understood the dangers and the penalties if they failed in their role. Arawn had made sure of it, and those who obeyed his command were richly rewarded. Few offered him their allegiance, however. They were demons after all, and he was a god.
Revered, envied, feared, and…
Blessed.
Arawn cracked his jaw. The knowledge that he was the Triad’s favored servant, the one chosen to act as its hand in the never-ending battle against evil, didn’t comfort him or make his endless existence worthwhile. Only one thing did… One person, actually.
Minerva.
Silver hair and eyes, the face an angel, and the body of a succubus—she was beautiful. As a goddess of love, she was expected to be gorgeous. He craved her touch, savored her every kiss, and found heaven each time he joined their bodies.
He closed his eyes and conjured her face, allowing the wonder she bestowed upon him to seize him. The screeches and moans echoing within him faded to murmurs. He sighed in relief. Peace filled him. Fleeting, yes. The second her image slipped from the forefront of his mind, the endless anguish he experienced would return.
He treasured the moment. It would have to last. What he planned would take his personal heaven from him, at least for a little while.
He didn’t want to lose her. He had no other choice, however. His wrong in allowing the evil to escape Hell had to be righted, no matter the cost. Like a plague, the unholy beings scavenging on the humans in the mortal realm were multiplying and infecting the innocents, turning them into unspeakable creatures. They could not be allowed to spread more.
Arawn knew this. He accepted the responsibility to curtail the evil infecting
