02. Earths Blood - Earth Reclaimed.pdf

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Earth’s Blood
by Ann Gimpel
Copyright © Ann Gimpel, 2014
All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be
reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system,
without prior written permission of the publisher.
This e-book is a work of fiction. While references may be made to actual places or events, the names, characters,
incidents, and locations within are from the author’s imagination and are not a resemblance to actual living or dead
persons, businesses, or events. Any similarity is coincidental.
Musa Publishing
4815 Iron Horse Trail
Colorado Springs, CO 80917
www.MusaPublishing.com
Issued by Musa Publishing LLC, February 2014
This e-book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a
violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or
imprisonment. No part of this e-book can be reproduced or sold by any person or business without the express
permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 978-1-61937-681-6
Editor: Angela Kelly
Artist: Kelly Shorten
Line Editor: Jenny Rarden
Interior Book Design: Cera Smith
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Taking a book from raw ideas to polished perfection is truly a team effort. Many thanks
to Angela Kelly, a great content editor, and to Kelly Shorten for her wonderful covers!
Jenny Rarden is a most excellent line editor. I’m also grateful to everyone else who read
this manuscript in its various stages and offered valuable feedback.
CHAPTER ONE
ionn tumbled through a gateway and leapt to his feet. Something was decidedly
wrong. The wolf and raven were right behind him, but he’d lost all sense of Aislinn’s
presence in the traveling portal. It made him half-crazy with fear, but there was
nothing he could do until the spell spit him out. Mouth dry, heartbeat thudding in
his ears, he waited to see who would follow him out of the ragged hole he’d left in
the ether.
For the love of the goddess, please let me be mistaken about this.
Rune emerged. A howl split the still air. “Where is she?” the black and gray timber
wolf demanded. He reared up and plunked his paws on Fionn’s chest.
“What
happened to my bond mate? I cannot feel her anywhere.”
He howled again. It was a
mournful sound, full of grief.
F
Fionn wrapped his arms around the wolf, but Rune dropped to the ground,
apparently not interested in comfort.
“Yes, where did Aislinn go?” Bella demanded, bouncing forward with her awkward avian
gait. Ever cantankerous, the raven was bonded to him, so Fionn was used to her moods.
She spread her large wings, took to the air, and cawed her displeasure.
He stared after her and struggled to manage a mounting sense of panic while balling
his hands into fists. Both bond animals knew the truth: Aislinn had disappeared
somewhere between Ely, Nevada and wherever they were now. He barked a word to close
off his magic. The place they’d rolled out of shimmered and disappeared.
He loosed a string of Gaelic curses. “What the fuck went wrong?” he muttered. Fionn
drew magic to augment his night vision and gazed wildly about for clues. They were in
the midst of rubble that could well be Salt Lake City, so at least that part of his casting
had been true. No, an inner voice corrected him, I doona know that. This could be anywhere.
He shoved straggling strands of blond hair out of his eyes and sent his magic spinning
outward to gather data. His heart beat a worried tattoo against his ribcage.
The air to his right took on a pearlescent hue. Bran and Arawn leapt through a portal
in a flash of battle leathers, the snug-fitting garments indistinguishable from Fionn’s
attire. Arawn barked a command, and their gateway winked shut. His midnight gaze
scanned the small group. “Why is Gwydion not here?” he demanded. “He left afore any of
us.”
Rune threw his head back. Another desolate howl split the night.
Bran’s coppery eyes narrowed. “Aye, and where is the lass?”
“And that Hunter scum, Travis,” Fionn growled. He spread his hands in front of him.
“I havena felt Aislinn since a few moments after we entered the portal. Join your magic to

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