Page 1 of The Satyr's Guilt
Prologue
The ragged claws of thepastare buried in the flesh of the present and future.
—Ohngel, an eagle perched on hisforearm
Wales, Seven Years After the Karmic Schismof AD 452
The cave waited. Moisture dripped in fingersdown its calcite-draped walls. Bats hugged the dark ceiling. Thecrisp smell of fresh, cool water arising from an underground riverwove through the still air. Yet, the cave waited.
Finally, the Cambion walked through theentrance of the place he called home, his robe whispering as itshifted through the dirt. The black-cowled figure set his basket ofsupplies on the ground. He removed and stacked dried leaves, spicycedar needles, twigs, and branches. Bending, he rubbed his fingerstogether to cast a simple spell. Once he created a spark, it jumpedonto the pile, one leaf catching fire, then a twig, and another.Hissing flames danced, igniting the tinder, breaking the eeriesilence, creating a play of shadow and light in the cave.
He brushed debris from his palms, placingthem on his knees, pushing upright, his joints not yet sufferingthe ravages of time. The flames snaked higher, swirling, slitheringupward. The powerful warlock, the Cambion from Wales, reached outwith steady hands and drew the smoke toward himself while awaitingvisions.
A farmhouse appeared in the haze. Then abarn. The Cambion tilted his neck, his head rolling back, his eyesfollowing the white ash as it trailed upward in the dank cavern litonly by the fire’s light. Flames licked the hem of his robe, but hepaid them no attention. In his vision, cackling chickens roamed ayard, pecking the ground. A milk cow grazed behind a fence. Thesmoke twisted, rising, fanning out along the mountain’s womb,caressing it, revealing secrets to the black-cloaked warlock.
A small girl materialized, her simple linendress soiled at the hem. As she kicked a ball along in front ofher, a misty fog wove through the plentiful rows of corn whichlined the road where she played.
From a porch, an older female called out hername. “Seraphine.”
The child struck the ball with her foot onelast time before answering the farm wife’s call. She turned.
Gasping, the Cambion beheld the child’seyes, the sharpness of her chin, the cut of her cheeks.
The powerful warlock regularly searchedScath for a glimpse of the child, his and Niviane’s offspring whoseexistence could alter destiny. Never had he found her until today,seven years after the Karmic Schism when the Blood Coven createdthree realms from one world. They did it to avert the disasterpredicted in the Prophecy of Karma. They did it to save mankind.Aeternals went to Scath while mystical creatures made their homeson Darque. In this way, the thirteen mages guaranteed humans, whoremained on Earth, would multiply, grow strong, and build defenses.They would survive as a species, separated from the savageAeternals who pre-dated their existence.
At the time of the Karmic Schism of AD 452,the Cambion ordered the Blood Coven to remain behind on Earth,hidden with their offspring, scattered and cut off from their ownkind because they or their children could be used to re-open theportals. If done, Aeternals would once again threaten humans withextinction. Niviane compromised the tenuous plan for salvation.Indeed, she had betrayed him. She had betrayed humanity. She hadbetrayed her own kind. Aeternals.
Anger exploded from the warlock, waves of itreaching every nook and cranny, sending bats flying and spidersscurrying to escape its deadly path. Like shattered glass, it cutthrough the cave. Spewing from the entrance, it formed black stormclouds, erupting in claps of thunder as streaks of lightning racedacross the valley. The earth shook while simple peasants in anearby village grabbed their children, holding them close to awaitGod’s fury.
With a deep breath, the Cambion gathered hiswrath, reeling it in like a big fish on a line. A menacing yetweary scowl crossed his face. His eyes grew as dark as the smokeinto which he stared. Indeed, Niviane had borne his child, namedher Seraphine, and sent her to Scath despite his directive.
Though the warlock longed for a rest, thesolace was ripped from him. Chaos could sprout from his ownseed.
He glanced toward a high ledge where Ohngelwaited, his fiery, razor-edged feathers glinting in the flickeringlight. His mentor, the enigmatic immortal male, had warned him ofthe betrayal, encouraging him to seek proof.
When the warlock threw a log onto the fire,Ohngel faded but reformed in the blaze as spiraling, undulating,brilliant hues of light. Blue. Gold. Green. Crimson. Exploding, thecolors rose and coalesced into a shape. The shape took the form ofthe Phoenix, whose mournful screech as it swooped out of the flamesbeckoned the Cambion to follow.
The warlock’s eyes widened when the giantavian morphed into a Chimera near the cave exit. As he glanced atthe creature, it flicked its neck from side to side, fire spittingfrom its mouth. When it trudged onward, he trailed behind. He wouldwander the world seeking to understand the betrayal, seekinganswers, seeking a means to control the fallout.
Chapter One
New Orleans, Present Day
Denim Quinn peeked through the wide-anglepeephole.
Outside, a young woman clenched a toddleragainst her chest. The boy hugged her neck, thumb in mouth. Thevisitor pivoted her head to glance behind her, maybe expectingJason Voorhees to pop out to trim the hedges. When she spun back tothe door, rapping on the wood, her nervous eyes twitched left andright.
Denim drew back three deadbolts, fisting thebrass knob to open the door a crack. She left the chain in place.While she checked out the surroundings, she bit into a fresh-bakedoatmeal raisin cookie grasped in her other hand. Sliding the chainoff and flinging the door wide, she joined the visitor on theporch.
The woman carrying the child scrunched aSafe Haven flyer in trembling fingers.
“Welcome. I’m Denim. What’s your name?” Asshe asked, she combed through a strand of her long, loose hair tobe certain it covered the scar on her cheek. No need to frightenthe woman.
“Leslie.”
With a reassuring palm on the young mother’sshoulder to usher her through the door, Denim glanced up thestreet. Down the street.Old habit.“Let’s take youand…”
“Jeffrey.”
