Title: A Mage's Power
Series: The Inquisition Trilogy, Book One
Author: Casey Wolfe
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: July 16, 2018
Heat Level: 2 - Fade to Black Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 70800
Genre: Paranormal, mages, witches, shifters, dark, magic
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Synopsis
Built on the bones of an ancient city,
modern-day Everstrand is where master mage, Rowan, has set up his enchantment
shop. When not hanging out with his werewolf best friend, Caleb, or studying,
he dabbles in herbology and the controversial practice of blood magic. A
prodigy who has already earned two masters, Rowan’s bound and determined to
reach the distinction of grandmaster, a mage who obtains a masters in all five
Schools of Magic.
Shaw works for the Inquisition, the
organization charged with policing the magical races collectively known as
magicae. Recently, it has come under scrutiny as magicae begin to disappear and
reports of violence increase. With secrets of his own on the line, Shaw is
willing to risk everything to find out just what is going on behind all the
locked doors.
When Rowan and Shaw are entangled in
each other’s worlds, it becomes evident that their hearts are as much at risk
as their lives. They must find the truth and stop a conspiracy before it’s too
late.
Excerpt
Excerpt
A Mage’s Power
Casey Wolfe © 2018
All Rights Reserved
Chapter One
The city of Everstrand came into view
when Rowan’s dirt bike broke through the last of the forest. The engine whirred
as he caught a little air over a bump, wind whipping at his blond hair. He
laughed, leaving dust in his wake. Spring was fast approaching and Rowan was
enjoying the sunshine and warming temperatures perhaps a bit too much.
The dirt roads leading from the Sacred
Timber, where he lived, gave way to the paved roadways of civilization. Rowan
much preferred the solitude of nature to the bustle of Osterian’s capital city,
so it was just as well he tended to keep his trips there to a minimum.
Not that the city was completely
horrible. It was ancient, and a lot of the original structures had been
well-preserved as the city expanded over the centuries. The Everstrand Mages
Guild was part of the oldest section. It sat on a broken piece of land that was
enchanted to float in the air above the Grey Tides—visible even now. Chains
kept it bound to the cliffside so that it didn’t drift away.
Rowan needed to stop by the Guild at
some point, but he wanted to go to his shop first. One wouldn’t think he’d be
able to make a living by being open a few days out of the week; however, an
enchanter’s services were always a valuable commodity. Considering Rowan was
the sole master enchanter in the entire city offering his services to the
public, he wasn’t worried about losing business.
Having timed his arrival after the
morning rush, Rowan had no problems getting to the shop. He cut through a few
narrow side alleys to the Orchard Street Mall. He loved that it was all
outdoors, restricted to foot traffic only, instead of a typical mall complex.
It gave the area a certain charm, with the unique facades and plentiful
landscaping.
Rowan parked his bike in the section
reserved for vendors, permit tag sealed in place with magic to prevent theft.
Satchel strap over his shoulder, he made his way down the cobblestone paths,
past shops of every size and type.
Nestled between a bookstore and a pastry
shop—that he frequented probably more than he should have—was Charmed to Meet
You. Even now, the name made him cringe a little. It had been his late
grandmother’s suggestion, and with no counter-name in hand, Rowan had relented.
It seemed he was stuck with it too—at least his customers thought it was cute.
Once inside, he flipped on the lights
and tossed his satchel onto the counter. He shrugged out of his brown leather
jacket, hanging it on the rack. The weather may have been breaking, but riding
his bike still required protection from the chill. It was nice enough to open
the windows, which he did with a flick of his hand. A breeze swept inside, the
fresh air swapping out the stale from over the weekend.
It was a small shop, designed more as a
work space than a storefront, with all the shelving behind the counter holding
his supplies. There were no displays or little charm trinkets lying around.
Everything he did was custom. Let them go to a kitschy tourist trap if they
wanted some run-of-the-mill good luck charm. He had better things to do.
Already finished with current orders,
Rowan decided today was a good day to work on his own projects. He sat on his
stool and pulled a thick book from his satchel before stowing the bag under the
counter by his parchment, ink, and quills. It might have been old-fashioned of
him, but he enjoyed the feel of a quill in his hand and handmade paper under
his fingers—his grandmother’s influence, no doubt, as she had been the one to
give him his first grimoire filled with parchment. After that, a notebook and
pen simply wouldn’t do for anything involving his magical studies.
“Now, where was I?”
One of the few things he’d taken from
his grandmother’s cottage was her magic books, but he hadn’t been able to read
them until recently. Even looking at them had invoked powerful memories of her,
and it was far too heartbreaking to consider. They had sat around, gathering
dust, for the last half-dozen years, and Rowan thought it was about time to get
over it. Thus, he’d begun pouring over her old grimoires and spell theory books
in earnest.
Naturally, no sooner had he gotten
settled, his cell phone chimed. It turned out to be his best friend, Caleb, and
Rowan wasn’t surprised at the inquiry: “Lunch today?”
Rowan smiled while typing out a reply
text: “Of course.” As though Caleb didn’t come out to Rowan’s cottage enough,
the werewolf was always on him to hang out when he was in town. “Now hush. I’m
studying.”
The returned zipped-lip emoji made Rowan
laugh. “Damn wolf,” he said affectionately, shaking his head as he set the
phone aside.
Not that the silence lasted long. From
the back of the shop, Rowan heard a soft meow. He turned to find the brown
tabby cat that roamed the neighborhood, slipping through the window and landing
gracefully on a stack of books. “Hey, Badger.”
The cat meowed again, making his way
along the shelves before jumping onto the front counter. Badger purred, rubbing
his head against Rowan’s arm, demanding attention. Rowan scratched behind the
cat’s ears. He certainly was an animal magnet.
Badger had shown up in the shop one day
when Rowan had opened one of the back windows to vent the smoke from a failed
experiment—not one of his prouder moments. Rowan had no desire for a cat, but
he couldn’t just throw the guy back out into the wet snow either. Thankfully
for Rowan, the cat didn’t exactly want to be kept.
Badger came and went on his own whims,
although it seemed he’d picked up Rowan’s schedule and was sure to drop by to
see him. Rowan figured part of it had to do with the fact he was keeping meat
treats around. Not that he minded. Badger was a quiet, comforting presence who
mostly took advantage of the warm, dry place by curling up on the counter and
napping.
Caleb had saddled the cat with his name.
Rowan wasn’t planning to name him—after all, he had proven to be his own
animal—but Caleb had pointed out they couldn’t keep calling him “the cat.”
Badger should have been thankful Rowan vetoed Whiskers.
The bell above the door announced the
arrival of a customer, one of Rowan’s regulars. Most of Marian’s requests were idiotic,
but he wasn’t about to turn down her money. If she wanted to keep wasting it at
his shop, that was fine by him.
“Rowan, hon, there you are,” the older
woman gushed, coming up to the counter. “Did you get my message?”
“I actually just got in.” Rowan may have
sounded apologetic, but he wasn’t in the least. Marian had the habit of
freaking out over nothing and believing she needed magical interference to deal
with every little challenge. Think of the money, he reminded himself.
“Oh, I am in desperate need of your
help. It’s my neighbor. The old fool has been trying to curse me.”
Rowan had to hold back an exasperated
sigh. This was going to take a while. He closed his book regretfully.
“Curses are serious business,” Rowan
said. “Are you sure?” Despite his words, he was already moving toward the
shelves. They were set perpendicular to the counter, so he was still able to
see Marian as he searched for various things he would require.
“I’m certain,” Marian insisted, as Rowan
knew she would. “It’s my garden! Everything is just…dying. It was fine one day,
and the next…” She threw her hands in the air, which was apparently supposed to
mean something.
Rowan hummed in false agreement. “Yes,
that does sound serious. Have you thought of reporting it?” Humoring her didn’t
mean he couldn’t take a few jabs at her expense.
“Heavens, no. Those fools don’t do a
thing. You should know that, dear.”
Rowan rolled his eyes. This is what I
got a masters for?
It wasn’t the first time he’d thought
it, and not even with Marian’s ridiculous requests. There he was, the youngest
mage ever with a masters degree—now two—and he was humoring people who needed
to keep plants alive despite their lack of green thumb, prevent a neighbor’s
dog from shitting in their yard, or protect from griffin attack—because
somebody told them they were rampant in the south of Osterian where they
planned to vacation. Money was money, though, so Rowan stomached the inane
requests and prayed for those that were a good use of his time.
“Do you think you can help me?” Marian
asked, before cooing at Badger. He was thoroughly unamused, relocating himself
to one of the shelves near Rowan. “He is such a beautiful cat. It’s so precious
how he follows you.”
“Yes, he is,” Rowan agreed, Badger
rubbing his head against his shoulder. “And, yes, I can most certainly help you
out. If you have more shopping to get done, I can have it ready in about an
hour.”
Marian clapped her hands together. “Oh,
that’s wonderful. I do appreciate it.”
“No trouble at all.” He kept the fake
smile in place until the door shut behind her. “One charm to stop you from
murdering your own plants, coming up,” he griped. Looking at Badger, he raised
a brow. “Why is everything a curse or whatever with her? I swear I don’t
understand mundanes.” He spoke of those without magic.
Badger meowed as if he understood. Rowan
smiled at him, gathering up the supplies he needed to make the charm in
question.
He turned to another shelf, pausing when
he saw the potion sitting there. “I forgot about this.” Rowan had been dabbling
with potion-making lately. Despite not being an actual School of Magic,
herbology—like divination and runes—was an offered course at many guilds. While
anyone could learn such skills, magic could often enhance the effects.
“This…wasn’t exactly the color I hoped
for,” Rowan admitted, turning the small glass bottle over in his hand. The
sickly green liquid sloshed around, unchanged. “So much for that.”
He may have been something of a
prodigy—passing his apprenticeship at eighteen, and earning his first masters
at twenty-one—but he was far from great at all areas of magic. Likely, his
grandmother would have kept him on track, except she’d died shortly after he
opened Charmed to Meet You. She missed his second masters at twenty-four, and
without her around to scold him, he’d spent the last four years messing around
here and there with all sorts of other magic—including intensive study in blood
magic—without truly settling on a new course of study.
Perhaps two masters would have been more
than enough for any mage to have, but not him. He was bound and determined to
reach the distinction of grandmaster, a mage who had obtained a masters in all five
Schools of Magic. First, he needed to get through his next exam.
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Meet the Author
Author of gay romantic fiction, from contemporary to paranormal and everything in between. For Casey, existence equals writing. History nerd, film enthusiast, music lover, avid gamer, and just an all-around geek. Add in an unapologetic addiction to loose-leaf tea and you get the general picture. Married, with furry four-legged children, Casey lives happily in the middle of nowhere Ohio.Website | Facebook | eMail | Tumblr
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