Page 1 (1/2)

CHAPTER ONE

Wherein Things Disappear,

Alexia Gets Testy Over Tents,

and Ivy Has an Announcement

They are what?"

Lord Conall Maccon, Earl of Woolsey, was yelling Loudly This was to be expected froentlee barrel chest

Alexia Maccon, Lady Woolsey, muhjah to the queen, Britain’s secret preternatural weapon extraordinaire, blinked awake from a deep and delicious sleep

"Wasn’tthe barest hint of an idea as to what her husband was carrying on about Of course, it usually was her, but it would not do to fess up right away, regardless of whatever it was that had his britches in a bunch this time Alexia screwed her eyes shut and squirmed farther into the warue about it later?

"What do you htly with the sheer volu was that he wasn’t nearly as loud as he could be when he really put his lungs into it

"Well, I certainly did not tell theo," denied Alexia into her pillow She wondered who "they" were Then she ca a fluffy-cottony sort of pathway to get there, that he wasn’t yelling at her but at someone else In their bedroo at himself

Oh dear

"What, all of them?"

Alexia’s scientific side wondered idly at the power of sound waves--hadn’t she heard of a recent Royal Society pamphlet on the subject?

"All at once?"

Lady Maccon sighed, rolled toward the hollering, and cracked one eyelid Her husband’s large naked back filled her field of vision To see any ht Since that would probably expose her to more cold air, she declined to lever She did, however, observe that the sun was barely down What was Conall doing awake and aloud so freakishly early? For, while her husband roaring was not uncommon, its occurrence in the wee hours of late afternoon was Inhuman decency dictated that even Woolsey Castle’s Alpha olf remain quiet at this time of day

"Hoide of a radius, exactly? It canna have extended this far"

Oh dear, his Scottish accent had put in an appearance That never bode well for anyone

"All over London? No? Just the entire Thames embankment and city center That is sied to discern aresponse to her husband’s latest holler Well, she consoled herself, at least he hadn’t gone entirely potty But ould dare attempt to rustle up Lord Maccon in his private quarters at such an abysmal hour? She tried once more to see over his back Why did he have to be so substantial?

She levered

Alexia Maccon was known as a lady of regal bearing and not enerally considered her looks too swarthy to give much credence despite her rank Alexia, herself, had always believed good posture was her last best hope and was proud to have acquired the "regal bearing" epithet This , however, blankets and pilloarted her; she could only flounder gracelessly up to her elbows, her backbone as limp as a noodle

All that her Herculean effort revealed was a hint of wispy silver and a vaguely human form: Formerly Merriway

"Mu for full apparition in the not-quite darkness She was a polite ghost, relatively young and well preserved, and still entirely sane

"Oh, for goodness’ sake" Lord Maccon see only more irritated Lady Maccon knew that particular tone of voice well--it was usually directed at her "But there is nothing on this Earth that can do that"

For else

"Well, have they consulted all the daylight agents?"

Alexia strained to hear Already gifted with a loeet voice, the ghost was difficult to understand when she intentionally daht have said, "Yes, and they have no idea either"

The ghost seehtened, which caused Alexia more concern than Lord Maccon’s irritation (which was sadly frequent) Little could frighten the already dead, with the possible exception of a preternatural And even Alexia, soulless, was only dangerous under very specific circuht" The earl tossed his blankets aside and cliasped and shi her transparent back to the completely naked man