Legacy of Light

LEGACY OF LIGHT Angels of the Veil NITA ROUND Edited by KRISTA WALSH Cover MAY DAWNEY DESIGNS Contents Copyright notice Acknowledgements 1. Bone Yard 2. Where to start 3. Face the past 4. A veiled world 5. Breaches of security 6. Into traffic 7. Hello Harry 8. A message 9. Edward 10. Famniscier 11. Going tactical 12. Details and plans 13. Wake up 14. Dylan’s News 15. Jade’s not here 16. The book of curses 17. Weften 18. Weften Cemetery 19. Tea with the vicar 20. Burial Mound 21. A flash of light 22. Eyes open to morning light 23. Getting started 24. Ready 25. In the Hall 26. Burying ghosts 27. Where to next? 28. The properties 29. Howarth 30. Marlin House 31. Getting in 32. Not where we were 33. I think we’re alone now 34. Let’s all chant 35. Legacy of light 36. Aftermath Epilogue Thank you Other books by Nita Round Copyright © 2023 by Nita Round All rights reserved. The right of Nita Round to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Patents and Design Act 1988. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. The characters, incidents and dialogue herein are fictional and any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. First published 2023 Acknowledgements I have to thank everyone involved in the process. I have a small but very effective team to help. My wife is always the alpha reader. Beta reader Kamilah reminded me often about British versus US spellings, and some still crept in. Not to mention the differences between us are down to more than just spelling, we have differing phraseology too. I hope I got most of them. Elle Hyden is my final proofreader and no matter how many edits my work has, she always finds something. And May’s covers, of course. Always good! Thank you. Let the darkness of the veiled world envelop you. For readers everywhere And to my wife without her none of this would be possible. ONE Bone Yard Night covered Highgate cemetery in a blanket of shadow. Midnight had come and gone, and even though it was late, the many lights of the distant city glowed bright against the horizon. Overhead, thick clouds scudded across the sky and hid the moon and stars until even the lights from the rest of London didn’t impose. Cassandra, Cassie to her friends, a warden of House Aevrael, stood on the grass-covered roof of the tombs the brochures called the Circle of Heaven. She peered over the edge into the darkness between the rows of crypts and her night vision sharpened the longer she stared in to the darkness. She was not alone in her task. The twins, Malek and Morana, stood beside her. Neither of them looked comfortable, but while Morana kept herself still, Malek fiddled nervously with his crossbow. Nothing moved and barely a sound reached Cassie's ears. It was all still, quiet, and peaceful. A scream rent the air, and Cassie stiffened. Malek visibly jerked at the sound and almost dropped his crossbow. “What the hell?” “Shush!” Cassie hissed. Morana dropped into a crouch, her blade already in her hand. Malek joined her. At least they were quiet. Cassie kneeled at the edge of the tombs and the shrubbery at the top of the mound helped to reduce her outline. She cocked her head from side to side to listen to the sounds below. There was nothing. Her leather armor, darkened for night raids, helped her to blend in with the shadows in case ordinary, mundane people caught sight of her. She bore two short swords in scabbards at her side and a gun strapped to her waist, although for most of the creatures she hunted, guns were less than useless. Sometimes the monsters she encountered were decidedly human, and then guns were very useful. Another scream, but this time the sound seemed marginally less human. “It’s a vixen,” she said, and relaxed. “Damned animals,” Malek muttered. He slumped down, his feet dangling over the edge of the tombs. “This is a waste of time. They should have shown by now.” “Ghouls are not here on your schedule,” Cassie said. “Since when do ghouls miss a chance at a feed? Even old bones are better than none,” Morana whispered. She at least kept her voice down. Cassie agreed. “Something isn’t right. But it is more than the lack of ghouls that concerns me.” “Because the bones here are old and they prefer more meaty feasts?” Morana asked. “Partly. But their feeding is rather more complex than feeding on just the new.” Malek’s eyes turned golden and glowed dimly. He was not one of the most powerful members of her house, and the relative dimness of his Aevrael eyes reflected that level of power. He scanned the nearby tombs. “Nothing here.” “Are you sure?” Cassie asked. “I’m sure.” “Nothing? Not even the protective markings over all the graves? And how about the rest of the cemetery? Did you pay attention to the details in other places?” The glow from his eyes ended. “No.” “There is a lesson here, isn’t there?” Morana asked. Cassie squatted in the grass, and the twins gathered beside her. “There is a lesson in all things. The more we learn, the better we are at the tasks we have been given. Checking for symbols without being observed is a skill you must gain. It will save your life one day. Here we are in the place of the dead with a job to do, and there are plenty of potential threats here, even if you can’t see them. You must be ready for anything, and all the time.” She rose to her feet