Shades of Power

An explosion sends Ethan running…straight into the arms of his mate.

Ethan White is a witch whose days are spent in his apothecary with his familiar, Beema. While making potions for the townsfolk keeps him busy, nothing exciting ever happens—until one day when a surprise visitor walks in and his world crumbles around him. Suddenly Ethan and his familiar are on the run, heading for the Fae to seek sanctuary.

Grayson is an alpha wolf. His two best friends are his betas, but there’s one thing missing—a pack. It’s for that very reason that the three of them were volunteered by the council to act as representatives. Their mission? Try to convince the Fae Queen to get the Fae involved in a battle with the Midnight Coven, the witches suspected of using the dark arts. However, the mission takes a back seat when Grayson meets his mate for the first time.

With revelations and lies around every corner and a battle looming, they have to be ready to fight if they want to have a life together.

When a prophecy about the Shades of Power comes to light, both sides want the power for the battle against the other. The question is—who will unite them first?

Shades of Power

Arcane Magic Book 1

Copyright ©2015 Beany Sparks

First Edition

Smashwords Edition

Cover design by Beany Sparks

Published by Rainbow Ninja Press

All Rights Reserved

This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee. Such action is illegal and in violation of Copyright Law.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Shades of Power

Arcane Magic Book 1

By

Beany Sparks

Dedication

To Bailey

Thank you for being there throughout this whole process and for encouraging me to keep going.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Epilogue

About the Author

Chapter One

The day started out like any other. Ethan moved around his little apothecary, restocking what he could and making notes on what was missing. It might have only been a small shop, but Ethan loved it. There was nothing he enjoyed more than helping people. In his case, he created potions for all sorts of ailments, which had people coming from miles around just to buy his products. Although he would probably never make enough money to buy a huge house with lots of land, he made enough to survive on and had a small cabin at the edge of town that was all his. With a smile on his face, he got back to restocking the shelves.

Hours later, while he was in the back, the bell over the door rang, jerking his attention away from a possible potion formula as he grabbed more stock.

One of these days, I’ll learn not to get completely focused on my work.

I’ll be with you in a moment, he called out, quickly collecting the rest of the bottles before making his way to the front.

Hi, what can I do for— Ethan cut off as soon as he saw his visitor.

Aren’t you going to finish that sentence? the woman before him asked, smirking as she did so.

Destiny, or Des as he’d always been told to call her, was striking with her long black hair and slim figure, which was shown off by the tight-fitting black pants and halter top she was wearing. However, it was her eyes that always made him wary; they were a blue so pale they looked icy. He’d never been able to determine if they looked cruel because they were so pale, or because the woman before him was evil to begin with.

What are you doing here? he asked, feeling proud his voice remained level.

My, my, is that any way to speak to a customer, Ethan?

"You are not a customer, nor will you be a customer. Tell me what you want and then get the hell out of my shop."

Ethan had a second to regret his rudeness when she narrowed her eyes at him, but reminding himself that nothing good could come of her visit had him standing there with his head held high.

"I would watch how you speak to me, Ethan, since we both know who the stronger witch is."

"Well, if you are the stronger witch, then there’s absolutely no reason why you would be in my shop. Make sure the door doesn’t hit you on the way out."

Ethan watched as her eyes narrowed even further, to the point where he wasn’t sure she could even see him. All the while he waited for her reaction—or rather, the explosion that was likely coming.

Suddenly she blinked and then smiled, which was far scarier than anything Ethan could remember seeing before.

"You’re right, Ethan, I am the stronger witch, and as such, I have better things to do than waste my time making potions. So here I am, ready to purchase the potions I need and help my dear little brother make some money so that he can survive in this big, bad world we live in."

Ethan almost sighed, wanting to forget about being related to the monster in front of him. No one had believed him when he had accused her of being evil. While everyone else had seen her as a gifted child, Ethan had seen the dark side of her early on. Deep down he’d known that she would turn to the dark arts, but everyone he’d told thought he’d just said that to get attention, even their parents. When they’d died, it had left a huge hole in his heart, but he’d finally been able to escape his sister by using some of his inheritance money to move towns and buy his cabin. Although, he couldn’t really call it escaping when on her way out one day she’d told him to pack his things and be gone when she returned. For the first time in his life, he’d obeyed her.

Snapping back to the present, Ethan tried to focus, knowing that if he didn’t, things could go badly.

What do you want, Des? he asked.

She frowned at him for a moment before speaking. Actually, it’s Ravyn now, Ravyn Darkh. Maybe you’ve heard of me?

Oh shit!

"Whatever you want to call yourself, Des, doesn’t bother me. You want to call yourself Ravyn Darkh, then you go right ahead, but calling me brother will lead people to realize who you really are."

Crossing his arms over his chest, he waited for Des to make her next move. He knew that irritating her was not the way to go, but he had to do something to force her to leave without either of them having to resort to using magic.

For once, you’re right. I can’t have people realising that I’m related to someone like you. My reputation might not ever recover from such a blow.

I doubt either of our reputations would survive unscathed.

So here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to give me the potions that I want, and I’ll leave this pile of bricks standing as they are, she said.

Rolling his eyes at her before he could stop himself, Ethan felt sorry for anyone who was intimidated by the crap that she was pulling. Although he’d heard of Ravyn Darkh and her reputation, knowing that she was actually his sister made her less scary. He didn’t think for one second that they were so close that she wouldn’t hurt him at the first opportunity, but he’d grown up and watched as she mastered the art of manipulation—an art form that worked on everyone but him.

And what potions could you possibly want? he asked, curious despite the situation.

Her expression became a combination of smugness and triumph. Love potions, she answered.

Ethan blinked as surprise filled him. Seconds later, he couldn’t contain himself and he burst out laughing.

Chapter Two

It had been two weeks since his sister had visited only to storm off after he laughed at her for wanting to buy love potions. The memory still made him chuckle when he thought about it. He’d just finished cleaning the counter when his familiar, a black house cat, jumped on the counter and sat down.

Oh come on, Beema, I just cleaned that, he said, laughing when Beema simply purred at him.

Suddenly the purring stopped and Beema looked toward the front of the shop. Beema stood and arched his back, an angry hiss directed at whatever he sensed. Before Ethan could react, Beema was mentally bombarding him with feelings of urgency and retreat. Without thinking twice, he grabbed Beema and moved to the back room at a steady pace, even though all he wanted to do was run. He’d learned a long time ago that Beema’s instincts were way better than his, so all he did was head for the secret exit he’d installed in the floor of the shop.

Quickly kneeling then placing Beema down on the floor, Ethan murmured the incantation to open the exit. Seconds later, a hole appeared in the floor of the back room, leading to an underground escape route carved by magic. Looking around, Ethan got the feeling that he wouldn’t be back so he grabbed a bag and started filling it with supplies and potions. He’d just moved to grab another bag when Beema yowled. The urgency he received through their bond had him moving back to the exit without hesitation. Ethan was halfway through the hole when an explosion hit the front of the shop, sending debris flying toward them.

Beema hissed and Ethan let himself drop to the ground, catching Beema as the cat leapt after him. Ethan quickly murmured the incantation that would not only close the exit from the shop but would also fill up the tunnel behind them as they walked. No one would be able to tell that there was ever a tunnel in the first place.

Looks like we’re back to square one, Beema, he whispered as they walked along in the dark, knowing that their cabin would be in a similar state as their shop. He could hardly see what was in front of him, but he didn’t feel he needed to see