Contents
TITLE PAGE
Synopsis
Also by Lee Dignam & Katerina Martinez
FORGED IN DARKFIRE
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
TRUE WITCH
Cover
Copyright
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
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Chapter Thirty Two
Chapter Thirty Three
Chapter Thirty Four
Chapter Thirty Five
Chapter Thirty Six
Chapter Thirty Seven
Chapter Thirty Eight
Chapter Thirty Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty One
Chapter Forty One
Chapter Forty One
Chapter Forty One
DARK WITCH
Cover
Copyright
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
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Chapter Thirty Two
TRUE WITCH
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
SHADOW WITCH
Cover
Copyright
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
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
RED WITCH
Cover
Copyright
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
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Chapter Thirty Two
Chapter Thirty Three
Chapter Thirty Four
DEVIL'S WITCH
Cover
Copyright
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
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
About the Author
Also by Lee Dignam & Katerina Martinez
THE AMBER LEE BOXED SET
By Lee Dignam & Katerina Martinez
Synopsis
From USA Today Bestselling author Katerina Martinez
A beautiful stranger. Suspicious deaths. Magick unimaginable.
I'm not a bounty hunter, I'm not a mercenary, I'm not anyone - I'm just a loner, a weirdo, a freak. But my life is about to get turned upside down, and I have no idea what's coming.
It all starts with Damien Colt. Where I live, everyone knows everyone else, so when someone new enters the picture, it's difficult to miss them. I should have known he was bad news, should have smelled the specter of death clinging to him like a terrible shadow, but I didn't. Instead, I let him get close. Too close. Now I'm mixed up in business I had no right to get mixed up in, and I'm about to learn a truth about myself I'm not ready to hear. Magick is real, but it comes at a price; one I'm not ready to pay.
For most Wiccans, real magick is a dream come true. For me, this is the beginning of a nightmare.
This boxed set contains all five books in the enthralling Amber Lee series, plus an exclusive, bonus novella entitled “Forged in Moonfire”, located at the back of this set.
Also by Lee Dignam & Katerina Martinez
The Order of P
rometheus Series
Book 1: Smoke and Shadows
The Blood and Magick Series
Book 1: Magick Reborn
Book 2: Demon’s Kiss
Book 3: Witch’s Wrath
The Half-Lich Series
Book 1: Dark Siren
Book 2: The Void Weaver
Book 3: Night and Chaos
The Amber Lee Series
Book 1: True Witch
Book 2: Dark Witch
Book 3: Shadow Witch
Book 4: Red Witch
Book 5: Devil’s Witch
The Cursed and Damned Series
Book 1: The Dead Wolves
FORGED IN DARKFIRE
Amber Lee Series
A Prequel Novella
By Katerina Martinez
FORGED IN DARKFIRE
Amber Lee Series
A Prequel Novella
Copyright © 2017 by Lee Dignam & Katerina Martinez. All rights reserved. Cover uses images © 2016 Shutterstock.
Published by Supernal Publishing
***
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, events or locales is purely coincidental.
Reproduction in whole or in part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read my work. Please consider leaving a review wherever you bought the book, or tell your friends about this serial to help spread the word!
Thank you for supporting my work.
Chapter One
The wind had a cold bite tonight. Where Damien Colt had been standing, with one foot in the sand and another on a rock, staring out over the San Francisco bay, there was no defense against the chill and the smell of salt and marine life. The water was dark and choppy, and a mist had rolled in so thick it had all but swallowed the entirety of the Golden Gate Bridge and its bright orange lights.
Until about a moment ago Damien had been watching, and waiting. Waiting for his Coven to arrive and watching the mist devour the bridge like some impossibly huge beast eating another. Until about a moment ago the sandy, rocky walkway had been quiet and empty. Still, save for the lapping of the water on the rocks. But he had thrown his own voice into the silence and broken the magic of the place when Lily called him up.
“I’m sorry,” she said, “But I have to stay here. My boss is making me close up; says he has a show to get to or something.”
“And there’s nothing you can do?” Damien asked.
“What can I do? I either close up or I get fired. What do you think I’m gonna do?”
“And what about Natalie?”
“What about her?”
“I’m supposed to meet her… on my own?”
“I don’t see what the problem is.”
Damien looked around for signs of anyone approaching and lowered his voice. “What am I supposed to do with her?” he asked.
“Talk to her? Get to know her? I don’t understand what your issue is with her. She’s sweet, and she’s a part of this Coven too.”
“Yeah, but—”
“But nothing, Damien. Suck it up and hang out with her. You need social interaction with someone besides me. As soon as I’m out of here I’ll give you a call and if you’re still together I’ll come down and get you.”
He heard footsteps and spun around. There, coming up along the walkway, was a woman. She had her hands buried deep in the pockets of a long coat she was wearing and the wind was tugging at her hair and the purple woolen scarf wrapped warmly around her neck.
It’s her, he thought.
“She’s here,” he said down the phone, “I’ve gotta go.”
“Da—” is as far as his sister got before he hung up.
He put the phone into his jacket pocket, tucking his hand in there too for warmth, and stepped off the rock to intercept the incoming Witch. The rumble of distant thunder caught his attention and he turned his eyes to the clouds as he walked, checking for signs of potential rain, but he was no closer to figuring out whether bringing an umbrella would have been prudent by the time Natalie came to within talking distance.
“Hey,” she said. Her voice carried and seemed to skip along the water, across the bay. He wondered if someone on the other side of the bridge had just heard her soft voice come sailing over the misty ocean.
“Hey,” he echoed. They shook hands. Hers was warm while his was cold.
“Where is everyone?” Natalie asked.
“Sorry,” he said, “Lily just called; she’s stuck at work so she won’t be coming down here. Neither will the others.”
“So it’s just you and me?”
“Yeah, seems like it.”
“That’s okay,” she said, smiling. There wasn’t a lot of light on the rocky beach by the San Francisco trail save for a faint yellow glow from the nearby car park; light that seemed to have managed to escape the fog’s grasp. It was only barely enough light for him to make out the smile on her face, but Damien didn’t need the light to know she wasn’t entirely disappointed by the fact that no one else would be able to show up.
For a few weeks he had known about the little crush she had on him. The first time he had felt it was during a get-together Lily had thrown for the Coven. It wasn’t a big party or anything, just a quiet shin-dig at their place; a couple of Witches drinking a few beers and watching a few movies. He had met Natalie a few times before—during her initiation a few weeks prior to then—but they had never really spoken much until that night.
When a girl falls asleep on your shoulder during a movie, he had thought, it must be because she likes you.
And the idea of it—of her liking him—terrified him, only he couldn’t tell her why.
“I don’t know,” he said, unsure whether to look at the bay or the yellow fog by the car park. Anywhere but her eyes. “Without them around I’m not sure what we’re hoping to get done tonight.”
“Oh,” she said.
“Do you want to, maybe, reschedule?” He looked at her then, and he saw her smile vanish from her face like many grains of sand pushed along by a strong wind.
“I, uh… I guess we can,” she said.
Damien felt like someone had reached into his heart and squeezed it tight when he saw her face change. She was a beautiful girl, really she was, and sweet too, but it wasn’t that. It simply wouldn’t have been right for him to get involved with someone in his Coven. He knew in his heart of hearts it would have only spelled danger for him and everybody else if he were to allow her feelings for him to develop any further. And yet here he was; standing in front of a girl whose heart it felt like he had just broken.
“You know what,” he said.
Instantly he caught her attention. “Yeah?” she asked.
“It’s really cold and we’ve both come all the way out here. Do you… want to get some coffee?”
The Bay Beach Bistro wasn’t far from where they were standing. All they had to do was cross the car park and they would find it; even if the thick fog surrounding the area would make them believe the world didn’t exist beyond their tiny corner of beach. Going somewhere warm to at least get out of the cold didn’t sound like a bad idea to him, and by the way her face seemed to have regained its smile, a hot drink didn’t seem like a bad idea to her either.
The car park across from the beach was devoid of people and played host to only a handful of cars. The fog did a good job of swallowing both light and sound, so it wasn’t until Damien and Natalie had walked along the adjoining path and gotten closer to the cafe that they heard signs of life besides their own.
Until then they may as well have been the only two people on the planet.
The warm air inside the quaint little beach bistro hugged Damien and bid him welcome as he entered. Inside, the air was heavy with the smell of freshly baked bread, cinnamon, coffee, and—somehow—honey. It wasn’t until he was walking behind Natalie toward a booth in the corner of the building that he realized the cinna
mon and honey aroma was coming off of her.
How could her scent have been so powerful it squashed all others?
Damien took a seat in the booth, squirmed out of his pea coat, and placed it on the side. Natalie did the same, only she reached over with her coat and placed it above Damien’s instead of dropping it at her side. She was smiling when she did it, but he didn’t question it. A gesture he was supposed to pick up on?
“I’ve never smelt that perfume before,” he said. “What is it?”
“The one I’m wearing?” she asked, “It’s just something I learned to put together. All made from natural stuff.”
“You did that yourself?”
“Oh yeah, totally. Lily gave me this—”
“Evenin’,” said the waitress, interrupting whatever Natalie was about to say. “What can I get ya?”
“I’ll have a hazelnut latte,” Damien said.
“And I’ll have a caramel hot chocolate if that’s okay?”
“Fasho,” said the waitress, “Either of you two kids tryna eat?”
Fasho? Tryna? Damien searched Natalie’s face for an answer, but she only smiled.
“Nah,” Natalie said, “That’s it for now. Good looks, though.”
Good looks?
The waitress took their orders and headed back toward the counter, stopping along the way to take an order off another patron sitting on a stool nearby. When she was out of earshot, Damien turned to Natalie and cocked an eyebrow.
“Don’t come to the bay often?” she asked, sensing his confusion.
“I don’t. I live on Fulton Street, by the Alamo park, and I work nearby too so I don’t have to come down here often. Did that waitress just ask if we were trying to eat?”
Natalie smiled and shook her head. “That’s just how they talk on the bay. I grew up here. My dad was a fisherman.”
“But I’ve never heard you use those words before.”
“I’ve learned to switch between bay speak and regular speak,” she said, proudly. “Maybe I can teach you some day?”
There was that hopefulness again. He knew she wasn’t just trying to be friendly; only a fool would have missed those cues. But he couldn’t bear to see her smile disappear again. Seeing her here, now, cheeks flushed from the sudden change of cold to hot, her tumble of brunette hair perfectly framing her face and cascading down to her shoulders… in another life he would have sold his arm for a girl like her.