Novels by Marie Hudson

I felt light, as though no gravity weighed me down. I hadn’t been sleeping, but I was floating, dreaming in colors. Athena nudged my hand, drawing my attention to her wolf form. As I reached for her, a ball of light drifted towards us, expanding and blinding until it swallowed us, pulling us through to a warm, grassy meadow. Pushing up to my knees, I scanned the area, noticing how Athena trained her gaze on the wood line. She whimpered, and I followed her line of sight to see a woman emerge, and stop just beyond the trees, about fifty yards from where we stood. The blonde woman wore a loose flowing white gown, and shimmered in the low evening light. She smiled at my wolf, and held out her arms. Athena turned to me, and I realized then that I hadn’t heard her speak since we died. Realization washed over me, and I rocked back on my heels, sadness echoing distantly in my heart, like it was separate from my being, but I knew that this moment would hurt. She pressed her large furry head

I smelled the dungeon before I opened my eyes. My head throbbed, but I felt a surge of hope as I sensed magic thrumming through the air around me. I sat up, groaning as the change in position worsened the pain in my head. I felt around in my hair and located the knot, on the right side of my head, I must have been thrown in here, because the knot was raised and bloody, still not healing because of the wolfs bane. Reaching for the magic, I pulled it towards me, attempting to heal my head. Only it barely gave, and once it reached a certain point, it snapped back into place. The cells were protected by powerful charms, and would not allow me to use any magic here. “Psst!” someone hissed, and I squinted into the darkness, trying to refocus my vision. A few seconds later, Roland emerged from the darkness, carrying a flask and a gauzy bundle of fabric. Keeping his voice low, he crouched in front of the silver bars. “Drink this, quickly, before the other guards catch up!” Unscrewing its li

Heleos opened the passenger door of a sleek black Audi R8, and held it open for me. The windows were tinted heavily, and the windshield itself had some type of reflective tint on it. I buckled and examined the windshield as Heleos situated himself in the drivers seat.“Is this so the sun doesn’t burn you?” I asked. The garden had been heavily shaded when we’d toured it the day before, so I assumed he could be out during the day, just not in direct sunlight. “No, it’s so people can’t see in. Even wolves and other vampires have a hard time identifying faces through an obstruction like that. The sun doesn’t actually affect me at all. It would have, but several generations ago, the vampri found favor with the soul witches, who bestowed generational protection charms. Any vampri we make, or spawn, will receive the imprint of the charm, protecting them from the sun.”“Well, that’s convenient, what about garlic?” Heleos side eyed me as he pulled down the long, winding driveway. “Actually,

I woke up tangled in the sheets of the bed in my guest room, wrapped in a damp towel, with my still damp hair in a tangled mess around my face. Heleos sat in an armchair in the corner of the room, his feet propped on an ottoman. He held a small tumbler of blood in one hand, and a book in his other. He glanced at me briefly, snorted, then went back to his book, occasionally sipping from his glass. Wrapping the comforter around me, I dragged myself to the bathroom, showered properly, and emerged clad in a plus bath robe, with my hair wrapped in a towel."Not much of an improvement, but it's a start." Heleos nodded toward the closet, "I had the housekeeper order some things for you, they're hanging there. We will be meeting with a few of my trusted friends today, feeling out the extent of ground work we'll have to do in order to infiltrate the council and... cut out the infected members.""Infected?" That sounded ominous, and a little shivver trailed down my spine. Heleos snapped his bo

"You're staring, and staring is rude." Heleos hummed.I snapped my mouth shut and returned my attention to my food, letting my hair fall forward to help camouflage my blush. Heleos was eating blood out of a pristine white bowl, with a spoon. Of all the ridiculous, cringy things I'd witnessed since becoming a part of the supernatural world, this one was easily the most asinine."Can't you just... you know, drink it from a glass, or a blood bag, or ..." I trailed off. It wasn't exactly my business, but for some reason it irritated me. He rolled his eyes and the corner of his mouth tipped up, as though he were trying not to grin. "You have always hated it when I took my meals this way." His mask of indifference was exceptional, but something told me he was extremely pleased to have found a way to pester me. I picked at my steak and brushed off my irritation. "I don't hate it, I just wondered if you knew how stupid you looked, eating a bowl of blood. No wonder you live in isolation, I'm

"Please, have a seat." He said, casually, as if we were old friends catching up. I scented the air around me, but I could feel the protection charms around him, blanketing his true scent. I stiffined, yanking my hand from his."Who gave you those protection charms?" I demanded, readying for an attack. The most likely explanation was that he was already part of the vampri alliance with the shadowmoon, which meant I had walked directly into a trap."Your mother." He grinned widely, and aside from his cuspids, also known as canine teeth, being a little sharp, there was nothing alarming about his mouth. "Ah, don't worry, I won't use them on you, not unless you ask." He paused, thoughtful. "Not unless you ask, nicely." And he grinned again, tugging me to the sofa. It occured to me that I should shield myself, but a warm, relaxed feeling washed over me, and I found myself eager to hear him speak again."You are Heleos?" I asked, then without waiting for an answer, "When did my mother give y