D.G. Swank - Reign of Mist: Book of Sindal Book Two

E veryone hates their sisters, at least a little.

Thats what Ive always told myself.

Phoebe, can you please turn down the TV? I asked for the third time as I stood at the kitchen counter. I cant concentrate. I was tweaking my butternut squash and portabella mushroom hash recipe for my YouTube cooking show, making notes on the amount of apple cider vinegar for the next batch. The dialogue in the Hallmark movie my sister had on in the living room was making me nauseous.

I already turned it down, she grumbled from the other room. If I turn it down any lower, I wont be able to hear Quinton propose to Katrina at the square dance. He has the perfect proposal planned. She practically sighed the last part. Phoebe was a sucker for a good romance.

I rolled my eyes so hard I gave myself a minor headache. Oh please. All those movies are the same. Why do you waste your time watching them?

Especially since you have the real thing, the tiny jealous monster inside me growled.

While Phoebe had only been with her mage boyfriend for two weeks, they were both head over heels in love. Sickeningly so. The man had practically moved into our small house, and I was beginning to choke on the testosterone overload. Brandon Cassidy was all mantall, beefy muscles, and an ego large enough to suck all the oxygen from the room. Wed known him in high school. His reputation for going through girls like tissues had been legendary, which was why Id threatened bodily harm when high school junior Brandon had expressed a sudden interest in my little sister. To my shock, hed stayed away.

Id had a few contemplative moments over the past couple of weeks, wondering if my interference had unfairly cost them ten years together, but Brandons news about the Book of Sindal had ended my short bout of self-recrimination. The Valerian Small Councilthe governing authority for witches and mageshad decided to take the book from us and move it to a secure location while they decided its ultimate fate. But rather than defend our right to protect it at the farm, hed agreed with their ruling.

Whelans had been guarding the Book of Sindal for literally hundreds of years, protecting the world from a tome containing deadly and evil spells. But two weeks ago, the book and Celeste had been taken from us by the Dark Set, a group of mages who planned to use the book to steal magic from witches. And while the Valerian Small Council had assured us that they didnt blame the Whelan sisters for the theft, they claimed they needed to reevaluate the protections for the Book of Sindal to make sure everyone was protected, including us. It all sounded practical and logical, but I couldnt help worrying that something sinister was afoot, despite Brandons assurances that the book was well guarded by the Protective Force, the magical worlds police force. In my heart of hearts, I felt Id made the right decision about Brandon Cassidy all those years ago. Hed been an asshole then, and despite the way he was treating my sister now, I wasnt convinced he was a changed man.

Phoebe had been upset too, but Brandon had convinced her that moving the book was the safest option for all of us. Celeste, already driven to the brink of insanity by her unique expression magic, had lost it, saying the book had chosen her and they couldnt be parted. It was taken anyway, of course, and none of us knew where they were keeping it. Celeste hadnt spoken to Brandon in over a week, which made things more than a little awkward when the four of us were together in the Whelan family seventeen-hundred-square-foot farmhouse.

Brandon had left a few days ago to attend an emergency Small Council meeting, and while he hadnt been permitted to share any details, hed called Phoebe afterward to tell her that hed been given a special assignment and would be back soon. Part of me wondered if he was staying away because of Celestes cold shoulder. Not that I was eager for him to return. Watching my sister and her boyfriend together was a sharp reminder that I hadnt been with a man in months. Multiple months. Like eighteen of them. But even if I had a boyfriend, I wouldnt be draped all over him like a silk scarf. Phoebe was the touchy-feely Whelan sister. Our baby sister was the eccentric one. And IRowan Elizabeth Whelanwas the aloof, sarcastic sister.

I often wondered whether there was a correlation between a persons magic and their temperament, because that certainly seemed to be the case in the Whelan family. Id suggested the idea to my mother when I was a teenager, but shed sworn it wasnt possible. StillI wondered. Most witches and mages took energy for their magic from something else. Phoebes gift of ancestral magic allowed her to borrow the magic of ancestors who were buried nearby. (One reason shed have trouble living anywhere but our farmhouse, which was situated about a quarter mile from our family cemetery.) She had to play nice to get them to loan their magic. Perhaps that was why kindness was such an inherent part of her personality. Celestes expression magic, on the other hand, was wild and unharnessedshe literally pulled it from thin air. Surely that was why she only seemed half there most of the time.

My talent was glamour, something most witches and mages could do to some degree. True, my ability was deeper and more intricate, but even though my talent allowed me to make things seem shinier than they were, nothing could disguise the fact that I was the weakest of the Whelan witches. Which explained my personality, I suppose. When your younger sisters are considered special and gained attention because of their talents, you learn to make up for it with your mouth.

For gods sake, Phoebe! I shouted, good and irritated as I picked up a silicone spatula. Will you turn it down?

Her failure to answer would have annoyed me to bursting under normal circumstances, but my irritation vanished as I became distracted by the hum of an unfamiliar magic. An intruder was in our house. Again.

I crept toward the door into the living room, my heart slamming into my rib cage when I saw a wild-eyed young man restraining Phoebe in a choke hold with his left arm. A blue ball of light hovered over his outstretched right palm.

What the hell was that? It radiated power, but I didnt have much experience with magical artifacts beyond the bookfor all I knew, the thing in his hand could blow the house sky-high. Whatever it was, it wasnt good news, especially given the way his hand was shaking.

Just give me the book and no one gets hurt, he grunted, his eyes darting around the room.

I knew most magical specialtiesId spent the better part of my preteen years studying all the abilities I wished I had instead of glamour, and I definitely would have picked holding a ball of blue light, no matter what it did.

What book? I asked, trying my best not to look scared.

Dont be stupid, he growled, squeezing Phoebes neck tighter. The Book of Sin.