Morgan L. Busse - Secrets in the Mist

Acclaim for

SECRETS IN THE MIST

Secrets in the Mist has it all: zeppelins, sky pirates, a fearless heroine who finds a home in the clouds, and a dangerously curious hero with haunting family secrets. Its Mortal Engines meets steampunk zombies and Im here for it! This story is just as much an enchanting adventure for the reader as it is for the characters.

Nadine Brandes , award-winning author of A Time to Die, Fawkes, and Romanov

Wow. Morgan Busses new book, Secrets in the Mist, is filled with steam-powered action and intrigue from the first page to the last. With echoes of a gender-swapped Peter Pan heroine, and a benevolent Captain Hook, Busses endearing characters must navigate a hierarchy between rich and poor that spans from forest floor to floating islands in the skyall while a mysterious Mist continues to spread a dangerous, centuries-old plague. I cant wait to read the next book!

Merrie Destefano , award-winning author of Shade

A delightfully unique setting and heroes that feel like friends. Oh, and zombies!... and metal men! Secrets of the Mist is worth sharing. I recommend it!

Kerry Nietz , award-winning author of Amish Vampires in Space

If youre not yet a fan of Morgan Busse, youre about to become one! Secrets in the Mist is a fast-paced jaunt through a vivid steampunk world as thrilling as it is eerie. The world-building is confident without being heavy-handed. The book lives up to its title, giving us two good-hearted heroes who try to make sense ofand even subverta society based on secrets, power, and greed. Its a fun story, never losing steamcouldnt resist the punwhile making subtle points about politics, class, and human nature. Mostly, its just a great romp through Skyworld, a place I cant wait to revisit in the sequel!

Eric Wilson , New York Times bestselling author of the Jerusalems Undead Trilogy

Follower of the Word series

Daughter of Light

Son of Truth

Heir of Hope

The Soul Chronicles

Tainted

Awakened

The Ravenwood Saga

Mark of the Raven

Flight of the Raven

Cry of the Raven

Skyworld series

Secrets in the Mist

Secrets in the Mist

Copyright 2021 by Morgan L. Busse

EPUB Edition

Published by Enclave Publishing, an imprint of Third Day Books, LLC

Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

www.enclavepublishing.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, digitally stored, or transmitted in any form without written permission from Third Day Books, LLC.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.

ISBN: 978-1-62184-187-6 (printed hardback)

ISBN: 978-1-62184-189-0 (printed softcover)

ISBN: 978-1-62184-188-3 (ebook)

Cover design by Emilie Haney, www.eahcreative.com

Typesetting by Jamie Foley, www.jamiefoley.com

Printed in the United States of America.

To Makayla, my own Cass.

Though she be but little, she is fierce.

Shakespeare

Time went by, minute after minute, until finally a deathly silence consumed the streets outside and darkness filled the dingy window. Cass was alone now, with nothing but the locket her mother had given her and her life.

She slowly opened the cupboard doors. Shock raced along her limbs in an attempt to overtake her body, but she couldnt let that happen. The bluecoats would be coming again soon to make sure the slums were empty. She would need to be gone by then.

Cool air brushed against her sweaty face as she focused on the room. She could barely see in the darkness, but she knew where everything was without looking. Her fathers pack hung by the door on an old nail. The hard biscuits her mother made that morning were on top of the cupboard. Clothes were stored in the chest at the foot of the sleeping mat her parents used.

For a moment, she felt dizzy as she stared at the empty mat, remembering last evening how the moonlight streamed through the window and across them on the shabby quilt they shared. Mama, Papa... she whispered, tears prickling her eyes.

Cass stood and made her way around the room, letting her fingers be her eyes as she collected what she needed. She wasnt sure how long it would be before the bluecoats made their way back for a second inspection, so she gave herself only a minute to grab her things and leave.

After placing the locket inside the pack, she dumped in the handful of biscuits, grabbed her fathers oversized coat and hat, then left the tiny flat. She was detached, her mind hovering over a storm of emotions. All it would take was one anguishing thought, and she would plunge into endless grief. She clenched her hand around the strap and made her way along the narrow streets that connected with countless others like a dirt maze within the slums.

Far off, where the slums ended and the Mist began, a fiery wall burned to keep newly Turned away at the border. The bright orange light flickered off decrepit buildings, providing a dim glow until even that was swallowed up in darkness. Then shadows filled the void. Not even the moon shone, or the stars, for the smoke from the fire hid everything and filled the air with its acrid smell.

Cass knew very little of Belhold, other than it was the largest mountaintop city on the eastern side of the world, and the one where she and her parents had moved to months ago. Which meant plenty of places to hide, as long as she avoided going up the mountain. Her kind was not allowed along the upper peaks of Belhold. If she was caught, a fate worse than the Mist waited for her

A shadow moved on her right.

Cass clutched the pack to her chest and held her breath. A bluecoat? A lucky survivor like herself? Or were scavengers already descending on this part of Belhold, hoping to collect what little the Purge left behind?

She watched the shadow move along the building opposite her, a shade darker than the night. No, not a bluecoat. There would be no reason for a bluecoat to use the shadows. The figure reminded her of a rat, stopping every few feet to sniff the air and check its surroundings. She shrunk inside her fathers coat, the barest hint of his smell still lingering in the faded fabric.

Papa.

Cass blinked back tears as she waited. The figure never noticed her as it made its way toward the border. Probably a scavenger. Once it was a block away, Cass continued in the opposite direction, not sure exactly where she was going, only that she needed to get as far away as she could.

For now, she had food and clothes. And when those ran out, she would find more.