The Eyes of the Sun: The Complete Trilogy Read online

  The Eyes of The Sun

  The Complete Series

  Three novels by

  Christina McMullen

  The Eyes of The Sun Series

  Copyright © 2012 Christina McMullen

  Complete Trilogy eBook 1st Edition

  ©2015

  All rights reserved.

  Unauthorized distribution or reproduction is strictly prohibited.

  The following is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and brands are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living, dead, or the living dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Cover art, layout, & design by

  Christina McMullen

  Other books by Christina McMullen

  Kind of Like Life

  Going Green

  The Eyes of The Sun Series:

  The Eyes of The Sun

  Bluebeard’s Children

  Mother of Darkness

  Dissonant

  Rise of the Discordant Series:

  Past Life Strife

  Splitsville

  You Wish

  Friends without Benefits (coming soon)

  Book #1 The Eyes of The Sun

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Book #2 Bluebeard’s Children

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Book #3 Mother of Darkness

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Epilogue

  A Note from the Author

  About the Author

  Book #1

  The Eyes of The Sun

  Chapter 1

  Lucy Soriano awoke to the realization that the nightmare about needles being driven into her scalp was not a dream, but in fact the very real and very sharp claws of a hungry kitten. She carefully extracted the gray ball of demonic fluff from her sleep-tangled curls and cursed. It was still dark outside and the clock beside her bed showed that it was just after five in the morning. With a sigh, she set Gumbo, the kitten who had been using her head as a scratching post, on the floor and rolled over, determined to get three additional hours of sleep before work.

  Gumbo allowed Lucy just five more minutes before deciding that breakfast could not wait. Lucy sat up with a groan and stared at the wide-eyed portrait of innocence stretching shamelessly on her lap. Giving in, she gently rubbed the kitten between the ears for a moment before she stumbled to the kitchen, poured fresh kibble in Gumbo’s dish, and started a pot of strong coffee.

  After showering, Lucy wrapped herself in an oversized bathrobe and took a large mug of the dark brew to her balcony, just as the sky began to shift from darkness to light. It occurred to her that this was something she had never done before. As far back as grade school, Lucy would stay in bed until the very last minute, barely leaving herself time to dress, let alone sit down and enjoy the sunrise. As she sipped her coffee, the morning fog lifted, transforming the grey nothingness into the magnificent maze of wrought iron and Spanish Colonial architecture that defined New Orleans’ French Quarter. She felt as though she was witnessing the creation of the universe. When the Mississippi materialized, a paradox of sun-dappled sparkles and muddy ripples, winding its way to the gulf, she gasped at the simple beauty of her world. The calm sense of belonging that suddenly washed over her was both wonderful and startling. It had been a very long time since Lucy felt as if she truly belonged anywhere.

  Many years ago, Lucy had a wonderful home with her mother in a small San Francisco apartment. They didn’t have much in the way of luxuries, but her mother had taken a third shift waitressing job so that she could spend all of Lucy’s after school hours helping her with her homework or taking her on walks through the park in their neighborhood. On Friday nights, they would bake cookies and Lucy would be allowed to stay up late enough to kiss her mother goodbye before she left for work. But on the night before her tenth birthday, everything changed. Her mother was killed in a car accident on her way home from work.

  Lucy’s closest living relative was her grandmother, Emma Soriano, who had just begun her first term as a United States senator, and did not have time to raise a grandchild. Lucy’s life became a whirlwind of nannies, boarding schools, and bodyguards. She was given not one, but two large rooms in her grandmother’s Virginia estate and found herself suddenly provided with all of the advantages of wealth and influence that had been absent in her previous life. She was grateful, of course, and thanked her grandmother by being a model student with good grades, who kept out of trouble despite the many temptations that came with class, privilege, and little adult supervision.

  But for all that she had, Lucy missed her mother terribly. She missed the familial closeness that no amount of wealth could ever replace. Outside of holidays, Lucy spent little time with her grandmother. Almost everything she knew about the woman had been gleaned from the newspaper and television. By the time Emma was ready to retire and spend time with her granddaughter, Lucy was on her way to law school to follow in Emma’s illustrious footsteps.

  She was in her final year of undergraduate
studies, at Georgetown University, when her grandmother died. Finding herself suddenly without a family, aside from some distant cousins she hardly remembered, Lucy withdrew from school and returned to California, spending a large portion of her inheritance searching in vain for the father she had never known. It was the first time that Lucy had given any real thought to the absence of her father. It was a subject that her mother never spoke of and Lucy had been too young to give it any thought. Unfortunately, Emma’s relationship with her daughter had been strained at the time, so she too knew nothing of the circumstances under which her only child became pregnant and dropped out of Berkeley in her freshman year.

  The private investigator found nothing solid, though through Lucy’s second cousin, Ellie, they learned that Lucy’s mother had fled to New Orleans shortly after graduating high school. With nothing more to go by, Lucy bought a bus ticket and a month’s stay at a shabby hotel in the city that was only just beginning to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. She did not really expect to find her father, but she was curious nonetheless about the city where her parents likely met.

  It was love at first sight. In New Orleans Lucy found an unexpected sense of belonging, that neither Washington nor San Francisco had held for her. Shy, with few friends growing up, Lucy was amazed at how easy it was to strike up a conversation with complete strangers over cups of coffee at the many cafés the city boasted. Though still alone, New Orleans had taken away much of the loneliness that Lucy had lived with for the last fifteen years of her life.

  Despite the early hour, Lucy felt more energized than she had in a long time, so she decided to make the most of her morning by taking a long walk. She had been lucky to find employment and an apartment in the same building, but the convenience had made it easy for her to fall into a sedentary lifestyle. Coupled with the fact that she lived within spitting distance of dozens of fantastic restaurants, Lucy could not ignore the fact that in the six months she had been in New Orleans, she had gained ten pounds and none of her jeans fit right anymore.

  With Gumbo tucked securely into the large front pocket of her shirt, Lucy set out along Decatur Street. She passed Jackson Square and several restaurants where she had stuffed herself on crawfish and oysters. She found herself at Canal Street, surprised that the walk had only taken a few minutes. She turned right and marveled at how different this part of the city, with its fast food restaurants and retail chain stores, was from her small corner of the universe.

  When she reached Royal, she took another left so that she could walk past the antique shops and galleries on her way back. After a few blocks, her senses were assaulted by the familiar scent of sweet, deep fried temptation, which only served as a reminder that she had not yet had breakfast. Before her mind could catch up, Lucy’s feet had guided her into Café Beignet, where she ordered a café au lait and a plate of the eatery’s sugar-bombed namesakes, and pointedly ignored the nagging voice in her head that told her she was about to consume far more than the few calories she burned walking.

  She took her order out to the courtyard and took one bite of her beignet before Gumbo, who had spent the entire walk napping in Lucy’s pocket, sensed something tastier than kibble, and leapt onto the plate, creating a cloud of powdered sugar. Lucy pushed both the plate and kitten away with a sigh.

  “I suppose that’s twice today that you saved me from myself.”

  Gumbo, whose fur now resembled a magistrate’s wig, sneezed adorably. “Well, go on, demon spawn,” Lucy grumbled, brushing sugar from her shirt, “they’re all yours.” Shaking her head, she sipped her coffee, pulled out her brand new phone, and began browsing the internet.

  “Excuse me, miss? There’s a cat eating your beignets.”

  Lucy glanced at Gumbo, who had put a sizable dent into one of the beignets. “No, she’s eating her beignets. I am on a kitten-mandated diet.” She set down her phone, looked up at the young man, and blushed. He was gorgeous, with dark blonde hair and ice blue eyes, dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt that would not have been out of place on the cover of a fashion magazine. She, on the other hand, had frizzy hair and a smock style shirt dress that hadn’t been fashionable since before she was born, and was caked with a fine layer of sweat and sugar that made her feel like a squashed, day old doughnut.

  Mr. Gorgeous smiled. “I think she might be setting a speed eating record. And here I thought there might be a junior division of crazy cat ladies that I was unaware of.”

  Lucy relaxed slightly. “Actually, I’m in a training program for future crazy cat ladies. I’ve only just begun, so I just have Gumbo here, but every year I’ll acquire another until the insanity comes naturally.”

  “Gumbo?”

  Oh great, Lucy groaned inwardly, now he thinks I’m nuts and food obsessed. “I found her with her head stuck in a jar of roux, two weeks ago, when I was taking the garbage out. The name just fit.”

  He regarded the kitten, which had finally stopped eating and was now attacking the sugar on her own fur. “I suppose it does.” He looked back at Lucy with an appraising glance. “Do you go to school here? I haven’t seen you around before.”

  “No, I work at Knights in Wild Satin, over on the other side of the Quarter. In fact…” she checked the time. “I should probably get going. My boss has a fairly casual dress code policy, but I’m pretty sure that doesn’t extend to sugar glaze.” She stood, and dropped the slightly sticky kitten back into her pocket. “It was nice meeting you...”

  “Tim.”

  “Tim.” Lucy nodded rather than attempt to shake hands after picking up Gumbo. “I’m Lucy. Well, maybe I’ll see you around.”

  “I hope so, Lucy,” Tim replied with a promising smile.

  Lucy made a mental note to set her alarm for six the next morning and to leave Gumbo at home.

  Bellona Knight, Lucy’s employer, was easily one of the most beautiful women Lucy had ever seen, and quite possibly one of the smallest, standing several inches below five feet. With waist length auburn hair, large green eyes, and an infectious smile, Bellona looked more like a fairy queen from a storybook than the up and coming fashion designer that she was. When Lucy arrived for work, after a second shower and change of clothes, she was greeted by the sound of Aretha Franklin singing about respect, and an unexpected revelation. Bellona Knight was the world’s worst dancer.

  When she realized Lucy was watching her, Bellona twirled to an unsteady stop and broke into a sheepish grin.

  “Uh, Lona? Should I call 911? ‘Cause it sure looked like you were being electrocuted when I walked in.”

  “Witch!” Bellona flung a pencil at Lucy. “Where’ve you been? I called you like, three times!”

  “Really?” Lucy frowned. “I didn’t hear it ring and I’ve been up for a few hours.” She rummaged in her purse, but the phone wasn’t there. Suddenly she remembered setting it down at the café. “Oh crap, crap, crap! Dammit! I left it on the table at Café Beignet over an hour ago. I better call them and see if someone turned it in.”

  “You’re kidding right? You waited in line for five hours to get that phone two days ago, it's gone.”

  Lucy knew Lona was right. The top of the line smart phone had sold out within minutes of its release and was already appearing on auction sites for over a grand.

  “Whatever,” she sighed. “I’ll report it stolen and reactivate my old crappy phone. So what’s up? Why were you calling me anyway?”

  “Gee, I almost feel bad telling you my awesome news now,” said Lona with an exaggerated pout.

  “No you don’t.” Even though Lona was both Lucy’s boss and landlord, the two had become instant friends six months earlier when Lucy inquired about the help wanted sign in the window.

  “Okay, you’re right, I don’t. Take a look around, notice anything?” Lona made a grand sweeping gesture about the room. Lucy’s eyes fell on two particularly empty racks near the front, which usually held historically inspired costuming that was popular around Halloween and with reenactment g
roups. Seeing the empty racks in late July was curious to say the least.

  “Wow, who bought all of that stuff?”

  Lona ran to the back office and returned waving a check for a large sum of money, paid out by a huge Hollywood production company.

  “Holy crap, Lona! Your stuff is going to be in a movie?”

  “Yep!” Lona nodded vigorously, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “They’re filming here in New Orleans starting next month and the director wanted to use as much ‘local talent’ as possible. So not only do we get a fat check, but Knights in Wild Satin gets a credit to boot!”

  “Damn, that’s some serious publicity! I’m so happy for you!”

  “Well, don’t get too excited yet, we still have a lot of work to do. The wardrobe folks who came in today said they would probably need more once they start casting extras.”

  “Extras, eh?” Lucy rubbed her hands together in a perfect imitation of a scheming cartoon villain. “Maybe you can put in a good word for your lovely assistant, whose illustrious theatrical career includes such diverse roles as a dancing toothbrush in the third grade and second flower from the left in kindergarten.”

  “Cute. You totally should try out if they do an open call. But check this out. They told me they’d be doing most of the alterations themselves, but for some of the more complicated costumes they might send the actors here for measurements!”

  “Are you trying to get a little inseam action behind my back?”

  Miles Bishop, Bellona’s fiancé, stood in the doorway. Lona didn’t have the decency to blush, so she winked instead.

  “What if I let you help with the hot actresses?”

  Miles lifted his fiancée off her feet and into a bear hug that swept her nearly a foot from the ground. While Miles wasn’t particularly tall, just a hair taller than Lucy’s five feet eight inches, Bellona was nearly a foot shorter. Like Lona, what Miles lacked in height, he more than made up for in looks. By contrast, his golden brown skin and Greek god physique made him the perfect Fae king to Lona’s queen.

  “One diva in my life is plenty.”

  Lucy pretended to gag. “It’s getting thick in here. I guess you know all about the big news?”

  “Let’s see…” Miles pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Three calls and about twenty text messages from my betrothed in the last hour. Why no, looks like a typical day to me!” He winked. “Seriously, this is major. Any idea what the film is about?”