PREVIEW OF THE FORTHCOMING NOVEL

The Veil of Shattered Souls

Nyssa Drazhan has a thirst for making enemies, revels in swiping what they treasure most, and doesn't at all mind reducing their world to ruins in her wake. But as an artifact of immeasurable value emerges, Nyssa's obsession takes a personal turn when it's linked to a ghost from her own turbulent past.

Consumed by revenge and greed she and her sister, Fallyn, are forced to ally with their mortal enemy, Kenso Umekashi, to assemble a worthy crew and steal The Key.

Pieces of the sisters' past begin to unravel, along with a web of betrayal, with one daring heist at the center of it all.

PrologueMiniya’s boots clopped down a lantern-lit corridor, flanked by bloodstained walls, invisible to the eye but its scent was thick. Drawers lined each wall, stretching to the ceiling. The screams of martyrs echoed in her ears. A pair of towering doors parted at the end of the hall, and the hairs on Miniya’s neck stood on end at the sight of two uniformed guards, whose fingers tightened around the hilts of their swords. She cocked a brow and raised her palms as one of them patted her down.The guards lowered their swords, and Miniya stepped past them to find six men and six women– The Council– seated regally in the center of a grand chamber. Flames danced upon the stone columns lining the room.“You bring news?”The voice belonged to Azusa Amadeo, the pale councilwoman from Kezasphia, whose hair flowed like a cirrus cloud.Miniya bowed and dropped to one knee beneath the weight of their gaze.“I do,” she said.“Is it in your possession?”Miniya looked up to find Katsuro Umekashi, the councilman from Prim Osoka, his eyes drilling into hers.“There has been a delay,” she said, rising to her feet.“What delay?” Amadeo asked.“It was stolen last night.”Members of the council exchanged glances and murmured in their seats.“I do believe,” Miniya cut in, “that it will be easier to acquire from its current possessor."
Umekashi’s patience wore thin.“Who stole it?”Miniya squared her shoulders, laboring to resist their gazes, and went on.“Your son.”Silence fell across the room as Umekashi’s jaw tightened, and he sat back with a deep sigh. Zephyra Kerrigan, the councilwoman of Pennador, turned to him with a prosecutor's eye.“Was this on your order?”Umekashi seethed. “It most certainly was not.”“The plan has shifted,” Miniya said, “yet I believe your son’s actions will prove beneficial. It is now in a less secure location, and easier to access. I just need some time, and your faith.“You’ll have it,” Kerrigan said, “when you’ve earned it. Return the item promptly or you will be reassigned.”Miniya bowed, hiding the vein swelling on her forehead.“Thank you,” she said.

Chapter 1Some believe that to be alone is to be safe. Some believe that the more alone you are, the farther safety gets. The truth is, it is all determined by the company you keep.Umekashi Manor sat at the top of a hill, in the middle of the woods, surrounded by nothing but evergreens and a whistling breeze. It often seemed isolating, forsaken. But, on this night, the fight that raged within made it long for the loneliness it once knew.There was something satisfying about stealing from a thief. Any fool can pick a pocket or a lock, existing only within the shadows. But to slip past those with suspicion etched into their very bones, that was something to be proud of.Nyssa ducked, a bullet whizzing past her head, striking the porcelain vase behind her instead. She winced as a shard flew, slicing her ear. The guards drew closer and Nyssa rolled out of the way, a loud crack warning her of the chandelier dangling above her head. Another bullet struck and it crashed to the ground, hundreds of crystal teardrops scattered across the floor.“Not to criticize–”Fallyn began, poking her head in through the blown-out window above her sister.“Then don’t.” Nyssa interrupted.“Nyssa–”“Fallyn.”“Nyssa, this has gotten out of hand. Umekashi could show up at any moment. The only way this ends is if we leave now.”“The only way this ends…” Nyssa cocked her tarnished revolver, pointing it at the sky, “is if I get what I came for.”A bang punctuated her words, smoke drifting from the gun’s muzzle. Suddenly, the guards flung themselves to the edges of the room, a twin chandelier crashing over them.“If Umekashi shows up, we’ll deal with him too.”Fallyn looked at her, incredulously. “Where is Bingham?”“Outside.”“Doing what?”“His job.” She pulled the trigger. A guard dropped at her feet. “I would implore you to do the same.”Nyssa hopped over the body, scurrying towards the staircase through the smoke and debris. She slid across the bullet-ridden floor, crashing into the banister. As she was about to ascend, she spotted a guard, malice carved into the lines of her scowl, and a gun aimed right at her sister's head.The revolver tremored in Nyssa’s hand as a bullet lodged in the guard's skull. Her sister blinked, crimson freckles splattered across her face as the woman sank to the floor.Nyssa climbed the staircase, creaking with each step. She felt a warm slick between her fingers and whipped her hand up. Her handprint remained in a pool of crimson on the banister, her palm covered in gore.When Nyssa reached the top, she froze. The hairs on her neck stood on end. A guard lay pointing his musket out the window, his eyes firmly trained on its sights. Nyssa took a treacherous step. Her muscles tensed at yet another creak beneath her boot.The guard flipped around, aiming the barrel at his new target. Nyssa put a bullet in his hand before he could get a shot off, his musket falling to the ground. The man cried out and lunged at her, sending them crashing. Nyssa grabbed his arm, clamping it between her legs, and twisting hard. A chilling pop sounded, and he let out a wail as the arm went limp. Nyssa tossed it to the ground, scrambling to her feet. With a blunt kick, the man plummeted down the staircase, a trail of blood in his wake.Nyssa wiped the beads of sweat from her brow and rushed to the window. Outside, a copper-haired boy attached rows of makeshift explosives to the wall, oblivious to his near demise.“Bingham!”Bingham’s head shot up, seeing Nyssa extend her hand out the window. He fumbled through his satchel for a smaller explosive, and hurled it into the air. Nyssa felt it brush her fingertips and she reached out, very nearly catching it in her palm. She glared down at Bingham, his slim face gone pale.“If I hadn’t caught this, you’d be smeared all over that wall.”“Then…” Bingham swallowed, “thanks.”Nyssa stuffed the explosive into her pocket. “You'd better pick up the pace.”“Right on schedule, boss.” Though, his stutter said otherwise.Nyssa retrieved her revolvers off the ground. She put one in its holster and kept the other raised as she made her way down the hall. She peeked into each room that rolled by until, finally, she spotted it. Kenso Umekashi’s study.She took another step and jumped back. A bullet flew up in front of her, leaving a hole in the toe of her boot. She dared to take another step, provoking a second bullet. This time, Nyssa peeked through the cavity in the floor to see a guard below her, pistol raised. Nyssa whipped her head to the side as the guard pulled the trigger. The bullet grazed her cheek and clanked to the ground, dull and spent. Until, a light caught her eye. Familiar golden tendrils spread across the lead, pulsing with light.Nyssa knelt, careful not to take another step as she examined the shimmering, jagged vines. She shut her eyes, feeling the bullets' warmth in her palm. Then she pinched it between her fingers, pointed it at the ground, and dropped it.The splintering of wood and cracking of bone echoed from below her. Nyssa opened her eyes to see the woman fall, blood pouring from the glowing crater in her head. A bullet enchanted to aim true every time. Only a Weaver could bewitch an object so.Nyssa stood and continued on. When she finally reached the study, her gaze was pulled towards one thing only. A painting of a sailboat drifting through a storm. She ran her fingers along the edge of its bronze frame before hearing a satisfying click. The painting went limp in her hands, revealing the tarnished safe it had concealed. She set the painting on the ground and retrieved Bingham’s explosive from her pocket, adhering the clay casing to the safe. She glanced around and snatched a lighter from Umekashi’s desk. She flicked it open, the flame dancing in the dim room, and singed the end of the detonation cord. She ducked behind the mahogany desk, her breaths shallow, her eyes squeezed shut, cool blood trickling down her flushed cheek. The sizzling grew louder, the flame chasing the string, getting smaller, smaller, smaller…Nyssa covered her ears as the wall erupted.She peered over the desk, a thick fog coating the room. She didn’t bother waiting for it to clear before she sped over to the safe. The door was blown out, pebbles of brick falling from the wall around it. Then, after all this time, there it was.The purple stone sat there, lonely, in the safe. Nyssa picked it up, wiping the soot from its surface, revealing the brilliant, violet stone beneath. A solid piece of tanzanite—the gem sharpened into a vicious blade, slightly curved at the tip. Intricate carvings littered the hilt, like an unsolvable maze. The Scythe.Something this valuable ought to be in a museum. Lucky for her, it was not. A smirk tugged at Nyssa’s lips as she holstered The Scythe at her hip.“Nyx!” She heard her sister call from the ground floor. “Nyssa, do you have it?”Nyssa poked her head out the door, shouting over the perpetual gunfire. “Tell Bingham he has thirty seconds!”“Nyx…”“Go!”Nyssa retreated into the study before Fallyn could respond. Out the window, she heard a faint fizz as Bingham ignited the explosives. Thirty seconds.Twenty-nine…Twenty-eight…Nyssa stood in the doorway, listening, waiting. Finally, the ground rattled as half a dozen guards marched up the staircase. They had bullets lodged in their legs, glass shards stuck to their bloody faces, guns raised, trained on Nyssa.Twenty-three…Twenty-two…Nyssa lunged out of the room, taking off towards the end of the hall as the guards quickened and shots rang around her.Eighteen…Seventeen…She sprinted down the corridor, dodging their bullets. If she was lucky, they struck the window at the end of the hall instead.Fifteen… Another bullet struck the window.Fourteen… Another.Thirteen… Crack.The entire window split to its edges. And Nyssa didn’t slow down.Ten…Nine…She shielded her face as glass shattered all around her and she felt herself falling through the air. She grasped for the thick, black rope dangling off the roof and slid all the way down, biting her tongue as it rubbed her palms raw.The guards skidded to a halt at the gaping hole, fumbling with their weapons, and just as Nyssa’s boots hit the ground, she ran.Six…Five…The fizz hissed in her ear, legs carrying her as fast as they could. She dodged as bullets rained, wet leaves slipping beneath her steps as she ran into the dense woods behind the manor.Three…Two…One.The whole world shook. Nyssa was knocked off her feet as the forest illuminated in a flash of orange and yellow. She saw the flames first when she turned back. The fire raged red at its core, no glimpse of the manor beneath, no corner left untouched by its scorching embrace. The walls crumbled and fell, the roof caving in. The back half was simply gone, in a blaze, with the rest slowly withering. Nyssa felt a droplet of water hit her head. Then another. Then a downpour. It looked like the universe took pity on Kenso Umekashi this day. Nyssa sat among the trees, pine needles and wet leaves squishing beneath her, glass scattered through her dark hair, staring up at the mansion, ablaze, as a grin crept across her lips.