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1st Place WINNER Debut Romance Novel - 2004

House of Shadows
Enchantment in Crimson
~ Book One ~

A Dark Adventure of
Dangerous Enchantments

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The Witch & the Vampire...

Rick Holt is a successful architect. Little does anyone one suspect, he learned his talents at the actual Bauhaus school of design in Germany - before it was closed in 1943 by the Nazi's.

Rick has a secret - he's a vampire.

Rowan Broom is fortune telling in her corner of the Goth club when she throws down a few tarot cards and discovers that the darkly handsome guy at the bar possesses a literal heart of darkness.

Rowan has a secret - her magic is powered by sex - in its rawest and basest form.

Evil, in the form of a demonically possessed sorcerer walks into the club and targets Rick as his victim of choice. Using her tarot Rowan discovers the grave danger that the entire club is in. Suddenly Rowan has to set herself the to bizarre task of rescuing a vampire.

With the Goth bar in flames behind them, Witch meets Vampire face to face to discover that they have absolutely nothing in common - but unearthly desire.

And this is only the Beginning...

***

- One -
Auspice

The witch stepped out onto the narrow back porch of her small, second story apartment. A chill gust of wind, carrying the scent of rain curled under her waist-length copper mane and blew the fine, straight strands across her pale brow. She brushed the spider-silk strands of hair from her face, narrowing her eyes at the fine sliver of the moon. "Hmm, I forgot that it would be a new moon tonight."

The radiant silver smile appeared to sit as though perched behind the twisted branches of the winter bare oak tree right by her porch in the darkening twilight.

"Other people have nice normal lives full of random events," she mused out loud, shaking her head with a tight smile. "Me? I randomly catch a moonrise and it's an email from the Powers That Be." She pulled the lapels of her plush black velvet robe closer to her throat then slid the glass door closed behind her with a soft thump. "I guess this means I'm about to start something new. Damn..."

Absently, she dug a slender black cigarette from the pack then lit it on the unwavering blue jet of flame of her silver, ultra-modern lighter. She exhaled the rich clove smoke in luxurious relish, and the wind carried the thick perfumed smoke away. "Let's see what else appears, maybe I can figure out what's coming to get me before I get myself cornered."

With a rustle of black feathers, a crow dropped from the darkening sky and landed in the tree right by her porch. Not an uncommon occurrence. However this crow balancing on the slender branch was framed perfectly by the horns of the rising moon.

"One crow for sorrow," she quoted softly. "And perching in the horns of the new moon." She smiled sourly. "Terrific. Whatever adventure I'm about to start is going to involve some form of angst and very likely drama." She drew on her cigarette. "Well, that mean's it's not going to happen at the library." She snorted. "Nothing with angst or drama ever happens at the library, and certainly not at my reference desk."

The crow turned his head to the side and peered at her from one sharp eye. It released three sharp cries then mantled its wings and flew straight at her. It banked sharply upward and over the roof.

"Oh, goody, this is going to be personal," she said in complete disgust. "But with one crow in a tree framed by a new moon, I can't tell if it's just a random nasty event I walk into, or if someone is pissed off and out to get me." She drew on the cigarette and stared at the smiling crescent. "On second thought, this is a new moon, so it's a new problem, something that is not rooted in the past." She closed her eyes and groaned. "Damn. That means it's something I'm going to stir up all by myself." She shook her head. "This is getting uglier by the second. Why can't I just get nice clear visions like all the TV psychics say they do?"

The tree rocked in the breeze. Her eyes narrowed sharply as the crescent moon began to change. Slowly, the entire bottom half of the moon's crescent became tinted a definite red. The tilted silver smile suddenly looked a lot more like a curved fang stained with blood. A fang trapped among branches that looked like groping reaching skeletal fingers.

The witch blinked at the view and felt the hair on her neck shiver to attention.

"That does not look good," she said very softly to the universe at large. "I need..." Carefully, she took a mouthful of smoke then exhaled. "A second opinion."

Abruptly, the neighbor's black collie-mix dog lunged energetically from one the first floor apartments, towing her neighbor Caroline from the end of his leash.

The witch leaned over the rail of her porch. "One second opinion, right on cue," she said softly. "Hi Caroline!" she called and stubbed out her cigarette.

Caroline, her sandy curls swept up into a bobbing ponytail, turned her soft green eyes upward. "Oh, hi!" She smiled. Her dog towed her directly under the overhanging porch. "It's Rowan right?"

"Yep that's me." Rowan smiled and made a wry face. "I know this is going to sound weird but, I think I need new glasses. Can you tell me what color the moon is?"

Caroline obligingly looked up at the moon. "It's a bluish-white." She turned back to Rowan. "Why? What color do you think it is?"

Rowan squinted up at the moon. "Does it look a little, reddish to you at all?"

"No, not at all." Caroline shook her head and smiled. You do need glasses."

Rowan smiled in return. "Well, thanks and have fun on your walk."

"Glad to be of help." Caroline laughed. "I gotta go! Take care!" She waved then allowed her dog to tow her across the frost-seared lawn toward next apartment complex over.

Rowan stared at the moon and lit another cigarette. "Great," she grumped. "My nice quiet life is about to be invaded by scary weird shit." She flopped down on one of the plastic lawn chairs on her small porch. "As the only working witch in town, I get all the midnight 'help my house is haunted' phone calls. Why do I have a feeling that this means I'll be running into something a lot nastier than a simple haunt?"

After a while, she crushed out her cigarette and sighed. "Time to get ready." She stood up then jerked the sliding glass door open. "With that omen hanging over my head, I really don't want to go out tonight." She looked back at the moon floating among the tree branches. "But I have bills to pay." Her lip curled in disgust. "I wouldn't have to pimp out my witchcraft by playing fortune teller if the pay didn't suck as a librarian." She stepped inside and closed the door firmly behind her.

V^^^V

Chapter One: Auspix

Chapter Two: Fortuneteller

Chapter Three: Copper Kiss

Chapter Four: Correspondence

House of Shadows
Enchantment in Crimson
~ Book One ~

Road to Romance
Recommended Read!

Tracey Says -- HOUSE OF SHADOWS: Enchatment in Crimson - Book One - by Morgan Hawke is an energized tale of adventure, which keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. The suspense and danger are balanced exceedingly well with Rowan and Rick's relationship, which is explosive. This is one book that I will be remembering for a long time. There is never a boring moment and it's a one-sitting read. Highly, HIGHLY recommended!

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