Dark Dealings

On the eve of Samhain, Micaela visits her grandmother on the family farm in the Berkshire Mountains. Micaela's childhood friend, Reece, is missing and she is called upon to use metaphysical gifts she has suppressed since her parents sudden death fifteen years ago. She finds Reece, a victim of a bizarre animal attack. She can no longer run from herself, no longer jam the paranormal into a logical explanation. A successful investment banker for a small Wall Street firm, she is working with Byrne Connor, reclusive owner of Knowth Corp of Ireland. She begins a professional cyber-relationship with his personal representative, Liam, witty, handsome, a keeper of secrets. As she struggles to avoid her destiny as High Priestess for the Druids, her career takes a new turn. A group of reclusive international investors, including Knowth Corp, selects Moran & Boru and Micaela, specifically, to structure a private bank in the Swiss tradition. Unknown to Micaela, the investors are vampires who use the electronic age, including 24-hour global trading to prosper and hide in plain sight. Their daytime representatives are shapeshifters. Imbolc arrives and Micaela attends an opening hosted by one of the investors, Ivan Vasilievich. She meets Francois Leveque of La Tène Corp. Micaela sees fear in François' aura when he attempts to speak to her privately, but they are interrupted by the Baron who dominates Micaela's time. Within 48 hours, Micaela finds Leveque eviscerated in his luxury hotel room. Det. Nikki Suassuna, Micaela's friend, is assigned to the case by someone high up in NYPD. In a second interview, it is implied that another client, Ethan Lowell of First Colony and her firm are implicated in François murder. While Micaela has conflicting images of Lowell, she is certain that she and her firm are not involved. When Ivan arrives at her apartment to express concern for her safety, they begin a kiss which she cannot remember the next day. After a dinner for the participants in Brussels, Micaela, Nikki, and Liam are ambushed in Sonian Forest. Even in the dark, the attackers do not appear human. Certain that death is near for herself and her friends, Micaela invokes the Morrigan. Gravely injured, Micaela is evacuated to Knowth Manor. As Micaela's memories of the attack sharpen, she realizes that Ekaterina Vilkas, Ivan's representative, was one of the attackers. Sufficiently recovered, Liam takes Micaela to an ancient stone circle where she has a vision of an ancient Druid ritual which Liam reacts to strangely and flees. Unnerved by events at Knowth, she departs Ireland for Bridewell. At Logan Airport, she is intercepted by Ethan Lowell who takes her to Lowell Manor, to await the arrival of Byrne, Liam and Nikki. When Micaela is in the wrong place at dusk, Ethan is revealed as a vampire. Although horrified, she begins to piece together what happened to François and in the Sonian. She concludes that Ivan is a vampire and Ekaterina a shapeshifter. When the rest of the group arrives in Boston, she confronts Liam, Byrne, and Nikki about what they are. At the same time, Micaela repeatedly calls her grandmother to let her know that she is safe but becomes worried when there is no answer. She receives a text from Ivan saying he has taken her grandmother as a means to reach her. Accompanied by Liam, Ethan, Nikki and others she returns to the place she first found Reece six months earlier. Ivan admits to attacking to control the group. But it is a jealous Kat who instigated the attacks against Micaela. During a bloody conflict between vampires, shapeshifters and humans, Kat launches an assault on Micaela. Micaela calls on her powers to destroy Kat while Ivan is destroyed by Ethan and Byrne. Micaela's grandmother is safe and nonplussed by the nature of her captors and rescuers. But Micaela knows she must come to terms with who she is and how she fits into this new world.
About the Author: Karen Victoria Smith grew up with an Irish grandmother who tried to teach her the old ways and watched horror movies with her in the dark. KV lives in New Jersey with her family who patiently allow her to believe that in a 24-hour world the monsters are real.