Charmed Vengeance (37 page)

James and V picked up their teacups as well. “To revenge.”

V drank then added, “Between friends there is no need for justice, but people who are just still need the quality of friendship; and indeed friendliness is considered to be justice in the fullest sense. It is not only a necessary thing but a splendid one.”

“Nicomachean Ethics?” She couldn’t help but grin at V. “I’ve missed your random quoting of things.”

James huffed as he poured everyone more tea. “You two are
so
boring.”

“But we’re here.” She snuggled closer to V.

V put an arm around her waist. “That we are.”

A plan formed in Noli’s mind as they drank their tea. James and V were still considered children in the Otherworld. Thanks to what the queen had done to her, technically, she was an adult sprite. She was sick and tired of being protected. No one was going to coddle her or tell her what do any longer. Even if she wasn’t much of a fighter, she’d find some way to destroy the earth court king, no matter what.

Oh yes, King Brogan would pay dearly. No one threatened those she loved and got away with it. No one.

The End

Charmed Vengeance
takes place in an alternate version of 1901, a peek into what might have been. I’ve taken liberties with history, moving things back and forth to suit the story. For example, there was no “pleasure pier” in Los Angeles until 1916 and the carousel didn’t appear until 1922 and the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art didn’t open until 1910.

I’ve also had great fun creating alternate histories, which I consider one of the perks of writing Steampunk. There are so many things might have been but never were. For example, how would the landscape of our county change if Hawaii had remained a sovereign nation instead of becoming a state?

The State of Deseret was also something that never was. I’ve made Deseret an official territory, not a state, and much smaller than originally proposed, about the size and placement of Utah. The MoBatts is a play on the Mormon Battalion, which was the only religiously based unit in United States military history, serving during the Mexican-American war. I entertained the notion that the battalion stayed in service after the war, eventually becoming a privatized security force for Deseret, chasing all sorts of baddies—especially air pirates.

Human trafficking was an issue during the Victorian era. Girls were being abducted then brought to America to work in brothels because the supply of willing girls didn’t meet the demand. In 1910 the American government banned the interstate transport of women for “immoral purposes.” Unfortunately, human trafficking is still an issue world-wide today.

Making art and jewelry out of human hair was a Victorian pastime and ladies magazines even published instructions. I’m not sure if any faeries were commissioning mortals to steal antiquities, but people aren’t always whom or what they seem, which is valuable to remember, no matter age you live in.

—Suzanne Lazear

Suzanne Lazear (Los Angeles, CA) loves both faeries and steampunk and has been known to build faerie houses in the backyard and make rayguns to match her ball gown. She’s a regular blogger at
Steamed
, a group steampunk blog.
Charmed Vengeance
is her followup novel to
Innocent Darkness
.

To learn more about the world of the Aether Chronicles, please visit www.aetherchronicles.com.

• Charmed Vengeance
  
• Table of Contents
  
• Prologue: The Sacrifice
  
• One: Jeffrey Returns
  
• Two: Ultimatums
  
• Three: Leaving Los Angeles
  
• Four: The Vixen’s Revenge
  
• Five: A Questing We Will Go
  
• Six: All in a Day’s Work
  
• Seven: Detour
  
• Eight: The Lives and Times of Air Pirates
  
• Nine: New York City
  
• Ten: Mathias’ Place
  
• Eleven: Surprises
  
• Twelve: Denver
  
• Thirteen: Surprises
  
• Fourteen: MoBatts
  
• Fifteen: Taking Chances
  
• Sixteen: The Drop
  
• Seventeen: Getting Down to Business
  
• Eighteen: Visitors
  
• Nineteen: Ill
  
• Twenty: Bittersweet Returns
  
• Twenty-One: Deliverance
  
• Twenty-Two: Where Do We Go From Here?
  
• Twenty-Three: Los Angeles
  
• Epilogue: A Plan for Revenge
  
• Author’s Note
  
• About the Author