I am doing edits on Daughter of the Dark right now.  They are progressing nicely, so I thought it is was a good time to post the edited version of the opening scene. Or at least the first 150 words.  :).  I’ll put up the whole chapter closer to the publication date.

 

The three stories high house with its red-brick facade and walled garden didn’t look out of place in the neighborhood, at least not on the surface. The wards I sensed told me otherwise. I knew that if I activated the Sight I would see the rainbow of colors beneath. I frowned. The wards felt like elemental magic, not shamanic magic. Which didn’t make sense. Unlike the other realms, this realm had very low levels of elemental magic. In other words, using elemental magic for spells hurt. A lot. I winced in sympathy with the mage that had been hired to create the wards.
The elemental magic based wards also meant that the owner of the house must have hired someone from another realm. Gnomes, I guessed, since they were masters at creating wards. They were also expensive.

Unease slithered down my spine.
Why would someone put in so much money and effort to ward a residence, albeit an upscale one?