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An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication
www.ellorascave.com
Fire Angel
ISBN 9781419914959
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Fire Angel Copyright © 2008 Beth Kery
Edited by Ann Leveille.
Cover art by Syneca.
Electronic book Publication March 2008
With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in
part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing,
Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal
copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is
punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/)
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales
is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.
F
IRE
A
NGEL
Beth Kery
Dedication
I would like to dedicate this to M.D.H., who has his own sort of magic,
and to every person who has ever wondered what’s on the other side of the veil.
Page of Wands
The virgin priestess of the fires of spring; the Secret Flame into which all things
Return
—Pamela Eakins, from
Tarot of the Spirit
The cards of the tarot deck incorporate multiple symbols and archetypes, making
them powerful, concise tools for bringing that which is unconscious, and therefore
unknown, into conscious awareness.
The character of the heroine of
Fire Angel
, Serafina Grovenor, is based on the tarot
card of the Page of Wands. This card represents a balance with the natural flow of the
universe as it incorporates all of the diverse energies of fire, earth, water and wind.
Wands are the suit of fire in the Tarot. Think of the image of the magician with his
wand which focuses fiery energy. Fire is the suit of spirit, creativity, dynamism and
discovery. When out of balance the energy of fire and spirit can be uncontrollable,
burning everything in its path. However the Page of Wands is also a powerful earth
symbol. The volatile passions of fire are grounded by earth, making the Page of Wands
balanced and harmonious, a symbol of right, just action.
In many esoteric systems the Page in the card deck is represented as a young, bare-
breasted woman and is called the Princess of Wands. It might be helpful to think of the
“face” cards in the terms of a family. So for instance the King of a suit is the father, the
Queen of a suit the mother, the Prince of a suit the brother and the Princess of a suit the
sister. As an example, the Queen of Fire combines the masculine elements of fire with
the receptive, intuitive energies of the feminine element of water. The Princess of
Wands is the perfect combination of the elements of her powerful father’s fire, mother’s
water and brother’s air—the final, balanced manifestation of their energies on the
earthly plane.
Like Serafina Grovenor, who can channel spirits, the Princess of Wands is a divine
priestess who brings tidings from strange, unknown worlds. She is both calm and
tranquil and naturally aggressive. Serafina can manipulate fire and controls it perfectly
to suit her will.
Serafina, like the Princess of Wands, is a fierce warrior when those whom she loves
are threatened. As Robert Wang wrote in
The Golden Dawn Tarot
, “Woe unto whomever
shall make war upon her…”
Fire Angel
Chapter One
London, 1897
Dr. Vincent Devonald, Lord Rashleigh, shifted uncomfortably in the tufted Queen
Anne chair. Lady Fordham’s drawing room was crowded and stuffy, his body was too
large for the delicate chair…and damn it all to hell, he
hated
these spiritualist gatherings.
Thanks to his deceased wife and her lover, Vincent had learned to despise the spectacle
of ghostly raps, spinning tables and past-life revelations whereby
everyone
had either
been once a king, an unacknowledged genius, a long-forgotten deity—or more than
likely all of the above.
Along with his good friend Austin Howe, Vincent had successfully debunked four
supposedly miraculous spiritualist mediums. Abercrombie Myer’s sham had been fully
brought to light when Austin stormed the near pitch-black interior of that erstwhile
clergyman’s parlor with two brightly lit lanterns. Mr. Myer’s fifteen loyal followers
were highly shocked and dismayed to see the spirit medium’s humble wife blowing
madly into an extension of a trumpet, making the lit portion at the end appear to float
and magically toot in the dark room.
Apparently a good portion of humanity was convinced that disembodied spirits
would desire to prove their existence in this singular manner.
Two of the four mediums that Vincent and Austin had debunked were proved to be
bribing servants of known séance participants and even having accomplices break into
participants’ homes in order to gather personal, “secret” information which could later
be miraculously revealed.
The fourth case had involved a truly enterprising medium by the name of Priscilla
Vanderbilt. Priscilla kept her female clients returning by making predictions that
stroked their egos. She ensured their husbands shelled out the admission fee again and
again by hiring a woman to stroke and suck their cocks in the inky darkness. These
stalwart gentlemen were very eager to participate since Ms. Vanderbilt regularly
summoned such a delightfully lascivious succubus from the ghostly realms.
Vincent would likely never forget the hilarious expression on Austin’s boyish
features when he’d clambered into the pitch-black room holding two blazing lanterns
on that occasion. Nor would Lady Chamberlain ever be likely to purge from her
memory the image of her husband’s ecstatic expression at having his saliva-slick pride
and joy pumped in the very capable-looking hand of a woman who had been sixty-five
years old if she was a day.
Ah, the fantasies darkness conjured and the sins it concealed.
God save him from such idiocy,
Vincent thought with a scowl. Unfortunately
despite his efforts at trying to protect London society from those who were attempting
5
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