Promises Made in the Dark
by Michelle Rose

A board creaked and the young man winced. Sterling Adams eased himself along the barn wall, trying to be as quiet as possible. The straw in the loft was doing a good job of muffling his footsteps from the men beneath. He was getting too old for creeping around in lofts, let alone hunting for smugglers.

He was many things: heir to a shipping empire, cryptozoologist, novice mythical archeologist, and husband to Emma, who would inherit the van Winden Trading Company. And he was handier around an engine than your average person, too.

As for sneaking around in barns, stalking criminals? Certainly not.

He was far more likely to be found pouring over old trade route maps and diagrams of machinery than doing anything dangerous. Even the fact that he was here tonight was all his stubborn wife’s doing.

Since the South has lost the war, the business of smuggling of magical creatures had boomed. People were still scattered and there were pockets of lawlessness sprinkled throughout the country. It made it easy for persons interested in shady dealings. Although Sterling and Emma technically lived in the North the traveling device Sterling carried with him made it possible for them to move over long distances in moments. It made it far easier to hunt down smugglers and their cargo since they had gotten it to work properly. Emma was nothing less than vigilant when it came to returning magical creatures to their proper homes. The fact that it gave them a short time to study magical creatures firsthand was beside the point.
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