Every witch way but dead.
Everyone is taught male witches have very little power, even the only child of one of the most influential families of the ruling body of magic, the Dominion. Seiran spends his time hiding in plain sight, flirting dangerously with his vampire boss and occasional lover, Gabe, and studying magic as required by his powerful mother. All with the hopes to slip under the … hopes to slip under the radar and not be the next witch burned at the stake.
Seiran finds himself forced to prove his abilities in a test of elemental magic against the Pillar of Earth, and comes out on top, shocking everyone. But phenomenal powers bring a lot of the wrong kind of attention. The kind he could have lived without, literally.
When witches around him begin to fall, murdered for their power, he finds fingers pointed in his direction. Can he stop the killer before he ends up the next victim?
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Having only recently discovered the fabulousness that is Lissa Kasey, I inhaled her most recent work, and then went looking at her backlist. For obvious reasons, ‘Inheritance’, book one in the ‘Pillars of Magic: Dominion Chapter’ series, jumped out at me, and after reading the three free short stories which she offers as a teaser and prelude to this book…well, I had to abandon my pile waiting for me so I could leap into this book about a male witch and his sometime lover, a vampire.
The world of ‘Pillars of Magic’ involves vampires, lycanthropes, and a very strong matriarchal witch society. Seiran (pronounced Say-ron) is a male witch, whose mother, by the way, is the leader of Dominion, the ruling body of elemental magic. Sei’s life hasn’t been easy, growing up in a household where he was constantly reminded that he was a mistake, and his sexuality is disgusting. Life isn’t any easier now, as the only male witch enrolled in magical studies at the university. His on-again, off-again sex partner, Gabe, is an over two thousand-year-old vampire. Gabe would like a commitment from Sei, but Sei doesn’t do that. In fact, Gabe is only the second person who has ever slept with Sei more than once. Sei is scared of romance, commitment, and anything that smacks of those two. He’s run from Gabe before when it got too serious for him.
Each month, the new moon holds particular sway with Sei’s earth magic, causing restlessness and moodiness, especially if he can’t get the release he needs. Two surefire ways to do that involve sex, or changing into his Lynx form and running. Unfortunately, it’s against the law for him to change shape, not that that usually stops him. However, this new moon, he finds a co-worker dead on his doorstep, and it looks like someone is killing people who spend time with vampires. Gabe wants to protect him, along with Jamie, a bartender at Gabe’s Bloody Bar & Grill, where Sei works. Jamie is an earth magic witch, also, and equally determined to keep Sei safe. But this serial killer is just a little more, if you know what I mean.
“Why am I so important?” I had to ask.
“I would think, with your past, that being important to anyone would make you happy. And you are important to me and to Gabe.”
“My past has taught me that people will pull the chair out from under you, just when you think it’s safe to sit down. Gabe will get bored of me eventually. And I don’t get why you are such a hanger-on.”
It was impossible not to care about Sei. He’s so messed up, mostly from his childhood and his mother. No one should be that afraid of their own mother. He’s a very strong earth witch, who is treated horribly because he was born with a Y chromosome instead of a double X. He knows that at any minute, the Dominion can come for him and burn him at the stake. And when a professor gets killed, Sei’s mother agrees to not punish him, even though he had nothing to do with it, if Sei will agree to provide sperm for a surrogate, so she can get a female heir. Sei knows very well that once his child, his daughter, is born, they can transfer his power to her, and then kill Sei.
What a fascinating story. I loved the ending and all the possibilities available for future books. I’m thrilled to have discovered this author. Well, she might not be so thrilled when I devour everything that’s currently out and then start whining for more. Oh, wait. I don’t whine. I might eagerly check for new releases, but I wouldn’t be rude. I adored this first book in the series and I’m looking forward to reading them all. If you enjoy paranormal with an edge, then this is the book for you.