Shield of Winter
(Book 13 in the Psy-Changelings series)
A novel by Nalini Singh
CAST OF CHARACTERS
In Alphabetical Order by First Name
Key: SD = SnowDancer Wolves; DR = DarkRiver Leopards
Abbot Arrow, teleport-capable telekinetic (Tk)
Aden Arrow, telepath (Tp)
Alice Eldridge Human scientist, placed in forced cryonic suspension for over a century, now living with SD
Amara Aleine Psy member of DR, former Council scientist, twin of Ashaya, mentally unstable
Anthony Kyriakus Member of the Ruling Coalition, former Psy Councilor, father of Faith
Ashaya Aleine Psy member of DR, former Council scientist, mated to Dorian, mother of Keenan, twin of Amara
Ben SD pup
Brigitte Empath (E), home base: Amsterdam
Carter Hirsch Father of Ivy
Chang Cardinal empath (E), home base: research station in Kenya
Concetta Empath (E), home base: Paraguay
Council (or Psy Council) The former ruling Council of the Psy race, no longer extant
Cristabel Rodriguez Arrow, sharpshooter
DarkMind Neosentient psychic entity and dark twin of NetMind
Dechen Empath, home base: Tibet
Devraj Santos Leader of the Forgotten (Psy who defected from the PsyNet at the dawn of Silence and intermingled with the human and changeling populations), married to Katya Haas
Dorian Christensen DR Sentinel, mated to Ashaya
Faith NightStar Psy member of DR, gift of Foresight (F), mated to Vaughn, daughter of Anthony, cousin to Sahara
Gwen Jane Mother of Ivy
Hawke Snow SD Alpha, mated to Sienna
Indigo Riviere SD Lieutenant
Isaiah Empath (E), home base: Niue
Ivy Jane Empath (E), daughter of Gwen Jane and Carter Hirsch
Jaya Empath (E), home base: Maldives
Judd Lauren Psy member of SD, Lieutenant, mated to Brenna, uncle of Sienna, Toby, and Marlee
Julian/Jules DR cub, son of Tamsyn, twin of Roman
Kaleb Krychek Cardinal Tk, leader of the Ruling Coalition, former Psy Councilor, psychically bonded to Sahara Kyriakus
Keenan Aleine Psy member of DR, child, son of Ashaya
Kit DR Soldier
Lianne Empath (E), home base: Kuala Lumpur
Lucas Hunter DR Alpha, mated to Sascha, father of Naya
Marlee Lauren Psy member of SD, child, daughter of Walker Lauren, niece of Judd Lauren
Mercy Smith DR Sentinel, mated to Riley
Ming LeBon Former Psy Councilor, military mastermind, cardinal telepath (Tp)
Naya Hunter DR cub, daughter of Sascha and Lucas
NetMind Neosentient psychic entity said to be the guardian and librarian of the PsyNet, twin of the DarkMind
Nikita Duncan Former Psy Councilor, part of Ruling Coalition, mother of Sascha
Patton (deceased), Arrow, teleporter (Tk-V), trained Vasic
Penn Empath (E), home base: Scotland
Pure Psy Fanatical and violent pro-Silence group
Riley Kincaid SD Lieutenant, mated to Mercy
Roman/Rome DR cub, son of Tamsyn, twin of Julian
Ruling Coalition Formed after the fall of Silence and of the Psy Council. Composed of Kaleb Krychek, Nikita Duncan, Anthony Kyriakus, and the Arrow Squad
Sahara Kyriakus Unclassified designation, psychically bonded to Kaleb Krychek, niece of Anthony Kyriakus, cousin to Faith
Sascha Duncan Psy member of DR, cardinal empath (E), mated to Lucas, mother of Naya, daughter of Nikita
Sienna Lauren Psy member of SD, possesses lethal psychic abilities (X), mated to Hawke, niece of Judd
Tamsyn SD Healer
Tatiana Rika-Smythe Former Psy Councilor
Teri Empath (E), home base: Houston
Vasic Arrow, teleporter (Tk-V)
Walker Lauren Psy member of SD, telepath (Tp), father of Marlee, brother of Judd
Zaira Arrow, in charge of the covert Arrow compound in Venice
Zie Zen Psy elder, telepath (Tp)
Splintered
THE SILENCE PROTOCOL has been the defining aspect of the Psy race for over a hundred years. Conditioned not to feel emotion from childhood, they are known for their icy practicality, acute mental abilities, and adherence to strict codes of behavior. It is all they know and all they’ve been since the inception of the Protocol . . . until now.
The twilight of 2081 will be forever remembered as the time when Silence fell in a crash of violence brutally leashed by the furious abilities of the most powerful Psy in the Net. With the fall comes a hush across the world, as the Psy race seeks to understand who they are in this new reality where emotion isn’t a crime punishable by a vicious psychic brainwipe, and the heart is no longer an organ simply used to pump blood. For though Silence was a deeply flawed construct, it existed for a reason.
Insanity, blood-soaked death, murderous aggression, this is who the Psy were before Silence. No other race, it is said, bred more vicious, more intelligent, or more sadistic serial killers. But worse was the clawing madness that destroyed so many of them, saints and sinners alike, until it became known as the flip side to their incredible psychic gifts.
Is the past their future?
Will the Psy race once more devolve into endless nightmare?
No one can answer that question. Not yet.
Chapter 1
To be an Arrow is to be an island, devoid of attachments that create vulnerability.
THERE WAS NOTHING left of the man he’d been.
Vasic stared through the glass wall in front of him as the computronic gauntlet biologically fused to his left forearm hummed near silently in the diagnostic mode he’d initiated. Sleek black, the new invention remained relatively unstable, despite the constant and ongoing refinement by the medics and techs, but Vasic wasn’t concerned about his life.
He hadn’t been concerned about anything for a long time. At first it had been his conditioning under Silence that kept him cold, his emotions on ice. Now, as the world navigated the first days of a new year, he was beyond Silence and into a numbness so vast, it was an endless grayness.
The only reason he kept waking up in the morning was for the others, the ones in the squad who still had some hope of a normal life. It was far too late for him, his hands permanently stained with blood from the countless lives he’d taken in pursuit of a mandate that had proven false in a very ugly way.
“What is it?” he said to the man clad in a black combat uniform who’d just entered the common area of Arrow Central Command. None of them were sociable, yet they maintained this space, having learned through bitter experience that even an Arrow couldn’t always walk alone.
Today the room was empty except for the two of them.
“Krychek has a theory.” Aden came to stand beside Vasic, his dark eyes on the vista beyond the glass. It wasn’t of the outside world—the Arrows were creatures of shadow, and so they lived in the shadows, their headquarters buried deep underground in a location inaccessible to anyone who didn’t know the correct routes and codes.