Heart Secret Read online

  “I keep telling myself that she just can’t get much better, but with every book she amazes and surprises me!” —The Best Reviews

  Praise for the futuristic fantasy of

  Robin D. Owens

  Heart Search

  “Will have readers on the edge of their seats . . . Another terrific tale from the brilliant mind of Robin D. Owens. Don’t miss it.”

  —Romance Reviews Today

  “A taut mixture of suspense and action . . . that leaves you stunned.”

  —Smexy Books

  “Thank you, Ms. Owens, for this wonderful series.”

  —Night Owl Reviews

  Heart Journey

  “Sexy, emotionally intense, and laced with humor . . . Draws readers into one of the more imaginative otherworldly cultures.”

  —Library Journal

  “[A] skillfully crafted read for any lover of futuristic or light paranormal romance.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “It is no secret that I love Ms. Owens’s Heart series . . . [A] wonderful piece of fantasy, science fiction, romance, and a dash of mystery. Heart Journey is no different, a delight to read.”

  —Night Owl Reviews

  Heart Change

  “The story accelerates as new dangers to Avellana crop up, and the relationship between Signet and Cratag develops, making for a satisfying read.”

  —Booklist

  “Each story is as fresh and new as the first one was. I am always delighted when a new Heart book is published!”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “A satisfying return to an intriguing world. Cratag and Signet will leave you wanting more.”

  —The Romance Reader

  Heart Fate

  “A true delight to read, and it should garner new fans for this unique and enjoyable series.”

  —Booklist

  “[This] emotionally rich tale blends paranormal abilities, family dynamics, and politics; adds a serious dash of violence; and dusts it all with humor and whimsy.”

  —Library Journal

  “A wonderfully delightful story . . . The author’s creativity shines.”

  —Darque Reviews

  Heart Dance

  “[A] superior series.”

  —The Best Reviews

  “I look forward to my yearly holiday in Celta, always a dangerous and fascinating trip.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “Sensual, riveting, and filled with the wonderful cast of characters from previous books, as well as some new ones, Heart Dance is exquisite in its presentation.”

  —Romance Reviews Today

  Heart Choice

  “The romance is passionate, the characters engaging, and the society and setting exquisitely crafted.”

  —Booklist

  “Maintaining the ‘world building’ for science fiction and character driven plot for romance is near impossible. Owens does it brilliantly.”

  —The Romance Readers Connection

  “Well-written, humor-laced, intellectually and emotionally involving story, which explores the true meaning of family and love.”

  —Library Journal

  Heart Duel

  “[A] sexy story . . . Readers will enjoy revisiting this fantasy-like world filled with paranormal talents.”

  —Booklist

  Heart Thief

  “I loved Heart Thief! This is what futuristic romance is all about. Robin D. Owens writes the kind of futuristic romance we’ve all been waiting to read; certainly the kind that I’ve been waiting for. She provides a wonderful, gripping mix of passion, exotic futuristic settings, and edgy suspense. If you’ve been waiting for someone to do futuristic romance right, you’re in luck, Robin D. Owens is the author for you.”

  —Jayne Castle

  HeartMate

  Winner of the 2002 RITA Award for Best Paranormal Romance by the Romance Writers of America

  “Engaging characters, effortless world building, and a sizzling romance make this a novel that’s almost impossible to put down.”

  —The Romance Reader

  “Fantasy romance with a touch of mystery . . . Readers from the different genres will want Ms. Owens to return to Celta for more tales of HeartMates.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  “HeartMate is a dazzling debut novel. Robin D. Owens paints a world filled with characters who sweep readers into an unforgettable adventure with every delicious word, every breath, every beat of their hearts. Brava!”

  —Deb Stover, award-winning author of The Gift

  “A gem of a story . . . Sure to tickle your fancy.”

  —Anne Avery, author of A Distant Star

  Titles by Robin D. Owens

  HEARTMATE

  HEART THIEF

  HEART DUEL

  HEART CHOICE

  HEART QUEST

  HEART DANCE

  HEART FATE

  HEART CHANGE

  HEART JOURNEY

  HEART SEARCH

  HEART SECRET

  Anthologies

  WHAT DREAMS MAY COME

  (with Sherrilyn Kenyon and Rebecca York)

  HEARTS AND SWORDS

  Heart Secret

  Robin D. Owens

  THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada

  (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England • Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) • Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) • Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India • Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) • Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

  Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  Copyright © 2012 by Robin D. Owens.

  Cover illustration by Tony Mauro.

  Cover design by George Long.

  Cover handlettering by Ron Zinn.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  BERKLEY SENSATION® is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  The “B” design is a trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  PUBLISHING HISTORY

  Berkley Sensation trade paperback edition / August 2012

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data


  Owens, Robin D.

  Heart secret / Robin D. Owens.—Berkley Sensation trade paperback ed.

  p. cm .

  ISBN 978-1-101-61067-1

  1. Life on other planets—Fiction. 1. Title.

  PS3615.W478H475 2012 2012015839

  813'.6—dc23

  To those who enjoy visiting Celta.

  Thank you.

  Contents

  Praise for Robin D. Owens

  Other Titles by Robin D. Owens

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Characters

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-one

  Twenty-two

  Twenty-three

  Twenty-four

  Twenty-five

  Twenty-six

  Twenty-seven

  Twenty-eight

  Twenty-nine

  Thirty

  Thirty-one

  Thirty-two

  Thirty-three

  Thirty-four

  Thirty-five

  Thirty-six

  About the Author

  Characters

  The Mugworts:

  Artemisia Mugwort: SecondLevel Healer assigned temporarily to Primary HealingHall, who caretakes and lives in the secret sanctuary of Druida City that only lets in the desperate, BalmHeal estate.

  Tiana Mugwort: Younger sister of Artemisia and good friend of Camellia Darjeeling D’Hawthorn (heroine of Heart Search), a FirstLevel Priestess at GreatCircle Temple.

  Sinjin Mugwort: Artemisia’s father, ex–GraceLord Mugwort, ex-judge, author of legal treatises, caretaker of BalmHeal estate/FirstGrove.

  Quina Mugwort: Artemisia’s mother, a SecondLevel Healer and caretaker of BalmHeal estate/FirstGrove.

  Randa: Artemisia’s Fam.

  Garrett Primross: Private investigator and owner of Prime Investigations. Sole survivor of the first people infected with the dreaded Iasc sickness.

  Rusby: Garrett’s Fam.

  Note: Garrett’s feral Fam informants are not listed here by name since their numbers are always in flux, but include a gang of cats, at least two dogs, foxes, and the occasional housefluff (rabbit).

  The Hawthorns, Garrett’s Friends:

  GreatLord Huathe Laev T’Hawthorn: Entrepreneur and Garrett’s best friend. Laev is nephew to Lark Hawthorn Holly, a FirstLevel Healer (Heart Search).

  Camellia Darjeeling D’Hawthorn: Wife of Laev, friend of Tiana and Artemisia. Owner of Darjeeling’s Teahouse and Darjeeling’s HouseHeart. (Heart Search)

  Brazos: Laev’s Familiar Companion, a young long-haired black cat.

  The Healers:

  FirstLevel Healer Ura Heather: Head of the Primary HealingHall.

  FirstLevel Healer Lark Hawthorn Holly: Works at Primary HealingHall and All Class HealingHall, niece to Ura Heather (Heart Duel).

  GrandLord T’Heather: Retired head of Primary HealingHall, patriarch, father of Ura, MotherSire (grandfather) of Lark Hawthorn Holly.

  The Guards:

  Captain Black Ilex Winterberry: Captain of the Druida City guards, liaison with the FirstFamilies, wed to Trif Clover Winterberry (Heart Quest). He handled the original investigation of the Black Magic Cult.

  Fol Berberis: A guard who investigated the original Black Magic Cult.

  Rosa Milkweed: A guard who investigated the original Black Magic Cult.

  Others/Suspects:

  GreatLord Muin T’Vine (Vinni): The prophet of Celta, who has a Fam (Flora) who was nearly sacrificed by the Black Magic Cult.

  Avellana Hazel: Mural artist and prodigy. She has a Fam (Rhyz) who was nearly sacrificed by the Black Magic Cult.

  GreatLady Danith Mallow D’Ash: HeartMate of T’Ash, an animal Healer. (HeartMate)

  A. Gwydion Ash: Second son of GreatLord T’Ash and D’Ash, an animal Healer.

  Straif T’Blackthorn: GrandLord T’Blackthorn, FirstFamilies GrandLord, best tracker on Celta, married to Mitchella Clover D’Blackthorn. (Heart Choice)

  Trif Clover Winterberry: Wife of Captain Black Ilex Winterberry, surviving victim of the Black Magic Cult. (Heart Quest)

  Dufleur D’Thyme D’Willow: Wife of GreatLord Saille T’Willow, surviving victim of the Black Magic Cult (Heart Dance), cousin to Captain Black Ilex Winterberry.

  Sedwy Grove D’Clover: Wife of GrandLord Walker Clover (“Noble Heart” in Hearts and Swords), dupe of the Black Magic Cult.

  Barton Clover: Brother of GrandLord Walker Clover, head of security of Clover Compound.

  One

  DRUIDA CITY,

  421 Years After Colonization,

  Late Summer

  Nightmares and a sense of foreboding woke him, so Garrett Primross walked to work as dawn broke hoping the infrequent uneasy feeling of doom was wrong for the first time in his life. In his career as a private investigator, he felt in control. He knew what he was doing. And at work he might be able to avoid or mitigate any disaster that might be looming today.

  As he approached the back entrance of his shabby office building located in a lower-middle-class neighborhood, a cat hissed and a group of seven intelligent feral cats slipped from the shadows within the alley. Animals that Garrett used as observers and informants, they were able to become Familiar Companions to people if they’d wanted. Most didn’t. They preferred the wild and free life—with regular meals and occasional petting.

  Garrett had contacts within the fox dens and with the rare wild dog.

  Gar-rett! the current leader of the ragtag band of ferals shouted loudly in Garrett’s mind.

  I hear you, he broadcast to the group. Their milling around slightly decreased.

  You promised first thing at office, We get FOOD! Black-and-White tom insisted.

  I haven’t broken that promise, Garrett said.

  There is a MAN on OUR front stoop. He has big magic-Flair. He looks like he belongs around here, but he wears clothes that don’t smell of him. He wants to talk to YOU.

  At a little after dawn, septhours before WorkBell? Not a good sign. How do you know? Garrett asked telepathically.

  He said your name to the door, but the door was quiet. Then he looked at Us and told Us, but We ignored him. You can talk to him, but We get Our FOOD first!

  That’s the deal, Garrett agreed, though his curiosity was ruffled. So were the hairs on the nape of his neck that warned of trouble.

  The young and slinky short-furred black cat slipped around the corner of the building at the end of the alley. I got close. He did not see Me.

  Maybe not, but if the man had great psi power—Flair—Garrett would have bet that the guy had sensed the intelligent animal.

  He did NOT sense Me with any of his Flair, the cat, also a tom, insisted. He smells like rich.

  Garrett grunted. Probably a Nobleman. A spot between his shoulder blades twitched and the damn foreboding increased. Sounded like a man with a problem. A high-class client usually meant a tough problem. The last one had included theft, kidnapping, and murder.

  And he smells like a long-eared, ball-tailed housefluff Familiar Companion, the black cat that Garrett called Sleek Black continued.

  More interesting, but still not enough data for Garrett to figure out who the
guy might be.

  And he smells like RESIDENCE.

  Only the greatest Nobles on the planet lived in Residences—Houses as intelligent as these animals, and a lot longer lived. Interested, Garrett asked, What do Residences smell like?

  Cats would sometimes answer, but usually not unless they wanted something from him. He made it a point to always be in the credit column with intelligent cats, giving them information without expecting payment. It had irked him at first, then he’d shrugged and accepted it as a cost of doing business.

  This time, again, there were many replies.

  Special housekeeping spells for pee, said the brindled tom.

  And for puke, said the fat brown tabby female.

  Thick, rich, nose-stop smoke smells for rituals, said the leader, sniffing lustily, as if proving he could.

  Expensive incense, Garrett translated. The twenty-five FirstFamilies—descendants of the colonists who had funded the trip from Earth—all resided in sentient Houses. Garrett ran through the lords mentally, but didn’t come up with any reason why a person so powerful would want to hire him.

  A yowl went up, followed by more. We get Our FOOD!

  Garrett winced. FINE! he yelled back at them telepathically. Stop that caterwauling, NOW.

  They did, having learned by experience that when he gave such an order, the consequences of disobedience could be major. Like a delay in being fed.

  Now they ringed his feet, staring up at him, narrow-eyed.

  He said, I will feed you in the back courtyard. Then he’d see if he could come up from behind the Nobleman and check him out—begin the conversation on his terms. And whip his inner dread into shape, get control of the problem from the start.

  Quiet, the cats trotted after his own soft-footed prowl to the back entrance of the office building. The area was paved with flagstones as old as the building in the optimistic hope that the tenants would have gliders to park. No one who rented in the building was wealthy enough to do so.

  He murmured the spellshields down and the locked door open with a few Words. Once inside he tilted his head but sensed no one else was there.