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Chapter 18 Part 2

Innkeeper Chronicles, Sweep of the Heart POST A COMMENT by

When we last left our intrepid heroes, Odikas, the head of the Kyporo delegation who forced Ellenda to become one of Kosandion’s prospective brides, was dragged back to the Dominion in disgrace to face charges of human trafficking. As the delegations reeled from that shock, Dina and Sean asked Cookie to follow up on the information Dina received from the woman with scales at Baha-char. Dina’s informant had told them that one of the candidates was a Muterzen pirate prince in disguise out to make a name for himself and now his identity needs to be confirmed.

It was two hours until midnight. I sat on the balcony of the Ocean Dining Room savoring a cup of oolong tea and gently rocking in a rocking chair I had stolen from our patio.  Sean sat in the other chair, drinking decaffeinated coffee.  It was late and he didn’t want to be wired.  Beast napped by the rail, while Gorvar had somehow climbed on top of the other table and lay there, his tongue out.  He liked being high up.

The deep amber ocean of Kolinda shimmered with bioluminescent sparks, as if the setting sun had bled its glowing lifeblood into the waters and now it flickered in the depths. The air was warm and smelled of salt and sea.

To our left and slightly behind, the interior of the Ocean Dining Hall behind floor to ceiling wall of glass glowed with honey-colored light like a giant garden lantern. It was quiet and mostly empty.

Just inside the doors retracted into the floor, Orro slumped in a big chair at a round table, an exhausted heap of dark quills. The taller of his assistants had curled up on the floor, the other crawled into a chair and passed out. Droplet had pushed two chairs together, climbed onto them, and wrapped her fluffy tail like a blanket around herself.  None of them noticed me quietly reshaping the chairs and the floor under them into comfortable loungers so they could stretch out. The food on their table remained mostly untouched.

It had been a long day. All remaining delegations decided to discuss Kyporo’s expulsion and all of them wanted to do it over dinner in their individual quarters at different times. The kitchen staff was exhausted.

The ocean shimmered.  Amber lights in front of us, warm yellow glow behind.  Sean and I sat in the narrow strip of shadow and watched the waters under an endless sky, studded with alien stars and so deep, looking at it for too long filled you with vague unease.

My earpiece chirped steadily, delivering a successive assortment of the Dominion’s news broadcasts into my ear.  The fall of Tair Odikas was the talk of the nine planets.

Olasard padded out of the dining hall on his fluffy paws and hopped into my lap. I put my tea on the small side table between my and Sean’s chair and stroked the cat’s back.

According to the news casts, the saga of Tair Odikas stretched back many years, long before Kosandion was born.  Four centuries ago, Kyporo faced a crisis.  The planet’s population had outpaced its natural resources while its space technology was in its infancy. Kyporo joined the Dominion to save itself.

Before the unification, Kyporo had a rigid, striated society with sharply defined social castes, while the Dominion adhered to the belief that every citizen had the same rights. The integration of Kyporo was slow, difficult, and took centuries. Officially the castes were now abolished, but the citizens of Kyporo were long-lived and had good memories.

Odikas came from a long line of patricians, the highest caste of Kyporo. His great grandfather was the Prime Councilor, revered and venerated, and on the rare occasions he had condescended to leave the hallowed halls of the Grand Council and stepped into the street, among the commoners, people of lesser castes knelt and touched their foreheads to the ground.

No matter how much education and cultural exposure they had, some people craved to be bowed to.

Odikas followed in the footsteps of his ancestors, climbing to the post of the highest elected official, resisting change, and doing his best to block the Dominion’s attempts to integrate the planet. His highest aspiration in life was to resurrect the old customs.  His greatest ambition was to step outside and see an ocean of bent backs with not a single person daring to meet his gaze. He would’ve rebelled if he could, but the Dominion managed Kyporo wisely, leaving them very little military autonomy, and the public sentiment among the younger generations wasn’t on Odikas’ side. Once the genie of freedom came out of the bottle, it was hard to put it back in.

For the forty years he was in office, Odikas flirted with separatism, made grand pronouncements about national identity and independence, and hated Kosandion’s father, who had removed the last vestiges of the old social system. When Caldenia murdered her brother, the Sovereign already faced an external threat from an alien species and domestic opposition on several fronts.  His death struck the nine planets like a meteor, causing numerous fractures. Odikas had taken full advantage of that.  Kyporo was the last planet to accept Kosandion as the Sovereign, and Odikas and his faction continued to be a massive pain in the ass through his reign. Until today.

Sean pulled the earpiece out and put it on the side table between us. I took mine out as well.

“I scanned the Holy Ecclesiarch when he went to his quarters.”

Sean glanced at me.

“He’s in perfect health. I mean he is elderly, but there is nothing inherently wrong with him. He could live another decade or two. You don’t seem surprised.”

“He doesn’t smell like a sick man on his deathbed.”

“Do really sick people smell different?”

“Usually.”

“I think Kosandion knows. I think this whole thing with the deathly ill Ecclesiarch is carefully orchestrated.”

“He’s using us to clean house,” Sean said.

“Yes.  Kosandion used the Ecclesiarch’s illness as a pretext to separate Odikas from his faction, isolated him here, and most likely manipulated the ratings to assure Kyporo’s elimination.”

Sean nodded.  “For Odikas it wasn’t just politics. It was personal. Kosandion recognized it, so he backed Odikas into a corner and gave him just enough rope to hang himself.”

“This had to be a long time in the making. Nothing that happened today was a surprise to anyone in the Sovereign’s faction.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t high-five each other when Odikas was dragged away. Resven practically wet himself in excitement.” 

His voice didn’t sound right. Sean radiated tension, as if his body was knitted from it.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I’m frustrated.”

“Because?”

“I don’t like being a pawn on someone’s chess board. I did that for a while, and I put it behind me.”

He was hardly a pawn, but that was beside the point. During the time we defended the inn against attack by Draziri, I ended up being hurt.  After I came to, my sister told me that Sean killed several attackers and put their heads on spikes.  I’d watched that footage.  He’d looked tense like that just before he carved them to pieces.

“He’s using us,” Sean said. “You, me, Gertrude Hunt.  Caldenia. To what end?”

“I can ask Her Grace.”

“Would she tell you?”

“I don’t know, but the worst she can do is say no. I can tell you one thing, if George and Kosandion ever get together, I am packing up and moving to another galaxy.”

The inn tagged me.  The Higgra delegation wanted to talk.  I pulled up a screen to their habitat. With the Dushegubs, I didn’t bother, I just projected the disembodied voice, but Higgra would want a visual.

The habitat appeared on the screen, a dense space of real and synthetic trees interrupted by jutting rocks with smooth tops and conveniently placed soft perches. Cyanide sprawled on the nearest perch, her huge white paws dangling over the side. Her golden eyes focused below my face and widened.

“Why did you pick him up?”

I glanced down.  Olasard was still on my lap, and I’d been unconsciously petting him.

“I didn’t.  He jumped on my lap on his own.”

“Why?”

“He wanted attention.”

Olasard tilted his head to give me better access to his jaw and flashed his emerald-green eyes at Cyanide.

The two cats stared at each other.

A minute passed.

Another.

“Is there something you wanted?” I asked.

“Yes.” Cyanide frowned in a weird cat way, her muzzle going slack, her forehead wrinkling.

Olasard kneaded my knee with his claws gently and looked at me. I held out my hand.  Gertrude Hunt dropped a brush into it, and I began gently brushing his soft grey fur.

Cyanide lifted herself up on her forelegs and leaned all the way into the screen.

Olasard purred.

“What was it you wanted?’ I prompted.

“It’s not important.”

The call cut off.

Okay then.

Sean narrowed his eyes, looking up into the sky above the ocean.

“What’s the matter?”

“Something is coming.”

I looked in the direction of his stare. A white star detached from heavens above the horizon and streaked toward the inn, slicing through the air at shocking speed.

Sean bared his teeth. “Muterzen pirate cruiser.”

I let Olasard off my lap, stood up, and planted the broom into the floor. Its shaft split, exposing its glowing inner core.  A shoot of the inn slid through the floor and wrapped itself around the staff, binding us into one.

The cruiser was clearly visible now, a big, strange shape, as if six giant barrels had been bound together bristling with weapons.

Behind me Droplet let out an alarmed screech.

The two forward facing barrels ignited with brilliant red.

I sank my consciousness into the inn, merging with Gertrude Hunt and raised the void field.

The barrels flashed.  Twin warheads shrieked through the air toward us.  The time slowed and I watched them spin as they hurtled straight for the inn.

A phantom breeze stirred the hem of my robe.

The warheads met the invisible wall of my void field and detonated. A wall of blinding white fire drenched the space in front of us.  Water exploded straight up, like a tsunami, flowing over the invisible dome above us, all of it silent.

The inn didn’t shudder. The air current didn’t change. The lights didn’t flicker. No sound penetrated. The balcony and the hall behind us reminded as tranquil as ever.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Droplet standing on the table.  Ever hair on her body stood on end.  She looked like a cartoon squirrel who’d been electrocuted. The two assistants cowered behind her.

Orro opened one eye, glanced at the balcony, yawned, waved at Droplet with a limp hand, and fell back asleep.

Sean got up and pulled off his robe.  He wore a dark combat suit underneath. The subcutaneous armor that masqueraded as tattoos expanded, sliding in a black wave over his neck. He held a knife with a green edged blade. His eyes were clear and bright.

The water drained down.  Alien fish and long serpentine creatures rolled and slid over the void field, tumbling back into the orange depths.

Sean pulled a branch out of the floor.  It wound around him. 

“Make a hole,” Sean said.

Being in love with a werewolf: enjoying unwavering support interrupted by moments of intense terror. This was a terror moment. He trusted me, and I had to trust him.

The last of the sea creatures splashed into the ocean.  The cruiser hovered right in front of us.  They couldn’t believe it.  They had come in for a closer look.

I split the void field, parting it like pages of a book.

The branch grasping Sean snapped, flinging him into the air. Gorvar jumped up on his table and let loose an eerie, hair-raising howl. Sean landed on top of the cruiser and stabbed it.

Yep, that’s exactly what I thought he would do.

The knife carved through hull steel like it was butter. Sean’s body broke, expanding into a large shape in a blink. Dark fur sheathed his head. He grasped the edge of the ballistic plate with his clawed hand and tore it off.  It fell into the water, and he dropped into the hole he made.

I reinstated the void field and sat into my chair.

Gorvar kept howling.

The cruiser hovered in place. They had to have seen him cut his way in.  They probably thought they could either kill him or neutralize him.

“Awoooo!!!”

“Come here,” I called.

The big wolf leaped off the table and ran over to me.

“He will be fine,” I told him. “This is what he does.”

The lupine beast sat next to me and stared at the cruiser. I did, too. Judging by the size, it had a crew of anywhere between 50-100 and all of them would be armed and used to close quarters combat. Sean had his claws and a knife. I exhaled slowly, trying to vent my anxiety with it.

Gertrude Hunt moved the screen it had sprouted for Cyanide in front of me. I looked at it.  A call from Cookie’s quarters. I accepted the communication, and the little lees appeared on the screen.

“Good news,” he said. “Everything your contact told you checked out.  I have independent verification from multiple sources.”

The cruiser shuddered.  The void field ate the sound, but it looked like something might have exploded.

“That’s great,” I said.

“Does he have access to any outside communications?” Cookie asked.

“No.  He is completely isolated.”

Cookie nodded.  “That’s good.  That’s very good.  They can’t warn him.”

The cruiser listed to the right and began to spin in slow motion, moving away from the inn.

“Why would they know to warn him?” I asked.

“There were complications.”

The cruiser was upside down now, its barrels turning randomly. 

“You promised to be careful.”

Cookie looked taken aback.  “I’m always careful.  But they were very alert.  I think they know that we suspect, or they suspect that we know.”

“You don’t say.”

The cruiser broke in half. Explosions flashed in the gap.  The stern half slid and plunged into the ocean, sending another massive wave toward us. It splashed against the void field and slid down. Gorvar whined softly. I petted his head.

“I wanted to warn you in case they attempt to attack. Forewarned is forearmed.”

“Thank you, but your timing sucks.”

I turned the screen so he could see the remaining chunk of the cruiser slowly slide downward as its propulsion systems failed. 

“Oooooooh,” Cookie said.

Tony came striding out of the dining hall and said in a great imitation of an English accent.  “I felt a great disturbance… Oh hell.”

The remaining half of the cruiser landed into the waters and broke apart.

“Did you fire at it?”

I shook my head.

Tony looked around. “Where is Sean?”

“Take a wild guess.”

He stabbed his finger at the fracturing hull of the sinking cruiser. “Is Sean in there?”

I nodded.

“How…?”

“He used the inn to throw himself at it.”

“Does he know you have anti-aircraft weapons?”

“He does. He installed half of them. He is making a statement.”

Tony landed in Sean’s chair. I dismissed Cookie’s screen and watched the underwater explosions flash.

“Does he do this kind of thing a lot?” Tony asked.

“Define a lot.”

“I’m sorry,” Tony said.  “This must be very stressful.”

“Not as stressful as it is for the pirates inside.  He is slaughtering them in there.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Tony said.

“I know.  Thank you for caring.  It is stressful, but I picked him, and I have no regrets.”

We sat quietly for a few moments.  The cruiser was almost completely submerged now.  Only a corner of the hull protruded above the waves.  The sea around the wreck churned, as the local wildlife realized there were delicious meaty bits inside.

Sean was a good swimmer. I held on to that thought like a life preserver.

“I spoke to my dad,” Tony said. “We are more popular than the Superbowl. Everyone is watching.”

There would be more excitement tomorrow. “Did he have any advice?”

“He says we’re doing great. He’s surprised we haven’t killed a Dushegub yet.”

It had become my personal goal to get through this mess without losing any of the guests while they were on inn’s grounds, Dushegubs included.

“Two more challenges left,” Tony said.

“Yes.”  The talent challenge was next. “Do you think he will hand out roses tomorrow at the elimination ceremony?”

Tony cracked a smile.  “We can only hope.”

A bright red flash announced another explosion.  I jerked.

“Do you want me to go help him?” Tony asked.

I shook my head. “It’s the matter of trust.  I have to trust that Sean wouldn’t take on anything he couldn’t handle.”

Tony nodded, rose, patted my shoulder, and walked away.

Five minutes later I dropped the void field and watched human Sean climb up onto the balcony. He was wet from head to toe, but otherwise uninjured. He straightened and grinned.  I put my arms around his dripping body and kissed him. His face was cold, but his lips were warm, and he tasted just as I remembered. He squeezed me to him. Gorvar whined, circling around us.

“Sorry,” Sean breathed into my ear.

“That wasn’t cool.”

“It was a little bit cool.”

“No.”

“Admit it, you were impressed.”

I shook my head.

He laughed and there was no better sound.

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Comments

    • Tony looked around. “Where is Sean?”

      “Take a wild guess.”

      *Cackles maniacally*

  8. I live for Friday at 1045am CDT. Highlight of my week. Let’s me escape the insanity of working in an emergency room in the heart of Houston for 30 minutes every week. I get to go to an inn where the innkeeper is ruler, hospitality and civility is the rule, and when those rules are broken out you go.

    Thank you.

    • Thank you so
      much for all you do 🥰. So glad the Innkeeper provides relief!

    • I can only imagine how many times a shift, you’ve wished for your own magic broom!
      It takes a special kind of person to work in a hospital, let alone the E.R!!

  9. ::happy happy happy happy happy:: you guys rock and are a wonderful relief from the never-ending ball of drama that is my brother’s family. I have to take my 17-year-old niece to buy some fireworks because my brother and sister-in-law won’t let her use any of the money she has earned herself at her jobs (yes, plural) to get some fireworks to enjoy with her friends on this holiday weekend.

    I love my family, but I don’t always like them… ::sigh::

    • Every time I see TGIF I’m reminded of a joke.
      This guy gets on an elevator and the girl inside looks at him, smiles and says “TGIF!” He looks at her funny and doesn’t say anything. She repeats herself, thinking he didn’t hear her, “TGIF!!” Once again he looks at funny and shakes his head. So she elaborates, “ya know, thank God it’s Friday!” This time the guy looks at her and says “S.H.I.T.” Now the girl is offended, and says “Why would you say that to me?!” The guy replies, “Sorry, honey, it’s Thursday.”

  13. Definitely a little bit cool.

    I love how HA wraps up so many things in just a few paragraphs. We know a lot more about Dominion history and how it works inside, we know why the Ecclesiarch was smiling (glad he isn’t about the stab the Sovereign in the back), and we know Cookie isn’t perfect.

    Of course we have a new mystery: what did Cyanide want, and how did watching Olasard on Dina’s lap make it unimportant?

    Also glad we got a glimpse of the kitchen crew. This extended competition is time for them to shine, but hey, everyone has limits!

      • Yep! Busy either planning grooming vacation packages, or how to entice groomer au pairs to work in their part of the Dominion.

      • Cyanide has just seen how powerful the domestic so called cat is. This cat has an Innkeeper dancing attendance on it… giving it all sorts of personal attention, grooming and feeding etc etc. So who’s the slave here, eh? Who’s the smart boss?

    • I think Cyanide was thinking that mating with a humanoid might have some advantages that they hadn’t considered. Purrrrr

    • Didn’t Olasard have SN (Sebastian North) on his collar? O seems to be a special cat and probably Cyanide realized what O truly is.

      • He had the initials SN on his collar 🙂. Dina ventured a guess it might stand for Sebastien North, but they might not be

        • If I remember correctly, one of the henchmen in The Edge #4 was named Sebastien North. I’ve always been curious what the possible tie-in could be. I eagerly look forward to finding out!

          • There is no Sebastien North in the Edge, I’m afraid 🙂

            There is a Sebastian, second in command to Helena d’Amry, in Fate’s Edge- maybe that’s what you’re remembering? Different name however 🙂 (before the Horde breaks something running to check hehe)

            • *lies broken and twitching from where he made the newbie mistake of getting between a few of the horde and House Andrew’s fact checking*

    • I’m guessing that whatever Cyanide wanted, they decided that it wasn’t worth interrupting the pleasure of Olasard for. 😁

    • Maybe Cyanide just figured out who the real power at Gertrude Hunt is.
      I, too, have been owned by a cat.

      • Yes, I have been owned by many cats in my life. Each one probably thinking that maybe they’ve made me a little better for the next one 🤣

    • Maybe she was going to ask to get Olsard out of slavery and Olsard showed up to make it clear it wasn’t he wasn’t enslaved. He was royalty and the Innkeeper couple were his servants. Who knows what Olsard really is. He may be like Beast, other than what he seems.

  15. These weekly instalments are both a joy and a cruelty. They are so good, but never long enough. But really, nothing short of the whole book would be long enough and then we would still whinge for more . Thank you for the joy.

  16. After that fight, I wonder if Sean is feeling less stressed? I wonder what Cyanide wanted to talk about and why the sight of the soul ripper on Dina disturbed her to the point that she forgot it? Going to reread now

    • She’s a wild cat. Olasard is a (supposedly domesticated) cat. No other explanation is necessary.😁

    • I bet she’s going to ask for a brush from the Inn and see what it’s like to have someone brush her. I wonder if Cyanide can purr? I don’t think all (any?) large wild cats can.

      • Lions, leopards, tigers, snow leopards, and jaguars cannot purr, but can chuff(basically the type of purr a human can do when making motorboat noises). All other felines can purr, including mountain lions and cheetahs.
        And we have no idea what an alien feline is capable of when it comes to purring. Who knows, she might be able to.

        • Basically, a terrestrial cat can purr or it can roar – not both.

          As Kelticat says, who knows about alien cats. Perhaps they can choose?

        • Oh, yes!! Have heard tigers, Amur leopards, and snow leopards chuff. Also lucky enough to hear clouded leopards chuff – waited very quietly in the observation area of their zoo habit. They were very good at hiding in their habit to “people watch”!!

      • If it can roar, it can’t purr. Lions, tigers, leopards (of various types), and jaguars roar. Two species we normally group into the big cats because of size technically aren’t, cheetah’s and mountain lions can purr. Cheetah’s chirp and mountain lions scream. Love this chapter and seeing how Dina and Sean have grown in their relationship.

        • My 9 year old son recently learned about this and has been talking my ear off about it (and other big cat facts) for weeks. LOL! Seeing it here was unexpected but hilarious.

          • Introduce him to the concept of ligers, tigons, and jagleps. That should expand the conversation. And they’re pretty cool looking. While it mostly happens in captivity nowadays, DNA from lions has been found in snow leopards, much the way Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA is found in modern humans.

            • Thier actually have been studies looking into the possibility of speciation events from hybrids like this. They are not always sterile and if such crossbreeding occurs often enough it can actually lead to “branches” of the species better able to survive shifts in climate and habitat. I’ll see if i can dig those studies up and post later

  17. Wow! Top 20!

    Thank you for the installment despite the chaos!
    Much appreciated!

    Have a great weekend!

  18. Hurray!
    After a horrible week and an upcoming stressful weekend, I got ten minutes of relaxing into a life-and-death struggle. Tends to put things into perspective, doesn’t it?

  22. omg omg omg…. SPACE PIRATE ATTACK!

    That was awesome. I loved Orro looking up and then going back to sleep, completely trusting Dina, Sean and the Inn to take care of it.

      • Yes, there’s not attention to spare for Otto to visit his Dramatic Woods

        • That was suppose to say OMG, I hope ….. why is there not an edit option and why has the auto correct gone stupid on my iPad?!?!

            • Heh, when Orro gets dramatic, I hear Mr Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton in Toy Story 3!) or David Hype Pierce’s voice (the Stick bug in Bug’s Life)!

          • The real name of the feature you call “auto correct” is “auto corrupt. It was designed to steer the discussion berween the users of every forum in ways they would never expect. Thus enhancing lateral thinking and preventing boredom amongst other things.

      • Completely agree. He’s too tired. 😀

        On a different note: I’ve got a few questions for HA…

        How did the Space Pirates know where on the entire planet of Kolinda the balcony opened up on? How did they know it was on Kolinda at all?

        If Olasard’s collar was meant to be a lead to Sebastien North, how on earth was that pulled off? The Nuan matriarch was the one who asked for the ennui feline. Was she part of the set up? Or… was something watching (over) Dina?

        Was Aurelia the only one to get a prophecy in Blood Heir?

        Will we ever see the story from Ascanio’s or Derek’s point of view?

        And why is Ruby Fever coming out on the same day as Soul Taken from Patricia Briggs? Noooooo!

        I’m sorry I know it’s a lot, but these questions are like itches on my imagination. I can’t shake them.

        But I do think I know how an Ad-Hal is made. Big kudos to HA if I’m right. Deep roots and all that.

        • Hi Heather,

          I think we will find out how the pirates got the intel, but one possible explanation is that the pirate assassin who is pretending to be a candidate in the selection was able to share information.

          Olasard and the Ennui Predator are different animals. The collar on Olasard only had the initials SN, it didn’t say “Sebastien North” and I’m not sure what you are asking about it being pulled off? Sorry.

          We will have to read the next book in the Aurelia Ryder series and see 🙂.

          Derek or Ascanio POVs have not been discussed.

          Books are usually released on Tuesdays and there are only so many Tuesdays in a year, some releases are bound to overlap 🙂

          Hope this helped.

          • I will read both. I may have to take that Tuesday off from work!

            And the sequel to Blood Heir is near the top of “Books I must read before I die.” 😀

            I remember that Olasard and the Ennui Predator were different critters. I just remember that Dina was looking for an Ennui Predator at the pet store when she ran into the furry soul ripper and couldn’t resist picking him up. And his collar had SN on it we found out later.

            We don’t know if the collar had SN on it when Dina got it.
            If the collar had SN on it and it was a clue to Sebastien North, how was that arranged?
            How did they know that Dina would be at that pet store then to find him?
            Or was it arranged after the fact?

            Ahhhh… too many questions! I’m sorry.

  26. Stupendous! Heart in throat the whole time after the ship was boarded… The suspense is killing me! (Thank you for the gift of more Innkeeper)

  29. If George and Kosandion ever got together…another galaxy might not be far, far away enough.

  30. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
    Beyond words.
    Thank you. Hope you have a better weekend than last.

  32. Olasard, Tonys entrance and a marvelous chapter, love Dina and Seans Version of a relaxed Moment. Although I wonder what would have happened to the pirates if Sean had had real Coffee instead 🤗
    Thank you for spoiling us with this chapter.

  34. Here’s to no more power outages. Yeesh.

    At least this was the first and best read once it came back on. Orro rocks!

    Happy Fourth weekend, folks.

  35. Thank you!!! Brilliant as always!

    Still laughing

    “Does he do this kind of thing a lot?” Tony asked.

    “Define a lot.”

  36. Awesomeness as usual. I keep think it can’t get any better and then it does. Thank you

  39. Thank you for the chapter. Ohhh, I wonder what Olasard is to the Higgras. Can’t wait for the next installment. Have a lovely 4th of July weekend.

    • I think he’s undercover. That his current body is not his normal everyday body. I recall Dina thinking about how odd he was when she first saw him in the pet shop. I thought of this when Olasard & Cyanide were staring at each other. I don’t know. Just brainstorming…

        • +1 like the sphinx? Smaller, cuter and easier to ahem, underestimate? although as a cat owner I will tell you, they own you, not the other way around. And they do it so well, you don’t even know you are a slave to your cat…

  42. Does the spouse of an innkeeper ever become an innkeeper too? Can an inn have two keepers? Like if Dina were to die, not asking for it to happen mind you, would the inn still go dormant if Sean were there?

    I know way back when, when Dina had the death of the inn the inn didn’t go dormant because Maud was there…

    I noticed this asked on the last chapter and thought it was a good question:)

    • Sean is an Innkeeper and has been since Sweep with Me.

      Dina’s parents were also both Innkeepers 🙂.

  43. My spouse and I laughed over ‘when we last left our intrepid heroes’ as that is the intro to most of our D&D sessions

    • I was just thinking the same thing! I started saying that after watching Matt Coville’s YouTube channel and that’s the first thing I thought of

  44. The pirates are attacking the inn, but not on Earth, at its extension on the ocean planet? I was a bit confused by this point.

    • No, you got it. Think about it as a door: that part of the inn exists on that particular planet. They couldn’t attack the inn on Earth and they didn’t know about the other doors, but somehow someone told them about this one. Who and how? Stayed tuned. Muahahaha!

      • So that meant whoever the pirate prince is, he someone how communicated to the pirates which planet the Inn, or at least the dining hall, has a connection to so they knew which one to approach from? Or I guess they could have seen it on the broadcast and did their version of a Google-search on the image to see which planet it was. That would work better if there’s a comms blackout for the contestants.

        • Might the assassin have put a beacon or a tracker on the porch or even tossed it out of the windows facing the sea?
          Perhaps that’s how they found it?

          I don’t have to know, but that’s at least a possibility.

      • That was exactly what I was searching the comments for — to see if someone else asked this. But couldn’t Dina have had Gertrude Hunt suck the balcony inside and closed the door? Or were they expecting the attack from this direction and decided to let it happen?

          • Sorry, I went all the way back to Chapter 16, to make sure I wasn’t missing something about the pirates.

            It would really cost Gertrude Hunt more energy to crush the terrace quickly than to use the void field?

            • They are making a statement 🙂. They have weapons, but Sean is attacking them in hand combat. They could hide, but instead they’re brushing off the hit.
              The Innkeepers are omnipotent whilst on the grounds of their inn and some unlucky pirates have just learned that and more.
              The Universe is watching.

              • Oh, and was this televised as well? As part of the whole slection process? because if it was televised that’s bad ass right there…

      • That’s good. And necessary, since it would be more difficult to avoid a breach of the Treaty if they attacked the Inn from the Earth side.

      • what an incredible sequence….
        and thank you soooooo much for explaining how the pirates were attacking from Kolinda.

        Since I’m very partial to cats, I’m thrilled that Cyanide got a close up, and Olasard’s nonchalance–spot on.

        And as someone who is always hungry and loves trying new foods, and never shows up to any extended family gathering empty-handed, thank you also for the shout out to the kitchen crew!

      • My guess is House Meer. Didn’t Dina send one of their knights to that planet to punish him? They then had sea serpent for dinner.

      • I’m thinking about Cookie’s information search on the pirate prince and the little problem they had.

    • The inn opens portals to planets, like an open doorway. Dina can make it large enough for a balcony, it’s open to that planet. So it’s also vulnerable from that planet. The void field covers it along with the rest of the inn.

  45. Love every clip
    How far will Dina’s power grow. I look forward to seeing it.
    Can’t wait for the book to be published, well I guess I can and will look for it.
    An excellent story so far and undoubtedly will be great as an entire work.
    Thank you for these snippets.
    Sorry for your hard times. Glad you have family to help you.
    Best wishes

  46. With all that y’all have had going on with the house, I wasn’t expecting a posting this week. What a pleasant surprise! Thank you very much for the installment. I am very much enjoying this book (like all the others). I just wanted to share how much your books have come at the right time to help me take some breaks through some very challenging times in the last few years. The Innkeeper series got me through a tough inpatient stay during my last trimester, then a very tough 4 month NICU stay about 3 years ago. The Nevada Baylor books provided me with a much needed escape from reality when one of my twins was hospitalized for 3 months because her heart surgery didn’t go as hoped. I leaned on the Kate Daniels series as a distraction post my daughter’s third hospitalization, which also didn’t go as hoped, and loss of a parent in 2020. Now we’re looking at another surgery at the end of the summer, and I am anxious with what’s to come. The weekly update notifications in my inbox brighten my Fridays. I go back and read the chapters a couple of times each week. thank you!

    • For however it may help, many good thoughts and prayers are being sent your way 💕

    • I hope you find lots of good things to read. I never go to the ER without a book if I can help it. Also hope you get through this without having to find too many good books. Best wishes for good outcomes and uneventful recoveries.

  48. A clearly dominant feline ordering attention and grooming from an all-powerful Innkeeper may have been a tad unsettling.

  51. I clearly need to read back through all the chapters but I am spacing out so its easier to ask.. who is Olasard?

    • Olasard is the cat Dina adopted in One Fell Sweep. He was named by little Helen after the Ripper of Souls of vampire legend 🙂

    • He is also wearing a collar with the initials SN.
      Clue or red herring… we’ll see soon enough!

  52. Thank you for this! I love how chill Orro was (granted he was tired), he was like it’s ok everything’s fine, Dina & Sean will take care of it 😂😂😂

  54. Love this! Can’t wait for the next challenge. Y’all are troopers for getting through Paint-Gate and still putting this out. We the horde bow at YOUR feet. -grin-

  55. Classic Sean. He needed to blow off some steam.

    Great chapter! I know it’s been a stressful week, but I hope you have some relaxing down time over the holiday weekend.

    • >He needed to blow off some steam.
      Like Curran with the magically-created (and delicious) bull in the book with the genie.

      Luckily for the guys, their gals are trouble-magnets, so they get to let off steam a lot. 😉

  56. Thank you once again for an awesome chapter! I love everything HA writes, but this is a perfect example of exciting action and hilariously understated comedy all at once…so good! 😁

  57. Thank you for this break in mortality and discharge to home data. Two of my co-workers and I got caught up in ad hoc work, and we are all either cross-eyed or brain dead by now. I get the joyous task of putting all the data into one giant table that needs to make sense to upper leadership.

    No one will get to the Inn with Sean on standby. Awooo is right!

    Now back to work. Not as great as being at the Inn, but it pays the bills. 🙂

  59. Ooh, quiet scene and a quietly killed pirate cruiser. And a Star Wars quote! Food for my soul after a grueling week.
    One question though: obviously, the pirates expected to take out the inn, but they would have killed their undercover pirate prince too if they had succeed. No honor among among pirates? Two birds killed with one stone by a different faction maybe?

    • I was wondering that too. All covered under Cookie’s “complication” I assume.

      Can’t wait to see that “excitement tomorrow. “

  61. There is nothing I am not loving here.
    With 4 Maine Coons in the house, plus a tabby dsh, the whole cat thing is lovely for me. Olasard, enjoying brushing seems miraculous though.
    I am hoping for the story to go on forever, and yet to finish eventually. Also really looking forward to GA of this

    • That is a lot of fur!
      One of my kitties, Fender Thunderbird Taylor – who has massive floof but is too cool for snuggles, will fetch me and walk me to his “grooming spot” when he is ready to be brushed. It is how he lets me show affection.

      • I have a 15-yo boy whom I adopted as a kitten. He will not cuddle. He’ll sit next to you on the couch, but no touching. But, oh, when it’s time to service the m0053, he doesn’t give up. He also picks his special place — “this week I can only be petted on the pink rag carpet. Oh look, I threw up on that carpet, so *this* week I can only be petted on the mat by the balcony door — and for 15 years, his special time to be petted is between 2 & 3am. If my husband gets the special petting gloves, he will come running (a bit more slowly nowadays), but that doesn’t change that when we get up at night to pee, he’s waiting to beg for pets.

        But I have read repeatedly that adult cats are primarily non-verbal. They make noises to us because, like kittens, we don’t understand their body language and whisker twitches. Which makes me wonder what the conversation was between Olasard and Cyanide.

  62. Thank you for the tall tales, from a far away world. This so makes my weekend.

    Lots of things to un-pick.
    What is going on with Olasard?
    What question did Cyanide want to ask?
    What are the Dominion really up to?
    Can we please have more of Sean fighting -ahem!!

    Happy Friday.

  63. I just love when something so dramatic is happening but everyone sits back and stays calm carrying on conversations. Very much makes a statement! At least Sean got to play a little. 😁

  65. Instead of roses, they could always hand out red shirts for the elimnation round! heh…

    Lovely installment. Love the dynamics. Life in the inn. Never a dull moment.

    • Oh yes, red shirt team. Although that might be a bigger statement than Dina is willing to endorse except for the Faker Pirate, lol.

  66. *makes grabby hands* No! I need more!

    jk. But I am on the edge of my seat..can’t wait.

  67. Loved, loved, loved!

    I’m impressed Sean ! *sigh* Where can I get my own cool werewolf? *sigh*

  68. I delay my lunch hour on Fridays just so I can read these uninterrupted. They are so amazing they take me away from a crummy work or work politics. It is just amazing how good they are at immersing the reader completely. This book is awesome! I may buy 2 copies 😀

  69. Ok, I just re-read (even better than first read-through!) but now I am a little confused: who is Tony’s father, and how is he watching the proceedings? I thought that Tony is the human police officer who knows about the Inn (and who is helping with security at this event.) If he and his father are human, I could see how he might talk to his Dad about all of this, but I am confused as to how his Dad would know that everyone is watching?

    • You are thinking of Officer Marais.

      Tony is the Ad-hal, his father is Brian Rodriguez, innkeeper of Casa Feliz in Dallas 🙂

    • Tony’s father is another Innkeeper. Tony is the ad-hal. The police officer is Officer Marais.

    • Tony is an adhal, and son of Brian, the only other innkeeper we have met. The police officer is Marais.

      • Sorry, we are all trying to help and should have known that the most honored and competent mod R would step in. 😘

        • No worries, one of the things I love about the BDH is that we are always all so willing to help each other! 🥰

  70. More WOW!
    Happy Canada Day (aka July 1st)
    Happy Independence Day (aka July 4th)
    Thank you for another great installment!

  72. i have a question. i thought the balcony looks out towards the ocean of kolinda where you see sky and the waves. are the waves generated by the explosion and the cruiser falling so high it submerged the inn enough so they can see the creatures too? or did the inn have a view of both the top and bottom parts of the ocean? 🤔

    • The warheads met the invisible wall of my void field and detonated. A wall of blinding white fire drenched the space in front of us. Water exploded straight up, like a tsunami, flowing over the invisible dome above us, all of it silent.

      and
      The water drained down. Alien fish and long serpentine creatures rolled and slid over the void field, tumbling back into the orange depths.

      The attack brought water and creatures up 🙂

  75. Loved, loved, loved this chapter! I am most intrigued by Caledonia and Kosandion’s relationship. THANK YOU SO MUCH! ❤️ HA ROCKS!

  76. I worry for Dina’s nerves for when/if she and Sean have kids. I could picture little boy/girl following their father to neutralize a threat to their home. Add in Helen and the galaxy best be on its best behavior because children of Innkeepers are badass.

  79. My new favorite: “unwavering support interrupted by moments of intense terror”!!!

    Love it – thank you so much! Now reading again…

  81. Another fabulous chapter. I smiled, I laughed, and I felt refreshed at the close.

    I’m wondering if Cyanide will somehow unlock the Sebastian North thread on Dina’s parents. 🤔

  85. Interesting. So the inn is actually on Earth and Kolinda at the same time?Is that only because the portal to Kolinda is open? (IE when the door is closed, the inn ceases to be on Kolinda.) Or is it always in all the places it has portals to? And will we find out how the pirates knew to look for them on Kolinda and not Earth?

    • I ask because it was more fun for Sean to destroy the pirate ship, and probably a good way to burn off some of his frustration. But could they have done the same thing less dramatically by simply closing the portal? Annoying though that might be.

      • Your answer is in the text. 🙂 Dina explains exactly why it’s done the way it’s done.

        • Sorry, I was unclear. I realized why they did it they way they did, I just wondered if closing the portal would have worked too.

          • Fictional physics being so much more malleable than the real world kind, it means I must rely on the authors to define what is and isn’t possible.😉

    • In Sweep with Me, Dina tells Adara that the door to the Inn is always there in Baha Char and gives her a “key” to it. That kind of implies that if the Inn makes a door to a place, the door is always there, even if it is closed.

      • Yes, the door is always there once made 🙂, in a fixed space. It is invisible and undetectable when closed, but sometimes the innkeeper can chose to leave behind some sign of it, like a communicator. That’s what Dina has in Baha-char 😊

  86. I believe that maybe a big kitty will get some good scritchies before this is over.

  90. Awwww
    Such touching heart moments with Sean and Dina!
    I do love the emphasis on trusting your partner and accepting all of who they are. It is a very healthy emphasis 🙂

  92. Amazing tour de force as always. Love Orro’s reaction, that is priceless.

    The only downside is the politics in the story hit a little close to home,&I will leave it at that.

    Loved Cyanide looking at the cat deciding they wanted attention, there reaction is pure cat.

  95. What an awesome installment! Thanks so much!

    I think there is something off about Olasard and Cyanide noticed. Its not as simple an answer as her simply being intrigued by the brushing, but I love a wild theory.

    • Ooooh! Maybe Cyanide sees more to the Ripper of Souls than what he presents as, and therefore his choice to *allow* Dina to pet him or brush him is more significant than just caring for a pet? Or maybe Dina’s caring for a feline impacts/changes their view of Inns and Innkeepers?

      • Up until now they only saw Sean and Dina with their dogs, Leena, which would put the back up of any self-respecting cat…

  96. Thanks for the excellent chapter and yesterday’s teaser!

    Question and I apologize if it has been asked before. Has anyone wondered if Caldenia and Konsandion are working some kind of Long Game together? This popped into my head in the second book for some reason, and sits at the back of my mind whenever I read an Inn book.

    • We’ve only met Kosandion in this book as far as I remember? How did you have a theory about him since Sweep in Peace? 🙂

      • Kosandion does not appear to be angry that Caldenia killed his dad/her brother. Because he was a bad dog? Caldenia took him out before he could hurt Kosandion or the Dominion? Caldenia took the fall/blame and Kosandion understands so has taken no action against her. Caldenia is still looking out for him.

        And maybe I’m totally overthinking this…

        • Isn’t it all explained by Dina? She says that the Dominion has the emotional connection and that Everyone is part of that… So once the leader is believed to be the worst by the majority of the populace they will be assassinated. Once the balance tipped, the person with access and skill was Caldenia. So K would know it was not personal, except in the fact that C was pushed to assassinate his Dad by the upset of the Dominion majority.

          That’s what I remember from this book.

          • Dina does explain that the Dominion enjoy a link and a leader crisis hits them hard, but the rest is a reader theory 😊

      • Well at that time, I was not sure, but thought that whoever was ruling might be working with Caldenia. My mind is like that, thinking of connections that are not obvious. Sometimes they turn out correct, sometimes not. On another note: everyone here knew what I meant by ‘a long game’. Family and friends who don’t read scifi/fantasy, don’t.

  99. Just wanted to say I love the pictures that you have put with the various chapters. Very Cool. Great description of Sean’s catapult to the cruiser and all. Thanks!

  108. These are not the pirates you are looking for…. Oh crap, they are hehehe. Another great moment demonstrating Dina’s omnipotence with Gertrude Hunt juxtaposed with the intimacy of her relationship with Sean… it was a little bit cool – thankyou House Andrews!

  110. This entire series needs to be a show. I just love it so much. Thank you for sharing it with us!

  111. Great Friday evening. A bench in the sunset and the next part.
    Great as always.
    Thanks

  112. It was cool. At least in the images my imagination is conjuring it is. This made some very boring papers at the conference worth sitting through.

  115. Thank you!!!! Have a Happy Fourth of July! Hope that your bad paint saga is in process of being resolved. Thank you!

  116. Great start to the 4th of July weekend- fireworks and all. Maybe Dina and Sean can tag George and see what he thinks about all this…or would that go against Sophie’s agreement. This must be political shenanigans and intrigue galore.

    So does this mean the pirates have broken the Galactic rules and barred from Earth?

    • They attacked from Kolinda so they did not break the rule about Earth humans seeing evidence of aliens 🙂. Is that the one you were referring to?

      • Yes. Hmm…but if Dina didn’t have the void field up, the warheads would have destroyed part of the inn.

        Well, they may not try another attack after Sean single-handedly destroyed their ship. Like a wolf instead a space pirate coop!

        Was the attack televised too to Dominion?

  117. Another great chapter. Still so many questions! What other secrets are the candidates hiding? We have royalty pretending to be scholars, brilliant women pretending to be airheads and a pirate prince. No wonder it’s more popular than the super bowl!

  118. Again Thank you! Question, did Watching the Bachelor or Bachelorette help you come up with the idea for Sweep of the Heart?

    • House Andrews were only adjacent to a person watching it hehe, but that is indeed where the inspiration came from 😊

  119. If Kos is using the spouse selection as a way to clean house, what does that imply for Team Smiles? Is there someone in that party that he needs to eliminate politically?
    Hooray for the multitasking imperial leader.

  120. I SO love the Inn Keeper Series!!! I have them in all formats and cannot wait till this one comes out in graphic audio!!

  122. My favorite line in today’s installment:

    “ I picked him, and I have no regrets”.

    This sums up my feelings for 37 years of marriage so succinctly and unequivocally. I had to pause for a moment while reading to let the universe begin spinning again. HA is amazing.

    My apologies if quoting the story is not allowed. It just struck a really deep chord within me.

    • Ofc you can quote the story 😊!

      So happy to hear about relationships where that line resonates!

  123. Exciting action! So much for the pirates. I’m more and more impressed with the Inn. It appears to be a sentient being that can do pretty much anything. It is very much attuned to the innkeepers. Looking forward to what the choice will be.

  124. Two Good Things today.

    Another fun Innkeeper episode.

    Canada 🇨🇦 Day! (And everlasting thx to the folks who chose to immigrate here to make a better life for their children — when they were children themselves! Jumping from everything they knew into the Future.)

  125. “We are more popular than the Superbowl. Everyone is watching.”

    WOW! Great advertising for Gertrude Hunt and all of Earth’s Innkeepers! And at no expense to Dina and the gang.

    When this is all over, I hope that the Innkeeper Assembly gives Gertrude Hunt one or more stars in the Innkeeper Directory.

    • The Assembly gave Gertrude Hunt a star at the beginning of this book. They were too embarrassed to have the Dominion Sovereign stay at a lower ranked Inn. GH now sits at 3.5 stars if I remember correctly.

      • Yes, but that star may have been intended only for the spouse selection, and for the inn to revert to its permanent 2.5 stars afterward.

        But, if Dina and Sean can continue with their successful performance, I hope the Assembly lets them keep the 3.5 stars.

  128. Please point out where rules of elimination were outlined.

    I am under impression there are 3 challenges, and after each challenge, multiple candidates would be eliminated based on ‘ranking’.

    Wrt pirates, is Cookie’s info/evidence strong enough to have pirate prince arrested by Dominion? Or does jurisdiction fall to Innkeepers? Someone else?

    • We will have to read and see 🙂

      The “rules of elimination” were described in Chapter 13 and you are spot on 🙂 https://www.ilona-andrews.com/2022/chapter-13/ “As you know, the candidates face three challenges. The three least popular delegations are eliminated after each challenge until only three candidates remain for the final ceremony.”

        • Hi Marijke,

          As you can read in the chapter above, the elimination ceremony for the first trial has not happened yet 🙂

  132. Thank you, HA, for another delicious chapter and with that a very enjoyable start into the weekend!
    Send you hugs and supportive thoughts, to help you conquer your renovation challenges.

  133. Stress relief!!! That was both funny and remarkably cool. And now everyone knows how badass Sean is, LOL. Thanks for the new segment despite all the furor at home. It is much appreciated!

    Hope everyone enjoys the holiday!

  134. Question. What happened to the cat? The one with the name on the tag that may be related to what happened to Dina’s parents. Was that mentioned? I honestly forget what I read the week before.

  135. Btw I am really appreciating the introductory recaps you’ve started doing. I tend to forget from one friday to the next what happened most recently in the story. Thumbs up!

  137. Omg Sean 😂😂😂😂😂 I hope they got that part on film. Be perfect for the Baddest Baddasses of the Dominio Reel. 😂😂😂😂 I think Orro’s reaction was my fav.

    • Sean’s going to have more werewolves show up to court him 🤣

  140. Awesome! I was holding my breath until Sean came back!

    Welcome back, and thank you for a fun ride👍

  141. Sooooo does anyone think Sean and Dina are going to make some adorable, brillant, little wild child babies someday? They are going to be cute, smart, and give their Mama hypertension like their Daddy does when they get into mischief 😂😂😂
    Uncle Orro will teach to say “Yes, chef!” Uncle Cookie with teach them to be sharp traders, Uncle Arland and Aunt Maud will send them swords to teeth on 🤣
    Oooooooooh and Aunt Caldenia will teach them political acumen. They will take over the galaxy before they can drive.
    Ok, my tangent is over lol

  142. I got such a giggle about Orro being unbothered – this isn’t his first (or second, third, fifth, ninth) attempted invasion of Gertrude Hunt. That and the quick bit about ‘define often’ and stream of ‘troublesome guests’ awhile back paint such a fun (for Sean, maybe) picture of how Gertrude Hunt has settled into the niche of ‘the inn to go to if you might have angry folks with explosives after you’. This is just life now — hah!!

    I wonder if the Dominion audience (especially that under 25 Surkar supporting segment) is going to try to call for Sean as a candidate…or if the crowd appreciating Dina’s explanations and vast knowledge might likewise try to make a push—not that either would consider it.

    That last line is lovely. Sean and Dina moments make me so happy!

    • Aaah sorry for the double post but also — Cyanide getting Dina’s attention for a request only to not proceed is such a cat thing to do that I wonder if she recognized/ communicated with Olasard or if she really was just doing the the thing of making sure the human ~would~ be available to acquiesce to requests. I can’t tell you how many times my feline friend has given all indications of an urgent need for a door be opened only to blink at it and go somewhere else once opening occurred…

      Thank you for another absolute joy of a chapter!

    • Not only will the Dominion audience want Sean as a write-in — yes, I realize that they probably don’t get a write-in, this will probably up the number of werewolves throwing themselves at Sean.

  144. Oh it just keeps getting better and better! Thank you for another kick a$$ installment! 🥰

  145. I am thoroughly enjoying the new Innkeeper, although that is hardly a big surprise. But as I was reading, it occurred to me that we really need some of these scenes from Sean’s point of view. Something like the Curran’s POV collection.

  147. That makes be this how the cat is the answer to where Dina’s parents are …. Or that happened to that Inn.

  149. Awesome episode! Cool beans! or whatever the current vernacular is that was Tony the tiger “GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Thank you

  151. Ya know sometimes I get questions , who are your favorite writers (silly).I answer, mostly the one I’m reading now. However that is not true, Ilona Andrews is usually in context because they are very, very talented. Clever, humorous, accurate writing with a knowledge of “humanity”, politics and why people act they way they do. This chapter is an example of their talent. It displays much of what makes their fiction meaningful and important. Right now they are my favorite writers. Thank you for the delightful FREE stories, guys
    .

    • I like a lot of authors and there are many books that I buy just because a certain author wrote them. But I have to admit that I CRAVE books by HA. I’ll buy anything they write because I know it will be good, outstanding, fantastic.

      Since I first read Kate HA has been my favorite. HA you could publish a telephone book told in your words and I will buy it. Just saying.

  152. Sorry,” Sean breathed into my ear.

    “That wasn’t cool.”

    “It was a little bit cool

    Oh yes, that was WAY COOL…..Sean, way cool and way impressive.

  153. Sean reassure Gorvar!

    Thank you for more wonderful story and particularly for “I picked him, and I have no regrets.” which sums up how I still feel about my other half after thirty-eight years.

    • Happy partner, happy life. Sean has to go to Dina first… the big floofer will be fine once Dina is happy…. I’m pretty sure Dina thought it was a little cool, even if she was freaked out.

  154. Olasard 🐾 that part I loved. More than Sean ripping apart a pirate ship. Lol great fun.

  158. Wait! The cat woman paused looking at Olassard on Dina’s lap… I assumed because she’s feline and it triggered something… but what if she saw the SN charm on his collar? And knows something about Dina’s parents?

  162. Another great chapter. Thank you.

    Reading the blog replies have made me question more. Sooo many possible plots and sub-plots. What is Caldenia’s full story? What is Kosandion’s story? ( I don’t think the assassination of the brother/father is as straight forward as it seems ). What is Olasard?

    • I really want a whole Caldenia prequel, honestly. Her political mechanizations are outstanding.

  163. I want Dina and Sean to be made into a TV series. it would beat the hell out of the good witch

  164. Terrific chapter- I can’t identify the most delicious scene because each moment enlivened and emphasized the previous one. Each verbal exchange whetted my appetite for the next. In other words= HAPPY DANCE!!!!

  165. Oops, more: If this has such high ratings, is there a chance Dina’s parents are watching- from wherever they are? The question mark is probably misplaced.

  167. I missed “as the local wildlife realized there were delicious meaty bits inside “ the first three times I read it!!!!

  168. Another totally awesome chapter!!
    📚💖📚💖📚💖
    Thank you so much!!
    Now for a re-read!!

  171. Wheeeee!!!

    I was very confused about the pirate attack at 1st…
    a) how could the pirates attack and not cause a panic on earth
    b) where the hell did the water and sea creatures come from

    It took 3+ rereads of that section just to figure out ‘ohhh the attack came on the other planet through the portal’

    I felt like Cyanide was upset that Dina would dare treat a fellow feline with disrespect… and I feel like there is some connnection between the whole ‘I won’t speak to you, soulless creature that you are’ and her reaction to seeing Olasard being groomed.

    Otherwise I love that Orro has been through so much at the Inn that he now trusts them enough that he just goes back to sleep.
    I love that Dina and Sean do such a good job protecting the Inn that no one even knows they are being attacked.
    I also love that Dina just sits down and deals with her anxiety, but I cant help but wonder if Sean will ever learn to trust her in that regard the same way she trusts him.

  172. Thank you so much! I am so grateful for these installments! Totally makes my week, every time. Big hugs, hoping for a happy ending for your home reno.

  174. Always some new surprise. “He used the inn to throw himself at it.” Yeah, Sean, that was sooo cool! He obviously enjoyed himself. I really want to know what Cyanide was thinking while watching Dina pet and brush Olasard. She probably wants her own pet human to brush her. And who wouldn’t?

  175. I have a question from a previous chapter, of which Tony’s comment (everyone is watching) reminded me.

    Tony’s dad told Dina that the Assembly didn’t raise her Inn’s rating after the Drifan battle bc of Orro’s public outburst. How did the Assembly find out about the cooking show incident?

    Also, was the pirate attack recorded by the Dominion? Or just the Inn? I guess the incident will come to light when the would-be assassin is expelled from the Inn so the Universe can appreciate Sean’s statement?

    • Emily, I’m guessing that everyone in the audience pulled out their phones and started videoing Orro loosing it at the cooking show and uploaded to youtube! LOL

  176. I had to re-read this to figure out which direction the pirate ship attacked from. I was pondering the issues of Sean chopping an interstellar ship in half over a Texas neighborhood. How would they know to attack through Kolinda? But, satisfying, none the less. The reveal should be interesting. One of the things I like the most about the Innkeeper series is the lack of unnecessary angst. It’s very relaxing. I must say that I am curious what Cyanide will do with this new knowledge of human/feline relations.

  178. “A phantom breeze stirred the hem of my robe.” Like that slow-mo silent pause in movies before the speedup to the big kaboom.
    That was awesome.

  180. I love, love, love that House Andrews gives us so much in so few words. Thank you.

    This has been a challenging week for me. I didn’t even know it was Saturday (Australia here) and so to be hopeful of a chapter. It has been an unexpected and wonderful surprise to come across in my emails. It was wonderful to escape my reality and read the chapter and comments for half an hour.

  182. Love Sean Having Gertrude Hunt “throwing him”at the pirate cruiser an Ripping it to Shreds with just a knife an his claws that just so damn Awesome!!

  183. Thank you so much for the second part of Chapter 18. This chapter is super glorious.

  185. Did the nuclear warhead dropped on kolinda ( from a previous book) not wreck the planet

  188. Thanks for the chapter. I hope your house paint job sucks less soon. Have a wonderful weekend.

  189. Thank you, Ilona Andrews. Titan Loved the snippet. I thought it was great. (Well Titan takes threats very seriously and we read Maud’s story as serial during his puppyhood.)

    So in my life, Mother who has not been able to walk unassisted since falling in my sisters shower was suddenly discharged from hospital —after multiple escape attempts to sister’s house. (Read that as No skilled caregiver facility would take her. ). PTs are ready to rip their hair out as she is being difficult about doing necessary therapy. Sigh. I really was looking forward to this week’s snippet. Thank you.

  191. How do they do it? In one chapter I am instantly transported back to the Inn and Dina’s world. I have read thousands of books and yet I keep going back to IA. I am currently re-reading the KD series, from book 1, and they are better each time. They make the world real, draw you in and make you invest in the characters. (I still miss Adora). They are my favorite authors and I will read anything they write. I will re-read all the chapters and when it comes out in novel form, I will purchase it and read it again. I wish they had clones, so I could always have a new IA book to read.

    • I am the same I read or listen to every book I have from IA at least once a year. It will never get old and will remain my favorite authors forever!

  193. It was a little bit cool. 🥰

    (The whole chapter was great)

    Happy weekend everyone.
    Happy Canada Day (belated)🇨🇦
    Happy Independents Day 🇺🇲
    Welcome back ModR and thanks for all you do for the BDH!
    Thanks House Andrews for these trips to the Inn and elsewhere!

  194. Re Sean’s “statement”: Does he want entire galaxy to know he is an alpha werewolf? [Talk of painting a target on yourself!] Was there enough time for pirates to send files of Sean in either form to their HQ/pirate prince?

    Surely there will be someone combing wreckage for info, not just of Sean, but of pirate operations and finances. Who will get there first?

    Sean’s green-edged knife might be very memorable to Nexus soldiers.

    • Not just his knife but his fighting style. Remember in one fell sweep Mauds Vampire fiance (cant remember his name embaressingly) recognized having fought against Shaun and attacked him.

      • Mike, I agree Arland recognized Turan Adin in Sean’s fighting style, but has presumably kept the secret since they will effectively be in-laws. Sean’s wet-work size plus distinctive knife and fighting style will make it easier for him to be recognized.

        • I’m not sure about that…Sean was in armor on Nexus, and he had a hand-to-hand combat session with Arland, when Sean was trying not to kill him. Not sure there are many survivors of Nexus who got that up close and personal. Ijs

  196. WOW Awesome instalment I am loving this story ALOT. Thankyou for being the wonderful creative geniuses you are.

  197. Longshot here, is there a post anywhere with a complete character list? I’m having some trouble keeping track of who everyone is (and the critters).

  198. Mod. R. I did have a question based off of some of the comments i have read that I hope you or the Andrew’s could answer. We know Innkeeping and Ad-hals are both jobs involving training and practice, not necessarily something one was born with. Main difference being that adhal power comes from within while Inkeeper draw on thier inn.

    The question is this: is thier any other difference in the power an adhal can draw upon, compared to an innkeeper? I ask because I think we have seen both Deena and Maud dip thier toes into Adhal power pool (Deena with the corrupted beings and being less drained second time round, and Maud going after the big bug dinos that were trying to eat her little girl).

  199. *lol* I love this chapter, I absolutely love when Sean decides he needs to make a statement. It cracks me up (like the time he peed on the apple trees). I can’t wait to see what happens next.

    On another note, Graphic Audio kicks butt. Please tell me if “Sweep With Me” and “Sweep of the Heart” make it into Graphic Audio format. Please please, please!

    You guys are just pure awesomeness.

  201. Have I said I love him yet? Ok. Well again he’s just dreamy. What a great chapter. We all know that Kos is using the chance to clean house and solidify his reign. I hope he gains a great mate and dynasty maker. All the characters are so interesting. The words play like a movie in my head. So talented HA. Thx for the fun.

  202. I wonder if there is a connection between the space pirates that kidnapped Wilmos and the space pirates that just attacked the inn. Seems a bit convenient.

    • As far as we know, Wilmos was kidnapped by corrupted Ad-hals, not space pirates 🙂

  206. I love the part where the two cats stare at each other. No one can do a staring contest like a cat. Olasard won. He looked at Dina and she immediately materialized a brush and started to brush him. He showed Cyanide that the innkeeper was his servant.

  207. Am so looking forward to having the whole book woven together. When did Droplet wander in? Obviously need more coffee…and a balcony on which to contemplate the worlds….

      • I love the hidden humor bits about Droplet, a vaskebiorn nicknamed racoon. Well, I happen to know that vaskebiorn means racoon in Danish. 😁😘

  208. Olasard outcatting the Cat delegation? GH 1

    GH vs Super Bowl? GH + 1000

    Sean vs Pirates? Puuuuuulease. No contest. Just super sexy 😉 GH +1,000,000…

    And you guys just make this stuff up🤦🏽‍♀️!!! Gotta love Friday!

  209. Maybe Olasard was just showing the other cat that the well trained human belonged to him.

  210. I haven’t seen anyone else comment on this–but isn’t there someone in the Inn already who’s dashing, dressed like a pirate, and working hard at charming Caldenia? Could the mysterious pirate prince be Gaston?

    On another note, I love how well HA knows cats. We’re servants to six, and we’re busy retainers most of the time. When two start a stare-off we get ready for fur to fly!

  211. I am following this story with abetted breath. Each chapter is a thrill to see what happens next. I love the Innkeeper series.

  212. Just how sapient is Gorvar, anyway? Also Beast, come to that. I’m not going to ask about Ripper of Souls; I’m afraid of the answer.

    Actually, I’ve been wondering a little about Beast for a while now. He looks like a Shih Tsu. But I’m fairly sure (moderately sure, anyway) that no Earthly Shih Tsu has a mouth that opens like Fizzgig. (Reference: The Dark Crystal) (I’d post an image but this silly site doesn’t allow it.)

    I’ve never read a book in serial form before – it’s both fun and maddening. Maddening because I’m perfectly capable of staying up till absurd o’clock reading because I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. Fun, because it just is. I love the comment section. And I love being a member of the BDH!

    • Beast is a Shih-Tzu-Chi according to Arland in Clean Sweep (his sister also has one). He is indeed an alien version of the Earth Shih-Tzu, which as you say do not possess the huge mouths with rows of teeth.

  214. This chapter is so rich with nuance and action that my heart was pounding the second time I read it! Now I’m going back to reread all of the posted chapters so that I don’t miss out on any of the little clues or possible easter eggs planted in future chapters.
    Happy 4th of July House Andrews, Mod R, and BDH members.

  215. I’d forgotten to add to my previous comment, I wonder if it’s ever occurred to any of the houses of the Anachrocy how advantageous it might be to have someone of an innkeeper background as part of the family due to their knowledge of a variety of cultures. 🙂

  216. Just in case no one knows, GrapgicAudio has all their Audio books on sale, including all the Innkeeoer novels. I just swept up all four, plus pre-ordered “Sweep with Me.” They are fabulous! Arland’s voice cracked me up–so snooty!

  218. I’ve read this many times and each time I giggle with delight. I love Sean’s statement. I’m looking forward to the talent competition.

  219. Ah, I was waiting to see Tony and Dina talk about what happened in Baha-Char. I keep expect him to lay some Ad-Hal info on her, she seems like she might have more ability than most other innkeepers or Ad-hal for that matter

    Was thinking, Gertrude Hunt should be able to open branches in the other worlds she can reach. Maybe build a small structure in the desert planet, maybe take over a buildings in Baha-Char. Dina seems to have no problem accessing her power there. Gertude seems to need more room to grow, maybe she could store spare furniture off-planet.

    I will miss this series when it comes to an end. Hopefully we can see some spinoff stories, Maud could use a few books, and I can’t wait to see little Helen come into her own. We know she has inherited the Innkeeper magic, or the dinosaur would not of targeted her.

    >

  220. Dushegubs – I may be trying to go into the mind of a murder trees. But what if they are not JUST murder trees. What if they are trying to escape every night because of they could escape their area other guests could escape their respective areas and maybe try to harm them. Also amongst the groups to known Sean I’d rank them pretty high, obviously the pirates didn’t know. So maybe the murder trees respect Sean’s ability to murder them enough that they are controlling some of their urges.

  221. Sometimes I get caught up in all my normal responsibilities, and I forget about the updates, but that just means I get to enjoy 2 when I have the time again! And what a way to come back!

    I really liked the interaction with Cyanide and Olasard!

  222. Okay I’m back again. I was re-listening to Clean Sweep for the umpteenth time and Dina’s first chapter description of Sean made me giggle:

    “He looked like he could pick up a fifty-pound rucksack, run across the city with it, and then beat an ungodly number of enemies to a bloody pulp with his bare hands while things exploded dramatically in the background.”

    Little did you know, Dina. Little did you know 😂😂😂

  223. Absolutely in love with this series! Can someone explain to me how the pirates ended up out side Dina’s void shield. I thought that dining room looked out onto Kolinda. So we’re the pirates on Kolinda looking at GH thru the void and how did they know to go to that particular spot or was it just a full sensory mirage? This has me very puzzled

  224. Every time I reread this, I get to ‘There would be more excitement tomorrow’ and I moan because we still have to wait a bit longer for tomorrow. I am so enjoying this book! Thank you! But, please, please, please….Friday get here soon!

  225. Thanks to the post about the cast of characters, I finally set my mind on the imposter.

    I knew I had missed some of the clues.

    I believe it’s Nycati.

    But I am still wondering about the female werewolf.

  226. Well! DAYAM Sean! Talk about kicking butt and taking names! Although, I suspect that most of them will remain nameless. That was an amazing chapter. Wow! Welcome back!

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