It was an easy downhill trail with only a few places where we had trouble with the coach and Lady’s wagon. By noon we reached the first trees. An hour later the first contingent were aboard a ferry raft. Before sundown we were inside the jungle of D’loc Aloc, where only ten thousand kinds of bugs...
Willow Swan grumbled when I joined the crowd around Lady. Her staff were munching rolls one-handed while she told them what she wanted done so she could catch Narayan. “You turn up every time things get nasty.” Blade showed me a smile. “The man needs a girlfriend.” “Thought he had one, only she a...
“You got me by the balls,” was his response when I asked him how I could deal with my dreams. “Goddamn it! Croaker said you’d have the answer. But if you’re going to be that way, screw you. Stick it in your ear.” “Hey, Kid. Take it easy. What way?” ...
He was impressed by the array of mystical and thaumaturgic gewgaws Longshadow had assembled during one short generation. Such had remained scarce while they had been in thrall to the Lady and nonexistent under the rule of her husband before her. They had wanted no one getting independent. Howler ...
We huddled in our blankets, shivering, as unmotivated as guys get without hanging it up. Weren’t many of us wanted to be in that haunted grove in the first place. Yet something I could not quite catch, some elusive emotion deep inside me, told me this was critical, that th...
The warning confirmed her suspicions. Her nonhuman spies had been having almost no success keeping track of the enemy. Which meant the enemy was taking pains to be less visible. Soulcatcher raised the state of alert and stepped up training. She redoubled her own personal p...
“You seem surprised. I told you I’d see you on the plain.” “You did. But I don’t need it to be right now. Right now I need to sleep.” “You are. You’ll wake up as refreshed as if you hadn’t dreamed at all.” “I don’t want to be drifting around loose from my body, either.” “Then don’t.” “I can contr...
Not enough to make mistakes but enough to slow him down. Cullo had commented, not unkindly, expressing a genuine concern. Aaron had not been able to shake it. Billygoat sat down beside him as he started on his lunch. “Think it’ll rain? Looks like we got some clouds coming in.” Aaron grunted. It d...
He had sent someone to dig Elmo out of Duretile, where he was trying to placate Whisper. Whisper was getting goosed by the Lady regular and taking it out on anyone handy. Goblin was unsettled by what he had learned. He did not play the usual game and try to make me guess w...
He was awake but he ignored me. I said, “The Daughter of Night still lives.” “I know that.” “You do? How?” “I’d know if you’d harmed her.” “Then you need to know this. She isn’t going to stay unharmed ...