Roxie instructed him, “and think of England.” Burton struggled to sit up in the office chair. “Who’s bringing up the steam-truck? Tell me it isn’t O’Shaughnessy.” Roxie plucked another pellet from Burton’s side and tossed it to the plascrete floor, where it hit with a gentle plink. “You object...
Eddie snorted, rolling to his feet. “Tell me how we get out of here.” Pushy bastard. He slapped his hand under his armpit and ground his teeth when his fingers found nothing but pictures of coiled whips stamped on flannel. The glowing flies scattered as he thrust his head into their cloud. “And t...
Knuckles plowed his eyes and his jaw and angry fingers dragged him to the ground so boots could kick him, over and over again.“Don’t kill them!” he heard the husky voice of the lamia cry. “Apep likes his meat fresh!”Then something stabbed Eddie in his arm, really hard, and he lost consciousness.*...
The guitar crunched out the end of the chorus with a cymbal crash.Across the room, the bouncer of Butcher’s looked like he was having a bad night. He leaned against the slightly lopsided bar and scanned the thin crowd with contempt, arms crossed over his denim jacket and a semi-automatic pistol v...
She knew that each burning meteorite, bright despite the noon sun overhead and dragging behind it a plume of black and yellow smoke, must be a Swordbearer. She should be hurrying to get out of the city, she knew, but instead she ran toward its center.She wanted to warn Azazel; she owed him that m...
The last pin clicked into position and the lock opened. The tramping of boots overhead and the muffled gunshots made the dwarf a little hesitant, but a moment’s reflection convinced him that all the chaos would provide further distraction for his errand. He checked the narrow hallway in both di...
Dyan warned the Magister. “I could cut you down where you stand.” “Then I’ll sit,” Zarah said. “If I am to die, I’d like to do it comfortably.” She settled carefully onto an arm of the same ridge of stone against which Dyan leaned. “I could yell,” Dyan told her, “and warn the others.” “So could I...
Absalom rode across to the west bank of the river in the folding back rumble seat of a Strider with a long-faced woman he didn’t know and her two children. He had tried to maneuver to get into the same Strider as Annie, but when passengers had lined up to board, he hadn’t been able to find her. ...
Poe was dying. “I’d put the hypocephalus under your head,” Burton joked, “but it’s flat, and would give you no comfort. The Egyptians made lousy pillows.” He knew Poe had it worse than he did, but he hurt, too, arm, leg and chest. He hadn’t been in this much sheer physical pain since the night...