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“I think we’ll be able to find it now, boss. If we have to.”

She nodded. We started back to the van. No other cars passed by on the road. “Ray, this only works if we trust each other. You understand? Because either one of us could come back later and move that thermos. Either one of us could cut the other out.”

“Boss, if I wanted to cut you out, I wouldn’t have handed you that thermos. The truth is, I need your help. It’s not enough to hide the Book of Oceans from the Wally Kings of the world—or from the other peers, either. There are two more books out there, and I don’t trust anyone with that power—”

“Neither do I.”

“Not even the two of us. I don’t think we’re ready for it.”

Her answer was quieter this time. “Because of what you did in Washaway. And Lino Vela.”

“Yeah. We will be ready for it, someday, but not yet. Like I said, stashing one book isn’t good enough. We need to hunt down the other two.”

“That’s all, huh? Just go out and find them?”

“That’s all.”

“And what then? You and I form a new, kinder, gentler society?”

“Yes. We clean the serpents out of the nest. This whole legion-of-brutal-killers thing isn’t working. It’s a losing strategy. We can do better.”

She didn’t respond, and I couldn’t read her expression in the dark. We returned to the van.

“Ray, this is incredibly dangerous. You don’t even understand how dangerous it is. You’re just my stupid wooden man.”

“All they think about is their limitations,” I said to her.

“Don’t throw my own words in my face—”

“Some things should never be easy.”

“Dammit, Ray! I’m the peer and you’re my wooden man! You belong to me!”

“I know I do, boss. You’re in, though, right?”

“Fuck, yeah.”

I started the engine and pulled onto the highway. It took a long while to get up to speed. “Where to, boss?”

“Straight through to Vegas,” she said. “You look like you could use some sleep. Then we’re headed east. You’re going to the First Palace. The peers want to meet you.”

“Um, really?”

I wasn’t sure if I should be pleased about that or not, so I changed the subject. “Can you convince the society to work with Talbot? He’s an asshole, but he saved my life.”

“I’ll make a call. It probably won’t do any good, but I’ll call.”

“Damn. He was really looking forward to living a century or three.”

“Not everyone earns a golem-flesh spell.”

I turned to her. “What?”

“Not everyone earns that spell,” she snapped, annoyed at having to repeat herself. “Especially in the last few years. Only older peers like Csilla can even manage it anymore.”

I touched the spell Csilla had put under my left arm, the one that healed me when I ate meat. Annalise had called that mark golem flesh.

For once, she understood my expression. “Didn’t I explain that part?”

“Jesus.” I wasn’t sure what to say. I was going to live to be, what? Five hundred? Older? “How long until I talk gibberish like Csilla?”

“Gibberish? She was telling you the secrets of the universe.”

Be sure to check out the first two novels

of the TWENTY PALACES series,

Child of Fire and Game of Cages!

CHILD OF FIRE

Ray Lilly is the lowly driver for Annalise Powliss, a high-ranking member of a secretive group of mage hunters known as the Twenty Palace Society. When Annalise is injured on a mission, Ray must carry on in her stead and defeat a powerful sorcerer who is sacrificing dozens of innocent lives. As if that wasn’t tough enough, Ray only knows one spell! Can Ray best the virulent wizard and destroy the source of his inhuman magic?

“Excellent reading … delicious tension and suspense.”—JIM BUTCHER, author of The Dresden Files

GAME OF CAGES

A small town in the North Cascades is the site of an unholy auction in which a shadowy group of wealthy collectors gathers to bid on a dangerous creature that could exterminate all life on earth. Ray Lilly is assigned only as backup to the Twenty Palace Society investigator, but all hell breaks loose when the creature escapes and Ray, armed with his single spell and a mean left hook, is forced into survival mode.

“Will enthrall readers who like explosive action and magic that comes at a serious cost.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Table of Contents

Cover

Other Books by This Author

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen