“Are you coming?” Razgut asked, shouldering his way through the gash in the world, so that half his body disappeared into the ether of Eretz.
Karou nodded. The rest of him vanished, and she breathed deep of the raw air, gathering herself to follow. There was no more happiness. But under the misery, there was hope.
That the name Brimstone had given her was more than a whim.
That this was not the end.
… to be continued
My first thanks are for Kathi Appelt, Coe Booth, Carolyn Coman, Nancy Werlin, and Gene Luen Yang, for changing my life as a writer. Deepest, deepest thanks, forever.
To Alexandra Saperstein and Stephanie Perkins, for reading every inch of this book many times over, and managing to stay excited about it. Every writer should have readers like you. But they can’t have you. You’re mine. Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!
To Jane Putch, who is so much more than an agent: Thank you. Thank you. This one is for you.
To my darling Clementine, for being an easy baby—I dare say, a perfect baby. If it weren’t so, finishing this book would have been a very different experience.
And of course, for Jim Di Bartolo, my wonderful husband. For everything from reading and encouragement, to making playlists and coffee, to sharing the baby duties and holding down the fort while I was “Elsewhere.” My cherished partner in things both creative and mundane—books, laughing, travel, diaper-changing—I couldn’t do it without you, and wouldn’t want to.
Mountains and fountains of gratitude for Alvina Ling and the whole amazing crew at Little, Brown, my new home. This has been so amazingly fun so far. Your creativity and enthusiasm brighten my horizon. Thank you. In every language real and imaginary: Thank you.
Lastly—and this is kind of goofy, but so what—thank you to the world for being a wild and inspiring place, full of odd creatures, strange people, and mysterious cities. I hope by and by to know you better.
Contents
FRONT COVER IMAGE
WELCOME
DEDICATION
1: IMPOSSIBLE TO SCARE
2: AN UNVEILING OF SORTS
3: CRANNY
4: POISON KITCHEN
5: ELSEWHERE
6: THE ANGEL OF EXTINCTION
7: BLACK HANDPRINTS
8: GAVRIELS
9: THE DEVIL’S DOORWAYS
10: HITHER-AND-THITHER GIRL
11: PLEASE
12: SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY
13: THE GRAVEROBBER
14: DEADLY BIRD OF THE SOUL
15: THE OTHER DOOR
16: FALLEN
17: WORLD APART
18: BATTLE NOT WITH MONSTERS
19: NOT WHO, BUT WHAT
20: TRUE STORY
21: HOPE MAKES ITS OWN MAGIC
22: A PIECE OF EMPTY CANDY
23: INFINITE PATIENCE
24: FLYING IS EASY
25: NEVER PEACE
26: A SOFT WRONGNESS
27: NOT PREY, BUT POWER
28: ATTITUDE OF PRAYER
29: STARLIGHT TO THE SUN
30: YOU
31: RIGHT
32: BOTH PLACE AND PERSON
33: PREPOSTEROUS
34: WHAT’S A DAY?
35: THE TONGUE OF ANGELS
36: TO DO ELSE THAN KILL
37: DREAM-LOST
38: UNGODLY
39: BLOOD WILL OUT
40: ALMOST LIKE MAGIC
41: ALEPH
42: ACHE AND SALT AND ALLNESS
43: SNAP
44: WHOLE
45: MADRIGAL
46: SUDDEN
47: EVANESCENCE
48: PURE
49: TEETH
50: SUGARED
51: THE SERPENTINE
52: MADNESS
53: LOVE IS AN ELEMENT
54: MEANT
55: CHILDREN OF REGRET
56: THE INVENTION OF LIVING
57: REVENANT
58: VICTORY AND VENGEANCE
59: THE WORLD REMADE
60: IF FOUND, PLEASE RETURN
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
COPYRIGHT
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 by Laini Taylor
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Little, Brown and Company
Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Visit our website at www.HachetteBookGroup.com.
www.twitter.com/littlebrown.
Little, Brown and Company is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The Little, Brown name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
First eBook Edition: September 2011
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
ISBN: 978-0-316-19214-9
Table of Contents
FRONT COVER IMAGE
WELCOME
DEDICATION
1: IMPOSSIBLE TO SCARE
2: AN UNVEILING OF SORTS
3: CRANNY
4: POISON KITCHEN
5: ELSEWHERE
6: THE ANGEL OF EXTINCTION
7: BLACK HANDPRINTS
8: GAVRIELS
9: THE DEVIL’S DOORWAYS
10: HITHER-AND-THITHER GIRL
11: PLEASE
12: SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY
13: THE GRAVEROBBER
14: DEADLY BIRD OF THE SOUL
15: THE OTHER DOOR
16: FALLEN
17: WORLD APART
18: BATTLE NOT WITH MONSTERS
19: NOT WHO, BUT WHAT
20: TRUE STORY
21: HOPE MAKES ITS OWN MAGIC
22: A PIECE OF EMPTY CANDY
23: INFINITE PATIENCE
24: FLYING IS EASY
25: NEVER PEACE
26: A SOFT WRONGNESS
27: NOT PREY, BUT POWER
28: ATTITUDE OF PRAYER
29: STARLIGHT TO THE SUN
30: YOU
31: RIGHT
32: BOTH PLACE AND PERSON
33: PREPOSTEROUS
34: WHAT’S A DAY?
35: THE TONGUE OF ANGELS
36: TO DO ELSE THAN KILL
37: DREAM-LOST
38: UNGODLY
39: BLOOD WILL OUT
40: ALMOST LIKE MAGIC
41: ALEPH
42: ACHE AND SALT AND ALLNESS
43: SNAP
44: WHOLE
45: MADRIGAL
46: SUDDEN
47: EVANESCENCE
48: PURE
49: TEETH
50: SUGARED
51: THE SERPENTINE
52: MADNESS
53: LOVE IS AN ELEMENT
54: MEANT
55: CHILDREN OF REGRET
56: THE INVENTION OF LIVING
57: REVENANT
58: VICTORY AND VENGEANCE
59: THE WORLD REMADE
60: IF FOUND, PLEASE RETURN
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
COPYRIGHT