Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) aYou really intend to make him wait a month to marry you?a The woman laughed softly.

aI want him to be sure.a aDo you know how long the d.u.c.h.ess has been trying to marry him off? If she discovers he found a bride, you wonat escape.a aIam hoping to avoid the d.u.c.h.ess. I donat know anything about manners, haircuts, or proper clothes, and I hope to learn a bit before we meet.a Rose hesitated. aWhy would the d.u.c.h.ess care whether or not Declan is married? I mean, heas a courtesy earl. I know the Duke seems to rely on him and heas the Marshal, but I was hoping the d.u.c.h.ess wouldnat take an interest.a The woman stopped her roller. aOh, dear.a aIam sorry?a aDeclan has this annoying habit. He doesnat quite lie. Instead he allows people to arrive at the wrong conclusions and doesnat bother to correct them.a aYou know him very well.a Rose smiled.

aDear, in Adrianglia, n.o.blesa"they are called peers herea"

peers carry several t.i.tles. A duke might also be an earl or a baron. An heir can a.s.sume the rank of his sire only when his sire retires or dies. Until then, if the heir has completed his service and pa.s.sed his examinations, he a.s.sumes the next best t.i.tle in his bloodline.

Declan is a courtesy peer, because although he completed his service, his sire is still alive. He is the son of the Duke and d.u.c.h.ess of the Southern Provinces.a aOh G.o.d.a Rose dropped the roller.

aLook on the bright side: you donat have to worry about clothes, haircuts, or manners. If you marry Earl Camarine, you could prance into society in a potato sack and it would become the latest fashion.a aSo Ca.s.shorn was his uncle?a Rose asked. Maybe she misunderstood . . .

Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) aIndeed. And he always hated Declan and Maud, his sister.

You see, the mother of the current d.u.c.h.ess was born in the Broken. Thatas why Declan can travel back and forth between the worlds. He is what you might call a mix. Ca.s.shorn never could stand the d.u.c.h.ess. n.o.body quite knows why, and so hea"a Footsteps echoed in the hallway. Declanas voice called, aMother?a He ducked into the doorway. aMother, have you seena"a He saw Rose and clamped his mouth shut.

aIave seen, and I approve!a the woman said brightly.

aMother?a Rose stared at her.

The woman frowned. aI probably should have mentioned: that annoying habit of letting people come to the wrong conclusions and not correcting them? He got it from me.a Declanas face turned icy. aYou just couldnat leave well enough alone.a aNo, I couldnat. But I absolutely love her,a the d.u.c.h.ess answered. aDonat worry about the one-month requirementa"it will take me that long to organize the wedding.a Rose simply stared. An older version of Declan appeared in the doorway. aWeave misplaced the bride . . .

Oh, here you are.a He shouldered his way into the room.

An even older man followed. Gaunt and dressed in dark purple, he saw Rose and said, aWhy, she is lovely.a He glanced at the boys. aWhich of you is the necromancer?a A young female voice yelled at the door, aLet me into the room! Iam his sister, d.a.m.n it!a Rose backed away, pressing against the freshly painted wall.

They were too big, too loud, too full of magic.

Jack hissed.

Declan stepped forward, pushed the double doors open, took her hand, and pulled her through onto a wide Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) balcony.

aDid you see that?a the d.u.c.h.ess yelled. aHe rescued her from us. This wedding is on!a aSorry. Theyare just excited,a Declan told her, leading her to the end of the balcony.

aYou lied to me again.a aNo, I just didnat tell you the whole truth.a She shook her head. aA duke?a aNot for another twenty years or so.a aG.o.d, your mother probably thinks Iam an idiot.a aShe likes you. She likes the kids, too. Rose, Iam still me.

Does it really matter if Iam a duke or not? If I didnat have a t.i.tle, you wouldave married me already. Forget the castle. Forget my family.a One of the older men leaned out of the doors. aI just want to see the triple arch,a he called. aThen Iall leave you two alone!a aI love you. Marry me,a Declan said.

His eyes were green like gra.s.s blades.

She put her arms around his neck and kissed him as the triple arch of her flash spun about them. In the doorway, the older man swore.

Declan grinned at her. She grinned back.

aSay yes,a he said.

aYes,a she said. aBut not before the month is over.a Read on for an exciting excerpt from the next Kate Daniels novel MAGIC BLEEDS.

by Ilona Andrews Coming June 2010 from Ace Books!

NO matter how carefully I patted the chopped apples into place, the top crust of my apple pie always looked like Iad tried to bury a dismembered body under it. My pies turned out ugly, but they tasted good. This Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) particular pie was rapidly losing the last of its heat.

I surveyed the spread in my kitchen. Venison steaks, marinated in beer, lightly seasoned, sitting in a pan ready to be popped into the oven. Iad saved them for lasta"

they wouldnat take but ten minutes under the broiler. Homemade rolls, now cold. Corn on the cob, also cold. Baked potatoes, yep, very cold. Iad added some sauted mushrooms and a salad just in case what I had wasnat enough. The b.u.t.ter on the mushrooms was doing its best to congeal into a solid state. At least the salad was supposed to be cold.

I plucked a creased note from the table. Eight weeks ago, Curran, the Beast Lord of Atlanta, the lord and master of fifteen hundred shapeshifters, and my personal psycho, had sat in the kitchen of my apartment in Atlanta and written out a menu on this piece of paper. Iad lost a bet to him, and according to the terms of our wager, I owed him one naked dinner. Head added a disclaimer explaining that head settle for my wearing a bra and panties, since he wasnat a complete beasta"

an a.s.sertion very open to debate.

Head set a date, November 15, which was today. I knew this because I had checked the calendar three times already. Iad called him that evening and set the place, my house near Savannah, and the time, five p.m. It was eight thirty now.

Fooda"check. My most flattering set of bra and pantiesa"

check. Makeupa"check. Currana"blank. I drew my finger along the pale blade of my saber, feeling the cold metal under my skin. Where exactly was His Majesty?

Did he get cold feet? Mr. aYouall sleep with me and say please before and thank you aftera?

Head chased a flying palace through an enchanted jungle and carved his way through dozens of rakshasa Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) demons to save me. Dinner was a huge deal to shapeshifters.

They never took food for granted, but making a dinner for someone you were romantically interested in took a simple meal to a whole new level. When a shapeshifter made you dinner, either he was pledging to take care of you or he was trying to get into your pants. Most of the time, both. Curran had fed me soup once, when I was half-dead, and the fact that I had eaten it, even without knowing what that meant, amused him to no end. He wouldnat miss this dinner.

Something mustave held him up.

I picked up the phone. Then again, he enjoyed s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g with me. I wouldnat put it past him to hide outside in the bushes, watching me squirm. Curran treated women like wonderful toys: he wined them, dined them, took care of their problems, and once they grew completely dependent on him, he became bored. Maybe whatever I perceived to be between us was only in my head.

Head realized he won and had lost interest.

Calling him would just give him an opportunity to gloat.

I hung up the phone and looked at my pie some more.

If you opened a dictionary and looked up acontrol freak,a youad find Curranas picture. He ruled with steel claws, and when he said, aJump,a there was h.e.l.l to pay if you didnat start hopping. Curran and I mixed like bleach and vinegara"the moment we made contact, everyone wanted to be somewhere else. He infuriated me, and I drove him out of his skin. Even if he wasnat truly interested, he wouldnat miss a chance to see me present this dinner in my underwear. His ego was too big.

Something must have happened.

Eight forty-four. Curran served as the Packas first and last line of defense. Any hint of a significant threat, and head be out there, roaring and ripping bodies in half. He could be hurt.

Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) The thought stopped me cold. It would take a b.l.o.o.d.y army to bring down Curran. Of the fifteen hundred homicidal maniacs under his command, he was the toughest and most dangerous sonovab.i.t.c.h. If something did happen, it had to be bad. He wouldave called if head been delayed by something minor.

Eight forty-nine.

Screw pride. I took the phone, cleared my throat, and dialed the Keep, the Packas stronghold on the outskirts of Atlanta. Just keep it professional. Less pathetic that way.

aYouave reached the Pack. What do you want?a a female voice said into the phone.

Friendly people, the shapeshifters. aThis is Agent Daniels.

Can I speak to Curran, please?a aHe isnat taking calls right now. Do you want to leave a message?a aIs he in the Keep?a aYes, he is.a A heavy rock materialized in my chest and made it hard to breathe.

aMessage?a the female shapeshifter prompted.

aJust tell him I called, please. As soon as possible.a aIs this urgent?a f.u.c.k it. aYes. Yes, it is.a aHold on.a Silence reigned. Moments dripped by, slowly, stretching thinner and thinner . . .

aHe says heas too busy to talk to you right now. In the future, please direct all your concerns to Jim, our security chief. His number isa"a I heard my voice, oddly flat. aI have the number. Thanks.a aAnytime.a I lowered the phone into the cradle very carefully. A tiny sound popped in my ears, and I had the absurd Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) idea that it was my heart forming hairline cracks.

He stood me up.

He stood me up. I cooked a huge meal. I sat by the phone for the last four hours. I put on makeup, my second time in the past year. I bought a box of condoms. Just in case.

I love you, Kate. Iall always come for you, Kate.

You sonovab.i.t.c.h. Didnat even have the b.a.l.l.s to speak to me. I surged off the chair. If he was going to dump me after all that s.h.i.t, Iad force him to do it in person.

It took me less than a minute to get dressed and load my wrist guards with silver needles. My saber, Slayer, had enough silver in it to hurt even Curran, and right now I very much wanted to hurt him. I stalked through the house looking for my boots in a fury-steeped daze, found them in the bathroom of all places, and sat down on the floor to put them on. I pulled the left boot on, tapped my heel into place, and stopped.

Suppose I did get to the Keep. And then what? If he decided he didnat want to see me, Iad have to cut my way through his people to get to him. No matter how much it hurt, I couldnat do that. Curran knew me well enough to recognize that and use it against me. A vision of me sitting in the lobby of the Keep for hours popped into my head. h.e.l.l no.

If the a.s.shole did condescend to make an appearance, what would I say? How dare you dump me before the relationship even started? Iave traveled six hours to tell you how much I hate you because you meant that much to me? Head laugh in my face, then Iad slice him to ribbons, and then head break my neck.

I forced myself to grope for reason in the fog of my rage. I worked for the Order of Knights of Merciful Aid, which together with the Paranormal Activity Division, or PAD, and the Military Supernatural Defense Unit, Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) or MSDU, formed the law enforcement defense against magical hazmat of all kinds. I wasnat a knight, but I was a representative of the Order. Worse, I was the only representative of the Order with Friend of the Pack status, meaning that when I attempted to muscle my way into Pack-related issues, the shapeshifters didnat tear me apart right away. Any issues the Pack had with the law usually found their way to me.

The shapeshifters fell into two categories: Free People of the Code, who maintained strict control over Lyc-V, the virus raging in their bodies; and loups, who surrendered to it. Loups murdered indiscriminately, bouncing from atrocity to atrocity until someone did the world a favor and murdered their cannibalistic a.s.ses. The Atlanta PAD viewed each shapeshifter as a loup-in-waiting, and the Pack responded by ratcheting up their paranoia and mistrust of outsiders to new and dizzying heights. Their position with the authorities was precarious at best, saved from open hostility by their record of cooperation with the Order.

If Curran and I got into it, our fight wouldnat be seen as a conflict between two individuals, but as the Beast Lordas a.s.sault on an Order representative. n.o.body would believe that I was dumb enough to start it.

The shapeshiftersa standing would plummet. I had only a few friends, but most of them grew fur and claws.

Iad make their lives h.e.l.l to soothe my hurt.

For once in my life, I had to do the responsible thing.

I pulled the boot off and threw it across the room. It thudded into the wood panel in the hallway.

For years, first my father and then my guardian, Greg, had warned me to stay away from human relationships. Friends and lovers only brought you trouble.

My existence had a purpose, and that purpose Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) and my blood left no room for anything else. I had ignored the warnings of the two dead men. It was time to suck it up and pay for my carelessness.

Iad believed him. He was supposed to be different, to be more. Head made me hope for things I didnat think Iad ever get. When hope broke, it hurt. Mine was a very big, very desperate hope, and it hurt like a sonovab.i.t.c.h.

Magic flooded the world in a silent wave. The electric lamps blinked and died a quiet death, giving way to the blue radiance of the feylanterns on my walls. The enchanted air in the twisted gla.s.s tubes luminesced brighter and brighter until an eerie blue light filled the entire house. It was called post-Shift resonance: magic came in waves, negating technology, and then vanished as abruptly and unpredictably as it had appeared. Somewhere, gasoline engines failed and guns choked midbullet. The defensive spells around my house surged up, forming a dome over my roof and hammering home the point: I needed protection, and I had neglected it.

I forced myself up off the floor. Iad lived guarding myself against human interaction before. Iad do it again. I could shut myself off until it stopped hurting, and when I encountered the Beast Lord, as my job frequently required, the only thing head get from me would be painfully polite courtesy. Iad rather slit my throat than let him know what his stunt had cost me.

I marched into the kitchen, trashed the dinner, and strode out. I had a date with a heavy punching bag, and I had no trouble imagining Curranas face on it.

I rode through the streets of Atlanta, rocking with the hoof-beats of my favorite mule, Marigold, who didnat care for the birdcage attached to her saddle and really didnat care for the globs of lizard spit dripping from Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) my jeans. The birdcage contained a fist-sized clump of gray fuzz, which Iad had a devil of a time catching and which might or might not have been a living dust bunny.

The jeans contained about a half gallon of saliva deposited on me by a pair of Trimble County lizards, which Iad managed to chase back into their enclosure in the Atlanta Center for Mythological Research. I was fourteen hours and thirteen minutes into my shift, I hadnat eaten since that morning, and I wanted a doughnut.

Three weeks had pa.s.sed since Curran had stood me up. For the first week, I was so angry I couldnat see straight. The anger had died down now, but the dense, heavy stone remained in my chest, weighing me down. Strangely, doughnuts helped. Especially ones drizzled with chocolate. As expensive as chocolate was in our day and age, I couldnat afford a chocolate bar, but the drizzle of chocolate syrup on the doughnuts did the job just fine.

ah.e.l.lo, dear.a After almost a year of working for the Order, hearing Maxineas voice in my head no longer made me jump.

ah.e.l.lo, Maxine.a She called everyone adear,a including Richter, a new addition to the Atlanta chapter who was as psychotic as a knight of the Order could get without being stripped of his knighthood. Her adearas fooled no one. Iad rather run ten miles with a rucksack full of rocks than face a chewing-out from Maxine. Perhaps it was the way she looked: tall, thin, ramrod straight, with a halo of tightly curled silver hair and the mannerisms of a veteran middle school teacher who had seen it all before and would not suffer fools gladly . . .

aRichter is quite sane, dear. And is there any particular reason you keep picturing a dragon with my hair on Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) its head and a chocolate doughnut in its mouth?a Maxine never read thoughts on purpose, but if you concentrated hard enough while aon call,a she couldnat help but pick up simple mental images.

I cleared my throat. aSorry.a aNo problem. I always thought of myself as a Chinese dragon, actually. Weare out of doughnuts, but I have cookies.a Mmm, cookies. aWhat do I have to do for a cookie?a aI know your shift is done, but I have an emergency pet.i.tion and n.o.body to handle it.a Argh. aWhatas the pet.i.tion?a aSomeone attacked the Steel Horse.a aThe Steel Horse? The border bar?a aYes.a Post-Shift Atlanta was ruled by factions, each with its own territory. Of all the factions in Atlanta, the People and the Pack were the largest and the two I really wanted to avoid. The Steel Horse sat right on the invisible border between their territories. A neutral spot, it catered to both the People and the shapeshifters, as long as they could keep it civil. For the most part, they did.

aKate?a Maxine prompted.

aDo you have any details?a aSomeone started a fight and departed. They have something cornered in the cellar, and theyare afraid to let it out. Theyare hysterical. At least one fatality.a A bar full of hysterical necromancers and shapeshifters. Why me?

Because it was my job. Anything Pack related was my job.

And Iad be d.a.m.ned if I let that arrogant b.a.s.t.a.r.d keep me from doing it.

aWill you take it?a aWhat kind of cookies?a Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) aChocolate chip with bits of walnuts in them. Iall even give you two.a I sighed and turned Marigold to the west. aIall be there in twenty.a The mule chugged through the night-drenched streets. The Pack members drank little. Staying human required iron discipline, and the shapeshifters avoided substances that altered their grip on reality. A gla.s.s of wine with dinner or a beer after work was pretty much their limit.

The People also drank little, mostly because of the presence of shapeshifters. A bizarre hybrid of a cult, a corporation, and a research inst.i.tute, they concerned themselves with the study of the undead, primarily vampires. Vampirus Immortuus, the pathogen responsible for vampirism, eradicated all traces of ego from its victims, turning them into bloodl.u.s.t-crazed monsters and leaving their minds nice and blank. Masters of the Dead, the Peopleas premier necromancers, took advantage of this occurrence by navigating vampires by riding their minds and controlling their every move.

Masters of the Dead werenat brawlers. Well-educated, lavishly compensated intellectuals, they were ruthless and opportunistic. Masters of the Dead wouldnat be visiting the Steel Horse either. Too lowbrow. The Steel Horse catered to the journeymen, navigators in training, and since the Red Stalker murders, the People had tightened their grip on their personnel. A couple of drunk and disorderlies, and your study of the undead would come to an untimely end. The journeymen still got drunka"most were too young and made too much money for their own gooda"but they didnat do it where theyad get caught and they definitely didnat do it with shapeshifters watching.

Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) The People were led by a mysterious figure known as Roland.

To most people, he was a myth. To me, he was a target. I had the unique misfortune of being the only person on the planet who could call him Father.

He knew I existeda"he murdered my mother because of ita"

but he didnat know who I was. When he found out, head move Heaven and Earth to murder me. Thatas why Iad spent my entire life hiding and training to kill him. I wasnat strong enough to fight him. Not yet.

Contact with the People meant the risk of discovery by Roland, and so I avoided them like a plague.

Contact with the Pack meant the risk of contact with Curran, and that was infinitely worse.

If the Steel Horse had been attacked, Iad likely have to deal with both. Who the h.e.l.l would attack the Steel Horse anyway? What was the thinking behind that? Here is a bar full of psychotic killers who grow giant claws and people who pilot the undead for a living. I think Iall go wreck the place. Sound reasoning there.

Not.

I couldnat avoid the Pack forever just because their lord and master made my sword arm ache. Get in. Do my job. Get out. Simple enough.

THE Steel Horse occupied an ugly bunker of a building: squat, brick, and reinforced with steel bars over the windows and a metal door about two and a quarter inches thick. I knew how thick the door was because Marigold had just trotted past it. Someone had ripped the door off its hinges and tossed it across the street.

Between the door and the entrance stretched potholed asphalt covered with random patches of blood, liquor, and broken gla.s.s, and a few moaning bodies in various stages of inebriation and battle damage.

d.a.m.n, Iad missed all the fun.

Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) A clump of tough guys stood by the tavernas doorway. They didnat exactly look hysterical, since the term was conveniently absent from their vocabulary, but the way they gripped makeshift weapons of broken furniture made one want to approach them slowly, speaking in soothing tones. Judging by the battle scene, they had just gotten beat up in their own bar. You can never lose a fight in your own bar, because if you do, itas not your bar anymore.