The Sunken City Trilogy
Page 99
“What you want to do,” Letty told Ward, “is not to keep asking what she wants. It’s to just give it to her. She doesn’t know what the fuck she wants.”
“I know what I don’t want,” Pax countered.
“Bullshit, you don’t even know that.”
Ward looked thoughtful, warming to Letty’s idea. “Well. There’s a few cases that might interest you, Pax. I know you’ve got questions.”
“That’s why we’re out here.” Pax flapped a hand to dismiss the surrounding beauty of nature. “I always get you to spill fresh gossip to tide my curiosity over.”
“But that only works when I have the answers. I need you to figure out some for us. If you’d grace us.”
“Hey,” Letty said. “I think we’re exposing the snark in this square.”
“Thanks.” Ward took it as a compliment. “Pax, the blue screens are gone, as far as we know, but we still have explaining to do. We don’t know that they were confined to Ordshaw. We haven’t explained the apparitions that Apothel and Barton reported, things we’ve never seen or understood. The drummer horse and the invisible proclaimer?”
“What happened to Rik Greivous?” Pax brought up a bugbear, lightly.
“Exactly!” Ward said. “And we don’t know how you came to sense novisan, or what really affects that. Your reactions to Fae dust . . .”
“Those experiments are on our to-do list, trust me,” Letty said, and Pax smiled. She did not intend to try dust again any time soon. Eventually, maybe . . .
Ward turned to take more inspiration from the view. “And Duvcorp’s experiments really trouble me. Their technology intersects closely with ours, and we’re on their radar as much as they’re on ours, now. And they’re not the only ones. Mogami Industries, Warlowe, Raystaten – they all have projects we’re not privy to, and Management insists I leave them alone.”
“I’m not going to war with multinationals,” Pax said. “That’s much scarier than what we’ve been through.”
“You wouldn’t be alone,” Ward said. “And it brings its own rewards, I’m sure. An international agent just yesterday requested permission to visit Ordshaw regarding Mogami. He’s been to Detroit, Tokyo, Berlin, and now he sees an angle to pursue here.”
“Sounds like he’s bullshitting you to get a round-the-world ticket,” Pax said. Ward didn’t look amused, so she added, “That’s my thinking at work, Sam. You want me on board, you’d better believe I’ll hold your jet-setting international agents to account.”
“I would like that,” Ward insisted, seriously. “And if you’d put joking aside I think you’d see you want it, too.”
“But if we put joking aside,” Pax groaned loudly, “what have we got left?”
Ward went quiet. Letty gave Pax a mock sad look. The fairy drifted down onto Pax’s shoulder and whispered, “You’re a cruel, hard person, Pax. How much longer are you gonna keep her waiting?”
Pax stared at the back of Ward’s head. Letty knew it as well as her, of course. She couldn’t walk away. Had no intention of walking away. She said, “Until I can run a bit faster and further, at least. If we’re gonna take on the world, it’s not going to be with me bent double vomiting.”
Letty gave her an assaying look. “You poor, deluded fool. It’s going to be so much worse than that.”
The Violent Fae
Copyright © 2019 by Phil Williams
The moral right of Phil Williams to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Warning: attempting to recreate the activities of this book, such as purging tunnels of monsters or meddling with fairies, could prove dangerous to your health.
All rights reserved.
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover design by P. Williams
Published by Rumian Publishing
A Note from the Author
Thanks for sticking with me through the Sunken City Trilogy, and I hope you’ve enjoyed the ride. As you might have guessed, there’s more to come – and you can return to the world of Ordshaw right now with the next book in the series, The City Screams.
And fresh from reading The Violent Fae, again, please take a moment to review these books. I cannot stress enough how much difference it makes for the books’ visibilities, even if readers leave a couple of words and a star rating. You can review The Violent Fae on Amazon here, and on GoodReads here. You can also review the complete Sunken City Trilogy boxset on Amazon here and on GoodReads here.
I love to hear from my readers and do my best to keep everyone informed on my progress; you can find me on various platforms below. For special offers, and to be the first to hear about Ordshaw and related news, join my mailing list via my website.
www.phil-williams.co.uk
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Email: phil@phil-williams.co.uk
About the Author
Phil Williams is the author of the Ordshaw, Estalia and Faergrowe series. Living in Sussex, UK with his wife, he also writes screenplays and spends a great deal of time walking his impossibly fluffy dog, Herbert.
Acknowledgements
The Sunken City Trilogy is the culmination of a project that started many years before I’d conceived of Ordshaw. And I must lead by thanking my incredible wife Marta for her support throughout this lengthy process. Her belief in me made it all possible. My editor Carrie O’Grady is also deserving of the highest thanks, as she’s helped me make sense of this labyrinthine story. It would have made a fraction of the sense without her input.
Now, back to the start: some of the first seeds of these books were sown when I visited New York, back in 2005 (maybe?) – so the first thanks are due to my brother Fran and my brother-from-another-mother Chris, whose companionship helped shine a light on the minotaur lurking under that city. The story germinated as a screenplay, Penguins and Seahorses, and thanks are also due to everyone who got involved in that project (even those who wanted the story completely changed). The film never happened, but this series is richer for the journey.
Thanks next to my other brothers, Alex and Nick, who are always amongst my first readers, and Kat and Lou Fish who I’d count amongst my first fans. My advance readers throughout these books also deserve great praise for their timely encouragement: Brian Busby, Eric Crawford, Lea Pert, Stephen Fielding, Ami Agner, Jan Drake, Yvonne Evans, and Adawia Asad.
Massive thanks also to the reviewers who have encouraged me through their warm reception: Maddelana from Space and Sorcery, Steph from Bookshine and Readbows and Hayley Hart of Paper Plane Reviews. And extra special thanks to Lynn Williams from Lynn’s Books who first gave Under Ordshaw a chance under the SPFBO contest. All these blogs are well worth checking out, give them your patronage! And of course on top of that, thanks to Mark Lawrence for hosting such a contest in the first place.
In the course of writing the Sunken City trilogy I’ve also developed an excellent network of supportive authors who’ve helped me along the way, and big thanks to Phil Parker, Jon Auerbach, Dave Woolliscroft, Carol Park, Josh Erikson, Travis Riddle, Kayleigh Nichol, Devin Madson and Steven McKinnon.
Thanks also to the rest of my family for their support, especially my sister Christen and my father Peter, and most of all my wonderful mother Pauline. She never got to explore Ordshaw, but she knew better than most the magic in everyday life.
Also By Phil Williams
ORDSHAW SERIES
UNDER ORDSHAW
BLUE ANGEL
THE VIOLENT FAE
THE CITY SCREAMS
T
ova’s getting her hearing back. She’s going to wish she wasn’t. Alone in Tokyo for experimental ear surgery, she discovers a voice in her head telling her it’s where she comes from that makes her special. Can she survive long enough to find out why?
ORDSHAW SHORTS
THE ORDSHAW VIGNETTES VOL. 1 (available to read online on various blogs)
THE WRONG WAY
THE DOGS OF DREAMS (available to read online at Bard of the Isles)
ESTALIA SERIES
WIXON’S DAY
Marquos drifts through the cloud-concealed Empire of Estalia, searching for hope of a better future. In the Deadland of the North, they say the sky is clear, and the stars shine. But Marquos is about to find out how dark the world can be.
BALFAIR’S CONFINEMENT
Deni dreams of escaping her arduous life. When her master drags something from the swamp and excludes her from his secretive project, she finally sees her chance. She will do whatever it takes to break free – even if it means trusting in the war-mongering Guard.
AFTAN WHISPERS
When Tyler meets a girl with enemies in the highest places, his life gets complicated fast. Deni isn't afraid to kill, and she’s got a secret that could tear open the sky. Tyler soon discovers that the Empire’s guardians are their most dangerous foe.
Copyright
The Sunken City Trilogy
Copyright © 2019 by Phil Williams
The moral right of Phil Williams to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved.
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover design by P. Williams
Published by Rumian Publishing