by Scott Taylor
Nodding her shrouded head as she passed, she told him, “Thank you, little priest. I have been trapped in that stony prison for all these long years, tormented by the gnawing hunger of the ages. You have kindly resurrected me to feed at the breast of this lovely city of tens of thousands.” She brushed her fingertips down the cringing cheek of the first man Matlal had resurrected as she passed by him. The poor fellow released a sort of strangled gasp and crumpled to the floor as a desiccated pile of bones. “Oh yes, I shall enjoy feeding here.” The splayed bones of the monster’s feet left puddling gore wherever she stepped.
“But this is our city,” Matlal called to her. “You were a princess of our people. We can re-awaken our ancestors, resurrect not just their bodies, but their former glory as well.”
“In life I was the Princess Yaretzi, a joy to my people,” the monster intoned the words as though by simple rote. “In death my heart has withered to stone. Past glory means nothing. Only hunger remains.”
“You shall not feed in my city, Princess!” Matlal ordered imperiously, and again gestured with the mystical bracelet. Nothing happened and he looked to the talisman with wondrous frustration.
“I am a servant of the Jaguar god also, little priest,” the Civatateo’s warm voice hissed merrily, though her skeletal mouth never moved. “I distribute his dooms among the nations. How then do you think to oppose me with a tool of Tezcatilpoca’s power?”
“I shall stop you!” he promised.
But the Princess Yaretzi simply laughed and passed out of the Silk Purse to haunt the maze-like streets of Taux, leaving a trail of bloody footprints behind her.
Tohil’s legs were still too unstable to stand, but he used Matlal’s distraction to palm his dagger.
“No, Tohil,” Serene shouted, “we need him to resurrect Ingitrude, Lin, and Hammil!”
But the knife was already in flight. Matlal’s eyes widened as the blade bit deep into his kidney and he wheeled unsteadily to face Tohil.
“In the back?” Matlal said in a wheezy voice. “Again no rules, Sturgeon?”
“My city,” Tohil told the man, “My rules!”
The priest of Tezcatilpoca drew a deep breath and thrust out his hand as though it held a weapon. The room seemed to swirl around Tohil as he was sent spinning to slam against a stone wall. Then he knew only blackness.
Tohil awoke in a bed with his body still aching with pain. He lurched upright to be dazzled by the steamy golden light of another morning in Taux. A hand upon his brawny shoulder restrained him and he turned to find Mother Serene sitting upon a bench next to him holding a wet rag.
“Be at ease, Sturgeon,” she told him somberly. “You need to recover.” She laid the wet cloth across his brow to comfort him.
“But the Civatateo, I have to warn people…” he argued. “And Matlal, there’s a bastard I have to run down!”
“People already know,” Serene told him. “She killed twice more last night and the city is in a panic. The Big Fish has called upon the Razors for reinforcements, and both Sturgeons and Duelists are out in-force to hunt the monster down. They’re all busy following criss-crossing trails of bloody tracks throughout the city.”
“If I ever find Matlal…“ Tohil ground his teeth in fury as he thought about the priest.
“He’s a corpse. Attacking you was his final act, but one of those that he resurrected took the bracelet from his body and fled. I need you to track her down and break her bones, one-by-one, until she agrees to release my friends from the walls of Taux…” she told him with a chill edge to her voice. “And do it very slowly.”
Lynn Flewelling grew up in northern Maine, United States, and has since lived on both coasts and traveled around the world, all experiences that are reflected in her writing. She has worked as a teacher, a house painter, a necropsy technician, and a free-lance editor and journalist. She has been married to Douglas Flewelling since 1981, and has two sons. She currently lives in Redlands, California, where she continues to write, and offers lectures and creative writing workshops at the University of Redlands. Her first Nightrunner novel, Luck in the Shadows, was a Locus Magazine Editor’s Pick for Best First Novel and a finalist for the Compton Crook Award. Her novels Traitor’s Moon (2000) and Hidden Warrior (2004) were both finalists for the Spectrum Award. Her novels are currently published in 13 countries, and in 2005, the first volume of the Japanese language version of Luck in the Shadows was published.
Harry Connolly is a longtime survivor of the publishing world, and that is no light task. He made his name in the urban fantasy genre with the creation of the character Ray Lilly and his Twenty Palaces Novels which have been listed on various years best lists.
Todd Lockwood’s illustration work has appeared on NY Times best-selling novels, magazines, video games, collectible card games, and fantasy role-playing games. It has been honored with multiple appearances in Spectrum and the Communication Arts Illustration Annual, and with numerous industry awards. Always known for the narrative power of his paintings, Todd now turns his hand to writing, and is working on a novel to be published by DAW Books at a date still to be determined. You may view his art at his website, http://www.toddlockwood.com.
Juliet E. McKenna is a British fantasy author. She studied Greek and Roman history and literature at St Hilda’s College, Oxford. McKenna has written three series of books, The Tales of Einarinn, The Aldabreshin Compass and The Chronicles of the Lescari Revolution, as well as many short stories and articles. She is currently working on a new series, The Hadrumal Crisis.
Michael Tousignant is a part-time college student, part-time library clerk living in Monroe County, Michigan. He occasionally tries his hand at writing, and is holding off on trying to be clever in his biography until after he’s had a few more stories published. Michael is also the super hero Iron Fist… oops, I guess I shouldn’t have said that…
Martha Wells is the author of fourteen SF/F novels, including The Element of Fire, The Wizard Hunters, Wheel of the Infinite, City of Bones, and the Nebula-nominated The Death of the Necromancer. Most recent are The Cloud Roads (2011) and The Serpent Sea (2012) published by Night Shade Books. Forthcoming novels are The Siren Depths (December 2012, Night Shade) and a YA fantasy Emilie and the Hollow World (Strange Chemistry, May 2013) She has short stories in Realms of Fantasy, Black Gate, Lone Star Stories, and Elemental, and essays in Farscape Forever, Mapping the World of Harry Potter, and Chicks Unravel Time. She also has two Stargate Atlantis novels Reliquary and Entanglement. Her books have been published in seven languages.
Julie E. Czerneda, Canadian author and editor, has transformed her love and knowledge of biology into science fiction novels (published by DAW Books NY) and short stories that have received international acclaim, multiple awards, and best-selling status. Her latest works include the Aurora-nominated Tesseracts Fifteen: A Case of Quite Curious Tales, co-edited with Susan MacGregor, and Rift in the Sky, latest installment in her SF series, The Clan Chronicles. Coming March 2013 to bookstores everywhere is Book One of her new Night’s Edge series, Julie’s debut (and really fat) fantasy novel, A Turn of Light. There are toads. Writing for Tales has been a wonderful experience. For more about Julie’s work, please visit www.czerneda.com.
Scott Taylor is a horrible writer. When ‘they’ say you make it because you never give up, not because of overall talent, they are talking about Scott. In fact, he wasn’t even supposed to appear in this anthology but was forced to activate his Microsoft Word program when other signed authors dropped out at the last minute. He currently runs the micro-publishing house Art of the Genre and produces art inspired 1980s throw-back novels like The Burning City, The Gun Kingdoms, and The Cursed Legion. Obviously, he also has a penchant for sticking ‘the’ at the beginning of all his titles.
Rob Mancebo helped build an orphanage in Mexico, stood watch on the cold war era border in Europe, put-down riots, toured in Ireland, installed and repaired all sorts of security hardware, delivered classified material, chased down
thieves, and has helped the authorities put many very bad people in jail. He’s read slush and edited books, sold guns and been a range officer. He currently assists the sick and injured in an urgent care facility and in his spare time writes the fantasy and adventure stories which have been featured in numerous magazines and anthologies.
Table of Contents
FOREWORD
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
NAMESAKE
THE ONE THING YOU CAN NEVER TRUST
BETWEEN
VENTURE
THREE SOULS FOR SALE
REVENANTS
WATER REMEMBERS
CHARLATAN
FOOTSTEPS OF BLOOD
Table of Contents
FOREWORD
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
NAMESAKE
THE ONE THING YOU CAN NEVER TRUST
BETWEEN
VENTURE
THREE SOULS FOR SALE
REVENANTS
WATER REMEMBERS
CHARLATAN
FOOTSTEPS OF BLOOD