The Darker Lord
Page 33
“But I don’t want that,” Vivian said, her voice quavering slightly.
“Neither do I, but if there is one thing I have learned recently it’s that what I want rarely matters.”
She thought about it for a second and then laughed. “As an inspirational message that was pretty terrible. Remind me never to ask you to sign my yearbook.”
I looked into her eyes and smiled. “Yeah, but remember this is only a middle book. We have to save the real insightful stuff for book three.”
We both laughed, but it was hollow and we grew quiet again. After a time, she asked, “Seriously, Avery, what do we do now?”
I started to say I didn’t know, but realized that I did. For the first time in months I knew exactly what I wanted and needed: time to talk and someone to listen. I also knew exactly how to get it. I almost felt Griswald’s finger touching my chest.
“He’s still guiding me,” I whispered.
Vivian started to ask me what I meant, but I shook my head and turned my focus on the empty place just beside my heart. I found there something I had not noticed before, a line of magic, thin as spider silk and strong as steel, and began to trace it out into the empty depths of the multiverse. I gave it a mental tug and there was an acknowledging jerk at the far end. With a thrill of anticipation, I pulled as hard as I could. Something raced toward me out of the ether. It came on, faster and faster, and then its reality collided with mine. My whole being rocked as the tight space in my chest filled with warmth.
A familiar weight settled on my shoulder and wheezed wetly in my ear. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a butterscotch candy.
“Want one?”
Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge everyone that helped get us to this point, but since listing everyone is impossible we offer the following. For everyone who isn’t listed, we want you to know that you made a difference and we appreciate it.
As always, we would like to thank our families: Heather, Taba, Isaac and Carleigh. Inspiration comes in many forms, but you are our best.
We would like to thank our editor, Priyanka, who is an absolute delight. We appreciate everything you’ve done to make this book a reality. We’d also like to thank the rest of the team at Harper for everything from publicity to cover design to copyedits to simply believing in us.
To our fellow Harper authors, thank you for your continued support. We would like to give a special thanks to Bishop O’Connell for always sharing great stories and being infinitely supportive, as well as having a strong t-shirt game. Rook is probably a reference to you. Probably.
Finally, to Evan, thank you for being our biggest Charming fan. We appreciate it more than you know.
Harry would also like to thank:
The Hanover Writers Club. I appreciate my monthly dose of encouragement more than you know.
Piper, for inspiring me. I can’t wait to read your first novel.
The Leethams-Kevin, Andrew, Nicholas, Jacob, and a special call out to Lindsey, for being a fantastic intern and an impressive world-eating plant. Amy, thank you for sharing your family.
My amazing team—Connor, Drew, Kim, Mark, and Terry, you make each day special. Christina, thank you for the Pocky. And everyone else at Unboxed Technology, you are all awesome.
Kayla, Zu, and Cathy, for friendships and bonds that last.
Dad, thanks for always supporting my writing, and thank you to the rest of my family, for making me feel like an international bestseller.
Heather, none of this happens without all you do, and Carleigh, everything I write is for you. I love you both.
John would also like to thank:
Oliver, Isaac and Taba, who always agree to read these books before they have any right to be read.
David, Joel, Charles, and everyone else at KPPB. It is amazing that I get to work with such a talented group every day. For over a decade you have been the foundation that has allowed me to do this.
Finally, to my grandfather, Walt, who helped inject a sense of whimsy in my world, thank you for always spotting those purple cows.
About the Author
JACK HECKEL’s life is an open book. Actually, it’s the book you are in all hope holding right now (and if you are not holding it, he would like to tell you it can be purchased from any of your finest purveyors of the written word). Beyond that, Jack aspires to be either a witty, urbane world traveler who lives on his vintage yacht, The Clever Double Entendre, or a geographically illiterate professor of literature who spends his nonwriting time restoring an eighteenth-century lighthouse off a remote part of the Vermont coastline. Whatever you want to believe of him, he is without doubt the author of The Dark Lord. and the Charming Tales series. More than anything, Jack lives for his readers.
Despite whatever Jack may claim, in reality Jack Heckel is the pen name for John Peck and Harry Heckel.
www.jackheckel.com
www.harpervoyagerbooks.com
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
By Jack Heckel
The Mysterium Series
The Dark Lord
The Darker Lord
The Charming Tales
The Pitchfork of Destiny
A Fairy-tale Ending
Happily Never After
Once Upon a Rhyme
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
the darker lord. Copyright © 2018 by John Peck and Harry Heckel. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers. For information, address HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.
Digital Edition July 2018 ISBN: 978-0-06-269777-6
Print Edition ISBN: 978-0-06-269778-3
Cover Design by Amy Halperin (optional)
Cover photographs © PLRANG ART/Shutterstock (mars); ©Dmitry Bruskov (doors)/Shutterstock
Harper Voyager, the Harper Voyager logo, and Harper Voyager Impulse are trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers.
HarperCollins is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers in the United States of America and other countries.
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