All of his Menagerie had returned from Greece alive. That was the only saving grace of this mission, as far as he was concerned. Medusa would no longer endanger the world, but though Clay and the others had been the ones to capture her, Gull had murdered her. Though they might have had to kill her anyway, the callousness of it had been unsettling.
Nigel Gull had used him, drawn him in, and now, at last, everything had gone horribly wrong for the mage. Once upon a time he had been a man of quiet strength and dignity, but his ambition had been stronger than his nobility. The dark magicks that had twisted his flesh had tainted him forever, but Nigel had never understood that. All he had understood was the power that they had granted him.
Conan Doyle wondered if Nigel understood, now.
He doubted it.
To all appearances, Gull was on his own now. Those he called his Wicked were dead. Tassarian for the second time. The girl Jezebel had been a tragic figure from the moment she crossed Conan Doyle’s doorstep, doomed from the start, yet he would have saved her if he could have. Hawkins had been doomed as well. He had invited death constantly. It had only been a matter of who would play executioner.
But Gull might have other allies. Conan Doyle certainly had operatives that he kept in abeyance, old friends and acquaintances that could be called upon if the need arose.
Nigel Gull would be back.
At the moment, however, Gull was the least of his concerns. There was Danny Ferrick, who seemed too unstable for the work the Menagerie undertook, and yet who had nowhere else to go. He would have to adjust to what he was, or it would tear him apart. Then there was Dr. Graves. Conan Doyle had sworn to help the ghost solve his own murder, but thus far had been able to uncover precious little.
He knew he ought to concern himself with his allies. His friends. But such things seemed so small and petty in comparison to the threat of the DemoGorgon.
"There’s nothing you can do."
Conan Doyle turned, broken from his reverie, to see Ceridwen standing in the open door of his study. Silhouetted in the light from the hall, she had never looked so beautiful and his breath caught in his throat. His eyes watered from tobacco smoke in his lungs that he could not exhale.
The Fey princess had showered, her blond hair still glistening with water. She wore only a thin shift the same blue as a robin’s egg, and the light from the hall caught the lines of her body through the translucent material. Lithe limbs, supple muscles, and the gentle, familiar curves that made him forget his heart was beating.
"Arthur?"
He blinked, the enchantment of her presence lifting, but only slightly.
"Yes?" Conan Doyle rasped.
Ceridwen entered the study, the fabric gliding over her body as she moved into the dim room. She crossed to the window, where the moonlight touched her as though it had longed to do so forever.
"You struggle with the rage you feel at Sanguedolce for having manipulated you. And the rest of us as well. But you resent him as well, because he belittles you at every turn."
Had anyone else spoken these words, he would have been affronted. Would have denied the truth of them, even to himself. To Ceridwen, he only nodded.
"He’s a fool," Conan Doyle rasped. "His magick is so great that he believes himself omnipotent. No matter how powerful he is, if this DemoGorgon is what he claims, he will need all of the allies he can find."
Ceridwen crossed to him, then. She took his pipe from his hand and set it on its stand, then moved his chair away from the desk and slid down to sit before him. Arthur went to stop her, but she only smiled softly.
"In his own way, regardless of what he says, he is preparing to defend this world. When the time comes, we shall see if he rejects assistance." Ceridwen gathered his hands in hers and gazed up at him, and those violet eyes were all of the sustenance and comfort he had longed for. When he thought of the time they had lost, at what his stubbornness had cost them both, it crushed his heart.
"Meanwhile," she whispered, drawing herself upward, the fabric of her robe sliding over his hands, "you must focus yourself on matters at home. On the everyday darkness in this world, but also on the light. On the sunshine as well as the shadows. On your life, and the lives of this strange family you have gathered about you."
Her hands caressed his face and Ceridwen climbed up onto the chair he sat in, kneeling so that she was astride him. Hope and joy and sadness swam in her eyes and she trembled as she bent to kiss him. Their lips brushed only lightly at first, reacquainting themselves, and then she kissed him deep and long.
His heart had seemed to stop before, and now it beat with such speed and vigor he thought it would burst. His own hands trembled as they slid over her back, tracing her body from the softness of her hair to the extraordinary spot at the small of her back where his touch had always made her shiver.
"Meanwhile," she whispered, drawing her face back only inches from his, her profile illuminated in moonlight, her small breasts still pressed into him. "Focus on me."
Ceridwen began to undo the buttons of his shirt.
Arthur decided that, for this evening at least, the world would have to wait.
END
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of such novels as Of Saints and Shadows, The Myth Hunters, The Boys Are Back in Town, and Strangewood. He has also written books for teens and young adults, including Soulless, Poison Ink, and The Secret Journeys of Jack London, co-authored with Tim Lebbon. His current work-in-progress is Cemetery Girl, a graphic novel trilogy collaboration with Charlaine Harris.
A lifelong fan of the "team-up," Golden frequently collaborates with other writers on books, comics, and scripts. He has co-written three illustrated novels with Mike Mignola, the first of which, Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire, was the launching pad for the Eisner Award-nominated comic book series, Baltimore. With Thomas E. Sniegoski, he is the co-author of the book series Magic Zero and The Menagerie, as well as comic book miniseries such as Talent, currently in development as a feature film. With Amber Benson, he co-created the online animated series Ghosts of Albion for the BBC.
As an editor, he has worked on the short story anthologies The New Dead, The Monster's Corner, and British Invasion, among others, and has also written and co-written comic books, video games, screenplays, and a network television pilot. Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His original novels have been published in more than fourteen languages in countries around the world. Please visit him at http://www.ChristopherGolden.com.
CONNECT WITH CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN ONLINE
Official Website
http://www.ChristopherGolden.com
Twitter
http://twitter.com/ChristophGolden
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/christophergoldenauthor
No Rest for the Wicked Blog
http://christophergolden.blogspot.com/
Join the Wicked Street Team
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wickedstreetteam/
THOMAS E. SNIEGOSKI is a New York Times best-selling author of books and comics for children, young adults and adults. He is the writer of the New York Times best-selling The Fallen: Vol. 1 & 2, as well as the popular urban fantasy books featuring angel turned private investigator, Remy Chandler. He is also the only writer ever invited to work on Jeff Smith’s international, award winning series Bone, working with Smith on Bone: Tall Tales. Sniegoski has just finished writing the third in an original Bone trilogy, Bone: Quest for the Spark, for Scholastic Books. The newest addition to The Fallen series, The Fallen: Forsaken and the latest Remy Chandler novel, In the House of the Wicked, was released in August 2012.
CONNECT WITH THOMAS E. SNIEGOSKI ONLINE
Official Website
https://www.sniegoski.com
Twitter
https://twitter.com/TomSniegoski
Facebook
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ttps://www.facebook.com/ThomasSniegoski
OTHER WORKS BY CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN
THE MENAGERIE
The Nimble Man [w/Thomas E. Sniegoski]
The Tears of Furies [w/Thomas E. Sniegoski]
Stones Unturned [w/Thomas E. Sniegoski]
Crashing Paradise [w/Thomas E. Sniegoski]
THE BODY OF EVIDENCE SERIES
Body Bags
Thief of Hearts
Soul Survivor
Meets the Eye
Head Games
Skin Deep
Burning Bones [w/ Rick Hautala]
Brain Trust [w/ Rick Hautala]
Last Breath [w/ Rick Hautala]
Throat Culture [w/ Rick Hautala]
Strangewood
Straight On 'Til Morning
The Ferryman
The Boys Are Back in Town
Wildwood Road
The Secret Backs of Things
The Shell Collector
Bloodstained Oz [w/James A. Moore]
The Seven Whistlers [w/Amber Benson]
The Ocean Dark [As Jack Rogan]
The Collective [As Jack Rogan]
Baltimore, or The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire [w/Mike Mignola]
Joe Golem and the Drowning City [w/Mike Mignola]
Father Caetano's Puppet Catechism [w/Mike Mignola]
SLEEPY HOLLOW HIGH
Horseman [w/Ford Lytle Gilmore]
Drowned [w/Ford Lytle Gilmore]
Mischief [w/Ford Lytle Gilmore]
Enemies [w/Ford Lytle Gilmore]
THE VEIL
The Myth Hunters
The Borderkind
The Lost Ones
THE HIDDEN CITIES
Mind the Gap [w/Tim Lebbon]
The Map of Moments [w/Tim Lebbon]
The Chamber of Ten [w/Tim Lebbon]
The Shadow Men [w/Tim Lebbon]
THE SHADOW SAGA
Of Saints and Shadows
Angel Souls and Devil Hearts
Of Masques and Martyrs
The Gathering Dark
Waking Nightmares
GHOSTS OF ALBION
Astray [w/Amber Benson]
Initiation [w/Amber Benson]
Accursed [w/Amber Benson]
Witchery [w/Amber Benson]
THE WAKING
Dreams of the Dead [As Thomas Randall]
Spirits of the Noh [As Thomas Randall]
A Winter of Ghosts [As Thomas Randall and Christopher Golden]
OTHER WORKS BY THOMAS E. SNIEGOSKI
ADULT FICTION
THE REMY CHANDLER SERIES:
A Kiss Before the Apocalypse
Dancing on the Head of a Pin
Where Angels Fear to Tread
A Hundred Words for Hate
In the House of the Wicked
Walking in the Midst of Fire
THE MENAGERIE
The Nimble Man [w/Christopher Golden]
The Tears of Furies [w/ Christopher Golden]
Stones Unturned [w/ Christopher Golden]
Crashing Paradise [w/ Christopher Golden]
TEEN FICTION
THE FALLEN SERIES
The Fallen
The Fallen: Leviathan
The Fallen: Aerie
The Fallen: Reckoning
The Fallen: End of Days
The Fallen: Forsaken
The Fallen: Armageddon
Force Majeure [w/ Christopher Golden]
Sleeper Code
Sleeper Agenda
Legacy
JUVENILE FICTION:
THE OUTCAST SERIES
The Un-Magician
Dragon Secrets
Ghost Fire
Wurm War
BILLY HOOTEN: OWLBOY SERIES:
Billy Hooten: Owlboy
Billy Hooten: Owlboy - The Girl With the Destructo Touch
Billy Hooten: Owlboy - Tremble at the Terror of Zis-Boom-Bah
Billy Hooten: Owlboy - The Flock of Fury
THE BRIMSTONE NETWORK SERIES:
The Brimstone Network
The Shroud of A'Ranka
Specter Rising
MEDIA TIE-INS
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Monster Book [w/ Christopher Golden and Stephen R. Bissette]
Buffy The Vampire Slayer/Angel: Monster Island [w/ Christopher Golden]
Angel: The Soul Trade
Hellboy: The God Machine
Lobster Johnson: The Satan Factory
Bone: Tall Tales [w/ Jeff Smith]
BONE: QUEST FOR THE SPARK TRILOGY
Book One
Book Two
Book Three
ANTHOLOGIES
Hellboy: Odder Jobs
Mean Streets
21st Century Dead
An Apple for the Creature
WANT MORE
CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN AND THOMAS E. SNIEGOSKI?
VISIT THEM AT:
http://www.ChristopherGolden.com
https://www.sniegoski.com
Tears of the Furies (A Novel of the Menagerie) Page 37