“Priests?” Evan rocked back in his chair, resting the heels of his hands on the edge of the table.
Teza nodded. “Most were badly burned. It looked like they tried to go down into the hold and somehow the dragon got out of the collar and flamed them. Then escaped.”
“Hmm. Doctrinal differences, no doubt.”
“My lord?”
“The church flames mages, and dragons flame priests.”
“Oh. I see, my lord.”
Evan sighed. Destin would have understood immediately. Teza was willing, but Evan’s humor usually went right over his head.
“It seems that somebody who knew what he was doing used explosives to blow up the ship.” Teza set his bag on the table and opened it. “Destin found two collars in the hold. There was this one.” He held up the collar they’d used on the dragon. “And this.” He handed over another silver collar in a smaller size.
Evan tapped the runes etched into the silver. “Why is this familiar?”
“According to Destin, this is the collar that the healer wore.”
Evan looked up, puzzled. “The healer?” Had he met a healer?
“The collared mage at the meeting. The one responsible for ‘magical threats.’ Speaking of threats, you’ll find some interesting enhancements to that.” He pointed his chin at the neckpiece.
“Ah.” Evan saw what Teza meant. The collar was typical of flashcraft, except for the tiny bottles and pouches attached to the inside. “Something tells me that these are not medicinal.” He shook his head, bemused. “What would he have been doing on my ship? We barely spoke.”
“Someone wanted to prevent us from making a deal with Montaigne,” Teza said.
“More likely, they wanted to prevent the empress from making a deal with Montaigne,” Evan said. “Could it have been agents from the Fells?”
“That’s the common opinion,” Teza said. “The entire countryside is in a frenzy of superstition. The churches are packed. They think the wolf queen is going to send more dragons swooping down on them.”
“One day I’ll have to meet this demon queen and see if she really eats babies for supper.” Maybe I’ll sail north, he thought, instead of east.
“Just wait until they meet the empress.”
“I hope they don’t,” Evan said, his smile dying away. “I hope I’m wrong.” He cleared his throat. “Any word on who killed Montaigne?”
“Rumor has it that he killed himself. He was despondent over recent events, and went a little crazy.”
Evan snorted. “If true, it would be the first good deed he’s ever done. But I don’t believe it. Somebody finally got to him.” He raised his glass. “To dead Montaigne,” he said softly.
Teza raised his own glass. “To dead Montaigne.” They clanked. “See? It wasn’t a complete disaster. Montaigne is dead, and we prevented the empress from getting hold of the magemarked girl. That’s something.”
“But Jenna Bandelow is dead, too, and we don’t know any more than we did before. We don’t even know what her gift really was.” Evan brushed his fingers over the back of his neck, tracing the symbol embedded there. Different from Jenna’s, and yet somehow connected, rooted in the same magic, the same history.
“You didn’t kill the girl.”
“She’d still be alive if I hadn’t intervened.”
“Maybe not for long. In any event, we couldn’t risk leaving her there for the empress to find. We couldn’t chance an even more powerful Celestine.”
The food came. Evan waited until the server moved away again, then leaned in, pitching his voice low. “Why does my life count for more than Jenna’s? She was smart and brave, Teza! I think we would have been friends. It seems like we should be allies. It’s one thing to kill someone because they know too much. It’s another to kill someone because they can’t provide the answers you don’t have yourself.”
“What do you think Cele will do when she finds out the girl is dead?”
“What she always does. She’ll go back to hunting me. Maybe I should just get it over with and arrange a meeting.”
“No!” Teza said, too loudly. He looked around. Several people were staring, but they hurriedly returned to their meals. “Look,” he said softly, “no one can fault you for trying to survive.”
“No one but me,” Evan said. “I always put the ones I love at risk.” He paused. “It’s getting late. Let’s finish up so you can walk me down to this ship you’ve found. We’ll need to be ready to catch the tide.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Change is good, right? Maybe. But it’s never been easy for me. I’m not the girl who leaves, I’m the girl who’s left behind. And yet, here I am, launching a new series with a new publisher.
Fortunately, in the small-world tangle that is publishing, some good things continue, and others come around again. My new series is set in the familiar world of the Fells, where you still don’t want to be one of my characters.
I continue to benefit from the wise counsel of my agent, Christopher Schelling, who has managed to scrub every vestige of Ohio from his skin and from under his nails but who still houses a huge Midwestern heart. Thanks to my foreign rights reps, Chris Lotts and Lara Allen, who decipher the indecipherable.
The team at HarperCollins has given me such a warm welcome. I am beginning this new journey with an old friend, senior editor Abby Ranger. I first worked with Abby at my previous publisher, Hyperion. Abby knows how to sound those chords that are in your heart already. There are very few suggestions she makes that don’t resonate.
I’ve been extraordinarily fortunate in my covers throughout my career. Thanks to designer Erin Fitzsimmons and illustrator Sasha Vinogradova, the winning streak continues with a spectacular cover for Flamecaster, full of pizzazz and glitterbits. Senior art director Amy Ryan oversaw the cover process, dealing patiently with ephemeral demons in the artwork and adding sparkle at every stage.
The publicity, sales, and marketing staff are critical in bringing my work to the attention of readers. Thanks to publicist Lindsey Karl, the marketing team of Nellie Kurtzman (another familiar face!) and Jenna Lisanti, and associate publisher and senior vice president of sales Andrea Pappenheimer. They have all made me feel like a visible fish in the publishing pond.
As always, thanks to my husband, Rod, the most responsive webmaster ever; my sons and other early readers; and all of the other writers who offer critique, support, commiseration, sage advice, and the occasional glass of wine. I raise my glass to all of you.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo by Augusten Burroughs
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author CINDA WILLIAMS CHIMA writes fantasy for teens of all ages, including the Heir Chronicles and the Seven Realms series. Her critically acclaimed books have appeared on numerous state awards lists. She lives in Ohio with her family, and she is always working on her next novel. Find out more at www.cindachima.com.
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BOOKS BY CINDA WILLIAMS CHIMA
THE HEIR CHRONICLES
The Warrior Heir
The Wizard Heir
The Dragon Heir
The Enchanter Heir
The Sorcerer Heir
THE SEVEN REALMS SERIES
The Demon King
The Exiled Queen
The Gray Wolf Throne
The Crimson Crown
Flamecaster
CREDITS
Cover art © 2016 by Sasha Vinogradova
Cover design by Erin Fitzsimmons
COPYRIGHT
FLAMECASTER. Copyri
ght © 2016 by Cinda Williams Chima. 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 e-books.
www.epicreads.com
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2015938988
ISBN 978-0-06-238094-4 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-06-245490-4 (international edition)
EPub Edition © March 2016 ISBN 9780062380968
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FIRST EDITION
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Flamecaster Page 38