Shadow of the Void

by Nathan Garrison

  “I kept it safe for you son,” he said, “for some reason I couldn’t explain. I think some part of me hoped that it would someday come in handy. That it would have another chance to live up to its namesake.”

  Yandumar dropped the metallic object into his son’s outstretched hand.

  Mevon twirled Justice a few times for good measure.

  And smiled.

  Here ends book II

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Once again, I have to thank my agent, Nicole Resciniti, and my editor, David Pomerico. Getting a book published was a dream come true. Being asked to continue writing? Well, it doesn’t get much better than that. I’m grateful for your willingness to work around the difficulties that stem from my military service, especially that one time I had to—REDACTED FOR REASONS OF NATIONAL SECURITY—man, that was wild.

  To my parents and sisters: Thanks for all the endless support and encouragement and feedback. You guys have always rocked, and you always shall.

  To my favorite alpha-reader (who also happens to be my wife): Sorry about all the nights you spent staring at the back of my head while I typed and/or stared at the blank screen in defeat. I know you’d have rather snuggled up on the couch and watched TV, or anything else really, but I couldn’t have done any of this without you.

  To my boys: Thank you for constantly reminding me about the need for imagination.

  And to my readers: What is a story without someone to share it with? You make all of this worthwhile. Seriously.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Born in 1983, NATHAN GARRISON has been writing stories since his dad bought their first family computer. He grew up on tales of the fantastic. From Narnia and Middle-­Earth to a galaxy far, far away, he has always harbored a love for things only imagination can conjure up. He counts it among the greatest joys of his life to be able to share the stories within him. He has two great boys and an awesome wife who is way more supportive of his writing efforts than he thinks he deserves. Besides writing, he loves playing guitar (the louder the better), cooking (the more bacon-­y the better), playing board/video/card games with friends and family, and reveling in unadulterated geekery.

  www.nathangarrison.com

  : @NR_Garrison

  Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

  ALSO BY NATHAN GARRISON

  Veiled Empire

  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.

  SHADOW OF THE VOID. Copyright © 2016 by Nathan Garrison. 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. For information, address Harper­Collins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.

  EPub Edition MAY 2016 ISBN: 9780062451996

  Print Edition ISBN: 9780062452924

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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  1.High Regnosist Lekrigar was rumored to have escaped the destruction at both the palace and the fields outside Mecrithos. Though not confirmed, he was never seen or heard from within the empire again.

  2.See: Chapter 8: The False Revolution, Section 2a: Key Figures

  3.See: Chapter 11: The Rise of Chaos, Section 4: The Great Blindness and the Non-­Battle for Humanity

  4.See: Chapter 13: The Fall of Chaos