by Edward Cox
‘I’m sorry,’ he whispered.
‘A magicker is an illegal presence in the Labyrinth,’ Clara said. ‘Yet a lot is changing. The Nephilim are watching over us, we’re in contact with the Aelfir again – the future is looking good, but we have a lot of hardship to wade through first.’
‘Spiral destroyed the Panopticon of Houses,’ Namji said. ‘The Aelfir have to establish a new governing body and they’re as uncertain as the denizens. We need to build bridges.’
‘And there’ll always be treasure hunters,’ Marney added. ‘You’d be surprised how clever they are, and how much trouble stolen relics can cause.’
‘I may be young, but I have the wisdom of an old Resident in my mind, Ennis.’ Clara cocked her head to one side as if listening to something. ‘And he tells me that we need to pool our every resource to help the Nephilim hold things together. He tells me that I need you.’
‘You …’ Ennis faltered. ‘You need me?’
‘Pack your things,’ Namji instructed. ‘We’ve got a room for you at the Nightshade.’
Confused, Ennis stared at the Aelf, and then at Marney.
‘You heard her,’ she said.
‘But …’ Ennis rubbed his face, trying to clear his mind of Marney’s influence. ‘Why?’
‘Because you made a promise to serve and protect the denizens,’ Clara said. ‘Because the magic in your veins understands why we’re here. Because you know deep down that your life is about to become as bizarre as it gets.’ She gave him a small, knowing smile. ‘Sergeant Ennis, welcome to the Relic Guild.’
Acknowledgements
And so this trilogy comes to an end. It’s been quite a ride and there are fabulous people who deserve my thanks.
Jack and Marney, my wonderful wife and daughter, who never stop loving me, supporting me, and putting up with my every shade and mood. Dot and Norm and Mum and Dad. My fearless agent John Berlyne, and my marvellous editor Marcus Gipps, who I forgot to tell was the inspiration for the character Hillem. Gillian Redfearn who sees all! Simon Spanton, Sophie and Genn, and the rest of the amazing Gollancz team. My fellow writers who shared the madness and put up with my antics. And special thanks to Joanne Harris who, when this all began, took the time to sprinkle the fairy dust of wisdom on a new and clueless novelist. Thank you for your support, Joanne.
The Relic Guild trilogy was sometimes maddening to write, but the reward of seeing it the hands of readers makes everything worthwhile. So to every reader on the planet, with love and appreciation, thank you. We’d be lost without you.
There are unseen kindnesses in this world. And I am grateful for them.
Also by Edward Cox from Gollancz
The Relic Guild
The Cathedral of Known Things
Copyright
First published in Great Britain in 2016 by Gollancz
an imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd
Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment,
London EC4Y 0DZ
An Hachette UK Company
This eBook first published in 2016 by Gollancz.
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
Copyright © Edward Cox 2016
The moral right of Edward Cox to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (eBook) 978 1 473 20038 8
www.edwardcox.net
www.orionbooks.co.uk
www.gollancz.co.uk
