by Neal Asher
‘This is a week after the moment of our departure,’ he said. ‘Are you sure this is where we want to be?’
‘Aconite wanted us to establish a base in this time,’ Polly replied, her expression distant.
Tack turned to her. ‘Her idea of “this time” covers about a thousand years—she thinks on a different scale.’
‘Now is good enough,’ said Polly.
He watched her run her hand over her new tor. Their travel by tor was limited by dangers of which they were both now well aware. But still they could travel in time.
‘I don’t see what’s so great about this … now,’ Tack said.
‘It’s convenient,’ said Polly. ‘Nandru told me certain bank codes, and where to locate certain chipcards. And with fifty million euros available, establishing Aconite’s base won’t be so difficult.’
Tack nodded. When he first met her, she would have been ecstatic to be able to lay her hands on such a sum. Now she merely looked ruminative.
‘What is it?’ he asked.
She gestured at their surroundings. ‘It’s here. It’ll always be here: layers and layers of it, millions upon millions of years. We’re so small.’
‘That’s called perspective.’ Tack then nodded towards Maldon Island. ‘Let’s go.’
TOR BOOKS BY NEAL ASHER
FROM TOM DOHERTY ASSOCIATES
GRIDLINKED
THE SKINNER
COWL
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this novel are either fictitious or are used fictitiously.
COWL
Copyright © 2004 by Neal Asher
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book,
or portions thereof, in any form.
Edited by David G. Hartwell
Originally published in Great Britain in 2004 by Tor, an imprint of Pan Macmillan Ltd.
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
eISBN 9781429910415
First eBook Edition : April 2011
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Asher, Neal L., 1961—
Cowl/Neal Asher.—1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-765-31512-2
EAN 978-0765-31512-0
1. Life on other planets—Fiction. 2. Assassins—Fiction. I. Title.
PR6101.S54C69 2005
823’.92—dc22
2004062899
First U.S. Edition: May 2005
