by Nazri Noor
“Thank you. You’ve done so much, honestly.” I bit into a spoonful of chili, my eyes going wide at the spicy richness of it. “And thank you for this, too. Wow.”
“Best cook ever,” Pierce said, grinning up at Bastet, fawning over her like he was sucking up to his own mother. She fixed him with a brief, suspicious glare, then smiled widely back, flattered.
I smiled to myself, knowing how he’d always ached for some semblance of family, how he’d never known his own. Then I resisted a frown, remembering how the one person who’d ever come close to being his mother had willingly tortured him to make a point. My magic had barely made a dent on Asmodeus, but some day, I would be stronger. Some day, I would be powerful enough to make her pay.
The chili didn’t survive very long, though Bastet generously pointed out that there was plenty more where it came from. I was deep in conversation with Thoth as I worked through my second bowl. In the back of my mind, the awareness that we couldn’t leech off the gods and stay in their apartment forever lingered. I still had to find a home. But for the moment, I was content to focus on good food and good conversation.
We were discussing the hierarchies of the infernals, specifically, the names of the current Seven. Not a lot of occultists had gotten all their titles and stations correctly across the years. Some of the thrones had been usurped over the centuries: assassinations, duels, rebellions, all that fun stuff. Besides, news in the prime hells wasn’t the easiest to access from earth.
“John Wycliffe came closest when he wrote out the names of the princes in Lanterne of Light,” Thoth said, wiping at his mouth and mustache with a paper napkin. “Have you read it?”
“Of course I have,” I said, proudly puffing out my chest. “I own a copy. Well, I used to.” Thoth grinned, impressed. Nerdy stuff, yes, but extremely interesting to me.
Then came an odd tapping from the window nearest us. I looked over, puzzled, finding a bird with a long, narrow beak at the window.
“Is that – is that an ibis?”
Thoth nodded, smiling. “One of my own. I sent it out to do a little research. And look at that. It came back with some findings.”
He lifted the window, holding out his hand to accept the scroll clutched in the bird’s talons. Thoth whispered something to the ibis, and it flew off again. He unfurled the scroll, his eyes glimmering with curiosity as he read. Then he handed it to me.
I set down my bowl, taking the scroll suspiciously, looking over it myself. The paper was old. There was something familiar about it, about its scent, its feel, the power radiating from its ancient ink. My eyes widened as I recognized its essence.
“This is a page from the Testament of Spheres. But how?”
Thoth shrugged. “My children have their ways. Read it.”
My eyes scanned quickly across the page. The Testament had always been a treatise on traveling across dimensions. I’d wanted it specifically for the purpose of slowly training myself how to teleport. But this page was different.
“This is part of a ritual,” I murmured distractedly. “It speaks of how to sculpt a parallel dimension.” I looked up into the god’s face, confused as ever. “I don’t understand.”
“A parallel dimension,” Thoth said. “Your own private hell.”
“Surely you don’t mean that,” I muttered. “I never even imagined the possibility.”
Thoth nodded. “In time, perhaps you will learn enough to be able to infiltrate your old home, to find a way to retrieve the books from your – now, what was it called again – your Repository?”
I shivered, the hairs on my skin prickling as the very thought of finding my collection again excited me.
“But apart from that,” Thoth said. “Think back to what we discussed at the oasis. About carving your own niche. About finding your own place in the world. The world is open to you now, your future laid flat and empty before you. What will you do? Where will you go?”
My heart pounded with anticipation, my blood fizzing with excitement. I, Quilliam J. Abernathy, would one day reclaim my power and my collection of beloved books, and reawaken my gift of Inscription. But before all that, I had to process this bizarre revelation. I finally understood the very thing that Thoth was hinting at.
I was free from the shackles of Asmodeus. I had the luxury of choice. I could venture forth and find my own place in the world.
Or I could create it.
See how it all started.
Travel back in time and witness Quilliam’s first true taste of danger. Explore the prequel: Ex Inferis.
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Join Dustin Graves and his sentient sword Vanitas on an impromptu evening mission: sneaking out to grab a cheeseburger, only to run into a ritual sacrifice.
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Also by Nazri Noor
Infernal Inheritance
Demon Prints
Tome Raider
Grim War
Ex Inferis
Sins of the Father
Fallen Reign
False Gods
Morning Star
Ex Nihilo
Darkling Mage
Shadow Magic
Dark Harvest
Grave Intentions
Oblivion Heart
Midnight’s Son
Last Rites
Blood Pact
Soul Fire
Endless Knight
Penumbra
Crystal Brawl
About the Author
Hi, I’m Nazri, a Filipino-Malaysian author based in California. I’m trilingual, but I really only write in English. I can also speak just enough Sindarin and Valyrian to impress absolutely no one. My urban fantasy novels focus on heroes who use wits, style, and their wildly unpredictable magic to save the day. Think sass and class, while kicking ass.
My influences come from horror and fantasy: HP Lovecraft, Anne Rice, George R.R. Martin, Chuck Palahniuk, Terry Pratchett, and Neil Gaiman. Growing up I was shaped by the Blood Sword, Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf, and Grey Star game book universes. I’m also inspired by video games, specifically the Castlevania, Final Fantasy, and Persona series.
Long story short, I’m a huge nerd, and the thrill of imagining wizards and monsters and worlds into existence is what makes me feel most alive. Writing, to me, is magic. If you enjoyed my work, please do consider leaving a review on Amazon. Even just a sentence can do so much. Reviews help readers like you decide whether they’d like my books, and they help indie authors like me with better visibility and credibility.
And do join us in the Arcane Underground, my own reader group on Facebook. You can talk about the books with other readers or even ask me questions about my stories. I frequently share free and discounted books from myself and other authors, but most importantly, the group is always the first to learn about upcoming releases and see new covers as I reveal them. We also post memes. Lots and lots of memes.
I hope to see you there. Thank you for reading, and thank you for supporting independent authors everywhere.
