by Ann Aguirre
This is my world. Welcome back.
“Here,” he said, “is where they need us most. I had nothing to do with the poverty and chaos, by the way. Humans have done all the work for me.”
Only when one story ends can the next arise.
A rumble sounded in the distance, clarifying into engine noise. Someone fired an automatic weapon in the air, warning shots or a promise of violence. The townspeople scattered. As an army truck full of troops approached the village, I called for Aegis, and a flock of angry ravens appeared from nowhere. They circled the vehicle as storm clouds formed overhead, shrouding the whole area in darkness.
The soldiers cried out, already alarmed, and the fighting hadn’t even started. Good thing there were no rules preventing immortals from killing humans as they pleased. Some people needed it, and Govannon had given me the power to play executioner. He’d meant for me to wield Aegis against the immortals, but in a place like this, I’d raise my blade in defense of the innocent as well. For now, we would shield this village, and from this, our legend would grow. Not the old myths, new ones born of kindness and hope.
Our choices drive the narrative.
I smiled at my Harbinger and said, “This is where we begin.”
POSTSCRIPT
FOUR YEARS LATER, SUMMER TIMELINE
Edie Kramer checks her reflection in a small compact. Her new purple glasses are cute, and she’s never worn this plaid cardigan before. Combining science-themed T-shirts with a layering sweater qualifies as geek chic, she decides. She isn’t wearing makeup, but she has good skin, nice eyes, and she’s heard more than once that she has a pretty smile.
There’s no reason to be nervous as she’s been talking to Kian online for four years. He’s GreenKnight; she’s NamiNerd. They met in an anime forum—he was branching out from old movies—so she schooled him on what to watch, and he gave her good life advice. They went from board posts to direct messages to messenger chat to texting. Since he starts at Tufts in a few days, today she’s meeting him in person for the first time.
He’s sent pictures, of course. She made a collage of them in graphic art, but this isn’t a big deal because she did the same with photos from other online friends. TimeWitch in particular travels to the most fascinating places, and occasionally, she sends visual evidence of her adventures. Edie likes the one of TW in a long-haired man’s arms, perched atop an elephant. Her favorite photo of Kian is just a close-up of his smiling face. Sometimes she thinks of him as her online boyfriend, though that’s not official. She’s well aware that he’s older and he usually has a girlfriend. He probably sees me as a little sister. Since she’s a junior and he’s starting college, Edie is prepared for this to go nowhere, though friends say he must like her, as her phone is constantly buzzing with messages. Right then it does too.
Turn around, the text reads. Nervous, she spins, spotting him across Copley Square.
Their eyes meet, and the future unfurls.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ann Aguirre has been a clown, a clerk, a savior of stray kittens, and a voice actress, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but she now lives in a terracotta adobe house in Mexico with her husband and two adorable children. The post-apocalyptic novel Enclave is her first book for young adults. She also writes the romantic science fiction series about Sirantha Jax, starting with Grimspace, as well as urban fantasy and paranormal romance. As Ava Gray, she writes paranormal romantic suspense. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
DEDICATION
THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY
A UNIQUE SORT OF HEARTBREAK
MANIC PIXIE NIGHTMARE
ALL OUR YESTERDAYS
WINTER’S WRATH
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE
OF CONTRADICTIONS AND DARK WISHES
A TSUNAMI OF NOPE
A PENCHANT FOR INNOCENT EYES
SILKEN ROPES AND UNSEEN SNARES
THROWING A KILLER PARTY
UNNATURAL DISASTERS
THIRD-EYE BLINDSIDED
A WORLD OF INFINITE RISK
THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS
DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA
THE TRUTH ABOUT CONSEQUENCES
LIKE COMING HOME
THE POLARITY PRINCIPLE
SONGS OF LOVE AND DEATH
NORMAL IS A TOURIST TOWN
A BURST OF BITTERSWEET
NATURE ABHORS A VACUUM
MY BODYGUARD
ALL THE WRONG REASONS
GOOD WITCH HUNTING
AN ECHO OF LONGING
KILLING TIME
RUNNING RAGGED
THE DEATH OF WINTER
MINE AND MINE ALONE
THE LAST NIGHT OF MY LIFE
WHERE THE END BEGINS
POSTSCRIPT
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
COPYRIGHT
A FEIWEL AND FRIENDS BOOK
An Imprint of Macmillan
INFINITE RISK. Copyright © 2016 by Ann Aguirre. All rights reserved. For information, address Feiwel and Friends, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2016937595
ISBN 978-1-250-02465-7 (hardcover) / ISBN 978-1-250-08683-9 (ebook)
Feiwel and Friends logo designed by Filomena Tuosto
First Edition—2016
fiercereads.com
e-ISBN 9781250086839
