Codex Born

The scent of cinnamon rolls attracted her attention, and she paused in front of a small shop. Her lips curved upward. She pulled out her phone and brought up Maya Angelou’s “Amazing Peace.” Seconds later, the customers and staff sat entranced, utterly at peace. No one even noticed as Jeneta reached around the counter, grabbed a roll, and walked off.

“Such an efficient little spellbook.”

She strode toward the gate, ending her spell with a mere thought. She sat in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs by the window and looked out at the planes rolling to and fro along the runway.

She remembered Worster escorting her into the airport. Once inside, she had used her magic to reassure him and send him on his way. After that, it was a simple enough matter to confuse the necessary people and change her flight plans.

“Is this your first trip to Beijing?” asked a man sitting two chairs over.

Jeneta fought to scream, or to beg the man for help, but like a dream, she had no control of her words or body. “Not exactly.”

“You look a little young to be flying to another country by yourself.”

“I’m older than I look.” She licked frosting from her fingertips. “Enough. Back to sleep with you.”

Jeneta could no more resist that command than she could stop the night from falling. Darkness consumed her, and sounds grew distant.

“Vacationing?” asked the stranger.

“Retrieving an…inheritance.”

As Jeneta sank back into nightmare, memories of a face cast or carved from brass flowed through her mind. The features were exaggerated: an elongated nose, and full lips. An overly high brow, creased in thought. Her hair was plaited, interwoven with tiny clumps of gold, five-petaled flowers.

And beyond that mask, a legion of the dead, waiting to follow.

Bibliography

TITLES MARKED WITH AN asterisk (*) were made up for this book.

Adams, Douglas. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Anthony, Piers. Roc and a Hard Place.

Asimov, Isaac. The Best of Isaac Asimov.

Baum, L. Frank. The Marvelous Land of Oz.

Bentley, Peter J. Why Sh*t Happens: The Science of a Really Bad Day.

Britain, Kristin. Green Rider.

Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Colfer, Eoin. Artemis Fowl.

Conrad, H. Allen. Time Kings.*

Daly, Randy L. African Honey Bees in North America.

Eddings, David. The Belgariad.

Foglio, Phil and Kaja. Girl Genius.

Foster, Alan Dean and Lucas, George. Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker.

Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm. Household Tales.

Heinlein, Robert. Friday.

Heinlein, Robert. Stranger in a Strange Land.

Homer. Odysseus.

Xu Ling. New Songs from a Jade Terrace.

Ikeji, Lisa. Heart of Stone.*

James, E. L. 50 Shades of Grey.

Lamplighter, L. Jagi. Prospero Regained.

Lewis, C. S. The Magician’s Nephew.

McKinley, Robin. Beauty.

Mead, Richelle. Vampire Academy.

Oliver, Jana. The Demon Trapper’s Daughter.

Pierce, Tamora. Circle of Magic.

Plato. The Republic.

Pratchett, Terry. Mort.

Pratchett, Terry and Gaiman, Neil. Good Omens.

Rey, H. A. Curious George.

Scalzi, John. Old Man’s War.

Kuo, Dream Pool Essays.

Silverstein, Shel. The Giving Tree.

Stevenson, Robert Louis. Treasure Island.

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Fellowship of the Ring.

Van Vogt, A. E. Slan.

Wells, H. G. The Complete Short Stories of H. G. Wells.

Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass.

Wright, James. Nymphs of Neptune.*

1. This involved running to four different book signings in the first week, refreshing the Amazon rank on my phone every ten minutes, and running around to show everyone in the house—even the cats—the shiny new book.

2. Darn it, now I kind of want to write a story about a stomach-themed magic guild.

3. I’m not saying whether these particular examples made it into the book or not. You’ll have to read and find out for yourselves.

4. If you don’t understand why, get back to the bookstore and stock up on Pratchett’s Discworld series. You’ll thank me later.