Fated

drops by from time to time, and sometimes he brings friends.

I haven’t heard anything from Levistus or Morden, or from their servants. With the fateweaver out of play, I’m not important to them any more. I’ve taken precautions though, and it’ll be a long time before I forget again to scan ahead for danger when I travel somewhere.

Rachel and Cinder disappeared off everyone’s radar and I haven’t seen them since. No surprise.

For a week or so after returning I was dogged by bad luck – tripping over, hitting myself, little things going wrong at the worst possible moment – all after-effects of Luna’s curse. I didn’t complain; it was cheap at the price.

Speaking of Luna, she visits every couple of days now. She still brings me items, but that’s not her reason for coming, not any more. Instead we go to Arachne’s lair. After all, apprentices need a place to train.

She’s started to learn how to control it, you see. That was how she was able to help me against Abithriax; she took the protection her curse gives to her and lent it to me, just for a little while. Since then, she’s begun to control the negative sides: keeping it away from people she doesn’t want to hurt, directing it where it’s safe. She can’t do it reliably yet, and her touch is still almost as deadly as ever, but for the first time she can hope that one day that might change.

And as for me? I left something behind in Abithriax’s chamber, something that had been following me a long time. And I took away something in exchange, something harder to name. Maybe a sense of purpose, maybe simply knowing who my friends are. The memories are still there, and I still don’t fit into either world, but that’s okay. There are worse things than not fitting in, worse things than having to watch your back. Rachel taught me that.

My nightmares have stopped too. Mostly.

I think sometimes about Abithriax’s claim that he could cure Luna of her curse, and I remember what it felt like to wield that power … and I think about the fateweaver, resting on that pedestal within that bubble, locked away to all but those of us who know the secret. I wonder whether I killed Abithriax, or whether he’s still there, trapped in the artifact that’s become his prison, waiting for the next mage to pick him up. But then I shake it off, and go back to what I was doing.

My world’s still not a safe place to be. The proposal to appoint Dark mages to the Council was dropped, but the Dark mages are still out there, still doing what they do in their mansions, behind soundproofed walls. Not all of them stay in their mansions, either. There are things that come out after nightfall that you’d do well to stay away from.

But in my little corner of the city, things aren’t so bad. So if there’s something you need help with, drop by the Arcana Emporium. It’s easy enough to find if you try. You probably won’t take it seriously at first, but that’s okay.

Seeing is believing, after all.

extras

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about the author

Benedict Jacka became a writer almost by accident, when at nineteen he sat in his school library and started a story in the back of an exercise book. Since then he has studied philosophy at Cambridge, lived in China and worked as everything from civil servant to bouncer to teacher before returning to London to take up law.

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interview

Fated is a fabulous read, a real urban fantasy romp – what is it that drew you to write in this particular genre?

I’ve always loved urban fantasy – something about the combination of the magical and everyday life appeals to me. I like stories that take fantastical themes and go ‘Okay, what would this be like if it was actually around in the modern world?’

You’ve previously written YA novels, but Fated is your first novel for an older audience – what issues did you face, if any, in this transition, and did you find it easier or more difficult writing for adults?

Easier, definitely! My previous novels were quite dark by YA standards, and I’d have editors asking me to lighten the story or cut bits out that they thought were too ruthless. I’ve always tended to write quite ‘serious’ stories, so the transition was easier than I’d thought it would be.

Alex Verus’s London – particularly Camden – comes to life in Fated, almost as a character in its own right as he and Luna fly from landmark to landmark to solve the mystery of the fateweaver. What do you think it is about this city that is so attractive to writers of speculative fiction?

I think it’s the sense of history. London’s very old and every bit of the city has so many stories behind it – you have layers built on layers. It’s a great setting for fantasy because there’s so much material out there waiting to be used.

As a seer, Alex’s enviable ability to view potential outcomes comes into its own in Fated when he finds himself in increasing danger from various mage factions. If you had a superpower, what would it be and why?

Difficult question! Alex’s power is incredibly useful, but I think it might be as much of a burden as anything else. Something like flight would be more fun.

Did you always want to be a writer? What sort of professions were you involved in before you turned