is still with the Watch. Just . . . er . . . more probationary than he was before. He’ll tell you.” She turned to him and waved toward his grandmother. “Go ahead. Explain it all to her.”
He laughed and couldn’t keep from pulling her into his arms, where it was his opinion she belonged. “I don’t need to,
“I suppose I’ll have to give my blessing to this marriage as I did for Piotr and his bride,” his grandmother said, sitting down when Kiya came back into the room, murmuring a welcome before she leaned against Peter. “Rehor has ever been precious to me, alchemist. I would have you cherish him as I have.”
Gregory fought to keep the surprise from showing on his face, feeling that a moment of great importance was upon them, and it would behoove him to refrain from pointing out that he had never felt particularly cherished.
“He’s pretty precious to me, too,” Gwen said with dignity.
He simply could not love her more.
“And my name is Gwen. I am an alchemist, but that is
No, he was wrong. He loved her more now that she talked back to his grandmother. She was perfect in every way. She had a large heart, a body that made him want to move mountains to keep her in his bed, and a character that had him on his knees with gratitude every morning.
“I worship you,” he told her, pulling her into a kiss that he hoped would shock the dickens out of his staid grandmother.
“As is right and proper,” she told him, laughing into his mouth when he put both his hands on her delectable ass.
“The times, they are a-changing,” Kiya quoted, and smiled broadly when Peter put his arm around her. “And I hope you’re getting used to it, Mrs. Faa, because there is more change coming. Peter and I are going to have a baby next spring. And if the way Gregory and Gwen are going at it is anything to judge by, you may well have another great-grandbaby soon as well.”
Gwen pulled back from his mouth, a startled look in her lovely eyes that slowly faded to speculation.
“You can have two puppies,” he told her. “I’m just selfish enough to want you all to myself for a while before we start thinking of expanding the family.”
“Deal,” she said with a grin, and pinched him on his butt before turning to join his grandmother in congratulations on the newest Traveller-to-be.
“Rehor, Piotr, your cousin Sayer wished to me to pass along a message to you both. Against my wishes, and those of his father, he desires to join you in the Watch.” Lenore Faa closed her mouth tightly for a moment before continuing. “I do not agree with our people leaving the family and joining outsiders as you both have done. You know this, and I will not repeat my arguments. He threatens to leave our family despite this, so with many reservations, I have decided that if you give me your promises that you will guard your cousin against harmful influences, then I will allow him to join you.”
Gregory met his cousin’s eyes across the women, and saw in them the same sense of wonder, pride, and satisfaction that he knew was in his. They had done something that no Traveller had done before—they had brought change to a people who had kept to themselves for centuries. And the warm, wonderful woman who pressed against his side was the result of that action.
He grinned at his cousin. Life promised to be very, very good . . . for all of them.
GLOSSARY
Akashic League: The L’au-dela organization responsible for all things related to death, spirits, and connected beings.
Alien Hand Syndrome: A condition wherein a person feels a lack of control over a hand or arm (i.e., that the limb has a life of its own).
Amaethon ab Don: The traditional name of Ethan, a formerly mortal warrior who went to battle with Arawyn, king of the Underworld.
Anwyn: The Welsh version of the afterlife, ruled by Aaron (Arawn).
Arawn: The Welsh name for the king of the Underworld. He prefers Aaron, the modern version of the name.
Death (person): The title given to the current being in charge of handling the movement of souls after an individual (mortal or immortal) dies. The current holder of the title goes by the name De Ath.
Ethan: The contemporary name of Amaethon ab Don. Ethan was once a warrior, and is now an author who suffers from Alien Hand Syndrome.
L’au-dela: The formal name for the Otherworld, the society of people who live beyond mortal laws.
L’au-dela Watch: The police force of the Otherworld, the Watch is responsible for keeping the peace amongst mortals and immortal beings, as well as protecting the mortal world from abuses by members of the Otherworld.
lich: A person who was resurrected from the dead, a lich looks like a normal person, other than black irises. Most liches are bound to the individual who holds their soul.
Lichtenberg figure: The pattern made by an electrical discharge through a soft medium.
Lightning flower: The name for a Lichtenberg figure as made on a human being. The resulting pattern is of a delicate feathery nature, and thus often referred to as a lightning flower or tree. The pattern is most likely due to capillaries rupturing as the current passes through. Although lightning flowers are temporary effects on mortals, they are a permanent brand on Travellers.
mahrime: A Traveller (and Romany) word for those who are deemed unclean. For Travellers, this can mean one who has impure blood (i.e., one non-Traveller parent), or someone who has no Traveller blood whatsoever.
Piranha: A giant mechanical war machine known also as a Velociphant, created by the king of the Underworld.
porrav: A Traveller word with Indo-Aryan roots, it literally means “to open up” or “blossom.” In Traveller culture, it refers to the joining of a man and woman, and their shared abilities mingling to form something greater than the parts.
puridaj: A respectful way to refer to a Traveller grandmother.
Reclamation agent: One of the people who work for Death, fetching and escorting the souls of the recently departed to their next destination. Some of them can be quite tenacious in the pursuit of their duties.
Rehor: An Eastern European version of the name Gregory.
Rom, Roma, Romany: A word describing an ethnic group most commonly referred to as Gypsies. Travellers and the Roma may share a common ancestor since they share a few traits and words. Like the Travellers, the Romany were frequently persecuted for being outsiders.
shuvani: Spirits who hold Travellers accountable for their actions. There are four flavors of shuvani: Shuvanies talk with spirits: earth, water, air, and field. A shuvani can be friendly or unkind, depending on his or her nature, but all are charged with punishing Travellers who abuse their abilities.
Travellers: A group of immortal people who can steal time and have an affinity with lightning.
PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS
OF KATIE MacALISTER
