The Shifting Price of Prey (69 page)

I had Ascalon. I could kill her.

It would take no more than a minute.

Or ten.

Or she’d fight back, and even with Ascalon I might not be a match for a primal spirit. Then what if I killed her? There’d still be the fallout. Ten minutes could end up an hour or
more . . .

But no way did I trust Bastien or Viviane’s tarot cards not to skew things in their favour. For all I knew I could have days, weeks even, before the chance to locate the Rune was lost. But
could I take that risk when the fae’s fertility was at stake, and ultimately their lives too?

In a weird déjà vu moment, I realised I’d been here before, not this exact spot, and not this exact choice, but I was still making a decision that would affect them all. But
as Tavish had told me, it was my blood on both my fae and vamp sides that had started this. I was the key. If I screwed up and chose wrong it wasn’t only Katie and Finn in peril, but Tavish
and Ana and Freya and Sylvia and Ricou and Baby Grace and all the rest. They were all fae. They would all die.

My heart hurting as if it were being ripped in two, I turned back at Bastien.

‘Well, what choice do you make, my sweet sidhe?’

I pointed at Malik a get-out-of-the-deal idea sparking. ‘Unfreeze him, or there’s no deal.’

One eyebrow rose, then Bastien smiled. My stomach sank – he looked way too pleased with himself – as Malik’s hand closed on my arm. I turned and gave him a short and
not-so-sweet update, then asked, ‘Do you know who holds the Fabergé egg?’

Malik’s eyes emptied, turning opaque as black glass as he flicked a look towards Bastien. ‘No, I do not.’

Damn. Bastien’s reaction had told me that would be Malik’s answer, but I’d still hoped. I clenched my fist around Ascalon’s ring. Maybe I should just kill the psycho vamp
and take the chance that, with Malik’s help, I could find the egg.

Bastien laughed, the sound grating on my ears. ‘Oh, yes, one more point. If I die, then the one who holds the Fabergé egg will destroy it.’

Fuck. He was right. I couldn’t kill him. Not yet. Not till I had the egg in my hands. And no way was he going to give me that before I got the rune.

‘Genevieve.’ Malik took my hand in his and drew me aside. ‘You do not have to do this. I will fetch this rune you need. Give my soul back to Bastien, stay here and help your
friends, and live your life. Let me do this for you.’

My heart filled with warmth, and more, that he would offer.

But I had to do this. I knew it in my gut.

I had to make this journey.

I kept my gaze on Malik, but spoke to Bastien and the magic. ‘I agree the terms.’

A chime split the air. The sound reverberated inside me. Bargain made.

I took a shaky breath. Then another stronger one, and gave Malik a grim smile. ‘Looks like I’m leaving for the Fair Lands.’

Malik’s hand tightened around mine, my own resolve reflecting in the black depths of his eyes. ‘Then, Genevieve, we shall go together.’

Read more about Genny’s adventures in

Coming soon from Gollancz

Writing a book is a solitary endeavour but getting it from first draft to publication takes a lot of hard work, encouragement and support from a wonderful and generous group of
people. My deepest thanks and appreciation to everyone whose help has made this book a thousand times better, any errors are my own.

As with all my books, the characters in this one are a product of my imagination and bear no relation to any real people, living, dead or otherwise . . . except for where they do!

So grateful thanks to Steve Dean for his generous support in the Genre for Japan auction and for agreeing to be a bad-die and suffering a suitably horrible fate! I hope you like your
tuckerisation! And to Jonathan Weir, publicist extraordinaire at Gollancz, for allowing me to take his and David O’Reilly’s names in vain, and for being eminently bribeable, err, kindly
arranging for me to meet one of my all-time writerly heros – the fabulous Charlaine Harris.

Thanks to John Jarrold, my agent, for his belief in me; thanks to all the Gollancz crew for their support, commitment and the gorgeous new covers; and especially to Gillian Redfearn, editor
magnifique, for her patience, her words of editorial wisdom, and her enthusiasm for Genny & Co.

Thanks to the Thursday Writers, a truly inspiring bunch: Malcolm Angel, Alison Aquilina, Judy Monckton, and Doreen Cory, who have travelled this amazing journey with me from the start.

Thanks to my wonderful intrepid beta readers: Caroline Allard, Hasna Saadani, Reece Notley, Lisa Wynn, Calie Voorhis, Ailsa Floyd, Marc Mullinex, and Jen Neil, you all rock, bigtime!

Thanks to Jaye Wells, my always awesome crit partner (look out for the Giguhl Easter eggs!), and to the amazing Ann Aguirre for their superb writerly back-up and advice.

Special thanks to Che Gilson for her endless encouragement.

To Norman, my love, my best friend, and the light in my life, without you the dreams would not be possible, or mean as much – thank you, now and always.

And last, but not least, a massive thank you to all you readers who have taken my books into your hearts – I truly hope you enjoy this latest adventure of Genny & Co’s!

Dorset

Also by Suzanne McLeod from Gollancz:

The Cold Kiss of Death

The Bitter Seed of Magic

The Shifting Price of Prey

The Hidden Rune of Iron

A Gollancz eBook

Copyright © Suzanne McLeod 2012
All rights reserved.

The right of Suzanne McLeod to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in Great Britain in 2012 by
Gollancz
The Orion Publishing Group Ltd
Orion House
5 Upper Saint Martin’s Lane
London, WC2H 9EA
An Hachette UK Company

This eBook first published in 2012 by Gollancz.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN
978 0 575 09841 1

All characters and events in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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