“That’s another good reason for staying here. I can keep you under observation and perhaps help out if things start to go wrong with the implant.”
“You think that will happen?”
“There’s a possibility of it at the very least. You are the first to benefit from this new and very experimental procedure. We’re in unexplored territory now. The demon might take you over.”
“I suspected you were going to say something like that.”
“Plus House Karnak has a number of commercial rivals who might like to get their hands on you and dissect you to see if they can duplicate my work.”
“Of course.”
“And my uncle thinks you represent something of an investment. He would like to be repaid for the work we have done on you.”
“So what you are really saying is that I am not really free to go at all.”
“No, Ulrik, you are. If you want to, you can walk out of here right now and neither I nor the guards will stop you. I gave you my word and I keep my word. I am simply pointing out that such a decision might have a downside.”
“So I am not really free at all?”
“You are persistent in your stubbornness, aren’t you? There is the door. Take it if you want to go. Rhea will be sorry to see you go though and so will I.”
“She is here then.”
“Outside waiting for you to make your decision.”
Ulrik strode to the door and saw the cat-girl standing with an expectant look on her face. He suspected that her presence here was not accidental. Valerius was making it quite clear what he would lose if he went. He liked Rhea and wanted to stay with her, but he wanted his freedom more.
“Well,” she said. “What are you going to do?”
He stalked past her. “I’m going to find a ship.”
THE END
The Terrarch Chronicles
If you enjoyed this story you may also enjoy the following works by William King.
“The King of High Adventure,” Starlog.
A thousand years ago the world of Gaeia fell to the Terrarchs, cruel and beautiful alien invaders with a deadly secret. Masters of sorcery and intrigue they have ruled humanity with a fist of steel inside a glove of velvet. For a thousand years, ancient demons have slept, waiting for the moment of their return. Now the stars are right. Old and evil gods are wakening. New revolutions are being born. A genocidal war that will destroy civilization sweeps ever closer.
In a world of magic and gunpowder, the half-breed Rik must rise from simple soldier to the deadliest assassin the world has ever known as he seeks his birthright.
Death’s Angels
In Death's Angels, Rik and his fellow soldiers of the Seventh Infantry uncover a sinister conspiracy to waken an ancient slumbering evil. They encounter the lovely and terrible Lady Asea, immortal sorceress and ultimate manipulator of men and nations for the first time. Their deadly quest will eventually take them to the haunted city of the cannibalistic Spider God to face the hidden peril lurking there.
Death's Angels is a thrilling tale of muskets and magic blending Lovecraftian horror with adventure in the tradition of Sharpe by the bestselling creator of Gotrek and Felix.
This e-book contains an exciting extract from Death’s Angels.
Death’s Angels is available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
The Serpent Tower
The Serpent Tower is an impregnable fortress built by an ancient, pre-human race, bristling with terrifying, magical weapons, watched over by unsleeping, sorcerous sentinels. It has never fallen to siege. Now it is the lair of the sinister sorcerer Lord Ilmarec who holds Princess Kathea, rightful heir to the throne of Kharadrea in his clutches. In order to save his own life, Rik must penetrate the ancient secrets of the Tower and rescue the Princess from her lustful uncle. And all the while he is pursued by an undead horror born from the vilest necromancy, created by a deadly conspiracy that plans to rule the world.
The Serpent Tower continues the thrilling saga of muskets and magic begun in Death’s Angels. In it, the bestselling creator of Gotrek and Felix blends Lovecraftian horror with high adventure in the tradition of Sharpe.
The Serpent Tower is available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
The Queen’s Assassin
The plans of the Dark Brotherhood reach a crescendo as magical murder is unleashed in the conquered city of Halim. While the fate of the civilised world hangs in the balance, Rik must do battle with dragons, super-human killers and the sinister squid-like Elder Race known only as the Quan. In his quest for vengeance, Rik must now face the deadliest threat of all; his monstrous, inhuman father.
The Queen’s Assassin continues the thrilling saga of muskets and magic begun in Death’s Angels and continued in The Serpent Tower. In it, the bestselling creator of Gotrek and Felix blends Lovecraftian horror with high adventure in the tradition of Sharpe.
The Queen’s Assassin is available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
Shadowblood
A hungry horde of the walking dead rises to conquer the world. As the forces of darkness over-run the land, the halfbreed Rik must complete his apprenticeship as a Shadowblood assassin under the tutelage of his deadliest enemy and then confront the scheming necromancers of the Dark Brotherhood at the very heart of their empire of evil.
Shadowblood is the epic conclusion to the Terrarch Chronicles from the bestselling creator of Gotrek and Felix and the author of Blood of Aenarion.
Shadowblood is available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
About the Author
Aeons ago seeking a better life than that offered as a dole claimant under the gloomy skies of his grim northern homeland, Bill King fled south to the ancient, daemon haunted metropolis of Nottingheim.
Amid its narrow alleys and fog-shrouded streets, he stumbled into the unhallowed precincts of the Low Pavement Studios of the Workshop of Games where he was initiated into the blood-stained mysteries of the Adeptus Scriptorum.
After years of grueling toil amid the clatter of the great Script Engines, he clambered to the position of Scribe Third Class With Very Occasional Responsibility for Game Development. Driven mad by the endless perusal of forbidden books he took flight, passing through the fleshpots of South East Asia and Stranraer till he eventually came to rest in the doomed city of Prague, from which he makes occasional forays into the great world beyond.
The sound of buckets of six-sided dice being thrown onto baize covered tabletops haunts his dreams still.
Bill King is the author of over 20 novels, an Origins Award winning game designer, husband, father and player of MMOs. His short stories have appeared in Interzone and Years Best SF. He lives in Prague, Czech Republic.
His website can be found at: www.williamking.me
He can be contacted at
[email protected] Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Epilogue
The Terrarch Chronicles
About the Author
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
/>
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Epilogue
The Terrarch Chronicles
About the Author
William King, Sky Pirates
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