Left Hand Magic Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Golgotham Glossary

  Also by Nancy A. Collins

  Praise for the Novels of Nancy A. Collins

  “Imaginative, dynamic, and highly entertaining.”

  —Clive Barker

  “Vampiric, postpunk, metal-fanged, dark-doomed romance at its best.”

  —Locus

  “Has style, energy, and black humor to spare.”

  —The New York Review of Science Fiction

  Right Hand Magic

  “Golgotham feels real, feels inhabited by real unreal people and places, and the whole book is just a joy to read.”

  —Simon R. Green, New York Times bestselling author

  of The Bride Wore Black Leather

  “One of the most enjoyable books that I have read all year. . . . Nancy A. Collins has reminded me why I loved [urban fantasy] in the first place. . . . Collins has created a world that makes readers want to explore it and characters that the reader can not just care about but definitely like. . . . I’m most certainly looking forward to more books in the series.”

  —BSCreview

  “The danger in the book is all too real. . . . Collins is especially skilled at portraying the sweaty, nervous moments when everything goes wrong and help is too far away. . . . For readers eager to see a very well-done portrayal of a strange neighborhood amid our all too mundane reality, this is the book for you. Recommended.”

  —SFRevu

  “Collins’s latest novel should attract fans of Sherrilyn Kenyon, Tanya Huff, and Laurell K. Hamilton.”

  —Library Journal

  “The intriguing setting [is] the true star of the series.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Golgotham itself is a fantastically intriguing setting. . . . It inspires a sense of wonder akin to what you might have felt when first discovering J. K. Rowling’s Diagon Alley.... The Golgotham series shows a lot of promise. The setting is fascinating, and it’s peopled with interesting characters.”

  —Fantasy Literature

  “[A] great beginning to what appears to be a fantastic new urban fantasy series. I look forward to reading the second story to see what the author does with this incredible and complex neighborhood.”

  —Huntress Book Reviews

  “The hype is well-deserved . . . full of magic, romance, and an epic take on New York City.”

  —Bitten by Books

  “An entertaining story that demonstrates an amazing breadth of imagination and introduces a fascinating alternate society. . . . [It’s] an intriguing introduction to an environment peopled with eccentric and memorable characters. Hopefully there will be many additional tales set in this new mind-boggling city named Golgotham.”

  —Night Owl Sci-Fi

  “Whenever a series is named after its location, I expect that location to be as much a character as the protagonist. And the new Golgotham urban fantasy series delivers. The fictitious New York City [neighborhood] of Golgotham is a strange and wonderful place.”

  —All Things Urban Fantasy

  “Golgotham feels like the sort of neighborhood you can visit more than once, so a sequel or three to Right Hand Magic should prove, well, enchanting.”

  —StarNews Online

  “[Collins] does an excellent job of bringing Golgotham and its unusual occupants vividly to life, yet grounding the story in reality. Compelling characters and dangerous drama add up to dynamic and exciting fun.”

  —Romantic Times

  Also by Nancy A. Collins

  The Novels of Golgotham

  Right Hand Magic

  ROC

  Published by New American Library, a division of

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,

  New York, New York 10014, USA

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto,

  Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

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  Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:

  80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  First published by Roc, an imprint of New American Library,

  a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  First Printing, December 2011

  Copyright © Nancy A. Collins, 2011

  All rights reserved

  ISBN : 978-1-101-55905-5

  REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  http://us.penguingroup.com

  Dedicated to the memory of Janie Wester Thompson

  1940–2010

  Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration.

  —Charles Dickens

  Chapter 1

  I woke up to find a dragon hovering over me.

  The great beast’s head was drawn back, its jaws agape as it prepared to spew its burning venom. It was so close I could see the veins running through the membranes of its unfurled wings and the iridescent scales that covered its underbelly. I was about to scream, but then I remembered where I was.

  Waking up in my
boyfriend’s room can be disorienting at times, especially since there is a monster painted on the ceiling in photographic detail. Although I grew up in an apartment filled with works of art, the ceiling mural was freaking me out. It wasn’t the dragon so much, though, as the chain of Kymeran maidens that danced around the big lizard. I had the strangest feeling that they were watching me when I wasn’t looking.

  Then again, that might have been the bedposts.

  The carved owls perched atop Hexe’s four-poster were as detailed as the dragon on the ceiling and every morning when I woke up, it seemed as if they were in slightly different positions than when I fell asleep. To be honest, a good many of the furnishings in Hexe’s private quarters seem to move about of their own accord whenever I look away. Being romantically involved with a warlock was taking a bit more adjusting to than I’d first imagined.

  Speaking of which—I glanced over at Hexe’s side of the bed. The sheets were rumpled, and his pillow still smelled of his unique personal scent—a masculine mixture of citrus, moss, and leather—but Hexe was already up and about his day. I sighed as I swung my feet onto the floor.

  Waking up alone was something else I was having a little trouble adjusting to. It wasn’t that Hexe had grown bored with my company in bed—far from it—it was just that his people don’t need nearly as much sleep as humans do. I guess I can add that to the umpteen things I didn’t know about Kymerans before moving to Golgotham.

  I took a quick look at the ornate French mantel clock that sat on the nearby nightstand and muttered a few choice words under my breath. Then I hurried into the master bathroom and stepped into the claw-footed tub, pulling the curtain shut behind me. Water blasted out of the showerhead shaped like a medieval dolphin, delivering the necessary kick start for my day.

  I was supposed to be meeting my best friend for lunch. After that, I was going to take a trip to my favorite junkyard in Red Hook to scrounge raw materials for a new set of metal sculptures to replace the ones destroyed by Boss Marz. Not that anyone was in a hurry to exhibit my work now that it had a reputation for marching out of the gallery under its own steam. It’s a long story.

  After a quick rinse, I grabbed a towel off the rack and headed back into the bedroom—only to discover a hairless winged house cat perched atop the footboard, gazing at me with blazing red eyes.

  “So you finally decided to get out of bed, eh?” the familiar growled. “You numps sure like to lollygag. . . .”

  I yelped in surprise and awkwardly tried to wrap the towel around myself. “Scratch! What are you doing in here?”

  “If you must know,” he said with a sniff, “this perfectly delicious sun spot is about to materialize on the floor for the next half hour, and I simply must get my sunbathing in.”

  “I don’t care why you’re in the room!” I snapped. “Just get out!”

  “How dare you tell me to ‘get out’!” Scratch replied crossly, furrowing his feline brow. “I live here! Long before you ever showed up, I might add.”

  “You heard me—scat!” I shouted, waving toward the door while trying to hold my towel closed.

  “You did not just shoo me away!” the familiar gasped indignantly. “What next? Are you going to throw an old boot at my head?”

  “What’s all the noise about in here?”

  I looked up to see Hexe standing in the doorway, dressed in a pair of corduroys and an old sweater, a cup of fresh-brewed coffee in one six-fingered hand.

  “Don’t look at me—she’s the one doing the yelling,” Scratch said, nodding his head in my direction.

  “I just don’t want you in the room while I’m getting dressed! Is that so hard to understand?”

  “What’s the big deal?” the familiar replied grumpily. “It’s not like I want to look at your hairless ape-bits. Besides, I’ve seen Hexe naked nearly every day of his life.”

  “That’s different,” I said.

  “How so?”

  “It just is!”

  Hexe stepped forward, motioning toward the door with his thumb. “You heard the lady, Scratch—get lost.”

  “The nerve of some people!” The familiar unfurled his batlike wings, and with a couple of brisk snaps, he sailed off the end of the bed, through the doorway, and into the hall.

  Hexe closed the bedroom door and turned to face me, shaking his head in bemusement. “I understand you wanting your privacy, Tate. But you’re going to have to get used to Scratch being around. He is my familiar.”

  “I understand that,” I said as I tossed my towel aside. “But there’s such a thing as being overly familiar.”

  Hexe sat down on the edge of the bed, watching me with his golden eyes as I hurried to get dressed. “To be honest, I have to agree with Scratch—what’s the big deal about him seeing you naked? Do humans always keep their clothes on in front of the household pets?”

  “Hexe, baby, where I’m from, the pets don’t talk. And, more important, they don’t know I’m naked.”

  “You’ve got a point,” he conceded. “Come to think of it, I guess familiars are more like household servants than pets in your world.”

  “Exactly.” I smiled in relief. “I’m glad you understand where I’m coming from. For me, being undressed in front of Scratch is like flashing the family butler. It just feels—inappropriate.”

  “Where are you going?” Hexe asked, reaching out to caress my naked hip. Every time he touched me, it was as if a mild electric current passed between us. I smiled, savoring the tingle.

  “I’m meeting Vanessa for lunch.”

  “You don’t have to hurry off right this minute, do you?” He smirked, snaking a muscular arm about my waist.

  As Hexe began planting kisses on my bare midriff, I checked the time on the mantel clock. I did some extremely quick math in my head, and decided I could spare another fifteen minutes—maybe even twenty. If I was lucky, I might get there just before the margaritas ran out.

  I met up with Vanessa Sullivan at Frida’s, a Mexican restaurant in the East Village, the walls of which are covered with murals inspired by the artwork of its namesake. Vanessa was sitting in front of the self-portrait of the famed surrealist in her shape-shifter form, that of a deer-faced woman. My old college roomie had a basket of tortilla chips in front of her and a half-finished pitcher of margaritas at her elbow.

  “About time you showed up!” She grinned, hoisting her drink in welcome. “I got tired of waiting.”

  “So I noticed.” I chuckled as I sat down. “How’s engaged life treating you, Nessie?”

  “I’m drinking, aren’t I?” she replied with a toss of her coppery head. “It’s amazing how planning a wedding can drive otherwise sane people to absolute lunacy.”

  “Anyone in particular?” I asked as I helped myself to a margarita.

  “After being a lapsed Catholic—no, make that prolapsed—my entire life, now my mother has decided I should have an old-school wedding—priest, cathedral, the whole shebang! And if that wasn’t bad enough, my future mother-in-law is insisting on a rabbi.”

  “Oy.” I grimaced. “So what are you going to do?”

  “Adrian and I have decided that if our families don’t get off our backs, we’re going to chuck it all and have ourselves a nice, old-fashioned Druid marriage ceremony. That should shut both sides up. But enough about me—what’s new with you? We haven’t seen each other since your opening night at the gallery.”

  “It was also the closing night,” I reminded her. “And now the gallery owner is suing me for breach of contract because I ordered my artwork to march out during the show.”

  “Please!” Vanessa groaned, rolling her eyes in disgust. “Derrick Templeton should get down and kiss your feet! The art scenesters are still talking about that show—when’s the last time that gallery of his stirred up that kind of interest?”

  “Yeah, it got everyone talking all right,” I replied with a sigh. “Now they think my work’s enchanted—no respectable art dealer will represent me.”

&
nbsp; “Screw respectability. I’ve found it to be highly overrated. All that matters, Tate, is that you’re an amazing sculptor. Anyone with one eye in their head can see that. Just keep doing what you’re doing, and the right people will find you.”

  “That’s what I keep telling myself, Nessie,” I said. “But I’m starting to wonder if I have what it takes to gut it out.”

  “Are you kidding me? You’re the bravest woman I know! You’d have to be, to agree to be my maid of honor!”

  “I never would have taken you as a flatterer,” I said with a laugh.

  To my surprise, Vanessa’s demeanor suddenly became very serious. “Don’t laugh. I am being one hundred percent irony-free. I don’t know anyone else who would have gone to the lengths you did to help a friend in trouble.”

  “What else could I do?” I shrugged, humbled by the unexpected praise. “I couldn’t stand by and let Boss Marz put that poor kid to death.”

  “What are they going to do with that creep, anyway?”

  “Right now they’ve got him locked up in the Tombs, awaiting trial on a number of charges. What’s left of his gang is lying low for the time being, thank goodness.”

  “And how’s your teenaged were-cat?”

  “Lukas is doing great. He’s got a job as a delivery boy for Dr. Mao’s apothecary shop. Between work and his girlfriend, he doesn’t hang around the boardinghouse that much. He’s assimilating into Golgotham a lot faster than I am. Not that Hexe and I mind—we appreciate the privacy right now.”

  Vanessa arched an eyebrow. “So you finally made the move on your magic man, eh?”