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PROLOGUE

London, April 1878

The deuts

Willia, but it was too late The viscous acid of the de blade He swore and tossed the weapon aside; it landed in a filthy puddle and co like a doused match The demon itself, of course, had vanished--dispatched back to whatever hellish world it had co aaround "Where are you? Did you see that? Killed it with one blow! Not bad, eh?"

But there was no answer to Will’s shout; his hunting partner had been standing behind hiuarding his back, Will was positive, but now Will was alone in the shadows He frowned in annoyance--it was lanced behind hiave onto the black, heaving water of the Thaap Will could see the dark outlines of docked ships, a forest of one back to Narrow Street in search of better illu Will headed back the way he had come

Narrow Street cut across Limehouse, between the docks beside the river and the cra west toward Whitechapel It was as narrow as its naested, lined arehouses and lopsided wooden buildings At thehome from the Grapes up the road had found soht Will liked Lie of the world, where ships left each day for uniinably far ports That the area was a sailor’s haunt, and consequently full of ga hells, opium dens, and brothels, didn’t hurt either It was easy to lose yourself in a place like this He didn’t even n spices mixed with the dirty river-water s up and down the empty street, he scrubbed the sleeve of his coat across his face, trying to rub away the ichor that stung and burned his skin The cloth careen and black There was a cut on the back of his hand too, a nasty one He could use a healing rune One of Charlotte’s, preferably She was particularly good at drawing iratzes

A shape detached itself from the shadows and moved toward Will He started forward, then paused It wasn’t Je a bell-shaped helmet, a heavy overcoat, and a puzzled expression He stared at Will, or rather through Will However accustoe to be looked through as if he weren’t there Will was seized with the sudden urge to grab the police to figure out where it had gone; but Jem had scolded him the few times he’d done that before, and while Will never really could understand Je hi and a blink, the police under his breath about swearing off the gin before he truly started seeing things Will stepped aside to let the man pass, then raised his voice to a shout: "James Carstairs! Jem! Where are you, you disloyal bastard?"

This tiht"

Willfroleaht of a will-o’-the-wisp "Did you hear et reat pincers, but I cornered it in an alley--"

"Yes, I heard you" The young man who appeared at the ht--paler even than he usually hich was quite pale indeed He was bareheaded, which drew the eye iht silver color, like an untarnished shilling His eyes were the saht curve of his eyes the only clue to his heritage

There were dark stains across his white shirtfront, and his hands were thickly s What happened?"

Jem waved away Will’s concern "It’s not my blood" He turned his head back toward the alley behind hilanced past his friend, into the thicker shadows of the alley In the far corner of it was a crumpled shape--only a shadow in the darkness, but when Will looked closely, he could make out the shape of a pale hand, and a wisp of fair hair

"A dead woirl, really Not reat volume and expression Jem waited patiently for hi a little earlier," Will said finally "That bloody de I don’t think this is the demon’s work" Jem frowned "Shax demons are parasites, brood parasites It would have wanted to drag its victis in her skin while she was still alive But this girl--she was stabbed, repeatedly And I don’t think it was here, either There sih blood in the alley I think she was attacked elsewhere, and she dragged herself here to die of her injuries"

"But the Shax de you, I don’t think it was the Shax I think the Shax was pursuing her--hunting her down for so, or someone, else"

"Shaxes have a keen sense of scent," Will allowed "I’ve heard of warlocks using the And it did see with an odd sort of purpose" He looked past Jem, at the pitiful smallness of the crumpled shape in the alley "You didn’t find the weapon, did you?"

"Here" Je from inside his jacket--a knife, wrapped in white cloth "It’s a sort of er Look how thin the blade is"