Albert started forward down the passage again, towards his friends—determination settling across his features, hard and unyielding as the rock around them. No matter what it took, no matter what he had to do, whether he had to go to the badlands or the Far Reach or anywhere else, he would find this Cillian, he would find Theo, and he would bring her back. Or he would die trying.

Acknowledgements

This book would have been impossible without the help, contribution and support of many, many wonderful people, to whom I owe more than a few summary lines on this page can ever repay, but in particular I’d like to offer my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to:—

Bharath Sankaran, for first suggesting that I do this.

My parents and my sister, Aishwarya, for their constant and unflagging support, love, guidance and belief in this story.

My grandmother Guddi who insisted that one day I would write a halfway decent book, whether I wanted to or not. My grandmother Kaveri for insisting that this was it. Without reading it.

Rahul Dutta, for the conversation that eventually led to this book.

My editor, Ameya Nagarajan, for all the help, advice, suggestions, inducements, encouragement, patience and threats, without which this book would never have seen the light of day, or indeed, been finished. And, of course, for the unforgettable carrot cake.

The Mehtas, Gopal and Riddhi, for all the friendship, food and good times that made this process so much more enjoyable than it otherwise might have been.

Aditya Wig, for all the days and nights of argument, discussion, laughing, yelling and coffee, for saving me from myself every forty-eight hours, for stepping in to help me with the mess I’d got myself into with the character geanologies, and refusing to let me give up until I’d sorted it out. But most of all, for just being the best literary wing man there ever was.

Elisabeth Nilles, for sorting out what I thought I’d sorted out, and for her invaluable help with the family trees.

Aman Singh, who somehow managed everything else while I attempted to manage the writing, and for the patience that enabled him to have the same conversation with me several times a day, without killing either of us.

Heather Hewitt, for painstakingly going through the manuscript, and for the many excellent suggestions, without which this book would have been a far poorer affair.

Sunil Pai, prince of beta-testers.

Mr K. Angad Bagga, Karan Nambiar, Kirin Vas and everyone else at the station; Caitlin Swift, the critterfolk and all the many other wonderful people who read Domechild in its initial stages and offered me the benefit of their thoughts, which made a greater difference than any of them realized.