Maybe the smoke and fatigue were playing tricks on me. Maybe it had really said my name. I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t have time to worry about that. I had a body to bury.

As I dug in, my eyes started to sting. I tried to convince myself it was merely a reaction to the smoke, but a voice in my head whispered, “Guilt.” With ruthless determination, I shoved my conscience down, compressing it into a tiny knot and shoving it into a dark corner of myself. Maybe later I’d pull it out and examine it. Or maybe not.

Good assassins dispose of problems without remorse. Even if the problem was a friend.

Contents

Front Cover Image

Welcome

Extras

Meet the Author

A Preview of RED-HEADED STEPCHILD

Acknowledgments

PROLOGUE: P Is for Preternatural

CHAPTER ONE: In Which Lady Alexia Maccon Waddles

CHAPTER TWO: Wherein Alexia Will Not Be Flung

CHAPTER THREE: Matters Ghostly

CHAPTER FOUR: Where Tethered Specters Meet

CHAPTER FIVE: The Lair of the Octopus

CHAPTER SIX: In Which Mrs. Tunstell Proves Useful

CHAPTER SEVEN: The Werewolves of Woolsey Castle

CHAPTER EIGHT: Death by Teapot

CHAPTER NINE: In Which the Past Complicates the Present

CHAPTER TEN: Ivy’s Agent Doom

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Wherein Hairmuffs Become All the Rage

CHAPTER TWELVE: Formerly Beatrice Lefoux

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: The Octopus Stalks at Moonlight

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: In Which Lady Maccon Mislays Her Parasol

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Where Dirigibles Fear to Tread

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: A Clot of Vampires

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: In Which We All Learn a Little Something About Prudence

By Gail Carriger

Praise for The Parasol Protectorate Series

Copyright

BY GAIL CARRIGER

The Parasol Protectorate

Soulless

Changeless

Blameless

Heartless

Timeless

Praise for The Parasol Protectorate Series

“Carriger debuts brilliantly with a blend of Victorian romance, screwball comedy of manners and alternate history. . . . This intoxicatingly witty parody will appeal to a wide cross-section of romance, fantasy and steampunk fans.”

—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Spectacular debut novel . . . a real page-turner.”

—Romantic Times

“Soulless is a character-driven romp with great worldbuilding and delicious rapier wit that recalls Austen and P. G. Wodehouse.”

—io9.com

“A delightfully fun supernatural comedy of manners, with a refreshing romance thrown in—and a highly promising first novel.”

—Locus

“Soulless has all the delicate charm of a Victorian parasol, and all the wicked force of a Victorian parasol secretly weighted with brass shot and expertly wielded. Ravishing.”

—Lev Grossman, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Magicians

“I was enchanted from start to finish.”

—sfrevu.com

“Lighthearted and fast-paced, Soulless will please fans of fantasy, historical fantasy and paranormal romance alike.”

—The Miami Herald

“Carriger has created a wonderfully detailed world that is just one step to the side of our own.”

—sfrevu.com

“A tapestry that is simultaneously witty, charming, exhilarating and downright fun.”

—fantasyliterature.com

Copyright

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