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Back Master of Poisons
Chapters (102)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. Map
  5. DRAMATIS PERSONAE
  6. BOOKI
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. BOOKII
  30. 1
  31. 2
  32. 3
  33. 4
  34. 5
  35. 6
  36. 7
  37. 8
  38. 9
  39. 10
  40. 11
  41. 12
  42. 13
  43. 14
  44. 15
  45. 16
  46. 17
  47. 18
  48. 19
  49. BOOKIII
  50. 1
  51. 2
  52. 3
  53. 4
  54. 5
  55. 6
  56. 7
  57. 8
  58. 9
  59. 10
  60. 11
  61. 12
  62. 13
  63. 14
  64. 15
  65. 16
  66. 17
  67. BOOKIV
  68. 1
  69. 2
  70. 3
  71. 4
  72. 5
  73. 6
  74. 7
  75. 8
  76. 9
  77. 10
  78. 11
  79. BOOKV
  80. 1
  81. 2
  82. 3
  83. 4
  84. 5
  85. 6
  86. 7
  87. 8
  88. 9
  89. 10
  90. 11
  91. 12
  92. 13
  93. 14
  94. 15
  95. 16
  96. 17
  97. 18
  98. Glossary
  99. Acknowledgments
  100. Also by Andrea Hairston
  101. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  102. Newsletter Sign-up

“Curses on you all.” He scowled and flew away.

“You broke Hezram’s spell!” Azizi stood up, sweating and shaking. “That was my cousin, the Master of Books and Bones.”

“The librarian?” Awa shook her head. “Yari spoke well of him.”

“Not lost in his labyrinth of books.” Azizi shuddered. “Who did this to him?”

“Hezram. The librarian wore his face.”

Azizi’s heart blazed as bright as hers. Anger, resolve, fear? “With the blessings of other masters at my table.”

“The bees resist.” Awa stroked the hive and looked up to the cave. Why hadn’t Samina helped? “Are you there?” she shouted. “Please. I’m Djola’s friend.”

The ice-harp music came to an abrupt end. Samina dropped down to the hot spring. A cloak of sleet swirled around naked breasts, hips, and ankles. Her eyes and lips were the blue of glaciers. Her heart beat a lightning storm.

“Samina? Can it be?” Azizi stepped back. “What are you?”

“Every day, I’m more ice storm than anything.” Samina shook a snow squall from red-streaked silver hair and walked through Awa, like a shiver of horror—an unnerving experience. “I have few visitors. Thank you for dispatching this one. A wise woman helps spirit slaves across the star bridge.”

“Tembe,” Awa and Azizi said in unison, then cursed.

“I knew Tembe once.” Samina ground her teeth. “My music distracted the others trying to break in. Without you two as guides, they’re lost, for a while at least.”

“We’re all under siege,” Awa said. “But Djola has a plan.”

Samina smiled, granite teeth covered in frost. “Djola would come and stay with me.”

“He can’t, not yet,” Awa declared. “Azizi needs him.”

“Is that so?” Samina shook sleet from her eyes. “What do you two want from me?”

Azizi stuttered jibber jabber about spirit debt and how helpless he’d been without Djola and how helpless he still was against Hezram, Ernold, Money, and the others. “Hezram grows stronger every minute.” He leaned against Awa, repeating lies and denying truth, another weak good person who’d lost his way. “Djola abandoned me, but he’s come back, and— Can you forgive me?”

Samina walked through him. The blood seeping from his wound froze and he clamped his lips on more excuses. Samina’s heart flashed brighter. She gathered strength passing through smoke-walkers.

“Council sits tonight,” Awa said. “We want to do a Dream Gate spell, to protect the city and Mount Eidhou, the bees, everyone. To give us time to make a different story.”

Samina gave her a bag of Lahesh crystals like the one in Djola’s foot. “For the gates.”

“Our last chance.” Azizi sighed. “Hezram would rule.”

Samina’s granite teeth glinted in the sunlight. “But I am the queen of misrule.”

13

Council