There is something hard and grainy under my face. It’s cold and damp and I hear pigeons cooing and strutting in their cages. As I come to awareness I realise that somehow we have ended up on the roof. Meera must be sleeping flat on her back because I hear her snoring like a walrus. Then Shandy’s voice.

‘Horse! Well, that was an adventure. But I didn’t let her fall. You OK?’

‘I’m OK,’ I croak, still struggling towards consciousness.

I’m holding Shandy’s hand; it’s warm and I feel her pulse and my pulse. That’s what matters most: my heart is still beating. I’m not myself any more, but I can go on. I’m alive and I’m awake and it’s not the end of anything but only the beginning.

I open my eyes.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

During bonkers times in my life, Elizabeth Peters’ Vicky Bliss novels have offered refuge in the form of witty banter, art history, and Blake Edwards-style crime. I can’t hold a candle to the late Peters aka Dr. Barbara Mertz, but this story is my twisted homage to her work.

Thank you to:

Annie Lennox for the songs that inspired this story

Karen Mahoney for writing with me via g-chat

My thoughtful and patient editor, Marcus Gipps

Lisa for her lifesaving copyedit

(remaining errors are mine)

My FB peeps who helped me figure out stuff

The ASMRtist Deep Ocean of Sounds

. . . and my family, of course.

About The Author

About The Author

Tricia Sullivan is an award-winning writer of SF, Fantasy and YA. Her third novel, Dreaming In Smoke, won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for best SF novel. Her work has encompassed cyberpunk, space opera and near future satire. Her novels have been shortlisted for the BSFA Award, the Tiptree Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. An American, she has lived in the UK since 1995.