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Foreword

FOREWORD

The concept to bring the diverse words of The Hollows and The Drafter together was one that I initially considered with equal parts excitement and dread. I wondered if it could ever be done. After all, though taking place in modern America, The Hollows centers around everyday paranormals living among us, their timeline skewing from ours sometime around the discovery of DNA.

Then there’s The Drafter, which takes place in a slightly futuristic world where Detroit has become a Mecca of green technology, the city again a showcase for innovation, music, and corporate espionage.

Suffice it to say, bringing these two worlds together seemed impossible without breaking any rules in either universe. But then . . . just maybe, seeing as the magic in The Hollows is based on science, and the technology in The Drafter has its roots in the impossibility of magic . . . well . . . you tell me.

Waylaid still reads like self-made fan fiction to me, as I dearly like keeping my universes in their separate little dreams, but I had fun with it, and I hope you do, too.

Kim Harrison

1/11/16

Chapter 1

1

“You know what I’d like to do?” Jack leaned in to Peri, his hand curving suggestively about her waist, and she breathed in the faint scent of ozone and aftershave like a balm. Under it was a hint of gun oil, and Peri was hard-pressed to decide which one intrigued her more as they stood outside her apartment door with their carry-ons, glad they had the next week off.

“Mmmm, I like games,” Peri said as she tapped her key card to her apartment door pad. It disengaged the lock with an almost unheard click, and she turned to him, seeing the bound heat behind his sandy hair and blue eyes as he leaned to nuzzle under her ear. The tips of her short black hair tickled her neck along with his lips, and she stifled a quiver.

“I’d like to be there tomorrow when they find that ball of wax you left them,” Jack whispered. “That’s all. What did you think I meant?”

Peri exhaled in annoyance, giving him a little shove as he pulled back and took up their bags. Eyes rolling, she pushed open the door, her faint smile widening as Carnac, their cat, came out to weave between their feet, threatening to trip them.