Gunmetal Magic: A Novel in the World of Kate Daniels

while? With me?”
    Roderick looked at Doolittle.
    “It’s your choice,” the medmage said. “You can come back with me, if you would like.”
    Roderick mulled it over.
    “I never had a grandfather before,” the boy said.
    “I never had a grandson before,” Ivar answered.
    “Can I go swimming?”
    “Yes,” Ivar said. “Your grandmother will be back from the market soon. We’ll have us some lunch and you can go swimming. The water’s cold but you might enjoy it. Our kind does.”
    Roderick smiled. It was a tiny hesitant smile. “I would like that.”
    Ivar got up and offered the boy his hand. “Would you like to see my smithy?”
    Roderick nodded. The two of them walked off the porch together, hand in hand.
    The three of us sat on the porch, watched the river, and drank the iced tea.
    “What about Aurellia?” I asked.
    “She’s still married to the DA’s brother-in-law,” Curran said. “A woman told me it would be a bad idea to do anything about that.”
    “I wouldn’t worry about Aurellia,” Doolittle said, watching Ivar and Roderick by the smithy. “I have a feeling she’ll get what’s coming to her.”

EPILOGUE

    Atlanta Avery hospital reported an extremely troubling case: a local woman, Aurellia Sunny, has aged forty years overnight. The medmage professionals theorize that accelerated aging occurred due to a gold ring that arrived in the mail and was left on Mrs. Sunny’s front porch. The ring has since dissolved into her skin and is impossible to remove. The aging process is continuing and the family has been advised to make the proper arrangements. PAD Detective Tsoi, the lead investigator on the case, had the following advice for residents: “Don’t accept gifts from anonymous parties. If you don’t know who the package is from, don’t open it.”
    The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
    Ilona Andrews is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team. Ilona is a native-born Russian, and Andrew is a former communications sergeant in the U.S. Army. Contrary to popular belief, Andrew was never an intelligence officer with a license to kill, and Ilona was never the mysterious Russian spy who seduced him. They met in college, in English Composition 101, where Ilona got a better grade. (Andrew is still sore about that.) Together, Andrew and Ilona are the coauthors of the
New York Times
bestselling Kate Daniels urban fantasy series and the romantic urban fantasy novels of the Edge. They currently reside in Austin, Texas, with their two children and numerous pets. For sample chapters, news, and more, visit www.ilona-andrews.com .