Hammered

east on University, heading toward Rural Road.
    » Where to, sensei? « she asked, checking her mirrors.
    » Same place we discussed earlier, « I said. » Oberon says we have to get out of town. « I turned in my seat to collect an overdue explanation from my hound. Now you will tell me why we’re running. What’s happened to the widow?
    
    Ah, so she is alive after all?
    
    Then who’s been walking around in her house and feeding you and letting you outside since then? You’re not making sense .
    
    Well, maybe she’s just in a funk, Oberon. She’s been depressed lately .
    
    What?
    
    I faced forward and slumped in my seat. Shock upon shock left my mouth slightly open and my eyes unfocused.
    » Sensei? Atticus? What’s the matter? « Granuaile flicked her eyes from the road to my face, creases of worry between her brows.
    » Drive on, « I told her. » Oberon’s right. We have to get out of here. «

Acknowledgments
    My editor at Del Rey, Tricia Pasternak, is eternally encouraging and may be a Zen master of Soothing Anxious Authors. She exudes calm even through her emails. Here is one of her koans to boggle your mind: What is the sound of one subplot resolving?
    Mike Braff, assistant editor, introduced me to Viking Death Metal, specifically a band called Amon Amarth and one of their songs called » Twilight of the Thunder God. « I had that playing on loop while I wrote the last battle scene, and now I’m fighting the urge to buy a double-bladed axe and a drinking horn.
    My copy editor, Kathy Lord, and my managing editor, Nancy Delia, both deserve a bottle of something Irish because I’ve probably driven them to drink anyway—it might as well be the good stuff. They’ve been a spectacular help, and I’m grateful for their assistance.
    My agent, Evan Goldfried at JGLM, happened to know a really cool rabbi, Jenny Amswych, who was kind enough to help me out with the Hebrew. I chose the kh spelling instead of the ch for the guttural sound, and I hope that doesn’t ruffle any feathers. If there are any errors, please lay the blame at my door and not the good rabbi’s.
    Eli Freysson in Iceland assisted with some of the Icelandic names, but please don’t tease him if I messed up, because I tend to Anglicize things a bit.
    I’m grateful as always to my early readers, Alan O’Bryan and Tawnya Graham-Schoolitz. Nick Steinkemper also did me yeoman service on short notice.
    Kimberly, Maddie, and Gail Hearne are the most supportive family members a writer could wish for, and I count myself blessed to be a part of their lives.
    As with my other books, most of the physical locations (on this plane) are real, albeit used in a fictional way. If anyone does that $75 shot of whiskey at Rúla Búla, drop me a line and let me know if it was worth it. I’ll tell you right now that the Smithwick’s with the fish and chips is always worth it.
    Likewise, the teak motorcycle sculpture at the Huddle in Globe is worth a look. It gets even better