Magic Rises

add Ilona Andrews to your reading list.”
    — LoveVampires
    “Andrews . . . demonstrates her mastery at balancing dark humor, clever mystery, and supernatural jeopardy. Andrews is the total package!”
    — RT Book Reviews (4½ stars, top pick)
    MAGIC BITES
    “Treat yourself to a splendid new urban fantasy . . . I am looking forward to the next book in the series or anything else Ilona Andrews writes.”
    —Patricia Briggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Frost Burned
    “Andrews shows a great deal of promise. Readers fond of Laurell K. Hamilton and Patricia Briggs may find her work a new source of reading pleasure.”
    — SFRevu
    “Andrews’s edgy series stands apart from similar fantasies . . . owing to its complex world-building and skilled characterizations.”
    — Library Journal
    “Fans of urban fantasy will delight in Ilona Andrews’s alternate-universe Atlanta.”
    — Fresh Fiction
    “The strong story line coupled with a complex alternative history . . . will have readers hoping for more.”
    — Monsters and Critics

Ace Books by Ilona Andrews
    The Kate Daniels Novels
    MAGIC BITES
    MAGIC BURNS
    MAGIC STRIKES
    MAGIC BLEEDS
    MAGIC SLAYS
    MAGIC RISES
    The World of Kate Daniels
    GUNMETAL MAGIC
    The Edge Novels
    ON THE EDGE
    BAYOU MOON
    FATE’S EDGE
    STEEL’S EDGE
    Specials
    MAGIC MOURNS
    MAGIC DREAMS

MAGIC RISES

    ILONA ANDREWS

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
    Published by the Penguin Group
    Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
    375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

    USA | Canada | UK | Ireland | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa | China
    Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
    For more information about the Penguin Group, visit penguin.com.
    MAGIC RISES
    An Ace Book / published by arrangement with Ilona Andrews, Inc.
    Copyright © 2013 by Andrew Gordon and Ilona Gordon.
    “An Ill-Advised Rescue” by Ilona Andrews copyright © 2013
    by Andrew Gordon and Ilona Gordon.
    All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors’ rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
    Ace Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group.
    ACE and the “A” design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
    For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
    a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
    375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
    eBook ISBN: 978-1-101-62487-6
    PUBLISHING HISTORY
    Ace mass-market edition / August 2013
    Cover art by Juliana Kolesva.
    Cover design by Jason Gill.
    This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

To our fathers, wherever they may be

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    Before we dive into acknowledgments, please note that we’ve included a bonus short story of Saiman’s rescue. It’s toward the end of the book, but you may want to read it first.
    * * *
    We would like to thank Anne Sowards, our editor, for believing in us and always working on making the book better. We also would like to thank our agent, Nancy Yost, for all of her help and her friendship.
    Many other people have worked on creating these books. Michelle Kasper, the production editor, and Jamie Snider, the assistant production editor, oversaw the process of turning a manuscript into a finished book. Judith Lagerman, the art director; Juliana Kolesva, the artist; and Jason Gill, the cover designer, created a stunning cover. Amy Schneider had the difficult job of copyediting our mess. Rebecca Brewer, Anne’s editorial assistant, and Sarah E. Younger, of Nancy Yost Literary Agency, valiantly tried to deal with our requests. We are deeply grateful to all of you.
    Special thanks to the beta readers who helped make this book better: Ericka Brooks, Ying Areerat, Hasna Saadani, Laura Hobbs, Michelle Kubecka, Wendy Baceski, Joyce Casement, William Stonier, and others.
    And finally, thank you to you, dear readers, for believing in Kate Daniels and her twisted world.

CHAPTER 1

    I spun the spear. “One more