Book Preview G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS Publishers Since 1838 Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA • Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R … Read more
Book Preview When Angela glanced up and saw him out in the parking lot beyond the neon beer sign hung in the bar’s small front window, her first thought was to wonder if this was the night she was going to die. The unexpected storm of emotion drove other thoughts from her mind. She wondered … Read more
Book Preview Feeling hot and light-headed, Kahlan stiffened her back as she stood at the head of the funeral pyre, staring down at Richard’s body laid out before her. The light mist and fitful drizzle felt cold on her face, like ice against the grief burning inside her. Wet cobblestones glistened in the late-day light. … Read more
Book Preview At the same time as he heard the voice, Richard felt the touch of an icy hand on the back of his shoulder. He drew his sword as he spun. As it cleared its scabbard, the blade sent its distinctive ring of steel through the hushed, predawn air. The power contained within the … Read more
Book Preview “We should eat them now, before they die and go bad,” a gruff voice said. Richard was only distantly aware of the low buzz of voices. Still only half conscious, he wasn’t able to figure out who was talking, much less make sense of what they were talking about, but he was aware … Read more
Book Preview “There is darkness,” the boy said. Richard frowned, not sure that he had understood the whispered words. He glanced back over his shoulder at the concern on Kahlan’s face. She didn’t look to have understood the meaning any more than he had. The boy lay on a tattered carpet placed on the bare … Read more
Book Preview For the second time that day, a woman stabbed Richard. Jolted fully awake by the shock of pain, he instantly seized her bony wrist, preventing her from ripping open his thigh. A dingy dress, buttoned all the way up to her throat, covered her gaunt figure. In the dim light of distant campfires … Read more
Book Preview The following individuals have been invaluable in helping to bring Phantom to life. Desirée and Dr. Roland Miyada Phil and Debra Pizzolato Each of these people has been there for me when I needed them most. Each is a person of unique ability who played a key role in making this book happen. … Read more
Book Preview How much of this blood is his?” a woman asked. “Most of it, I’m afraid,” a second woman said as they both rushed along beside him. As Richard fought to focus his mind on his need to remain conscious, the breathless voices sounded to him as if they were coming from some great … Read more
Book Preview You knew they were there, didn’t you?” Kahlan asked in a hushed tone as she leaned closer. Against the darkening sky, she could just make out the shapes of three black-tipped races taking to wing, beginning their nightly hunt. That was why he’d stopped. That was what he’d been watching as the rest … Read more
Book Preview Picking through the dead man’s pockets, Jennsen Daggett came across the last thing in the world she would ever have expected to find. Startled, she sat back on her heels. The raw breeze ruffled her hair as she stared wide-eyed at the words written in precise, blocky letters on the small square of … Read more
Book Preview She didn’t remember dying. With an obscure sense of apprehension, she wondered if the distant angry voices drifting in to her meant she was again about to experience that transcendent ending: death. There was absolutely nothing she could do about it if she was. While she didn’t remember dying, she dimly recalled, at … Read more
Book Preview “I WONDER WHAT’S BOTHERING the chickens,” Richard said. Kahlan nuzzled tighter against his shoulder. “Maybe your grandfather is pestering them now, too.” When he didn’t reply, she tilted her head back to squint up at him in the dim firelight. He was watching the door. “Or maybe they’re grouchy because we kept them … Read more
Book Preview “Let me kill him,” Cara said, her boot strikes sounding like rawhide mallets hammering the polished marble floor. The supple leather boots Kahlan wore beneath her elegant, white Confessor’s dress whispered against the cold stone as he tried to keep pace without letting her legs break into a run. Cara exhibited no response, … Read more
Book Preview Many thanks, as ever, to my editor, James Frenkel, for the adept way he keeps raising the bar; to my British editor, Caroline Oakley, and the good people at Orion for their devotion to excellence; to James Minz for the great line; to Linda Quinlon and the sales and marketing staff for their … Read more
Book Preview Rachel clutched her doll tighter to her chest and stared at the dark thing watching her from the bushes. At least she thought it was watching her. It was hard to tell because the eyes were as dark as the rest of it, except when the light caught them just right; then they … Read more
Book Preview I would like to thank some special people: My father, Leo, for never once telling me to read, but instead reading himself, and thus infecting me with curiosity. My good friends, Rachel Kahlandt and Gloria Avner, for taking on the task of reading the raw manuscript and offering valuable insights, and for their … Read more