Roadkill

Table of Contents

 

 

“Rob Thurman’s new series has all the great elements I’ve come to expect from this writer: an engaging protagonist, fast-paced adventure, a touch of sensuality, and a surprise twist that’ll make you blink.”

—
New York Times
bestselling author Charlaine Harris

“
Trick of the Light
is a beautiful wild ride, a story with tremendous heart. A must-read.”

—
New York Times
bestselling author Marjorie M. Liu

“The Trickster series is another strong offering from the author of the Cal Leandros books. Thurman is adept at creating fresh characters, and snarky heroine Trixa’s first-person exploits in Vegas have distinct details that leave a lasting impression. Fans and new readers will be clamoring for more.”

—
Romantic Times

“Suspenseful. . . . Readers are assured of copious amounts of gut-wrenching action and creepy thrills.”

—
Romantic Times

“The action is fast-paced and exciting, and the plot twists are delicious.”

—Errant Dreams Reviews

“A solid addition to a suitably dark and gritty urban fantasy series.”

—Monsters and Critics

“Readers will feel the story line is moving at the speed of light as the Leandros brothers move from one escapade to another adventure without a respite. . . . They make a great team as they battle against overwhelming odds, leaving the audience to root for them to succeed and wait for their next misadventures.”

—Alternative Worlds

 

“Thurman continues to deliver strong tales of dark urban fantasy. . . . Fans of street-level urban fantasy will enjoy this new novel greatly.”

—SFRevu

“I think if you love the Winchester boys of
Supernatural
, there’s a good chance you will love the Leandros brothers of Thurman’s books. . . . One of
Madhouse
’s strengths is Cal’s narrative voice, which is never anything less than sardonic. Another strength is the dialogue, which is just as sharp and, depending on your sense of humor, hysterical.”

—Dear Author . . .

“A fast-paced and exciting novel . . . fans of urban fantasy will love this series.”

—
Affaire de Coeur

“If you enjoyed the first two wisecracking urban adventures, you won’t be disappointed with this one; it has just enough action, angst, sarcasm, mystery, mayhem, and murder to keep you turning the pages to the very end.”

—BookSpot Central

“[Cal and Niko] are back and better than ever . . . a fast-paced story full of action.”

—SFRevu

“A strong second volume . . . Cal continues to be a wonderful narrator, and his perspective on the world is one of the highlights of this book. . . . The plotting is tight and fast-paced, and the world-building is top-notch.”

—
Romantic Times

“A roaring roller coaster of a read . . . [it’ll] take your breath away. Supernatural highs and lows, and a hell of a lean over at the corners. Sharp and sardonic, mischievous and mysterious. . . . The truth is Out There, and it’s not very pretty.”

—Simon R. Green

“A strong first novel.”

—SFRevu

“Cal’s a sarcastic, sardonic narrator who pulls the reader into his world, both the good and the bad. Tightly plotted and fast-paced . . . full of twists and turns.”

—
Romantic Times

“A subtly warped world compellingly built by Thurman. . . . This book has an absolutely marvelous voice in Cal’s first-person narrative. The combination of Chandleresque detective dialogue and a lyrically noir style of description are stunningly original.”

—The Green Man Review

“A damn fine book, and excellent first effort.”

—Rambles

“Gripping, fast-paced fantasy.”

—Fresh Fiction

“Engaging . . . the characters are well drawn and memorable.”

—Italics

The Cal Leandros Novels

 

The Trickster Novels

 

 

Anthologies

“Milk and Cookies”

in
Wolfsbane and Mistletoe

ROC
Published by New American Library, a division of
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, USA
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

 

First published by Roc, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

First printing, March 2010

eISBN : 978-1-101-18561-2

Copyright © Robyn Thurman, 2010

All rights reserved

REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA

 

 

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

 

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination 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 Web sites or their content.

 

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To my fans, amazing one and all.
And to Cal, Niko, Robin, and the gang. It’s about damn
time you had a vacation.
Road trip!

To my mom, who suggested I give my old dream of writing a go. If I become a victim of artistic Darwinism, I blame her. Also to Lisa Powell, DVM, for her invaluable assistance in canine diseases versus lycanthrope diseases and for her wonderful treatment of my own pack all these years; to Shannon—best friend, designated driver for SDCC, and
undesignated
photographer of a night that would live in infamy . . . if I could remember it; to my patient editor, Anne Sowards; to the infallible Cam Dufty, whom I miss still; to Brian McKay (ninja of the dark craft of copywriting); to Agent Jeff Thurman of the FBI for the usual weapons advice; to the incomparable art and design team of Chris McGrath (an art
god
) and Ray Lundgren; Lucienne Diver, who astounds me in the best possible way at every turn; great and lasting friends Michael and Sara; and to Mara—keep those books coming. And last but never least, to Tasha—you made my life a living hell, and it was worth every minute of it. I will miss you always.

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatted calf together; and a little child shall lead them.”

—Isaiah 11:6

“Bullshit
.
”

—The Wolf

I’d died six months ago.

Sounds dramatic, doesn’t it? I’d died.

Only I hadn’t, not really.

I’d lain spread-eagle in our apartment in a pool of blood that no amount of rug cleaner would get out. My eyes were dull and blank as they stared at the ceiling. My gun was still in my hand, but it hadn’t done me much good, despite the dead monsters around me. I liked to think I’d taken a few with me.

I hadn’t seen it, of course, any of it, but it was what I imagined . . . with a little help of the rug that Niko, my brother, had ripped to shreds with his knife and thrown outside into the hall. And I’d seen my share of dead people, so it helped with the details. Yeah, I pictured it in great if not necessarily accurate detail even though I hadn’t actually seen it.

But Niko had.

Six months later and my brother still wouldn’t tell me if I was on the money with my description. I think telling me would’ve made the memory of the hypnosis- induced illusion worse, sharper. I knew it had seemed completely real to him then, and even now, half a year later, I caught him once in a while looking at me as if he couldn’t believe I was genuinely there, truly alive.

Too bad having little brothers with half monster genes didn’t come with mental health coverage. Pretty goddamn unfair to Niko, all things considered. And with the life we’d lived, those “all things” would make horror movies look like kiddie cartoons. Demon-driven deductibles—they were a bitch.