Twilight of Kerberos - [Shadowmage 01-03] - The Shadowmage Trilogy (Shadowmage; Night's Haunting; Legacy's Price)

TWILIGHT
of
KERBEROS

The

SHADOWMAGE

TRILOGY

MATTHEW SPRANGE

An Abaddon Books™ Publication

www.abaddonbooks.com

[email protected]

First published in 2012 by Abaddon Books™, Rebellion Intellectual Property Limited, Riverside House, Osney Mead, Oxford, OX2 0ES, UK.

Editor-in Chief: Jonathan Oliver

Desk Editor: David Moore

Cover Art: Pye Parr

Original Series Cover Art: Mark Harrison & Greg Staples

Design: Simon Parr & Luke Preece

Marketing and PR: Michael Molcher

Creative Director and CEO: Jason Kingsley

Chief Technical Officer: Chris Kingsley

Shadowmage
Copyright ©2008 Rebellion.

Night’s Haunting
Copyright ©2009 Rebellion.

Legacy’s Price
Copyright ©2012 Rebellion.

All rights reserved.

Twilight of Kerberos™, Abaddon Books and Abaddon Books logo are trademarks owned or used exclusively by Rebellion Intellectual Property Limited. The trademarks have been registered or protection sought in all member states of the European Union and other countries around the world. All right reserved.

ISBN (epub): 978-1-84997-432-5

ISBN (mobi): 978-1-84997-433-2

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

The Twilight of Kerberos Series

The Lucius Kane Adventures

by Matthew Sprange

Shadowmage

Night’s Haunting

Legacy’s Price

The Kali Hooper Adventures

by Mike Wild

The Clockwork King of Orl

Crucible of the Dragon God

Engines of the Apocalypse

The Trials of Trass Kathra

The Silus Morlader Adventures

by Jonathan Oliver

The Call of Kerberos

The Wrath of Kerberos

The Gabriella DeZantez Adventures

by David A. McIntee

The Light of Heaven

Twilight of Kerberos – The Final Adventure

by Mike Wild

Children of the Pantheon
(Coming Soon)

INTRODUCTION

W
ELCOME TO THE
world of Twilight, overshadowed by the god planet Kerberos and packed with heroes and monsters, villains and magic. When Matthew Sprange and I sat down to plan out this shared-world series, right from the off I wanted to celebrate the pulp fantasy written by the likes of Fritz Leiber, Robert Howard and Clark Ashton Smith. I wanted us to look away from the epic doorstep tomes produced by writers such as George R.R. Martin and Steven Erikson (brilliant though they are) and instead create a collection of punchy fantasy adventures, each of which would stand alone but also continue to add to the world we were creating. This is more Swords and Sorcery than Tolkeinesque high fantasy; the emphasis is on fast-paced tales of sword wielders and spell slingers. Sprange’s world is very Lieber-esque but there’s also something of the tales of Conan here, while the stories remain very much Matthew’s own.

This is the first of several
Twilight of Kerberos
omnibus editions and is a great place to start if you are unfamiliar with the series. Subsequent editions will follow different heroes as the series moves towards an apocalyptic climax. So pour yourself a tankard of mead and turn the page of this mighty tome. There is high adventure here and magic, just beware the wrath of the Lord of All and the warrior priests of the Final Faith!

Jonathan Oliver (Editor)

January 2012

Original cover art by Mark Harrison

PROLOGUE

S
HOUTS FOR HIS
blood echoed off the walls of the narrow alley, the worn buildings bouncing the sound so it seemed as though he were surrounded. Casting an anxious glance over his shoulder, he saw nothing through the shadowy gloom and guessed they were still on the street behind.

Not wanting to push his luck, he ran faster, legs straining under the effort and ankles aching from the unfamiliar exertion. A shape shuffled from the darkness of a doorway to his left. He nearly screamed in panic, thinking the murderers behind had caught up with him. The grey-haired beggar gave him a curious look, perhaps wondering why a wild-eyed man was in this region of the city at so late an hour, then shuffled back into his temporary home.

The alley jinked crookedly and, rounding the last corner, he saw the expanse of Meridian Street opening up before him. He slowed down, trying to control his breathing and appear normal, lest he draw attention from revellers or some of the less desirable types he knew frequented the thoroughfare. Drawing his hood up, he wrapped his cloak about him and continued north at a measured pace. The shouts were gradually receding and he began to give a silent prayer of relief. While the events of the evening had been painful, there was still a chance that something could be salvaged from the disaster.