To the guy who gave me my first pair of handcuffs. Thanks for being there. I'd like to thank the people closest to me for their understanding while I muddled through all this. But most importantly, I'd like to thank my agent, Richard Curtis - who saw the possibilities before I knew they existed, and my editor, Diana Gill - who guided those possibilities and brought them to life. Chapter One I took a deep breath to settle myself, jerking the cuff of my gloves up to cover the bare patch of skin at my wrist. My fingers were numb through the fleece as I moved my next-to-largest spell pot to sit beside a small chipped tombstone, being careful to not let the transfer media spill. It was cold, and my breath steamed in the light of the cheap white candle I had bought on sale last week. Spilling a bit of wax, I stuck the taper to the top of the grave marker. My stomach knotted as I fixed my attention on the growing haze at the horizon, scarcely discernable from the surrounding city lights. The moon would be up soon, being just past full and waning. Not a good time to be summoning demons, but it would be coming anyway if I didn't call it. I'd rather meet Algaliarept on my own terms - before midnight.