Free The Queen of Lies by Michael J. Bode Page A

Sword.”
    “You forget that I’ve spent roughly half my existence as a woman. I was very empathetic and respectful in the manner in which I fucked her,” Sword said solemnly. Heath missed Sword’s last incarnation. Catherine’s voice and mannerisms had a way of making his boorishness seem charming.
    “I almost believe you,” Heath said.
    Sword grabbed the wine from Heath’s hand and tasted it. He made a disgusted face. “So get this. Her boatman boyfriend, Jerron, who was twenty-two, was a student at the Lyceum a few years back. He had a Hamartia, which is a—”
    Heath cut him off. “I know what a fucking Hamartia is.” He knew more about seal magic than he ever wanted to.
    “Oh, right. Touchy, touchy!” Sword scooted away. “Anyway he fucked up the Seal of Communication. Made him totally illiterate—like letters would run around on the page like little wriggly worms. Real sad story, because Hilta said he was supposedly the most promising pupil to ever join the college.”
    “Or he said he was. Maddox would have dropped the kid’s name if he was even a contender. So he talked a big game and washed out of the Lyceum.” Heath grabbed his wine back from Sword. “Milk Eyes was carrying an Archean shard on him. Did you learn anything that might connect him and the kid?”
    “High Wiz, you think?” Sword seemed uncertain.
    Heath set the glass down beside him. “Could be. A shard is rare as hell and a lot of money for a deckhand to bring on shore leave, when he can trade prisms. And then to just hand it over to Red—well, if Milk Eyes was a wizard, he might not care. But then what’s the interest in Hilta’s boyfriend?”
    “Maybe he just likes pulling the wings off insects. I don’t know much about the Archeans. They typically don’t involve themselves in terrestrial affairs,” Sword said. “But I do know the Harrowers have a favorite snack: unstable magicians. With the right combination of untapped power and cockiness, they could find themselves another Achelon and then… boom . All the wizards in Creation go crazy and the world plunges into another Long Night.”
    “So far we have six deaths: two nobles, the magic-school dropout, a drug addict, a clerk at the temple, and an Invocari,” Heath mused. “Two out of the six could fit the pattern, but the paper pusher, nobles, and junkie don’t…that we know of.”
    “I say we check out the junkie next.” Sword grinned. “I’ve been itching to fill this body with some drugs. He got himself a pretty bad dragonfire habit before I took over.”
    Heath massaged his temples. “I can never tell if you’re kidding.”
    “You can fix an addiction with a little touch of those glowy fingers, can’t you?”
    Heath slapped Sword’s cheek gently. “Come on. We have work to do.”

N INE
First Impressions
J ESSA
    I MUST CONFESS that my most satisfying deceptions over the years came from being underestimated. When I was new to court at Thelassus and presented to the emperor, the other Stormlords thought me a callow ingenue, an act I maintained for several years before I gained my reputation for intrigue.
    I can’t in good faith claim that all my initial blunders were intentional, but my reputation as a poor liar eventually led people to trust me as if I were an honest person. And of course being as seemingly clueless as I was made me the perfect “pawn” in the schemes of others.
    For a time I was suspected of being in league with Lord Calatax in his bid for the Bleak Atoll shipping contract. I protested to everyone that it wasn’t the case, which only made them more certain of it. Then I started to deny the rumors (which I’d invented) about Lord Calatax’s plans and capabilities in order to convince the armadas to destroy him. And that was just the first of three Upheavals.
    I entreat you to consider all those around you: your friends, your enemies, and especially your blood. The next Lord of Lies is already among you, and it’s the person you