Page of Tricks, page 28
She didn’t fight it, didn’t struggle as he suffocated her and came down her throat. When he was done, he pushed her off and picked up the tablet again. If she was still alive in a few minutes’ time, he’d have it taken care of.
The document had a few pictures of Laurence Riley. She’d cribbed them from social media, and most of them had another pretty boy in them, the two often arm in arm.
Shopping.
Dining.
Laughing.
It was sickening.
He tossed the tablet aside. It slid across the table and fell over the edge, then clattered on the wooden floor. “Marcella,” he called. “Fetch me something sharp.”
Marcella was at his side in seconds, a Bowie knife in her hands. She placed it on the table with a bow. “Will that be all, master?”
“You may as well stick around. You’ll need to take out the trash soon.”
“Yes, master.”
He grabbed the knife and hopped down from his throne. The bitch wasn’t damn well dead. Either she had lungs of steel, or he’d finished fast, so he had to do the job himself.
As she lay on the floor, gazing sightlessly at the ceiling, he idly pressed the tip of the blade against her breast and poked around until he found the space between two ribs, then leaned his weight against the hilt and forced it down.
It sliced through intercostal muscles and into her heart, and he whipped it out again so that the heart could fail more quickly. Then he jabbed the knife into her gut to store it.
He walked away as Marcella dealt with the aftermath. The tablet still worked, so he gazed at the pictures on his way to the bathroom.
“Laurence Riley,” he murmured. “Has a nice ring to it.”
Years of waiting would finally pay off. And who would have thought Riley’s boy would be the one to bring everything to a close?
Eric would be spinning in his grave soon enough.
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~ Inheritance continues in Rites of Winter ~
Acknowledgments
I want to thank Kelly for her help with all the drugs (which isn’t as bad as it sounds, I swear). Without her professional insight into what’s what with tranquilizers, we could’ve had a real mess on our hands.
Big thanks to Jen for being the best alpha reader a writer could ever want. This whole series is made possible through their hard work, willingness to tell me when things aren’t good enough, and constant encouragement.
I’d also like to thank Ed for loaning me his brain to pick whenever I needed it. This book is stronger for his advice and insight.
Cheesebags: Stay Fresh!
To my mum, for walking the dog on the days when I was so deep in writing that she took it on herself to sneak out so that I could keep going, thank you. I suppose I should get you ear protectors or something.
Page of Tricks was primarily powered by caffeine and electronica.
About the author
AK Faulkner is the author of the Inheritance series of contemporary fantasy books, which begins with Jack of Thorns. The latest volume, Sigils of Spring, will be released in November 2019.
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AK lives just outside of London, England, with a charismatic Corgi. Together they fight crime and try not to light too many fires on the way.
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Find out more at akfaulkner.com
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Sign up for the Inheritance newsletter at discoverinheritance.com/signup
Inheritance
Season One:
Jack of Thorns
Knight of Flames
Lord of Ravens
Reeve of Veils
Page of Tricks
Season Two:
Rites of Winter
Sigils of Spring
Visit discoverinheritance.com to learn more about the characters and world of Inheritance, and sign up to the newsletter.
Page of Tricks © AK Faulkner 2019.
Cover design by Dominic Forbes.
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All rights reserved. No part of this story may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the copyright holder, except in the case of brief quotations embodied within critical reviews and articles.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
The right of AK Faulkner to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
First electronic publication: May 2018.
Third edition: October 2019.
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discoverinheritance.com
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Page of Tricks is set in the USA, and as such uses American English throughout.
AK Faulkner, Page of Tricks
