Cast In Secret

Cast In Secret
Michelle Sagara

Stolen goods are so much easier… Still avoiding her magic lessons—yet using her powers when need be—Corporal Kaylin Neya is relishing investigating a regular theft once again. That is, until she finds out the mysterious box was taken from Elani Street, where the mages and charlatans mingle and it’s sometimes difficult to tell the difference between the two. Still, she hopes this might be a mundane case….Then in a back room Kaylin sees a lostlooking girl in a reflective pool…who calls out for Kaylin’s help. Shaken, Kaylin tries to stay focused on the case at hand. But since the stolen item is ancient, has no keyhole and holds tremendous darkness inside, Kaylin knows unknown forces are again playing with her destiny—and her life….

Praise for

MICHELLE

SAGARA

and The Chronicles of Elantra series

Cast in Shadow

“No one provides an emotional payoff like Michelle Sagara.

Combine that with a fast-paced police procedural, deadly

magics, five very different races and a wickedly dry sense of

humor—well, it doesn’t get any better than this.”

—Bestselling author Tanya Huff

“Intense, fast-paced, intriguing, compelling

and hard to put down … unforgettable.”

—In the Library Reviews

Cast in Courtlight “Readers will embrace this compelling, strong-willed heroine with her often sarcastic voice.” —Publishers Weekly

“A fast-paced novel, packed with action and adventure …

integrating the conventions of police procedurals

with more fantastic elements.”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

Cast in Secret “The impressively detailed setting and the book’s spirited heroine are sure to charm romance readers as well as fantasy fans who like some mystery with their magic.” —Publishers Weekly

“Remarkable …. Filled with time-release plot threads and

intricate details, these books are both mesmerizing

and unforgettable. If you’re a fan of rich fantasy,

this is the series for you!”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews, Top Pick (4½ stars)

About the Author

MICHELLE SAGARA has written fourteen novels since 1991, when her fi rst book,Into the Dark Lands, was published. She’s written a quarterly book review column for the venerable Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction for a number of years, as well as dozens of short stories (or novellas, to be more exact).

In 1986 she started working in an SF specialty bookstore, where she continues to work to this day. She loves reading, is allergic to cats (very, which means they crawl all over her), is happily married, has two lovely children, and has spent all of her life in her native Toronto—none of it on Bay Street

She started reading fantasy almost as soon as she could read, and fell instantly in love with Narnia; her next fantasy discovery was Patricia McKillip’s Forgotten Beasts of Eld. She moved on to The Hobbit, which led to her discovery of the life-changingThe Lord of the Rings.

Her greatest hope for her writing is that someone will read it and be moved by the same sense of magic and mystery that she fi nds in the books she loves.

She will talk about writing, bookselling and books forever if given a chance. You’ve been warned.

Cast in

Secret

Michelle

Sagara

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

AUTHOR NOTE

I always wonder at people who tell other people to get a life, because, for all accounts and purposes, I have one. It’s a good life, but there are times when it’s overwhelming, and at times like that I seek a little bit of escape, and a little bit of something that’s larger. I find it in different places—I adored Buffy, especially the first two seasons, adored beyond reason Firefly, read novels, manga and play video games.

I do all these things because they entertain me, and when I decided to write THE CHRONICLES OF ELANTRA books, I wanted to return some of that entertainment, to capture some of its essence. It was a bit of a departure for me—the stories are structured a little bit more like the beloved television shows mentioned above; each volume has some hint of a larger arc, but should be self-contained in the events. I went for a modern sensibility, because the world itself is strange enough. I wanted to be able to make other people laugh, or to move them, because that’s what I want when I seek escape.

Cast in Shadow introduced Kaylin Neya, a young officer of the Law who’s still trying to sort out who she is and where she fits in. Cast in Courtlight threw her headfirst into politics, which is not one of her strengths. In Cast in Secret, I wanted to reintroduce the Tha’alani—the City’s native telepaths. They keep to themselves as much as possible because most of the citizens of Elantra fear and shun them—after all, how many of us want to be surrounded by people who can, at will, examine all our petty or ugly truths?

Kaylin certainly doesn’t. But in Cast in Secret, she has no choice, and I hope the consequences of that lack of choice give back some of what I’ve found in books, manga, anime and movies through the years.

In October, don’t forget to look for Cast in Fury, which deals with the aftermath of this story—and more about the Tha’alani!

This one is for my kids—and peers—

in Makaveli, on Shadowsong

/bonk

/hug

/love

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My long-suffering husband, Thomas,