HarperImpulse an imprint of
HarperCollinsPublishers
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First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2015
Copyright © Erica Hayes 2015
Cover images © Shutterstock.com
Cover layout design © HarperCollâinsPublishers Ltd 2015
Cover design by HarperCollâinsPublishers Ltd
Erica Hayes asserts the moral right
to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library
This novel is entirely a work of fiction.
The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are
the work of the authorâs imagination. Any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is
entirely coincidental.
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and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
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Digital eFirst: Automatically produced by Atomik ePublisher from Easypress.
Ebook Edition © November 2015 ISBN: 9780007594627
Version 2015-11-23
âI havenât read such a good book in a long timeâ¦if youâre looking for something gritty, exciting, and fresh with complex and interesting characters, then Scorched is the book for youâ
Book Chick City
âAction packed and rivetingâ
A World of Books
âSuperherogâeekaliciouâsextrabadassociousâ¦if you like superheroes in all their glittery glory, complex heroes and sympathetic villains, then definitely check this book out!â
The Demon Librarian
âWell written dialogue, atmospheric settings and vivid action make this a gripping readâ
Jane Hunt Writer Book Reviews
âI swear I turned pages on my Kindle so fast smoke was flying off them. I also think that anybody who buys this book to read should be provided with their very own Augmented Superhero costume to wear whilst reading it. Because this book was a FUN RIDE and I wanted some of the action!'
Booklover Catlady Reviews
Once upon a time, in a flaming iron-forged forest, a brave and weary traveler came upon a fork in the road. One trail led to truth and salvation, the other to damnation and liesâ¦
But which?
You were there. You pointed her towards a path. She chose, and strode on through the fire.
Does the story end there? Did she get the prince, or the tiger?
No, don't answer. Let me tell you what you're thinking: did I plan this all along?
Wrong question. Better to ask: did you?
And what if prince and tiger are the same?
Come out, you dirty rat-fink villain. I know you're in here.
I crouched in a shadowy corner of the museum, lactic acid and impatience eating at my thigh muscles. Moonlight sprinkled through the curved glass clerestory, falling like stardust over shining glass cases filled with jewels, ancient treasures, dusty artifacts of old. In the case beside my hidey-hole, a glittering diamond-studded figurine winked at me, whispering Take me! Take me!
Not me. I'm one of the good guys. Verity Fortune, crime-fighter to the unsubtle, beating holes in things my specialty. I couldn't see the thief I'd come to catch. But I could feel him with my augmented senses, like tiny fairy lights glittering beneath my skinâ¦
There. Across the room, the darkness dipped and swirled. I knew it. My mindmuscle itched, eager to kick some villainous butt.
Still, âvillainâ is relative in Sapphire City. It wasn't as if this dude was planning genocide or world domination. If my tip-off was for realâand I needed a break, the way things had gone for me latelyâthis was just a greedy little art heist.
Audacious, all the same. Sapphire City Museumâread âswanky art fortressââis tricked out with the latest in invisible laser steal-me-and-I'll-fuck-you-up technology. But for the Galleryâthe gang of super-powered lunatics who terrorize our city, led by a lurid pyromaniac arch-psycho called Razorfireâthe threat of loot and the promise of violent death are just a turn-on. They pride their cruel, lonely asses on doing impossible things.
Bring it, you thieving Gallery turdball. Whoever this guy was, he'd be no match for me.
My nose twitched, and my secret senses tingled with the sherbety spritz of augment⦠and like a cocky-ass specter, the thief strolled right through the minefield.