The Core
Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author Peter V. Brett brings one of the most imaginative fantasy sagas of the twenty-first century to an epic close.The war has begun…For time out of mind, bloodthirsty demons have stalked the night, culling the human race to scattered remnants dependent on half-forgotten magics to protect them.Two heroes arose—men as close as brothers, yet divided by bitter betrayal. Arlen Bales became known as the Painted Man, tattooed head-to-toe with powerful magic symbols that enable him to fight demons in hand-to-hand combat—and emerge victorious. Ahmann Jardir, armed with magically warded weapons, called himself the Deliverer, a figure prophesied to unite humanity and lead them to triumph in Sharak Ka—the final war against demonkind.But in their efforts to bring the war to the demons, Arlen and Jardir have set something in motion that may prove the end of everything they hold dear—a Swarm. Now the war is at hand, and humanity cannot hope to win it unless Arlen and Jardir, with the help of Arlen’s wife, Renna, can bend a captured demon prince to their will and force the devious creature to lead them to the Core, where the Mother of Demons breeds an inexhaustible army.Trusting their closest confidantes, Leesha, Inevera, Ragen, and Elissa, to rally the fractious people of the Free Cities and lead them against the Swarm, Arlen, Renna, and Jardir set out on a desperate quest into the darkest depths of evil—from which none of them expects to return alive.
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HarperVoyager
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London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HarperVoyager 2017
Copyright © Peter V. Brett 2017
Cover illustration © Larry Rostant. Demon model by Millenium FX Ltd.
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2017
Ward artwork designed by Lauren K. Cannon, copyright © Peter V. Brett
Peter V. Brett asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of 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.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780007425723
Ebook Edition © September 2017 ISBN: 9780007425747
Version: 2018-09-24
For Sirena Lilith, who is already changing my life in countless ways.
Contents
Prologue: Gaolers
Chapter 13: The Last Will and Testament of Arlen Bales
Chapter 22: The Edge of Nieâs Abyss
Chapter 25: The Mouth of the Abyss
Chapter 30: Everamâs Reservoir
Chapter 32: Blizzard and Quake
âThere will be swarm.â
Alagai Ka, the demon Consort, spoke with the lips of the human drone, the one they called Shanjat. The Consort lay bound within a circle of power, but he had shattered one of the locks and taken the drone before his captors could react.
His will crushed, Shanjat was little more than a puppet now, and the Consort took pleasure in the pain that caused his captors. He shifted the droneâs feet, getting a sense of the body. Not as useful as a mimic, but strong, armed with the primitive weapons of the surface stock and an emotional connection to his captors the Consort could exploit.
âWhat in the Core is that supposed to mean?â the Explorer demanded. The one the others called Arlen or Parâchin. He held influence over the others, but it was not true dominance.
The Consort accessed the droneâs language centre, growing in fluency with the primitive grunts that passed for communication among humans. âThe queen is close to laying.â
The Explorer met the droneâs eyes and crossed his arms. The wards inked into his flesh throbbed with power. âKnow that. Whatâs it got to do with a swarm?â
âYou have imprisoned me and killed my strongest brethren,â the Consort said. âThere are none left in the mind court with power enough to keep the young queens from draining their mother of magic and maturing.â
The Explorer shrugged. âQueensâll kill each other, wonât they? Right there in the whelping room, with the strongest one taking over the hive. Better a hatchling queen than a fully matured one.â
The Consort kept the droneâs eyes fixed on the Explorer as he watched the auras of the others in the room with his own eyes.
Armed with the cloak and spear and crown of the Mind Killer, the Heir â the one called Jardir â was easily the most dangerous. Chained in a warding circle, the Consort had few options if the Heir decided to kill him, and the subjugation of Shanjat enraged the Heir beyond measure.
But the Heirâs aura betrayed him. Much as he wanted to kill the Consort, he needed him alive.
More interesting was the web of emotions connecting the Heir to the Explorer. Love and hate, rivalry and respect. Anger. Guilt. It was a heady mix, and the Consort took pleasure as he studied it. The Heir was impatient for information. There was much the Explorer had not told him, and irritation crackled along his aura at having to follow anotherâs lead.
