Chimes at Midnight: An October Daye Novel

“
Rosemary and Rue
will surely appeal to readers who enjoy my books, or those of Patricia Briggs.”

—Charlaine Harris, #1
New York Times
bestselling author

“Fast-paced, without ever being frantic, with excellent characterization. . . . McGuire is a dab hand at dialogue, and the bantering between Toby and everyone—especially Tybalt—is one of the highlights of the book.”

—
RT Book Reviews

“The plot is strong, the characterization is terrific, the tragedies hurt . . . and McGuire’s usual beautiful writing and dark humor are present and accounted for. This has become one of my favorite urban fantasy series, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.”

FantasyLiterature.com

“An urban fantasy detective series featuring a resourceful female detective . . . [October Daye] should appeal to fans of Jim Butcher’s
Dresden File
s as well as the novels of Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, and similar authors.”

—
Library Journal

“It’s fun watching [Toby] stick doggedly to the case as the killer picks off more victims and the tension mounts.”

—
LOCUS

“With
Ashes of Honor
, McGuire has crafted a deeply personal and intense story that will keep you on the edge, hoping to be pushed over. In my opinion, it is, hands down, the best Toby to date.”

—The Ranting Dragon

“These books are like watching half a season of your favorite television series all at once. . . . More than anything else, it’s the fun of it all that’s kept me returning to McGuire’s books, and to this series, long after I’ve stopped reading other mainstream titles.”

—SF Signal

“I love that Toby is a strong, independent—yet still vulnerable—heroine. I love that this is a world where people die, where consequences matter. I love the complex world-building and mythology. I love the almost film noir tone of the series. I love that each book leaves me wanting more. If you dig urban fantasy, this is one of the best out there.”

—CC2K

InCryptid
Novels:

DISCOUNT ARMAGEDDON

MIDNIGHT BLUE-LIGHT SPECIAL

HALF-OFF RAGNAROK*

SPARROW HILL ROAD

October Daye
Novels:

ROSEMARY AND RUE

A LOCAL HABITATION

AN ARTIFICIAL NIGHT

LATE ECLIPSES

ONE SALT SEA

ASHES OF HONOR

CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT

*
Coming soon from DAW Books

Copyright © 2013 by Seanan McGuire.

“Never Shines the Sun” copyright © 2013 by Seanan McGuire.

All Rights Reserved.

Cover art by Chris McGrath.

Cover design by G-Force Design.

Interior dingbat created by Tara O’Shea.

DAW Book Collectors No. 1631.

DAW Books are distributed by Penguin Group (USA).

All characters and events in this book are fictitious.

Any resemblance to persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

ISBN 978-1-101-63566-7

The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

Nearly all the designs and trade names in this book are registered trademarks. All that are still in commercial use are protected by United States and international trademark law.

For Jude and Alan,
and all the staff at Borderlands Books.
 

But especially for Ripley. We miss you.

Chimes at Midnight
marks the start of what I view as the second stage in Toby’s journey, and I am grateful and a little awed that you’re all here with me, watching it happen. Writing these books is forever a labor of love, and a big part of that is all of you. Seriously. Thank you all. Thanks also to the Machete Squad, as always, since without them, I would probably still be hiding under the bed rather than facing the tangles of draft two; to the Disney Magic Bitches, for putting up with endless trips to Disneyland; and to Vixy, Amy, Brooke, and Shawn, for being extremely forgiving of the fact that no matter where we go, Toby goes there too.

I remain utterly delighted with my agent and personal superhero, Diana Fox, with my editor and savior, Sheila Gilbert, and with my eternally fantastic cover artist, Chris McGrath. Thanks to Christopher Mangum and Tara O’Shea for website design and maintenance, and to Kate Secor for keeping my email from eating me alive. I know it’s hungry . . .

We have come so far, and we have so far yet to go, and I am honored to have you all here with me to see where we wind up. I hope you’ll continue to stick around.

My soundtrack while writing
Chimes at Midnight
consisted mostly of
Prepare the Preparations
, by Ludo,
Carry the Fire
, by Delta Rae,
Fairytale
, by Heather Dale, endless live concert recordings of the Counting Crows, and
Journey
’s Greatest Hits
, by Journey. Any errors in this book are entirely my own. The errors that aren’t here are the ones that all these people helped me fix.

Now remember: You must not look at goblin men. You must not buy their fruits . . .

THROUGH CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT

All pronunciations are given strictly phonetically. This only covers races explicitly named in the first seven books, omitting Undersea races not appearing in, or mentioned in, book seven.

Afanc:
ah-fank
. Plural is Afanc.

Annwn:
ah-noon
. No plural exists.

Bannick:
ban-nick
. Plural is Bannicks.

Barghest:
bar-guy-st
. Plural is Barghests.

Blodynbryd:
blow-din-brid
. Plural is Blodynbryds.

Cait Sidhe:
kay-th shee
. Plural is Cait Sidhe.

Candela:
can-dee-la
. Plural is Candela.

Coblynau:
cob-lee-now
. Plural is Coblynau.

Cu Sidhe:
coo shee
. Plural is Cu Sidhe.

Daoine Sidhe:
doon-ya shee
. Plural is Daoine Sidhe, diminutive is Daoine.

Djinn:
jin
. Plural is Djinn.

Dóchas Sidhe:
doe-sh-as shee
. Plural is Dóchas Sidhe.

Ellyllon:
el-lee-lawn
. Plural is Ellyllons.

Gean-Cannah:
gee-ann can-na
. Plural is Gean-Cannah.

Glastig:
glass-tig
. Plural is Glastigs.

Gwragen:
guh-war-a-gen
. Plural is Gwragen.

Hamadryad:
ha-ma-dry-add
. Plural is Hamadryads.

Hippocampus:
hip-po-cam-pus
. Plural is Hippocampi.

Kelpie:
kel-pee
. Plural is Kelpies.

Kitsune:
kit-soo-nay
. Plural is Kitsune.

Lamia:
lay-me-a
. Plural is Lamia.

The Luidaeg:
the lou-sha-k
. No plural exists.

Manticore:
man-tee-core
. Plural is Manticores.

Naiad:
nigh-add
. Plural is Naiads.

Nixie:
nix-ee
. Plural is Nixen.

Peri:
pear-ee
. Plural is Peri.

Piskie:
piss-key
. Plural is Piskies.

Pixie:
pix-ee
. Plural is Pixies.

Puca:
puh-ca
. Plural is Pucas.

Roane:
row-n
. Plural is Roane.

Satyr:
say-tur
. Plural is Satyrs.

Selkie:
sell-key
. Plural is Selkies.

Shyi Shuai:
shh-yee shh-why
. Plural is Shyi Shuai.

Silene:
sigh-lean
. Plural is Silene.

Tuatha de Dannan.
tootha day danan
.
Plural is Tuatha de Dannan, diminutive is Tuatha.

Tylwyth Teg:
till-with teeg
. Plural is Tylwyth Teg, diminutive is Tylwyth.

Urisk:
you-risk
. Plural is Urisk.