The Fall of the House of Cabal (53 page)
Read The Fall of the House of Cabal Online
Authors: Jonathan L. Howard
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CONTENTS
THE FIRST WAY: JOHANNES CABAL, THE NECROPOLITAN
THE SECOND WAY: LEONIE BARROW, GREAT DETECTIVE
THE THIRD WAY: ZARENYIA, PRINCESS OF HELL
THE FOURTH WAY: HORST CABAL, LORD OF THE DEAD
THE FIFTH WAY:
RUBRUM IMPERATRIX
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF CABAL
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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS.
An imprint of St. Martin's Press.
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF CABAL.
Copyright © 2016 by Jonathan L. Howard. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Illustrations by Linda “Snugbat” Smith
Cover illustration and design © Michael J. Windsor
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-06997-9 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4668-7985-0 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781466879850
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First Edition: September 2016
*
It is to be hoped that, by this juncture, the revelation of the stranger's identity causes the reader little or no surprise. This is, after all, the fifth novel in the series. If this is the first Cabal novel the reader has read, the author strongly advises that you go off and read the others first. Also any other novels the author has written. This latter point is unnecessary to the reader's understanding of the plot in progress, but it would make me happy, and what soulless creature would miss an opportunity to make me happy? Certainly not the reader, I'm sure, who is wise, just, intelligent, and of above-average appearance.*
Hating to waste the datum, however, they diligently made a note and used it some years later.*
The history of Cabal's first acquaintance of the devil Zarenyia and of his brief time as a halibut is described in the story âA Long Spoon'.*
While the pieces were not especially lovely, it should be borne in mind that at least half the function of these few words is to give the potential narrator of an audio version of this book a doubtful moment.*
The dealings of Johannes Cabal with Maleficarus
père et fils
may be discovered in
Johannes Cabal the Necromancer,
âExeunt Demon King,' âThe Ereshkigal Working,' and
The Brothers Cabal
.*
Hell gets little rainfall, and the blood sand plain none at all, so it will be understood that âgargoyle' in the architectural sense is not the one used here.*
Poor, poor Aunt Julie, who, after the goose but before the pudding, looked up at the accidentally wrought intra-dimensional decoration, got as far as saying, âThat's rather a topological hint of terrible ontoloâ' whereupon an event of exquisite horror occurred. Nobody fancied pudding after that.*
This constituted most of the Shakespeare that Horst actually knew to be Shakespeare.*
Given the designs of many jack-in-the-boxes, the author appreciates that it may take some moments before the reader is able to imagine something more malevolent still. That is perfectly understandable. The reader should take his or her time. The author can have a cup of tea while he waits.*
She actually used a stronger term than âdamn'd', but the author is a delicate creature and declines to say âfuck' too much.*
The concerned reader is doubtless fretting over the fate of Lieutenant Skir and the surviving members of his
Gruppe
. Feel free to carry on doing so.*
As indeed he did, and it was notable for being his only real passport, unlike the eight others that were all under assumed names and various nationalities.*
And, if one is inclined towards cynicism, long before the Mirkarvian curse was ever visited upon London.*
Which is to say, the real theatre land West End of London as opposed to the Five Ways phantom of it. On that West End, one would find little on the abandoned stages but rats and zombies. Perhaps that's not so different, after all.*
âRun for it, darling! Run for cover! You can make it! Not far now! Fleet of foot, and strong of ⦠Oh, bad luck. Still you made it further than your friend. Oh, there's another! Run for it, darling!' And so on.*
Contributory to that golden shine, I am apparently morally obliged to mention my editors, Peter Joseph with the dauntless assistance of Melanie Fried, and copy editors, Chris and Sara Ensey with ScriptAcuity Studio, for said burnishing; my agents, Melissa Chinchillo of Fletcher & Co. in the United States and Sam Copeland of Rogers, Coleridge, and White in the UK, for their roles in the nefarious conspiracy to put my work into the hands of people to whom it may do great moral harm (one hopes); and the artists Michael J. Windsor and Linda “Snugbat” Smith for making the finished product rather prettier than it might otherwise have appeared. I would also like to thank Gareth L. Powell for the literary equivalent of grasping my lapels and bellowing, âPull yourself together!' in my face during a crisis of confidence. I needed that.I would also like to thank you, reader. It's been a long haul to reach this point, and your enthusiasm is noted and appreciated. Unless, of course, you're reading a pirated copy, in which case may you die alone in misery and poverty, and the little children dance upon your grave in the potter's field.