The Winter Long

Praise for the
October Daye
Novels

“
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

DAW Books presents the finest in urban fantasy from Seanan McGuire:

InCryptid Novels:

DISCOUNT ARMAGEDDON

MIDNIGHT BLUE-LIGHT SPECIAL

HALF-OFF RAGNAROK

POCKET APOCALYPSE*

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

THE WINTER LONG

*Coming soon from DAW Books

Copyright © 2014 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. 1663.

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.

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.

eBook ISBN: 978-1-101-60175-4

This book is dedicated, with love and gratitude, to Tanya Huff.

Thank you for making so many things possible.

Welcome to
The Winter Long
.

This book was one of the first I fully plotted, back when this series was a glimmer in my eye and a fantasy for the future. Everything I have done with October's world to this point has been for the sake of getting here, to the book that you now hold in your hands. I am incredibly excited to be at this point, to have gotten this far into Toby's story—and make no mistake, there's still so very far left to go.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for trusting me to tell you this story, which has been with me for so long. Thanks to the Machete Squad, who are a constant in my life, and who keep me together when things get hard. Thanks to Amanda and Michael, and to Aislinn (welcome to the world, my skeleton girl; we are going to have a lot of fun). Thanks to the Disney Magic Bitches, who have endured another unnumbered series of Disney excursions, including possibly the best birthday party I have ever had, and to my darlings, Vixy, Amy, Brooke, and Shawn, who knew I was a scorpion when they picked me up.

My editor, Sheila Gilbert, is the best I could have wished for, and my agent, Diana Fox, is still my personal superhero. Thanks also to Josh Starr at DAW, who is the most frequent target of my random mid-week phone calls, and to my cover artist, Chris McGrath, for bringing Toby so beautifully to life. And thanks to the crew here on the ground: Christopher Mangum, Tara O'Shea, and Kate Secor.

My soundtrack while writing
The Winter Long
consisted mostly of
Night Visions
, by Imagine Dragons,
Queen of Spindles
, by Talis Kimberley,
Baptized
, by Daughtry, endless live concert recordings of the Counting Crows, and random episodes of
Welcome to Night Vale
. 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 grab your coat. It's going to get a little chilly in here.

THROUGH
THE
WINT
ER
LONG

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

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.

Cetace:
sea-tay-see
. Plural is Cetacea.

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.

Merrow:
meh-row.
Plural is Merrow.

Naiad:
nigh-add
. Plural is Naiads.

Nixie:
nix-ee
. Plural is Nixen.

Peri:
pear-ee
. Plural is Peri.

Piskie:
piss-key
. Plural is Piskies.

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.