Alex Verus faces his dark side in this return to the bestselling urban fantasy series about a London-based mage. To protect his friends, Mage Alex Verus has had to change--and embrace his dark side. But the life mage Anne has changed too, and made a bond with a dangerous power. She's going after everyone she's got a grudge against--and it's a long list. In the meantime, Alex has to deal with his arch-enemy, Levistus. The Council's death squads are hunting Alex as well as Anne, and the only way for Alex to stop them is to end his long war with Levistus and the Council, by whatever means necessary. It will take everything Alex has to stay a step ahead of the Council and stop Anne from letting the world burn. "Keeps the action at a boil. . . . Jacka has a gift for writing wild magical battles as simultaneously slapstick and pulse-pounding."-- Publishers Weekly Praise for the Alex Verus novels "Benedict Jacka writes a deft thrill ride of an urban fantasy--a stay-up-all-night read."--Patricia Briggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author "Books this good remind me why I got into the storytelling business in the first place."--Jim Butcher, #1 New York Times bestselling author "Benedict Jacka is a master storyteller."--Fantasy-Faction "Fans of Jim Butcher and Ben Aaronovitch absolutely should not miss this deeply intelligent, morally complex, and action-packed series."-- Publishers Weekly Benedict Jacka is half Australian, half Armenian, and grew up in London. He's worked as a teacher, bouncer, and civil servant, and spends his spare time skating and playing tabletop games. He's the author of the Alex Verus series, including Fallen , Marked , Bound , Burned , and Veiled . chapter 1   The mountain had no name. It was deep in the Himalayas, overshadowed by a ridge on one side and a peak on the other, with the remains of an ancient Sherpa village on its lower slopes. The ground was dry-it was late August and I was below the snow line-but the wind whistling down from the white-capped peaks carried a cold that bit through my clothes and numbed my ears and nose. The sky was a clear blue, fading to a lighter shade near the horizon, with lines of puffy clouds floating between the mountains, snowy peaks shining bright in the sun. Nothing grew but scrubby grass and brush, and not a single bird flew in the sky. There was a beauty to the landscape, but it was bleak and pitiless, indifferent to life.   As I climbed, my attention was split three ways. The first part was focused on my footing and keeping my balance on the shifting stones. The second part was focused on the three men lying in wait in the rocks above. The third and largest part was occupied with the question of what else I would find. A little over twenty-five minutes ago, I'd learned that a certain person whose movements I was very interested in had travelled here. Unfortunately, while twenty-five minutes is a pretty fast response to an alert on the other side of the world, it was also more than long enough for that person to kill everyone on this mountain many times over. There was a very good chance I was already too late.   On the plus side, the people above seemed interested in me, judging by the fact that one had a rifle trained on my chest, so at least I wouldn't have to chase them down.   To a normal person my position would be a death trap. The mountain was bare, with the rocks providing only intermittent cover. I was well within rifle range, and the men above would have plenty of time to shoot me if I tried to run. If I tried to talk, they'd capture me, which would lead to me being interrogated, shot, or interrogated and then shot. That just left fighting. The three men had an assault rifle and a pair of submachine guns, while I had a pistol holstered in the small of my back. Bad odds.   To a diviner, the position was better, though still dangerous. I could use some combination of cover and misdirection to split them up, and then pick off the isolated man. From there, I could use a condenser on the remaining two to block their vision and set up a surprise attack. I'd need them to make mistakes, but not many people have experience in fighting diviners, and if I was careful and quick I could eliminate all three without exposing myself to fire.   I'm not a normal person, and I'm not just a diviner anymore. I didn't go looking for cover. Instead I climbed straight up the slope.   They let me get very close. By the time the first man stepped out with weapon levelled and shouted, "Ting!" at me, I was right in the middle of them.   I stopped and raised my hands. The man ahead was Chinese, short and compact, dressed in dark body armour with a submachine gun of a type I didn't recognise. He gave me an order.   "I need to talk to your boss," I said, keeping my hands raised.   The man repeated his order, with a forceful gesture.   From looking through the futures, it was pretty clear that this guy didn't speak enough English for us to hold