The void gnawed at him, the big raw hole where Roland’s presence used to be. It hurt. Hugh grit his teeth and forced himself to concentrate on the head on the table in front of him.
“When?” he asked.
“Six days ago,” Stoyan said. “He was out. He’d quit after you were forced out. He took a teaching job in Chattanooga. Taught high school French. He wasn’t a threat to anyone. They killed him anyway. I came to convince him to meet with you. I was too late.”
His throbbing head made it hard to think. “Camilla?”
Stoyan shook his head. Rene’s wife didn’t make it. Pain stabbed at him, fueling his rage.
“Caroline?”
“Dead,” Bale said.
“Purdue, Rockfort, Ivanova, all dead,” Stoyan added. “We’re it.”
Hugh surveyed the four men. Stoyan, dark-haired, dark-eyed, in his mid-thirties, looked haggard, like a worn-out sword. Felix, a hulking mountain of a man with reddish hair, leaned back, trying to stop a nose bleed. The bridge of his nose skewed right. Broken. Bale sulked in the corner. About five seven, five eight, he was almost as broad as he was tall, all his bulk bone and slabs of thick, heavy muscle. Lamar perched on the edge of the table to far right. Tall, whiplash-lean, and black, he looked twisted together from ropes of stringy muscle. Short hair, cut down to the quarter-inch length, framed his long face. A pair of thin, wire-rimmed glasses rode his nose. He was closing on fifty-five and he pretended to be older than he was.
The second-in command, the silent killer, the berserker, and the strategist. All that remained of his cohort leadership.
“This is the way things are now,” Stoyan said.
“Landon Nez is going down the roster of Iron Dogs and crossing out the names,” Lamar said. “Nobody is safe. We’re all tarred with the same brush.”
The Iron Dogs. His Iron Dogs, the elite private army he’d built for Roland. The name made him wince inside. The void gaped wider, scrapping at his bones.
He’d led the Iron Dogs, and Landon Nez led the Golden Legion, the necromancers who possessed mindless vampires piloting them like remote controlled cars. The Iron Dogs and the Golden Legion, the right and left hand of Roland. He’d hated Nez, and Nez hated him, and that’s the way Roland liked it. Hugh would’ve found a way to kill Nez eventually, but he’d made a critical error in judgement. Roland purged him. Now the lifeline of magic that anchored him to the man who’d pulled him of the streets was gone. His purpose, his teacher, his surrogate father, everything that was right and true in this fucked up world was gone. Life had no meaning.
“How bad is it?” he asked.
“We’re down to three hundred men now, with us,” Stoyan said.
A few months ago he’d left six cohorts of Iron Dogs, three hundred and eighty soldiers each. He’d hammered them into an elite, disciplined, trained force, the kind of soldiers any head of state would cut off his arm to have.
“There are more out there,” Stoyan said. “Some are in hiding, some are wandering about without any direction. Landon has bloodsucker patrols out. They are hunting us down.”
What the hell happened since he left? “Why?”
“Because of you!” Bale snarled from the corner.
Hugh looked at Lamar.
“Roland discovered an unpleasant fact,” Lamar said. “We do not follow him. We follow you. You are our preceptor. We’re viewed as untrustworthy.”
Idiots. “You swore an oath.”
“Oaths go both ways. Show him your arms,” Lamar said.
Stoyan yanked his sleeves up. Jagged scars marked his forearms. “He told me to raze a village and hang the civilians on trees to send a message,” Stoyan said. “I told him I was a soldier, not a butcher. He crucified the lot of us. Thirty-two people. I watched them die for three days. I would’ve died there.”
“What saved you?” Hugh asked.
“Daniels saved me. She pulled me off the cross and let me go.”
The name cut like a knife. It must’ve showed on his face, because Stoyan took a step back.
He shoved the name out of his mind and concentrated on the problem at hand. Stoyan would refuse the order to butcher civilians. That wasn’t what the cohorts did. The dark arm of Iron Dogs, which would’ve wiped the village off the face of the planet without questions, no longer existed. Roland was painfully aware of that. The order had been a test of loyalty, and Stoyan failed. Roland didn’t just require loyalty, he demanded unquestioning devotion. When he failed to receive it, he must’ve decided to purge the entire force.
A waste, he realized. He’d sank years into building the Iron Dogs, and Roland tossed them away like garbage.
Much like Roland had thrown him away. No, not thrown away. He’s cut me, his right hand, off.
This new heretical thought sat in his brain, burning and refusing to fade.
He groped for the tether of magic to banish the uncertainty and found only the void. It gaped at him, sinking its fangs into his soul. The invisible imperceptible tie connected them even when the magic waves waned and technology held the upper hand. It was always there. It linked them since the moment Roland had shared his blood with him. Now it was gone.
The void chewed on his bones, the heretical thought burned his brain, and he had no way to steady himself. An urge to scream and smash something gripped him.
The four men watched him. He’d known each one for years. He’d hand-selected them, trained them, fought with them, and now they wanted something from him. They wouldn’t let him alone until he did it.
“Unless we do something, none of us will be alive this time next year,” Felix said.
“What is it you want to do?” He already knew, but he asked anyway.
“We want you to lead us,” Stoyan said. “The Dogs know you. They trust you. If they know you’re alive, they will find you. We can pull in the stragglers and hold against Nez.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking.” To stay awake and anchored to reality, with the void chewing on him. He would go mad.
“I’m not asking.” Stoyan stepped in front of him. “I trusted you. I followed you. Not Roland. Roland didn’t make me promises. You did. You sold me this idea of belonging to something better. The Iron Dogs are more than a job. A brotherhood, you said.”
“A family, where each of us stands for something greater,” Lamar said.
“If you fall, the rest will shield you,” Bale said.
“Well, we’re, by God, falling,” Stoyan said.
Fucking shit.
“Do you know why you’re still alive?” Lamar asked. “Every day, every week, there is less of us, but you’re still breathing. If we found you, Nez can, too. I bet he knows exactly where you are.”
“I’m alive, because he wants me to be the last,” Hugh said. “He wants me to know.” Nez wanted him to watch as his necromancers tore apart everything he built, and when nothing was left, he would come calling to squeeze the last bit of blood out of the stone.
Lamar smiled.
“What do we have?” Hugh asked.
“Three hundred and two men, including us,” Stoyan said.
“Weapons?”
“Whatever each one of us carries,” Bale said.
“Supplies?”
“None,” Lamar said. “We’re close to starving.”
“Base?”
Felix shook his head.
Perfect. Rock bottom isn’t the worst place to start from, and the Dogs who’d managed to stay alive were probably the smartest or strongest. He had three hundred trained killers. A man could do worse.
Rene’s head stared at Hugh from the table. He studied it, committing every detail to memory and hurled it into the void. The old days were gone. He would fill the bottomless hole with rage or it would drive him insane. Either way made no difference.
Hugh strode to the door and flung it open. Fresh air greeted him. A small ugly town sat in front of him, little more than a street with a few buildings and a rural road, leading into the distance to disappear between the fields. A sunset splashed over the horizon, dying slowly, and the three street lamps had come on already, spilling watery electric light onto the stretch of the road in front of him. He remembered oppressive heat, but now the air was too cold for summer.
“Fall or spring?” he asked.
“September,” Lamar told him.
“What is this town?”
“Connerville, Tennessee,” Stoyan said.
The last thing he remembered was Beaufort, South Carolina.
“Where is Nez?”
“In Charlotte,” Lamar told him. “He’s set up a permanent base there.”
Far enough to keep out of Atlanta and the surrounding lands. They belonged to Daniels now. But not so far that he couldn’t bring the legion down if Roland became displeased with his precious daughter.
He had to stabilize them, arm them, and find a base to keep them alive. Most of all, he had to convince Nez that attacking them now wasn’t in his best interests. If he kept the Dogs alive through the winter, by spring he would pick a successor and move him into place. Then he would do what severed limbs did. He would wither and rot.
Magic rolled over the land. Hugh couldn’t see it, but he felt an exhilarating rush that tore through him, washing away the headache that pounded at the base of his skull. The electric lamps winked out, and twisted glass tubes of fey lanterns flared into life with eerie indigo light.
He raised his hand and let it flow out. A pale blue glow bathed his fingers. Felix grunted as his nose knitted back together.
Hugh picked up Rene’s head. He would bury him tonight.
“Find me some clothes. And call Nez. Tell him I want to talk.”
Holy Mary Squee!
That was awesome, thank you. 🙂
Oh, dear Authorlords. I can’t believe you have me squeeing over a Hugh snippet; but I did, and you do. When you first announced that you were turning that April Fool’s joke into a real book I had trouble understanding why. He was so perfect as an absolute asshole and I loved to hate him. And, now, damn it, he’s an actual human being-type person and I realize that I do want this book. Sigh.
P.S. The money’s your’s when there’s a link to send it through, but don’t rush, please. Enjoy your well earned vacation.
Yeah, exactly what Alecia said.
Ditto
Oh oh yeah baby!!!!
Love me some author lord snippet!
Thank you!
Curran and Kate need to visit. And finish what dad started. Although that would quickly derail these books, so I guess not. Maybe Hugh needs a career change. Start a clinic. Heal some puppies. Bake cookies. Looking forward to the developement of this arc.
Heal some puppieees!!! :)))
Thank you! I really needed something to cheer me up. Now comes the long, tortuous wait for Hugh’s book. Hope you are recharging and thinking of more story snippets to tease (torture) us with. ?
This is wonderful! I’m in awe of your ability to make me actually want to root for Hugh!!
Take your time, enjoy your vacation and I will wait as long as you ask!
right? They got us rooting for the villain XD
Inconcievable! ?
Excellent! Thank you!
*happy dance* I’ve been waiting for Hugh.
Thank you for the snippet, it made my day!
Omg this is really happening!!! My life is now complete. *faints in excitement*
Oh man what a surprise! How did you know I needed this tonight? Squeee! So Hugh owes Kate for saving Stoyon’s life…..and now a meeting with Landon Nez……oh boy! Thank you!
Love it
Thanks!!!
Woot! Thank You Authorlords!!
Is it wrong to cheer for Landon? I mean Hugh collects people like Uath(spelling?) Who enjoys skinning people alive. I’m thinking his leadership crew is hardly upstanding cuddly buddies.
Fun, fun, fun.
Thanks again.
Stoyan (in Magic Binds) made the point that the standard soldiers of the legion are purposely kept far away from the ones who were collected to commit atrocities.
They’re still soldiers which means they probably are not cuddly buddies but they are moral enough to refuse to butcher a village of civilians in cold blood.
YAYYYYYY! Thank you for sharing this. Hope your vay-cay is all things restorative
Ooh, ooh! So many plot possibilities. Thank you so much for this when we know you all are tuckered out. ?
Thank you! First thing I’ve read about Hugh that didn’t make me want to smack him. I noted Kate’s original meeting with Stoyan and thought it might lead to something down the road. This has potential.
Thank you! Excited to see what’s next, after your break!
I wonder if Hugh will re-intersect with Kate and end up guarding an access point to Atlanta to stymie Roland…
Maybe he’ll team up with Christopher or meet Saiman’s cousin…
My guesses will not be close to any point in the story arc…as usual 🙂
For some reason I see that Hugh will assist in taking down Roland. Who knows Roland better then Hugh. Is the French name for Hugh’s friend? I like the way you describe the absence of Roland in Hugh, it is so true. I don’t think I shall ever like Hugh but this book should be fun. I do enjoy these snippets. Sometimes the words come easier when you aren’t on a schedule. Enjoy your time of rest.
I don’t think you understand what vacations are supposed to be…NO COMPLAINTS!! This is already so interesting!!! Thank you ?
Wow. Just two snippets/chapters and I’m completely hooked. I love seeing so much through Hugh’s POV. Seeing him vulnerable and vicious at the same time. I can’t imagine the conclusion to this book. Simply wow!
omg stahp
on one hand I’m like DIE DIE DIE YOU DIE NOW *stab with scimitar named aunt b*
on the other I’m like OKAY SIR, IT’S REPENTING TIME, LET’S SEE WHAT YOU GOT
but then ALSO I’m like hmmmm I want hugh & co. to somehow become Kate’s army except like a weird army clear on the other side of town bc she’ll have a visceral need to stab them in the face but like hmmmmmm iron dogs could be so useful to my cause. I mean Kate’s cause. I am not Kate or anything in my head. nope
I’ve had some wine. thank youuuuu
hihihi, you wrote the way I would write a squeeing review if I had had some wine first.
;op
Great, now I want wine. (Tho to be fair – that need has been growing the last few weeks) …
Ooh, this is gonna be good ?, awesome sauce!! Thanks ever so much
This was damned cool!
Interesting to see Hugh motivated by more than just self-interest (doesn’t make him a good person.
Kate’s mother might very well have triggered the end of Roland’s rule (she took away his warlord and Hugh hasn’t trained a replacement that Roland can trust).
Roland really does need some kind of warlord and none of the potentials he’s aimed for (Kate and Julie) want the position.
I would still love to see a meeting between Doolittle and Hugh since Doolittle is the one decent person who probably wouldn’t attempt to kill Hugh out of hand (and I suspect he’s still somewhat curious about Hugh’s potential as a healer).
Interactions Hugh and Doolittle seem pretty potentially fraught, especially if Hugh is working on becoming a human being and getting past his Roland addiction.* I mean, they might just get on with hating each other, which is probably easiest on everyone, but if they forget to do that, it could be pretty awful.
Heh.
* Describing it as an addiction is speculative, but it’s convenient shorthand?
Doolittle owes his life to Hugh’s intervention (which was a pretty shallow attempt to get in Kate’s good graces).
I don’t think this means that Doolittle would go easy on Hugh exactly but I think it means he wouldn’t kill Hugh right out of the gate.
I’m not really thinking of homicidal tendencies with the hate (though that would be interesting to see from Doolittle, like, someone should definitely run video…)
As you say, I don’t think Hugh healing Doolittle was personal for Hugh – but that, Hugh’s history, Aunt Bea’s death… it’s kind of a lot, I’d imagine, from Doolittle’s standpoint. Doolittle does tend to be one of the most mature of the crew, but I’m standing by fraught. (OTOH, he was really struck by the image of that little boy, turned into a warlord, right?)
I was thinking more for Hugh, though that’s a lot harder to predict, since there’s a lot we don’t know about what kind of human being Hugh might become. (Though, okay, loyalty to the force he built being the thing that pulls him back from the edge is a pretty good hook.) Doolittle went on to devote his life to healing, which is a pretty obvious “path not taken” in Hugh’s life. I really don’t know what that’s going to look like to Hugh. Deciding not to be a career healer is a perfectly valid life choice, and obviously, it’s not like he didn’t hone his skills. (I’m about the last person in the world to argue profession based on solely aptitude.) But Doolittle is a good man, who had some similar options, and made some pretty different choices. I can imagine they both leave the taste of unfulfilled potentials in the others’ mouths, in different ways.
I’ve always had a little little tiny soft spot for Hugh and am so glad he’s getting his own book!! Thank you for the snippets 🙂
I’m so glad someone else had a soft spot for Hugh. Mine was not so tiny. Maybe I always fell for the bad boy, but Hugh always had potential for me. Handsome, charming and devastatingly addicted (I like that idea) to Roland’s power. He needs to fill that void from within his own heart and maybe caring for the remaining Iron Dogs is just the ticket.
Wow interesting times ahead 🙂
Thank you
Thank you, authorlords. Just: thank you. Now go and rest!
Thank you! Your snippets are a delight to read, and lead to all kinds of plot speculations on my part… My current round of crystal ball-gazing includes wondering if Hugh ends up becoming warlord of Atlanta under Kate, wondering if Hugh ends up dying heroically but tragically while turning the tide in battle in Kate’s favour and wondering if he starts a new career by looking after cute little kittens with Jim! ☺
It is like a ball of yarn… pull here … you get a knot or maybe it pulls clear and you get a straight line.
That is what your stories are to me… awesome and so many threads to pull and tangle and untangle.
I love the comments because you guys make me realize things I have not remembered and the various tangents that could make the story go in so many ways.
Awesome. I am actually starting to feel sorry for Hugh…. wow. Never saw that coming.
Thanks for the great snippets.
Yep ready to order another book when/if it does come out. No hurry, just adding it to my list, setting aside the money.
Relaxed authorlords make good snippets and writings.
UUuuuuurrrrgggghhhh. Must. Not. Waver. In hatred of b@%$*@d Hugh, repellent sack that he is… But you guys did make him such a perfect villain! Does he know Kate repelled Roland’s attack and Kate and Curran are married? (Are they yet in this book?) This was fun/gripping to read. Now I want more. Get back to work doing nothing. How’s the painting going? And thanks for the snippet.
Compelling!
I just want to see Curran’s face if / when Hugh turns up and wants to join Kate’s band of murderous maniac misfits.
Ah yes my thoughts exactly she does have a habit of picking up all those murderous little friends of hers?? so excited for the book good or bad I’m still debating whether I’ll be able to like him or if you’ll throw him to the wolves so to speak and then we can be rid of his unconscionable butt!!
As always I’m on pins and needles waiting for all the goodies for this year, hope you get some time away from the computer..technologies off 24hrs just to see how it feels again without a doo hicky in your hand? Btw if you’re looking for some books to read while down timing it I recommend April Whites descendant series she just released the 5th and final book in series. History time travel paranormal characters it’s was FUN reading!!
Hahaha! I would loove Hugh to join Kate band of misfits (with his army:)))! This is sooo good! Yes please! Yes! Yes!
Stoyan is a Bulgarian name. It comes from the verb “stoya” (= to stay) and means “someone to stay”, “someone to survive”, “someone to remain”. Centuries ago it was used in families who had lost a child – they named the next one Stoyan so the boy would not die young. They were spelling him to be strong and stable. Like an unmovable rock.
Nowadays it’s just a name, of course 🙂
Ooh thanks for this very interesting background on his name! It makes him more poignant somehow.
That’s a really cool thing to know
This is one of the reasons I love reading the comments. You never know what new info or idea you’ll pick up. Thanks!
Wonderful thank you! But I don’t think vacation means writing another book, even one long anticipated.
I know Mousewynne! and what about the taxes and end of year stuff Gordon is working on? Go forth and paint and knit and write snippets! sigh. hard to relax these days…
I’m in
Lovely, all the sqee and adulation in two words.
Thank you so much for posting. It is really hard right now to see that people have both bad AND good inside themselves.
I think all people can be good or bad, they choose what they want to be and can change. Regarding Hugh though, his background was bad, Roland found him as a child and raised him up. I think Roland was Hugh’s God and what God wanted would be right. Not to say Hugh did not know what was right and wrong, but I think where he came from and how he was raised would skew his viewpoint.
I very much wanted Hugh to be bad and get his comeuppance, but the snippets show people may change and it is important to remember that. On the other hand, how much has Hugh really changed? Is he still the same, but with different agendas/goals than he had before. Will Hugh change how he does things now that he is not driven by Roland? How much Free Will did Hugh have before he was cut off from Roland?
All these questions… 😉
Devil-horned avatar! Seems like we haven’t seen her in awhile. She’s always fun. 😛
I swore to myself I wouldnt feel pity for Hugh… I cant forgive him or really redeem him because of Aunt B, but… perhaps I feel a tiny bit sorry for him. It shall pass, I hope.
Nooo! You shall not look a gift snippet in the mouth!
Dont make the Authorlords angry or we’ll get no snippets at all 🙁
When you see a snippet there’s only one possible answer: Thank you and More please 😆
Sign of a good author? They can make you care what happens to someone they previously made you hate and want to see eviscerated. Ilona and Gordon are very good authors. And I’m feeling a bit of sympathy for Hugh now, after reading how he was found on the street as a child and how he was brought up and this snippet. I want to see Hugh redeemed, though that’s going to be hard after Aunt B.
Roland is the one I really want to see get his dues.
wheeeeeeeeeee! thank you!!
When does this come out?
Wow. Just wow. You guys are pretty freaking amazing when it comes to pulling a rabbit out of your hat. I didn’t think it would be possible to build a story around Hugh. I am so happy to be wrong. Thanks for the snippet. They really make my day.
Thank you. Needed this today. You spoil us. 🙂
I wonder if the authorlords will use a previous Hugh snippet (https://ilona-andrews.com/thank-you-snippet/) as a prologue to this story.
Looks to be a great story.
Loved it so much, THANK YOU!
Thank you, something like this helps when everything is in flux and nothing is steady to anchor you .
I want it.
I didn’t think I did, but now I have to know what happens.
Just let me know when and how to pre-order.
Hugh always had possibilities. Now we can see if Kate can manage him…
Yes. I think I’m actually starting to like Hugh, which I thought was impossible.
That was my thought. She’s a softie, Curran needs an army, and Hugh only has one way to fill that hole.
Yes, I also didn’t think I would like a story about Hugh, but you changed my mind. Thank you for sharing these snippets.
“He cut me, his right hand, off”… I get the sense that Roland made a very bad move when he did this!!! A sign of things to come!?!?! I changed my mind. I’m going to buy this the second it comes out!
You give good villains. I loved Erra and was sooo happy when she came back. I can’t wait to see what you do with Hugh and his merry band of killers.
I agree, bungluna. I love good villains, and I too can’t wait to see what Hugh does. I hope he gets over himself enough to realize that Kate isn’t the bad guy.
Completely agree! Villains you love to hate or villains you hate to love? Spectacular either way!
me too,,,,,
What a treat to find this today. Thank you
It’s a war on two fronts for Roland… Oooo, this is going to be good! As for Kate, the enemy of her enemy is not her ally. But it should be fun to watch 😀
Where does this fall in the story timeline? After the last Kate book? Before? Very excited!
One of the men talking to him was freed by Kate at the beginning of book 9, but there’s not been a mention of her battle with Roland, so my thought is that it takes place during the book.
think it takes place after. Fairly certain Kate and Curran got married in August
After. I just finished re-reading _Magic Binds_ last night, and K&C got married on June 6. The battle against Roland had taken place three days before. The epilogue ends two weeks later, with the words “I’m pregnant”.
::whispers:: would someone mention to Gordon that, per Julie near the beginning of chapter 3, the Iron Dogs have 5 cohorts of *480* soldiers each, plus the Rippers with 240? Thx! 🙂
Maybe Roland lied to Julie.
Aren’t the rippers mostly dead? According to the Iron Dog let go in book 9 “Of the six cohorts, the Rippers are completely gone and the rest are at less than fifty percent of their capacity. Roland is purging the ranks.” Isn’t that what Hugh meant by “The dark arm of Iron Dogs, which would’ve wiped the village off the face of the planet without questions, no longer existed. Roland was painfully aware of that.”?
I’m so looking forward to this story!!
I want it I want it I want it! ? thank u! One question will this be posted like the innkeeper chronicles or will this be a full length novel we can buy? Sorry for the dumb question I’m just excited but I feel like I probably missed if you said it would be a book or on the website to read. Thanks in advance! ☺
I like seeing this side of Hugh and can’t wait to see if he and Kate come to terms. So much to mine with those two as far as handling Roland.
In a way, they are sibling or step siblings. No one loves or hates quite like family.
Thanks for the snippet!! Just in time: I was about to stoop to whining…
You know that song- You made me love you, I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to do it. Well, you made me change my mind about the Hugh story. I thought a book was a bad idea. I was wrong. It’s a great book idea. Love a redemption story. An antihero story. Thank you. Keep going. Take all the time you need. This was a wonderful treat.
I agree. I had mixed feelings for Hugh but now I’m intrigued.
Ditto!!! The author lords are such devious virtuosos—-they play and pluck brilliantly on heart and mind strings. *huge sigh* Absolutely freaking fantabulous!!! My appetite is whetted again.
I really want to read the whole thing now. Thank you for these teasers, they are really good, but they do make me want to read more. See Hugh behind the mask.
I dig this book so much! Of course, I am very much looking forward to Nevada and Rogan this year, but for me Hugh’s book is similar to Gunmetal Magic, a novel that will give further unique insights into Kate’s world.
Hugh and Kate – the enemy of my enemy . . .
Hugh needs a base, Kate needs to bolster her forces. Its a match made in hell and I cant wait to read it (or whatever actually happens).
Do you know why I think this is going to be such a great redemption story? I think it will be amazing because unlike many redemption stories we actually have seen Hugh as the enemy, the one we want to have a horrible death because he hurt us and the ones we care about. Many redemption stories start after the redemption character has already hit rock bottom and thats all you really know from the start. The character tell you they have done unspeakable things and enjoyed doing it way AFTER the fact, so it is not as real to you and is more easily forgiven because they did not do it to a character you had know and loved. But with this story, Hugh has to really prove that he is worth our forgiveness and deserves a chance at happiness.
I agree completely. It takes a lot of effort (and time in the book or series) to make you hate and then forgive and maybe even root for a character. So much more emotional payoff for us readers! I wish there were more books like this while I wait for this to come out….
Squeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!
Is anyone else looking at the effect being purged has on Hugh, and thinking about it in terms of the effect Kate and Julie’s connection has on them?
Because I don’t know how well they understand it. (Julie probably knows more than Kate, but then, she’s probably getting most of her information from Roland, who I wouldn’t consider reliable.) Kate has promised she’ll never do the same to Julie unless she wants Kate to, but at the same time, it looks like it would be possible for her to do so, without risking a return of Lyc-V. (Though Kate may well not know how to.)
(Mind, Julie doesn’t seem to want this, and especially considering that the original procedure was done without her consent, that seem important to respect. There just seems a lot of room for a lot of messed up in there.)
Erra would probably know how Kate can “purge” Julie. Does being purged mean that Hugh can now tell Roland no?
That would be my read? It would also seem to be a kind of necessary part of Hugh redeeming himself (that and that’s we’re already being given a lot of set up for “Why Hugh was the way he was before, and why he can be different now.”)
I’m curious to know how much, if at all, this changes the events in the next Kate book, since Hugh’s story started out as an April Fool’s joke that backfired (that’ll teach ya to tease the Horde!). Was he going to make an appearance in Kate 10 (we’re coming up to 10, right?), and if so, does his book change how he was going to interact with Kate and Curran?
Just kind of curious how much of a monkey wrench this threw into the original plan for Kate 10.
There is foreshadowing of what happens to Hugh several books back. 🙂
?Since I missed it in whichever book it’s in I think I should be punished to a weekend of quiet to have to reread all the books. Darn the bad luck ??
What!!! OMG, I have re-read these books so many times and have never seen any hints. *sigh* I guess I go back and re-read them again. lol!
Possibly the vision Hugh forced out of the dancers at the banquet at the end of Magic Rises? The one that showed Hugh and Kate fightiing back to back on a huge battlefield.
Hugh took it to mean that they were meant to fight together for Roland – but considering everything that has happened since it could have been a glimpse of the possibility that he might eventually join Kate in the fight against Roland.
Oooh of course!
That would be a great scene too.
Wowza. This is gonna be awesome.
Ditto!
You have always amazed me in how well you’ve done villains. I mean that in that no villain is simply just EVIL for the sake of “I need some evil here.” They are truly multifaceted characters with reasoning and you show us that and it is GLORIOUS.
I don’t think I ever hated Hugh, I was fascinated by his reasons for why he did what he did. It was almost a great counterpoint to Kate who was so cut and dry but even over time SHE changed.
*sighs happily* Well written characters are so nice. I often wish I could use your books in the classroom to show students what a truly well written character looks like. Alas, sex. 😀
Sarah, I recall that a PG-13 version of the 3rd Innkeeper Book is available as an e-book to purchasers of the paperback book (not PG-13 version). Maybe the authors would allow your students to buy the PG-13 e-book without buying the paperback? Worth asking, at least.
Hi, Sarah. I actually use passages from both the Kate Daniels and Mercy Thompson novels in my English classes to show examples of character development, point of view and language analysis. It’s fun for my students and I to read and also look at world building when they write their myths. And the great thing is, when the kids ask the titles of the books so they can go out and buy them — it has definitely improved their motivation to read!!
Thank you for this gift! It is a respite in dire times to be able to sit back and ponder Hugh rather than deal with the world right now… You are so generous.
I can’t believe that you’re really going to write it but am totally excited to read it!! Thanks as always for your many gifts to your readers!
Oh boy, let the fun commence.
This is why you are the Author lords…to have us loathe D’Ambray and pity him too.
You guys are the best storytellers ever! Can’t wait to love/hate me some Hugh:)
Thank you for the snippet and respite from the world. I wasn’t sure this was a good idea (although it was the best April Fools joke) but now I can’t wait to read it.
I am so going to enjoy reading this when it comes out.
I feel sorry for Hugh?
Thank you for these snippets. I’m now officially excited for Hugh’s book, too. 😀
Well, this is going to be interesting 🙂 Thank you!
I marvel at your talent and skill in creating worlds, characters, and stories. Thank you!!!!
Wow, great read. Looking forwad to the book.
I so want to read this book
AWESOME! A “Hugh” story… I can’t wait! I’m going to stop reading the silly book I’m reading now and re-read the last 3 Kate books… I love you guys!
I love Hugh. ( I regret Mauro.). I love the redemption of Hugh. Thank you!
Wowza. Sometimes villains are more fun. Will definitely buy this book.
this is great. I can’t wait!
gosh, I wish Caldenia could get hold of him…
::raises hand and waives wildly:: ooh ooh, I know what he should do. He needs an ally. Someone with magic to fill the void. A certain someone who would like to take Roland down.
“Someone with magic to fill the void.”
*shudder*
Wow, I’m really looking forward to this book. But, then, I have a soft spot for Hugh so really want to see him redeemed.
So does he meet the powerful witch of the (Midwest?) coven and when. Can’t say I remember her name as it was a year or two ago? I vaguely remember a plot you gave us as an April Fools Joke I believe. And of course, things change. So looking forward to the novel and thank you again for putting a smile on my face. I love everything about your writing.
I’m so torn about this book. On the one hand, I love everything that you guys write. I will most likely read this too. On the other hand, I love Hugh as a bad guy. He was great to hate and Hugh hasn’t had that “aha” moment when he realizes that what he did was wrong, or even feel bad for what he did under Roland’s orders, and he’s ready for this road to redemption. I’m just going to have to give this one a try and see if this is the one Ilona Andrews book I won’t like. (haha, who am I kidding.)
Could Hugh be based in Jax Fla.? Nice triangle/distance from Charlotte and Atlanta. Maybe too susceptible to attack by sea though… farther inland… Tallahassee? Or he could do a swamp fox – guerrilla around the Carolinas – too cool. Thank you for the snippet!
This is great! What a surprise. Now the six weeks of winter, more winter, does not seem to bad. I may have to re-read KD again to see the foreshadowing I missed! Thank you, I cannot wait for this book.
I love it! I’m going to go off and share my own speculations knowing you guys will probably go in a different direction.
To me the history with Roland is impossible to “erase.” I’m basing my view here on my understanding of child psychology and how permanent certain emotional damage usually is. By that I mean that I can picture Hugh doing different things than he did under Roland and wanting different things and all sorts of things… but not being a different person in his emotional bedrock. So I think any truly significant emotional relationship in his life is going to be modeled on his relationship with Roland (because even discarding the magic – it has shaped his entire understanding of himself for centuries.). It’s going to have Hugh either as the dominant partner or as the submissive partner. I think he’d be terrible as the dominant partner so I think the key to happiness here (if more than a little twisted) will be for him to find a girl who is a better person than he is, who will love him (unlike Roland) and who, in Hugh’s own mind/emotions, will totally own him. And I think any girl who can forgive/live with the things that he’s done is going to be a girl who can really appreciate what he brings to the table (power at her disposal.) Anyway that’s how I picture it :).
And I really hope we do not have him confronting Roland at any point. I could buy him working against him indirectly but to me it’d be super hard to believe that if they come face to face and Roland snaps his fingers Hugh doesn’t run right back to him. It would make it hard for me to believe in the previous abuse in some sense.
Love the void.
Thank you!
Well, a couple of responses here – one textual, one psychological. (I do apologize for the long response. If this is personal, it’s personal about me.)
Remember how shocked and saddened Roland was when he found out what Kate’s childhood with Voron had been like, and what he said about what childhood should be like? (I’m thinking about the scene in Magic Shifts, at the Applebee’s.) What he expects for his own child, and what he expect for his warlord are probably not identical – Julie can likely speak to this – but he does seem to have a romantic view of childhood.* I think there’s a reasonable chance that Hugh’s early life with Roland was pretty decent – he was probably well cared for, and felt both secure and loved. That still leaves his time on the streets, and his training as he moved out of childhood per se (and we know a lot about that, as he trained under Voron) but I suspect the problems of being part of Roland’s inner circle from a young age were more subtle than outright abuse, at least if you were particularly valued.
The second has to do with the assumptions around permanent emotional damage from childhood. I don’t know what your background is here. There’s definitely a big popular cultural thing that tends to make a lot of assumptions about how many people are damaged by difficult childhoods, how severe the damage is, as well as how permanent it is. I am aware that these tropes exist, I twitch when they show up in fiction, and I’m outright allergic to pop psychology books, so I can’t say anything about those. What I can refer you to is the literature around resilience. Because one thing we know for certain is that a large proportion of people who come from really awful backgrounds… do fine. I mean, I’m sure most have their quirks, the way most people have their quirks, but for all intents and purposes, they’re okay. There’s been a lot of research about this group of people, and why some people take damage that they continue to feel for a long time, and others bounce back.**
Why am I going on with this? Because if you’re someone who’s gone through trauma, it doesn’t really help to be bombarded with stories about how now you are scarred and broken and will be forever damaged or haunted or whatever by it. I’m pretty open about my fucked up background. (And parts of it are darkly funny, and I’m pretty proud of a lot of it.) I’m glad that when I was a teen and in the middle of the worst of the dealing with part, both legally and emotionally, that kind of portrayal mostly left me grumpy and pissed off, rather than sad and weepy. I was mostly grumpy and pissed off, which got me through a lot 🙂 Still, every once in a while, it does kind of strike me that according to the lesser sort of popular fiction, I should a drug addict, and/or prostitute… or a serial killer! Can’t forget that. While, in fact, I am a mild mannered (snort!) neurobiologist living in a zendo and teaching martial arts. I’m as open as I am because I know there are an awful lot of us out there, and the extra social baggage helps no one. (Aiee. I wrote this in a separate text editor, and I knew it was long, but this is ridiculous. Sorry, all.)
* Which says something about the culture he came out of. Keep in mind that childhood is more often than not *not* romanticized.
** I had the most amazing discussion about resiliency theory and the neurobiology behind some of the newer treatments from PTSD with a psychiatrist when we were seatmates on a plane in the middle of the night recently…
Tylikcat, I apologize if I seemed to be saying any version of “people who go through bad things in childhood are ruined.” I do not believe that is true. For example I am eagerly anticipating Hugh’s story and I definitely want a happy ending to it so clearly even in this limited case I want and expect him to be some version of “okay.” I absolutely believe in the resilience of human beings (though yes I’ve also done some interesting reading on how people’s resilience seems to have an innate variation – we don’t know why some people are much more resilient than others.)
With Hugh I am mostly reacting to the fact that Roland was God and he had a close and personal relationship with him that overshadowing any and all of his other relationships and that this started when he was a child. All children (including those that had blissful and happy childhoods) imprint on the adults around them – we imprint on the relationship our parents have between each other and on the relationship they have with us. And as adults we tend to play out aspects of those relationships with our partners – how this actually looks varies! and it’s totally possible to have a very very different relationship than your parents did (thank God!), some people consciously try for the opposite of their parent’s relationship etc. etc. but that there is an effect in what one subconsciously expects and is attracted to is I think undeniable. When you add that he didn’t have other important relationships to balance him out and that this went on for such a long long time I think it would be difficult to believe that he doesn’t crave the same unbalanced emotional relationship in such a short period of time as this book is likely to cover. I’d be willing to buy it more if it was set 30 years later.
Partly I’m also expecting/hoping that Hugh is very damaged because otherwise I find it hard to forgive him things that he has done. And frankly regardless of the damage I expect him to be grumpy and angry.
But I completely agree that my take on the psychology could be 100% wrong, that people are all different and that we as a society are pretty far from knowing psychology well enough to predict much.
I’m glad you wrote your response to my comment on the off chance that someone else might read mine and feel shitty because of it. I am just baselessly speculating and no one should take me too seriously.
As anyone who knows me will assure you, it takes little to get me to mouth off in public, especially if I’m spending a lot of time home alone writing and am getting stir-crazy.* I’m really not aiming it at people in particular, but just at knowing these tropes are in such high circulation. The existence of the tropes irritate me, and they used to make me feel grouchy. I’m hoping mouthing off has a prophylactic effect …and it certainly cheers me up.
Though, at least according to the psychiatrist of the late night flight**, while we may not know in absolute terms why some people are more resilient than others, we do know of some factors that are important. (Though I haven’t read these papers, so I don’t know if these are actually controlled in any useful way. I know I often differ with clinicians on what counts as rigorous.)
Hm. Even with what we kind of know, Roland was God, but… Voron was his father figure, yes? I mean, hence that whole undercurrent with Kate. I’m still interested to hear more about how his bond with Roland was experienced by him. (…I can almost guarantee it’s going to be pretty far outside of my own experience. I rage-quit from the university when I was thirteen because I thought people were trying to manipulate me in unscrupulous ways – and I was pretty sure I was shooting myself in the foot by doing so.)
“All children (including those that had blissful and happy childhoods) imprint on the adults around them – we imprint on the relationship our parents have between each other and on the relationship they have with us. And as adults we tend to play out aspects of those relationships with our partners – how this actually looks varies!”
See, now this is where it sucks that I’m at least 2,400 miles from most of the people who have known me long or know me well. Because I so badly want to make the face at someone who knows why I am making it and so we can both collapse in helpless laughter. (My sister is in Maui with her newly adult son. Which is awesome! But one more person not available for sharing the joke.) I mean, this is true if you define imprint loosely enough, I suppose. Or… maybe I imprinted on the cat. Or on the parents of my oldest friend? (There’s something to that.) Or the mountains, and the lake…
Ahem, back to Hugh. So, Roland and Voron both then, in different ways? Perhaps, his father, and his King? He’d been without Voron for quite some time, though, and that was obviously a loss he felt. The magical loss with Roland… he clearly had a great deal of love and respect for Roland, but I’d be careful about equating the dissolation of his magical bond with their emotional relationship. It was clear that he cared deeply for Roland. Perhaps he was without doubt that that care was reciprocated. (It’s funny that we talk about the fury of a woman scorned – how many deaths because of men scorned?) In effect, he lost his father before Kate was born – though eventually found him, fought him, and then saw him kill himself. He has served Roland as his warlord, and them was cast off. He also has some kind of magical/emotional wound.
But maybe we should look at who he was as an adult? I mean, I’m pretty sure it’s not for nothing that his people are loyal to him and not to Roland. Needing to save them will probably save him for the first round.
* I have an image of my research students critiqueing the comment. “Well, obviously you’re trying to be nice. I mean, you’re not actually any good at it, but B+ for effort!” “You should really stick to neuroanatomy lectures. Half the class got nightmares, but everyone really liked the lecture series.”
** That was surreal – this was in November, when American’s computers failed, and everyone’s flights were messed up. I was eight hours behind schedule and had every intention of sleeping. I hope she got as much out of the neurobiological side of the conversation as I did the psychological, as we’ve been sending referrals in her direction ever since.
does anyone know when the next books comes out , i need my fix, lol
Random thoughts below.
Not that it matters, but I was am one of the people who thought Hugh was irredeemable. But in the time since you first ask our opinions on this, I’ve realized something about your couples: you do damaged people well. William, Curran, Kate, Cerise… they aren’t “normal” or strictly “good”. I wouldn’t want them as neighbors. They are violent killers and unapologetic about it. What they share is a moral code that they live by and when they partner up and are ‘redeemed’ it’s not “romance novel” redemption. They find equals in their spouses– people who are equally damaged honestly, and together they become something greater than they were individually. That’s why honestly, White Hot did not work for me. Nevada was too pure and normal, and Rogan was too damaged and twisted. They were unequal and it didn’t work for me. The only way to make them work was to damage her. That made me unhappy. Because he doesn’t make her a better person at least… not in Book 1. He compromises her, she has some type of Stockholm Syndrome and she does things she never would have done as a result.
Why am I saying this? Well, I think Hugh clearly needs someone who will make him WANT to be better. But HE needs to make HER better too. The way Curran did Kate, the way William did Cerise. And she needs to be damaged too so that they work. They way Kate and Cerise are damaged. She need to have flaws he can help her with. He has to redeem her too.
I am excited for this next book because I know you can write that. And because Kate needs his army. And because the way you’ve written these snippets you made me understand something: Hugh did commit horrible atrocities. But he did them in service to his God. And he truly regarded Roland as his God.
Because Kate’s series is written from her POV we see through Roland from the start. So in her books it is HARD to see Hugh’s perspective. But… over the course of history even GOOD people have committed TERRIBLE crimes in service of their God. These snippets offer that insight into Hugh’s character, and have made me excited for his book. Because it’s clear even in these short passages he had NO independent moral compass because he was never ALLOWED to have one. Roland demands complete and utter surrender of will and loyalty. And Hugh was not a complete person. He was an extension of Roland’s will only. So, maybe now that he can finally CHOOSE his own moral compass he’ll make the right decision.
He is, however, a rage filled beast out for revenge and the only thing that is motivating him right now is fear (and guilt and duty) for the survival of those he still cares about. As Yoda said: “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” So he could go DARKER as he is at a crossroads. He needs a reason to go to the light. I can’t wait to meet her.
“White Hot did not work for me. Nevada was too pure and normal, and Rogan was too damaged and twisted. They were unequal and it didn’t work for me. The only way to make them work was to damage her. That made me unhappy. ”
He isn’t trying to damage her. Nevada must learn many things quickly, because she won’t survive otherwise. 🙂 And she isn’t pure or naive. We’re talking about a young woman who a) knows when people are lying to her and b) has spent her life catching adulterers and fraudsters in the act. Her view of life and love isn’t rosy. She is an optimist, however, where Connor is a pessimist, so it’s a fun pairing.
Thank you!! It took me a few days to get to. We had to put our 13 year old dog down Friday while comforting the seven year old, so this was a welcome relief…and now I need to go reread the last couple books…because I think I see where you’re going with this…but you have a wonderful knack for laying smoke screens! Thanks for making my night!
Thank you so much for this! So extremely excited to read this one!!!!!
I adore this. I am ever the hopeful and passionate optimist. Please keep adding to this and build it into a true branch of the series. Thank you both for being so generous with feeding your fan horde.
I too love a (believable) redemption story, and this snippet pushes all my happy buttons. Thank you!
Looking forward immensely to the full version. When it is ready. No pressure intended.
Not only do I believe in redemption, I believe that Hugh can change the world for better. Thank you.
OMG!! Hugh is back! JOY, JOY, JOY! I don’t believe this is redemption more like revenge. Looking forward to big, bigger & biggest explosions!!!
Will the revenge be just for Nez or Roland too? Will Hugh and his men join Kate?
Or will he decide that destroying Kate will hurt Roland the most? So many interesting plot paths, none of which need to be revealed from the start!
Thank you!!!!!
Noooooooo!!!! Now I have a new obsession! Do you *know* how many times I refreshed your site (even outside of Fridays) during OFS?!?!
And I’m glad that your “doing nothing” is this productive!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Wow, Hugh is not just at rock bottom, he’s pretty much 6 feet under! I am not as forgiving of Hugh as everyone commenting seems to be, but I look forward to being convinced, if you go that way. I more see him as a potential tentative ally that could be useful against Roland, so long as one takes precautions to defend against intermittent rabid behavior pointed your way.
SPOILER ALERT!
Also, Hugh needs to find out about the battle Roland lost before he decides what he wants to do next.
SPOILER OVER.
I can’t wait to see where you take this!
I always (secretly) hoped that somehow, miraculously, Hugh D’Ambray would dissociate from Roland and find back to his true calling (–the healing stuff). Reading all Kate-Books it looked less and less like I might get my wish. Now I have new hope!!! Please continue!
I love Hugh.
😀
MJ
Amo a Hugh.
😀
MJ
More, more, MORE!
On another track, I hope Rebecca C found a new, and better job.