Priest of Lies Read online

  PRAISE FOR

  PRIEST OF BONES

  “A charismatic and very moreish book with solid prose and a strong voice. Priest of Bones is a story of organized crime with shades of The Godfather. It sounds grim and dark . . . and it is . . . but our priest of bones is quite the humanitarian for a ruthless crime lord. With high-tempo action, it’s just very fun to read.”

  —Mark Lawrence, author of Red Sister

  “McLean’s writing is punchy and fast-paced. . . . Anyone itching to read a high-stakes story should pick up this delightful combination of medieval fantasy and crime drama.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “A pitch-perfect blend of fantasy and organized-crime sagas like Puzo’s The Godfather or Pileggi’s Wiseguy, this novel . . . is very, very hard to put down. Piety is a captivating narrator, coarse and abrasive but also smart and intuitive, and the author has built a world that’s a mixture of the familiar and the wildly different. . . . Expect word-of-mouth support from fantasy fans to turn this one into a genre hit.”

  —Booklist

  “Priest of Bones is a fresh and compelling take on grimdark fantasy and has done something I haven’t before seen in the genre. Mashing together soldiers, gangsters, magic, and war into a heady mix that is a hulking big brother to The Lies of Locke Lamora, this is the first in an unmissable series.”

  —Anna Stephens, author of Godblind

  “Priest of Bones is sure to be among the favorite reads for grimdark fantasy fans this year. . . . If there’s one thing that puts Priest of Bones above your everyday, run-of-the-mill fantasy novel, it’s the narrative voice of Tomas Piety. . . . Told by Piety in a charmingly low-key voice. . . . It’s intimate, subtle, and flows like a lazy river. The prose is rhythmic and captivating.”

  —Grimdark Magazine

  “Swiftly plotted and presented in a smooth first-person narrative, this novel will appeal to those who like their fantasy light on magic and heavy on violence and intrigue.”

  —Library Journal

  “[McLean’s] got a keen eye for flawed characters and moral quandaries that gives this story depth and emotion to go with the swagger, swearing, and gore. . . . The action is gripping and well-handled, the characters are vivid, and there’s obviously a lot more story to tell.”

  —SciFiNow

  “What I originally thought was going to be a grimdark battle royal became in reality a multi-textured, mystery-infused, character-driven novel that shows you the best and worst that human nature can exhibit under extreme duress. . . . Priest of Bones defies classification in that it is a phenomenal story with sensational characters and should be read by everyone who enjoys bloody great books.”

  —Out of This World SFF Reviews

  “An enjoyable read for lovers of small-scale fantasy, with a diverse cast of crooks. Priest of Bones can be effectively summarized as ‘gangsters in fantasyville.’ . . . McLean manages to combine two of my most liked elements in fantasy—a quick-moving plot and characters with realistic relationships.”

  —Ed McDonald, author of Blackwing

  “Priest of Bones is a fast-paced fantasy filled with magic and combat, but with the intrigue and strategy of a crime thriller. McLean writes soldiers and their experience of returning from war like someone who has been there. There is excellent character development throughout; I’d follow the Piety brothers through any story.”

  —Michael Mammay, author of Planetside

  “Managing to be exciting, narratively taut, and a commentary on the terrible things war and violence do to people is no mean feat, but Peter McLean manages it with Priest of Bones. I wish I had written this.”

  —RJ Barker, author of Blood of Assassins

  “Absolutely sensational. . . . The prose is smooth and easy to follow, and that combined with a flowing story, an even pace, and a rising tempo results in one of those books that you could easily read in one go. All in all, Priest of Bones is low fantasy at its finest, and I wouldn’t hesitate to call it the Fantasy Debut of the Year.”

  —BookNest.eu

  “Priest of Bones is built on the voice of Tomas Piety, and from the very get-go you know the kind of man he is. . . . If violence and planning, honor among thieves and treachery among lawmen, blood and profanity and spies and explosions are your thing, Priest of Bones is the book for you. Get it. Read it. Wait impatiently for the sequel.”

  —J. C. Nelson, author of The Reburialists

  “The literary version of an action/mobster flick. . . . Very fast, very readable, and it stuck to its plot like concrete shoes. If you’re looking for an accessible, darkish fantasy, particularly if you’re not a die-hard fantasy fan, this would be a great place to start. . . . I can safely say that this will be the book dark fantasy and grimdark fans will be raving about at the end of this year. . . . Priest of Bones will be one of the finest grimdark books of the year. . . . [McLean] has presented a brilliant debut grimdark outing that is fascinating, gripping, and has everything that I look for in a crime-focused novel.”

  —Fantasy Book Review

  “Peter McLean’s rendering of battle fatigue as well as the traumas of physical and emotional abuse fosters an emotional investment for readers that elevates this title above other ‘run and gun’ adventures. . . . With its charismatic merging of backstreet magic, gangland conflict, and political power struggles in a city teetering on the edge of destruction, Priest of Bones launches a breathtaking opening salvo in the War for the Rose Throne series.”

  —BookPage

  Ace Books by Peter McLean

  PRIEST OF BONES

  PRIEST OF LIES

  ACE

  Published by Berkley

  An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

  1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019

  Copyright © 2019 by Peter McLean

  Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader.

  ACE is a registered trademark and the A colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: McLean, Peter, 1972– author.

  Title: Priest of lies / Peter McLean.

  Description: First edition. | New York: Ace, 2019.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2018045399 | ISBN 9780451490230 (paperback) | ISBN 9780451490247 (ebook)

  Subjects: | GSAFD: Fantasy fiction.

  Classification: LCC PR6113.C543 P77 2019 | DDC 823/.92—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018045399

  First Edition: July 2019

  Cover design by Katie Anderson

  Cover art: image of house by Neil Holden / Arcangel Images; dagger image by n_defender / Shutterstock Images

  Map by Cortney Skinner

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Version_1

  For Diane,

  forever.

  Contents

  Praise

  Ace Books by Peter McLean

  Title Page

  Copyright

 
Dedication

  Epigraph

  Map

  Dramatis Personae

  Part OneChapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Part TwoChapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Part ThreeChapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-one

  Chapter Forty-two

  Chapter Forty-three

  Chapter Forty-four

  Chapter Forty-five

  Chapter Forty-six

  Chapter Forty-seven

  Chapter Forty-eight

  Chapter Forty-nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-one

  Chapter Fifty-two

  Chapter Fifty-three

  Chapter Fifty-four

  Chapter Fifty-five

  Chapter Fifty-six

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.

  —ATTRIBUTED TO ABRAHAM LINCOLN

  DRAMATIS PERSONAE

  THE PIETY FAMILY

  TOMAS PIETY: Head of the Pious Men, a businessman and former army priest. Your narrator.

  AILSA PIETY: His wife, and a Queen’s Man.

  JOCHAN PIETY: His younger brother, a very disturbed man.

  ENAID PIETY: Their loving aunt, grand matriarch of the Pious Men.

  THE PIOUS MEN

  BLOODY ANNE: Tomas’s second in the Pious Men and his most loyal friend. Bloody Anne had lived through a lifetime’s worth of horror before she ever went to war.

  BILLY THE BOY: A lad of some fourteen years, strong in the cunning and touched by Our Lady. Tomas and Ailsa’s adopted nephew.

  FAT LUKA: Head of propaganda, master of listeners.

  SIR ELAND: A false knight but a loyal follower.

  BRAK: Lover to Aunt Enaid, despite being a third her age.

  SIMPLE SAM: Tomas’s self-appointed bodyguard. A slow lad but a faithful one.

  BLACK BILLY: Black Billy was proud of his arms, and rightly so. Good with his fists, too.

  STEFAN: A soldier. There was little more to be said about Stefan.

  BORYS: A thoughtful, older man who said little. He could move quiet when he wanted to, for a big man.

  WILL THE WENCHER: Will runs the bawdy house on Chandler’s Narrow.

  HARI: Tavernkeeper of the Tanner’s Arms.

  MIKA: A useful lad who could think for himself.

  CUTTER: A professional murderer with a mysterious past. When even sappers fear a man, that man is to be feared indeed.

  DESH: An Alarian lad from Hull Patcher’s Row. As far back as he could remember, he always wanted to be a Pious Man.

  Various other ruffians and hired men whose names are not recorded here.

  NOTABLE PEOPLE IN ELLINBURG

  GOVERNOR HAUER: The city governor of Ellinburg. A frugal man, or so he let it be thought. Overly fond of wine.

  CAPTAIN ROGAN: Captain of the City Guard. A hard man and a ruthless bully, but he was greedy and he had his vices.

  ROSIE: Boss of the Chandler’s Narrow girls and an agent of the Queen’s Men. Bloody Anne’s woman.

  OLD KURT: People called Old Kurt a cunning man, and that had two meanings.

  FLORENCE COOPER: A former soldier, and the boss of the Flower Girls.

  EMIL: A veteran, and a hired man.

  MATTHIAS WOLF: A cunning man.

  MINA: A young woman with the cunning.

  HANNE: An undercook.

  COOKPOT: A groom.

  SALO: A steward.

  JON LAN BARKOV: A wealthy man and a patron of the arts.

  KLAUS VHENT: A man also known as Bloodhands.

  NOTABLE PEOPLE IN DANNSBURG

  MR. GRACHYEV: A gangster.

  IAGIN: His second. A very well-connected man.

  LEONOV: An underboss.

  DIETER VOGEL: The Lord Chief Judiciar. Among other things.

  MR. AND MRS. SHAPOOR: Ailsa’s parents.

  THE PRINCESS CROWN ROYAL: A little girl of eleven years. The heir to the throne.

  LORD LAN YETROV: A man overly fond of bear baiting, and worse things.

  LADY LAN YETROV: His wife, who married above herself for money.

  LORD LAN ANDRONIKOV: A man who did not fight in the war.

  LADY LAN ANDRONIKOV: His wife. Very fond of the poppy, it is sad to say.

  MAJOR BAKRYLOV: A veteran and a war hero, from a certain point of view.

  LADY REITER: A courtesan.

  ABSOLOM GREUV: A magician.

  MR. FISCHER: A tutor.

  PART ONE

  ONE

  Five hundred corpses.

  That had been my wedding gift from Ailsa and the Queen’s Men. From this woman I called my wife. Five hundred or more burned and blackened corpses had been pulled out of the smoking rubble of the Wheels after we bombed it into Hell, that Godsday afternoon.

  I still hadn’t forgiven her for that.

  I hadn’t forgiven myself.

  That was six months past now, and Ellinburg was in the grip of a summer heat. The river stank even worse than usual, but still the people of Dock Road came out to watch us pass. We were on horseback, Jochan and Bloody Anne and Fat Luka and me, and everyone had come out onto the streets to see us. We were the Pious Men, and in Ellinburg we were received like princes.

  Six months ago the Wheels had been a wasteland of devastation. On my wedding day Ailsa’s company of army sappers had all but destroyed the district with enough blasting powder to start a war. Or perhaps, as I hoped, to prevent one.

  The butcher’s bill had been horrific, and to my mind that bill was laid squarely at Ailsa’s door.

  If we cannot stop this infiltration, there will be another war and we will lose. There will be another Abingon, right here in our own country.

  Ailsa had told me that, and she had swayed me to her cause and to the service of the Queen’s Men with those words. With those words, and with threats. It was that or hang, I knew that, but when I thought of how the streets had looked the day after our wedding I couldn’t help but feel that Ailsa had brought Abingon to the Wheels herself, in the service
of the crown.

  My wife had done that, this murderous stranger I was forced to share a house with. To share a life with, whether I liked it or not. It was that or hang, and that was no choice at all. That was what the Queen’s Men could do.

  I had vowed then to rebuild, and I had done that.

  Dock Road ran through the heart of the Wheels, and a year ago it would have been unthinkable for me to be there. The Wheels belonged to the Gutcutters, everyone knew that, but on my wedding day all that had changed. The Wheels was mine now, and the docks too. All of eastern Ellinburg belonged to the Pious Men, and that was good. It was good, and business had never been better, but it was still a long way from being safe.

  “I can see two faces that shouldn’t be here,” Bloody Anne said quietly, her voice raspy from years of shouting orders and the smoke of blasting powder. “The top of Fellmonger’s Alley, you see them?”

  I glanced casually that way as I waved to a shopkeeper I recognized. He was behind on his payments, that one, and from the look on his face I could see that he knew it. No one fell behind with their payments on my streets, not if they knew what was good for them. I was the new boss of the Wheels, and I needed everybody there to understand that.

  “Aye,” I said. “I see them, Bloody Anne.”

  One of them was a resin smoker and petty thief who I had kicked out of the Stink a year ago. The other I knew worked for Bloodhands. I had to force myself not to shudder when I thought of that name. He called himself Klaus Vhent in public these days, but he was Bloodhands and he was a nasty piece of work and no mistake. He had been Ma Aditi’s second in the Gutcutters, but I knew he was more than that.

  Much more.

  The Gutcutters had been wiped out on my wedding day, but the Skanians very much hadn’t, and more to the point neither had Bloodhands. That man who had called himself Ma Aditi’s second in the Gutcutters was the Skanians’ head man in Ellinburg. He was something like a Queen’s Man himself back in Skania, far across the sea to the north, or at least he was working directly for someone who was. Worse than that, I knew he had the ear of the governor. He was a man who ruled his gang through simple fear, a man who commanded the loyalty of his men by holding a knife to the throats of their hostage children.