The Corvin Chance Chronicles Complete Box Set Read online

  The Corvin Chance Chronicles Box Set

  Books 1-6

  N. P. Martin

  M J Kraus

  Muonic Press Inc

  Contents

  Book 1

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Book 2

  Epigraph

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Book 3

  Epigraph

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Book 4

  Epigraph

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Book 5

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Book 6

  Epigraph

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Book 1

  Chapter 1

  They knew I was back. I don’t know how, but they did, for someone was following me. As I walked along the Lower Ormond Quay with the River Liffey flowing to the right of me, I was more inclined to avoid whoever was following me. I’d only just arrived back in Dublin after a stay in London, and I was in no mood for confrontation.

  I was picking up on goblin vibes, though I couldn’t be sure until I laid eyes on the cretin. I did, however, know that Iolas employed goblins to do his dirty work for him, as the wiry little bastards were sneaky and good at blending in unseen.

  As I moved down a deserted side street, hoping my pursuer would follow me, I weighed up my options. There were a number of spells I could use: I could create a doorway in one of the walls next to me and disappear into the building; or I could turn myself to vapor and disappear that way; or I could even levitate up to the roof of one of the nearby buildings and escape. Truthfully though, I didn’t like using magic in broad daylight, even if there was no one around. Hell, I hardly used magic at all, despite being gifted with a connection to the Void—the source of all magic—just like every other Touched being in the world. Despite my abilities, though, I was no wizard. I was just a musician who preferred to make magic through playing the guitar, real magic that touched the soul of the listener, and not the often destructive magic generated by the Void.

  Still, Void magic could come in handy sometimes, like now as I spun around suddenly and said the word, "Impedio!" I felt the power of the Void flow through me as I said the word loudly, and as I looked down the street there appeared to be no one there.

  Only I knew there was someone there. I walked quickly back down the street and then stopped by a dumpster on the side of the road. Crouched behind the dumpster was a small, wiry individual with dark hair and pinched features. He appeared frozen as he glared up at me thanks to the spell I had used to stop him in his tracks, preventing him from moving even a muscle until I decided to release him.

  "Let me guess," I said. "Iolas got wind I was coming back, so he sent you to what… follow me? Maybe kill me, like he had me ma killed?"

  Anger threatened to rise up in me as blue magic sparked across my hand. Eight words, that’s all it would’ve taken to kill the frozen goblin in front of me, to shut down his life support system and render him dead in an instant. It would’ve been so easy to do, but I wasn’t a killer… at least not yet. If I was going to kill, it had to be the right person, and this creature before me was not the right person.

  The goblin was straining against the spell I still held him in, hardly able to bat an eyelash. To an ordinary eye, the goblin appeared mundane, just a smallish, weasel-like man in his thirties with thinning hair and dark eyes that appeared to be too big for his face. To my Touched eye, however, I could see the goblin creature for what he really was underneath the glamor he used to conceal his true form, which to be honest, wasn’t that far away from the mundane form he presented to the world. His eyes were bigger and darker, his mouth wider and full of thin pointed teeth that jutted out at all angles, barely concealed by thick lips like two strips of rubber. His skin was also paler and his ears large and pointed.

  "I don’t know what you’re talking about," the goblin said when I released him from the spell. He stood up straight, his head barely level with my chest. "I’m just out for a stro
ll on this fine summer evening, or at least I was before you accosted me like you did…"

  I shook my head in disgust. What did I expect anyway, a full run down of his orders from Iolas? Of course he was going to play dumb, because he was dumb. He knew nothing, except that he had to follow me and probably report on my whereabouts afterward. Iolas, being the paranoid wanker that he was, would want eyes on me the whole time now that I was back in town. Or at least until he could decide what to do with me, as he probably saw it.

  "All right, asshole," I said as magic crackled in my hand, making the cocky goblin rather nervous, his huge eyes constantly flitting from my face to the magic in my hand. "Before you fuck of out of it, make sure Iolas gets this message, will you? Tell that stuck up elf… tell him…"

  The goblin frowned, his dark eyes staring into me. "Go on, tell Iolas what?" He was goading me, the sneaky little shit. "That you’re coming for him? That you’re going to kill him for supposedly snuffing out your witch-bitch mother—"

  Rage erupted in me then, and before the goblin could say another filthy word, I conjured me magic, thrusting my light-filled hand toward him while shouting the words, "Ignem exquiris!"

  In an instant, a fireball about the size of a baseball exploded from my hand and hit the goblin square in the chest, the force of it slamming him back against the wall, the flames setting his clothes alight.

  "Dholec maach!" the goblin screamed as he frantically slapped at his clothes in an effort to put the flames out.

  "What were you saying again?" I cocked my head mockingly at him as if waiting for an answer.

  "Dhon ogaach!" The goblin tore off his burning jacket and tossed it to the ground, then managed to put out the remaining flames still licking at his linen shirt. The smell of burnt fabric and roasted goblin skin now hung in the air between us.

  "Yeah? You go screw yourself as well, after you’ve apologized for insulting my mother."

  The goblin snarled at me as he stood quivering with rage and shock. "You won’t last a day here, Wizard! Iolas will have you fed to the vamps!"

  I shot forward and grabbed the goblin by the throat, thrusting him against the wall. "Firstly, I’m a musician, not a wizard, and secondly—" I had to turn my head away for a second, as the stench of burnt goblin flesh was atrocious to my nostrils. "Secondly, I’m not afraid of your elfin boss, or his vampire mates for that matter."

  Struggling to speak with my hand still around his throat, the goblin said in a strangled voice, "Is that why… you ran away… like a… little bitch?"

  I glared at the goblin for another second and then let him go, taking a step back as he slid down the wall slightly. His black eyes were still full of defiance. He was tenacious, I’d give him that.

  "I’ve listened to enough of your shit, goblin," I said, forcing my anger down. "Turn on your heels and get the hell out of here, before I incinerate you altogether." I held my hand up to show him the flames that danced in my palm, eliciting a fearful look from him. "Go!"

  The goblin didn’t need to be told twice. He pushed off the wall and stumbled quickly down the street, turning around after ten yards as he kept walking backward. "You’ve written your own death warrant coming back here, Chance," he shouted. "Iolas will have your head mounted above his fireplace!" His lips peeled back as he formed a rictus grin, then he turned around and ran, disappearing around the corner a moment later.

  "Son of a bitch," I muttered as I stood shaking my head. Maybe it was a mistake coming back here, I thought. I should’ve stayed in London, played gigs every night, maybe headed to Europe or the States, Japan even. Instead, I came back to Ireland to tear open old wounds… and unavoidably, no doubt, to make new ones.

  Shaking my head once more at the way things were going already, I grabbed my guitar and luggage bag, and headed toward where I used to live, before my life was turned upside down two months ago, that is.

  As I walked up the Quay alongside the turgid river, I took a moment to take in my surroundings. It was a balmy summer evening and the city appeared to be in a laid back mood as people walked around in their flimsy summer clothes, enjoying the weather, knowing it could revert back to dull and overcast at any time, as the Irish weather is want to do. Despite my earlier reservations, it felt good to be back. While I enjoyed London—as much as I could while mourning the death of my mother—Dublin was my home and always had been. I felt a connection to the land here that I felt nowhere else, and I’d been plenty of other places around the world.

  Still, I hadn’t expected Iolas to be on me so soon. He had all but banished me from the city when I had accused him of orchestrating my mother’s murder. He was no doubt pissed when he heard I was coming back.

  Fuck him, I thought as I neared my destination. If he thinks I’m going to allow him to get away with murder, he’s mistaken.

  Just ahead of me was Chance’s Bookstore, the shop my mother opened over three decades ago, and which now belonged to me, along with the apartment above it. It was a medium-sized store with dark green wood paneling and a quaint sort of feel to it. It was also one of the oldest remaining independent book stores in the city, and the only one that dealt in rare occult books. Because of this, the store attracted a lot of Untouched with an interest in all things occult and magical. It also attracted its fair share of Touched, who knew the store as the place to go if you wanted to get a hard-to-find book on magic or some aspect of the occult. My mother, before she was killed, had managed to form contacts all over the world, and there was hardly a book she wasn’t able to get her hands on if someone requested it—for a price of course—and that price was often high, not just in terms of money, but in favors owed.

  As I stood a moment in front of the shop, my mind awash with painful memories, I glanced at my reflection in the window, seeing a disheveled imposter standing there in need of a shave and a haircut and probably also a change of clothes, my favorite dark jeans and waistcoat having hardly been off me in two months.

  Looking away from my reflection, I opened the door to the shop and stepped inside, locking it behind me again. The smell of old paper and leather surrounded me immediately, soliciting more painful memories and a sense of deep sorrow as images of my mother flashed through my mind. After closing my eyes for a second, I moved into the shop, every square inch of the place deeply familiar to me, connected to memories that threatened to come at me all at once.

  Until they were interrupted, that is, by a mass of swirling darkness near the back of the shop, out of which an equally dark figure emerged with two slightly glowing eyes glaring at me.

  Then, before I could muster any magic or even say a word of surprise, the darkness surrounding the figure lashed out, hitting me so hard across the face I thought my jaw was broken, and I went reeling back, cursing the gods for clearly having it in for me today.

  Welcome home, Corvin, I thought as I stood seeing stars. Welcome bloody home…

  Chapter 2

  "You have some balls, Chance."

  I dropped my bags on the floor. "Hello, Dalia," I said. "Good to see you again too. Did you miss me?"

  The dark energy surrounding Dalia reached out again in an instant, slapping me hard across the face as surely as any hand would. "Jesus! Would you stop bloody hitting me, please?" I rubbed at my stinging right cheek.

  Dalia made some sort of hissing sound in response as if she wasn’t done yet. "I should drag you through the Thorns into the Otherworld and dump you there!"

  Although she could entirely make good on her threat, I didn’t take her seriously. She was just pissed at me, as I had expected her to be. "Calm down, D, will you? I’ve already had a run in with a goblin and I’ve only been off the damn plane less than two hours."

  "Serves you right," Dalia hissed, some of the anger now gone from her voice, thankfully. When I flicked the light switch, the darkness surrounding her shrank in response and finally dissipated.

  I held my hands up. "I was expecting a warmer welcome than this."

  "A warmer welcome
? You think I should’ve had tea and biscuits waiting? Party balloons? Maybe if I’d known you were actually coming back…" Dalia continued to glare at me in her Fae form, which I found to be as unsettling as ever. A mass of flowing black robes rippled around her, and short, dark antlers jutted out either side of her head, making her look like a demonic deer. The slightly glowing yellow eyes set into her pale face, under which more darkness undulated, only added to the scary effect. The first time she revealed her Fae form to me five years ago, I nearly shit myself. She could be intimidating enough before she was kidnapped by the Fae and transformed, over time, into a Demi-Fae. Now she was scary biscuits times ten, when she wanted to be anyway. Most of the time she remained in her mundane form, until her emotions got the better of her, like now.