An excerpt from THE BOOK OF DAYS:
Ren headed for the tent door. The stench of death and decay stopped him in his tracks. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as the canvas flaps parted, revealing a towering, wraithlike creature wrapped in a tattered black cloak. The monster ducked under the doorway and floated inside. All that was visible under the dark cowl was a jutting jaw of bleached bone and a hideous perma-grin. His presence seemed to fill the room and made Ren’s stomach roil.
The Grimm Jester’s black hood brushed the tent ceiling. Ren backed away as the monster approached. Claymore stood his ground, unintimidated by the sudden appearance of the physical embodiment of Death. The hooded wraith glanced down at Ruddy’s corpse, then over to the dead Wolf.
Ren had dealt with the monster before. They had met, days earlier, in a hidden alleyway behind a teahouse in Rogue Destiny. The Grimm Jester had saved Ren’s life from a night of torture and death, and now considered the trickster in its debt.
“The aroma of death is in the air,” he hissed. The barely audible words escaped through yellowed teeth, like dust blowing through an empty skull.
Ren couldn’t understand how the monster formed coherent words without the proper vocal cords, but it did. The Jester pointed a crooked bony finger at Ren. “You were there at the Pithy Fool, and now you are here,” the wraith whispered. “How resourceful. When last we met, I spared your life and told you that you were indebted to me. The time has come to collect on that debt.”
Ren took another step back. “I’m in the middle of something right now.”
The Jester loomed over him. “It was not a request, little trickster.”
Claymore stepped between them. “He doesn’t owe you anything,” he snarled. Ren couldn’t be sure, but he swore the Jester recoiled, as if it was careful not to get too close to Ren’s partner.
The air grew tense. Ren readied himself to shift again, although he didn’t know what he could morph into that could help the situation. He had witnessed the monster kill a man with just a brush of its hand.
He had never known Claymore to cower before anyone, but this was Death incarnate. A seemingly omnipotent entity within the confines of its own Story, yet nearly as dangerous outside its world. Ren swallowed hard. If his partner refused to back down, then he would have to stand with him.
“What do you want me to do?” Ren ventured. His voice filled with as much confidence as he could muster.
“You must kill Mordecai Davos when the opportunity arises. And do it quickly, before he can command you to stop me. Once he is dead, I will claim the body.”
“Why do you need his body?” Claymore demanded.
“Because that is how it must be,” the wraith replied. “We are nearing the end of Mordecai’s mad charade, and many things will be revealed soon.”
“Do it yourself, ghoul!” Claymore snapped. “You’re supposed to be Death, aren’t you? That makes you pretty adept at killing.”
The monster did not give an answer. The only sound in the tent was the fluttering of the tattered cloak in the currents of the air purifier.
“Okay,” Ren replied. “If I get the chance to kill Mordecai, I will.”
“That would be best for everyone,” the Jester whispered. “Now I must go before I am missed. Dispose of the bodies in the fissure cracks on the far side of the Abattoir. And let no one see you. I will clear the area of interlopers. And it would do you good to remember, little trickster, Claymore Ives will not always be around to protect you.”
The words made Ren’s skin crawl.
“What power does Mordecai have over you?” Claymore rumbled, unfazed by the threatening words. “What binds you to him?”
“You time grows short, Claymore Ives,” the wraith hissed. The hushed words hung in the air. The hideous grin widened within the depths of the black hood. Without a sound, the Grimm Jester glided through the tent flap into the sweltering night. Claymore stared at Ren, a skeptical smirk on his lips.
“What did he mean he saved your life?” Claymore asked.
“It’s nothing,” Ren replied. “I ran into some trouble in a back alley with Mordecai’s henchmen. I didn’t ask the monster to help, but he did help. I had everything under control.”
Claymore gave him a knowing chuckle. “I’m sure you did.”
“Was it my imagination or did the Grimm Jester avoid getting close to you?” Ren asked, still trying to process what had just happened. “What would Death be afraid of?”
Claymore laughed at the comment. “The Jester does not experience emotions like fear and doubt. Because of that, his judgement doesn’t always allow him to discern what might be dangerous to him and what isn’t.”
“The Paradigm Madness?”
“Yeah, the monster must sense it inside me,” Claymore replied. “Unknown variables, like the Paradigm Madness, are what concerns him. It’s beyond his understanding. If Death can be captured and enslaved by a mortal like Mordecai, the Jester has to be concerned about what else he may be vulnerable to.”
“So when he figures out the madness isn’t contagious?”
“Hopefully, we won’t be around,” Claymore said. “That’s why we need to find the lodestones as quickly as possible. If the Jester realizes the truth, our only bargaining chip is gone. He could’ve killed both of us right here, but didn’t. Next time, we may not be so lucky.”
Copyright © 2025 by Paul Tallman
Rogue Destiny #3
A Novel
Rogue Destiny has been a city without magic for a thousand years.
That’s all about to change.
With Ren’s help, the Raconteurs saved a world from an ancient horror.
But the victory is short-lived.
Now they have to stop an even greater threat.
The ruler of Rogue Destiny’s criminal underworld and his band of outlaws are tearing up worlds in search of a grimoire called The Book of Days.
If found, the book would reveal Rogue Destiny’s oldest secrets. Secrets that could bring magic back to the fabled city.
When catastrophe strikes, Ren must continue the mission alone. The trickster uses his shape-shifting gifts to infiltrate the band of outlaws and locate the archaic tome before his enemies can.
In the midst of the chaos, Ren reunites with his old partner. But Claymore’s mind has been eaten away by a madness that threatens to consume him. His only hope lies within the pages of The Book of Days. If Ren’s going to save his friend, he must find it before his enemies do.
Trouble follows the trickster wherever he goes. He wouldn’t want it any other way.
Let the chaos begin.
Fantasy [Oliver-Heber Books, On Sale: March 4, 2025, e-Book , / ]
Paul Tallman is the author of the pulp fantasy series, Rogue Destiny, City of a Thousand Moons.
A geek by birthright, he has spent his life in the social awkwardness of his calling. He has had a fascination with all things fantasy and sci-fi ever since reading Lord of the Rings in middle school.
After having worked for too many years in the insurance industry, he finally broke away from the security of a steady paycheck to pursue writing. On a typical day, Paul can be found hiding away from society, working on his next book.
He stills mourns the cancellation of the TV show Firefly.
Paul lives in the wet and wonderful Pacific Northwest with his long suffering wife, Tina.
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