Hexed_ The Iron Druid Chronicles - Kevin Hearne [0]
A Del Rey Mass Market Original
Copyright © 2011 by Kevin Hearne
Excerpt from Hammered by Kevin Hearne copyright © 2011 by Kevin Hearne
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Del Rey, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
DEL REY is a registered trademark and the Del Rey colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
This book contains an excerpt from the forthcoming book Hammered by Kevin Hearne. This excerpt has been set for this edition only and may not reflect the final content of the forthcoming edition.
eISBN: 978-0-345-52255-9
www.delreybooks.com
Del Rey mass market edition: June 2011
Cover Illustration: © Gene Mollica
v3.1
For my father,
who never saw these books in print,
but at least left us knowing
his son had achieved his dream
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Pronunciation Guide
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
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Excerpt from Hammered
Pronunciation Guide
Just as with the Irish words in Hounded, I wouldn’t want anyone to see the Polish, Russian, German, and Irish in Hexed and think to themselves, Do I really have to read that stuff properly? You don’t. I want you to enjoy yourself, and if you prefer saying words any old way you like, then I’m on your side. But if you’re the sort who’d like to hear precisely how things should sound coming out of the mouths of these characters, then I’ve provided the guide below to help you do that.
Names of the Polish Coven
Written Polish has a few letters that aren’t pronounced the way they are in English. Rather than try to explain them all, please take my very informal phonetic pronunciations here and trust me—unless you’d rather not.
Berta = Berta (this one’s just like it looks; I promise things will get interesting soon)
Bogumila = BO goo ME wah (However, her American nickname, Mila, would be pronounced ME lah, because otherwise Americans would constantly question why she pronounced her l like a w)
Kazimiera = KAH zhee ME rah
Klaudia = Klaudia (just like it looks)
Malina Sokolowski = Ma LEE nah SO ko WOV ski (that’s right, no l sound in her last name)
Radomila = RAH doe ME wah
Roksana = Roke SAH nah
Waclawa = Va SWAH va
Irish Phrases
Bean sidhe = BAN shee
Dóigh = doy (means burn)
Dún = doon (means close or shut)
Freagróidh tú = frag ROY too (means you will answer)
Múchaim = MOO hem (means extinguish)
Irish Doodads
Fragarach = FRAG ah rah (named sword: The Answerer)
Moralltach = MOR al tah (named sword: Great Fury)
The remaining phrases in Polish, Russian, and German can all be listened to online as sound files on my website, kevinhearne.com, if you feel like clicking on over there.
Irish God
Goibhniu = GUV new (member of the Tuatha Dé Danann; master smith and brewer of fine ales)
Chapter 1
Turns out that when you kill a god, people want to talk to you. Paranormal insurance salesmen with special “godslayer” term life policies. Charlatans with “god-proof” armor and extraplanar safe houses for rent. But, most notably, other gods, who want to first congratulate you on your achievement, second warn you not to try such shenanigans on them, and finally suggest that you try to slay one of their rivals—purely as a shenanigan, of course.
Ever since word got around to the various pantheons that I had snuffed not one but two of the Tuatha Dé Danann—and sent the more powerful of the two to the Christian hell—I had been visited by various potentates, heralds, and ambassadors from most of the world’s belief systems. All of them wanted me to leave them alone but pick