That Ain't Witchcraft Read online

  Wadjet (Naja wadjet). Once worshipped as gods, the male wadjet resembles an enormous cobra, capable of reaching seventeen feet in length when fully mature, while the female wadjet resembles an attractive human female. Wadjet pair-bond young, and must spend extended amounts of time together before puberty in order to become immune to one another’s venom and be able to successfully mate as adults.

  Waheela (Waheela sapiens). Therianthrope shapeshifters from the upper portion of North America, the waheela are a solitary race, usually claiming large swaths of territory and defending it to the death from others of their species. Waheela mating season is best described with the term “bloodbath.” Waheela transform into something that looks like a dire bear on steroids. They’re usually not hostile, but it’s best not to push it.

  PLAYLIST:

  The right music is essential when fighting cosmic forces. Here are some songs to rock you through Antimony’s big adventure.

  “Happy Phantom” by Tori Amos

  “A Summer in Ohio” by The Last 5 Years

  “Midnight Radio” by Dar Williams

  “Go to the Woods” by Dar Williams

  “The Ballad of Mona Lisa” by Panic! At the Disco

  “Cold Cold Water” by Mirah

  “Haunted” by Taylor Swift

  “You Were the Lie” by Girlyman

  “Coffee and Roses” by Thea Gilmore

  “Death of a Bachelor” by Panic! At the Disco

  “Tik Tik Boom” by Britney Spears

  “Paths of Desire” by October Project

  “Blood Red River” by Beth Orton

  “Attic Window” by Idgy Vaughn

  “Underwater” by Tegan and Sara

  “Evil I” by Ookla the Mok

  “Liar Liar” by A Fine Frenzy

  “Keep Your Heart” by Belle Histoire

  “Tall Towers” by Tori Sparks

  “Home” by Barenaked Ladies

  “The Babysitter’s Here” by Dar Williams

  “Shadows of Evangeline” by Tracy Grammer

  “Crossroads” by Bekah Kelso

  “Part I: The Broken Bride” by Ludo

  “Bones” by Marian Call

  “Burning Witch” by Rachael Sage

  “When Can I See You Again” by Owl City

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  And with that, Antimony Price takes a bow and leaves the stage, at least for now: she’s done her part for the family, and she deserves a bit of a break. But the beat goes on, as it always must, and we’ll be back next year for Imaginary Numbers, when Sarah Zellaby finally gets a chance to tell her side of the story. I’m so thrilled that you’ve all come with me this far. When I started telling this sprawling tale of cryptozoologists and secret societies and crossroads and chaos, I didn’t expect to make it eight books in. Thank you all for reading.

  As a life-long horror movie girl, there’s something intensely satisfying about writing a story where a bunch of twenty-somethings face off against supernatural forces in a rickety old house in the forests of Maine. Big thanks to my New England experts, Shawn and Cat, and to Heath and Sebastian, who may not know as much as the long-timers, but are charming all the same. Thanks to everyone who’s been dragged into a haunted house or evil corn maze over the past few years: this book, in many ways, is for you.

  The team at DAW Books remains one of the absolute best groups of people I could hope to work with, especially Sheila Gilbert (my editor), Joshua Starr (the managing editor, who puts up with way too much of my nonsense), Katie Hoffman (I like her cats a lot), and Lindsay Ribar (she doesn’t have cats, but she is extremely tolerant when I call her during the work day to wail). Everyone at DAW is amazing, and my life wouldn’t be the same without them.

  I know I sing the praises of the machete squad a lot, but that’s because they’re the absolute best and I adore them. Kory Bing continues to illustrate the amazing Field Guide to the Cryptids of North America, located at my website. Tara O’Shea provides dingbat and short story cover designs, as well as designing the overall look of my website. Chris Mangum, Kate Secor, and Michelle Dockrey complete the “home team,” and I would be absolutely lost if they weren’t here to keep shoving the map into my hands.

  Aly Fell is back for this book’s gorgeous cover art, and I couldn’t be happier about that: I missed him immensely on our last adventure (although thanks again to Lee Moyer for stepping in and making sure we had a cover that matched the rest of the series).

  Things are still good here in the Pacific Northwest, even if I saw less of my home than I wanted to during the past year. My beloved Alice, the first of my Maine Coons and the true owner of my heart, left us shortly before the publication of Tricks for Free. I traveled way too much in the aftermath, as a way to cope with my grief. The house is still too empty. I want my girl back. But everyone here stepped up and kept me flying straight until I was once again able to fly on my own, and I appreciate that more than words. I couldn’t have made it without them.

  Big thanks to all the conventions and bookstores that have played host to me over the past year, especially Borderlands Books and Flying Colors Comics, both in the San Francisco Bay Area, both owned by very caring, very tolerant friends of mine. I am so grateful for the people I have in my life, and so fortunate that they like me as much as I like them. Thanks to Jay and Tea, for fancy cocktails; to Leah, for Emma Frost feels; to my agent, Diana Fox, for laughing at me when necessary; to Merav, for not laughing when it wasn’t necessary. I adore you all.

  Any errors in this book are my own. The errors that aren’t here are the ones that all these people helped me fix. I appreciate it so much.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Seanan McGuire is a Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award-winning author. The October Daye novels are her first urban fantasy series, and the InCryptid novels are her second series, both of which have put her on the New York Times bestseller list and the Hugo ballot. She is the first person to be nominated for five Hugo Awards in a single year.

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