Ghost Vessel

By Jonathan Moeller

Caina Amalas is a Ghost circlemaster, leading the Emperor's spies in the city of Istarinmul.

When a string of mysterious disappearances leads Caina to a sinister laboratory, she will need all of her courage to emerge victorious.

Or else she might be the next one to disappear...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jonathan Moeller
• Release date: Aug 23, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370142927

Jonathan Moeller

Standing over six feet tall, Jonathan Moeller has the piercing blue eyes of a Conan of Cimmeria, the bronze-colored hair of a Visigothic warrior-king, and the stern visage of a captain of men, none of which are useful in his career as a computer repairman, alas.He has written the "Demonsouled" trilogy of sword-and-sorcery novels, and continues to write the "Ghosts" sequence about assassin and spy Caina Amalas, the "$0.99 Beginner's Guide" series of computer books, and numerous other works.Visit his website at:http://www.jonathanmoeller.comVisit his technology blog at:http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/screed

Book preview

GHOST VESSEL

Jonathan Moeller

***

Description

Caina Amalas is a Ghost circlemaster, leading the Emperor's spies in the city of Istarinmul.

When a string of mysterious disappearances leads Caina to a sinister laboratory, she will need all of her courage to emerge victorious.

Or else she might be the next one to disappear...

***

Ghost Vessel

Copyright 2016 by Jonathan Moeller

Smashwords Edition

Cover image copyright James Carroll / jc_design | istockphoto.com & Basilica Cistern Istanbul Photo © Martinedegraaf | Dreamstime.com

Ebook edition published August 2016.

All Rights Reserved

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination, or, if real, used fictitiously. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of the author or publisher, except where permitted by law.

***

Ghost Vessel

People are disappearing, said Agabyzus.

Caina said nothing.

It was a few weeks after Caina had barely escaped from Callatas’s Maze with her life. She and Agabyzus sat at a booth in the Inn of the Crescent Moon, one of the Cyrican Quarter of Istarinmul’s better inns. It was the sort of inn favored by merchants wealthy enough to enjoy comfort and sensible enough to shun ostentation, and it was safe enough that Caina could come here without fear of assassins and informants.

Well. Much fear, anyway.

At least she could wear a respectable disguise.

Today Agabyzus had dressed as an official courier of the Padishah’s court, with an ornamented robe and an ornate leather satchel for holding legal documents. Given the executions meted out to anyone who dared to harass one of the Padishah’s couriers, no one bothered Agabyzus, though Caina supposed that the penalties for impersonating a courier were just as severe.

Though at this point, the bounty upon Caina’s head was so high that she took an enormous risk just remaining in Istarinmul.

Today Caina wore the unremarkable dress and headscarf of a common Istarish woman, both of them green, her ghostsilver dagger on in its sheath her belt. There were parts of Istarinmul were a woman could not go alone at night, or even during the day, but the Cyrican Quarter was reasonably safe. Two plates of spiced rice sat before them, accompanied by twin cups of coffee. Agabyzus consumed his meal with enthusiasm, while Caina ate at a slower pace. She thought Agabyzus could use the food. He looked more cadaverous than usual, his face gaunt, with more gray in his ragged beard and hair than she remembered.

This is Istarinmul, said Caina. A million people live here, and tens of thousands visit every year. Someone disappears every day.

Agabyzus swallowed another mouthful of rice. This is so. When the disappearances might involve the Brotherhood of Slavers and wraithblood, it is of interest to the Ghosts.

Caina nodded. She was the Ghost circlemaster of Istarinmul, the leader of the Emperor’s spies in the city. Agabyzus was her nightkeeper, her chief lieutenant, and he had lived in Istarinmul all his life and had a vast network of friends and allies and informants who owed him favors. The Teskilati, the Padishah’s secret police, had exterminated the