PREFACE

Look, I think it’s fairly obvious that I’m just writing these things for the money. The hero business hasn’t turned out to be quite as lucrative as I was hoping. Not that I’m hurting for money, but I still don’t have the palace I was hoping to receive as a reward for saving the world. It looks like I’m going to have to buy one for myself and since my old line of work is off the table, I’m really counting on book sales to get me over the top palace-wise.

That being the case, I want to thank you for purchasing this book and remind you to make sure that you have also bought the other books in the series. Also, don’t forget that some holiday, birthday, or other cause for celebration, is coming up and these books make an excellent gift. Alright, enough of that.

You know, I’ve never done a preface before. I kind of liked it. If I ever write additional books you can expect more of these.

Chapter 1 - Recap of Books 1 & 2

The best thing to do is buy fresh copies of my first two books and read them all over again. There are a lot of layers to them, so you’ll probably pick up on things that you didn’t the first time around. They are very deep. In case you aren’t willing to do that, whether from contrariness or plain old laziness, here are a couple of quick recaps to help you remember the stuff you’ve supposedly already read.

In book one, Children of Kathaldi, you met me, Dirk, a loveable thief, and saw me turn into a hero fighting the Kathaldi and starting the process of saving the world. With my friends helping to some small degree, I guess.

We fought our way to Aandarvi to get help and found a bunch of Kathaldi there, too. We helped kill most of them but lost a lot of our friends along the way.

In book two, Assassins of Kathaldi, the few survivors of our company were sent back to Ansdron, where we started from, which was wonderful, to fight the drants and Kathaldi. There were a bunch of assassinations and murders and I met a girl and fell in love. I also was reunited with my mother and siblings right before my mother died, which was okay because she was in a lot of pain. Then I was in a lot of pain because the Kathaldi killed my girlfriend, Jade, who was actually my fiance by then. Funny thing was that it turned out she was also Kathaldi.

She did tell me where the Kathaldi headquarters is, though, which was a big help.

Chapter 2 - Look

Look, I appreciate that a lot of you have read my first two books and are now back for more with the final book of my trilogy. I applaud your commitment to finishing the series. It even warms my heart that some of you like the books enough to send letters to me via my publisher and that you care about how sad I must be what with having a dead fiance and all.

What I don't like much are all of the marriage proposals. At first, I thought it was great. Easy pickings! I figured. And a few were, but not nearly enough. Most really wanted to get married, particularly before I get to sample their wares, so to speak.

I feel like I have communicated clearly in the previous books that I am not a big fan of marriage, although Jade did turn me from my proper path, until her murder. But now I am firmly back on the not getting married wagon.

So, if you are an okay, or better, looking lady who is going to write to me, don't offer to rescue me from my despair with a different wedding. That will not work. Offer to teach me a thing or two in the bed chamber. That's the best way to cheer me up. Or any man, I'm pretty sure.