This rare demon has batlike wings and forelimbs, a scorpion tail and the body of a lion, though the dark fur is interspersed with sharp spines. The Manticore’s leonine face can sometimes appear almost human, and its features are capable of expressing complex emotion. Its venom is so potent that one droplet will kill a man within minutes. Members of the Raleigh family are said to be immune.
WENDIGO - LEVEL 13
(Obadiah Forsyth)
The Wendigo is a rare demon that is known to follow the Shrike migration across the ether, eating the carcasses of its fallen victims. Despite its role as a carrion eater, the Wendigo is a powerful beast in its own right, with corded muscle lining its skinny frame. Standing as high as eight feet tall, it has branching antlers, a wolflike head and long arms that it uses to knuckle the ground like a gorilla. It is known to have the mottled gray skin of a corpse and the stench to match—most likely from its regular consumption of rotting flesh.
INDRIK - LEVEL 14
These enormous demons have the long necks and large bodies of giraffes, but with thicker limbs, a long tapering tail and a head that is more akin to that of a horse’s or camel’s. Their fur is short, gray and mottled with black patches. Traveling in herds of a score or more, Indriks migrate widely, acting as a food source for the large, carnivorous demons across the ether’s ecosystem. Given its role as a prey animal and high summoning level, these demons are relatively useless to summoners.
PHANTAUR - LEVEL UNKNOWN
The Phantaur is as much an elephant as a Minotaur is a bull. With its serrated tusks, sturdy fists and a height of over ten feet, it is a force to be reckoned with. Thought to be the rarest and most powerful demon available to orc shamans, only one has ever been seen. Little is known of its behaviors and habitats. It is thought that the one Phantaur to have been captured has been passed down through thousands of generations of shamans, its origins lost to the mists of time.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There have been a great many people who I owe a debt of gratitude for their contribution to the creation and publication of the Summoner series.
I would like to thank my UK agent, Juliet Mushens, for all her hard work, teaming up with many amazing publishers around the world. She has been my guiding light throughout the entire process and my life would not be the same without her. I would also like to thank Sasha Raskin, my US agent, for helping take the Summoner series across the pond.
I must also thank both my commissioning editors, Liz Szabla and Naomi Greenwood, for their stellar work in polishing my books into the best version of themselves. Their combined insight has taught me more in one year than a lifetime of my own study of the craft. I owe them a great deal for trusting in me and believing in my writing. Without their support, there would be no Summoner series.
Thank you to the publishing teams at Feiwel and Friends and Hodder Childrens, for helping bring a beautiful book to as many readers as possible. They have done fantastic work and have stuck with me from start to finish.
There are several artists who I have loved working with to bring my books to life. Thank you to David North, Malgorzata Gruszka and Michelle Brackenborough for their beautiful artwork.
I would like to thank my friends and family for their ongoing support, guidance and patience over the past few years. Robert Ayres, Vic James, Dominic Wong, Michael Miller, Brook Aspden, Kash and Emily Siddiqi, Alice Kingsnorth as well as Liege, Jay, Sindri and Raj Matharu, you guys rock.
Finally, thank you, the readers, for all you have done. Your comments, reviews, messages and encouragement have meant the world to me. It is ultimately you that made me a success, and you that keep me writing. I will be forever astonished, honored and grateful for your support.
Thank you.