George Martin: Songs of Love and Death

The silence underneath felt alive, somehow. Peaceful, but like sunlight on water, moving, glittering. He could still hear the noises above the silence, feet running, anxious voices, bangs and creakings—but he was sinking gently into the silence, the noises grew distant, though he could still hear voices.

“Is that one—?”

“Nay, he’s gone—look at his head, poor chap, caved in something horrid. The boy’s well enough, I think, just bumps and scratches. Here, lad, come up… no, no, let go now. It’s all right, just let go. Let me pick you up, yes, that’s good, it’s all right now, hush, hush, there’s a good boy…”

“What a look on that bloke’s face—I never saw anything like—”

“Here, take the little chap. I’ll see if the bloke’s got any identification.”

“Come on, big man, yeah, that’s it, that’s it, come with me. Hush now, it’s all right. It’s all right… Is that your daddy, then?”

“No tags, no service book. Funny, that. He’s RAF, though, isn’t he? AWOL, d’ye think?”

He could hear Dolly laughing at that, felt her hand stroke his hair. He smiled and turned his head to see her smiling back, the radiant joy spreading round her like rings in shining water…

“Rafe! The rest of it’s going! Run! Run! ”

Before y’all get tangled up in your underwear about it being All Hallow’s Eve when Jeremiah leaves, and “nearly Samhain (aka All Hallow’s Eve)” when he returns—bear in mind that Great Britain changed from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in 1752, this resulting in a “loss” of twelve days. And for those of you who’d like to know more about the two men who rescue him, more of their story can be found in An Echo in the Bone.

GEORGE R. R. MARTINhas been called “the American Tolkien,” and his books, including the volumes on his landmark A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series, have been on bestseller lists around the world. He’s won four Hugo Awards, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, and the Bram Stoker Award. As editor, he’s produced the long-running Wild Cards anthology series as well as the New Voices series and others. He’s also worked for Hollywood and television and was part of the creative team behind such shows as Beauty and the Beast and the revival of The Twilight Zone .

GARDNER DOZOIShas won fifteen Hugo Awards and thirty-four Locus Awards for his own writing. He was the editor of the leading science fiction magazine, Asimov’s Science Fiction , foe eighteen years, and is also the editor of the annual anthology series The Year’s Best Science Fiction , now in its twenty-seventh annual collection. He is the author or editor of more than a hundred books.

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2010 by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

“Love Hurts” copyright © 2010 by Jim Butcher

“The Marrying Maid” copyright © 2010 by Jo Beverley

“Rooftops” copyright © 2010 by Carrie Vaughn LLC

“Hurt Me” copyright © 2010 by M. L. N. Hanover

“Demon Lover” copyright © 2010 by Cecelia Holland

“The Wayfarer’s Advice” copyright © 2010 by Melinda Snodgrass

“Blue Boots” copyright © 2010 by Robin Hobb

“The Thing About Cassandra” copyright © 2010 by Neil Gaiman

“After the Blood” copyright © 2010 by Marjorie M. Liu

“You, and You Alone” copyright © 2010 by Jacqueline Carey

“His Wolf” copyright © 2010 by Lisa Tuttle

“Courting Trouble” copyright © 2010 by Linnea Sinclair

“The Demon Dancer” copyright © 2010 by Mary Jo Putney

“Under/Above the Water” copyright © 2010 by Tanith Lee

“Kaskia” copyright © 2010 by Peter S. Beagle

“Man in the Mirror” copyright © 2010 by Yasmine Galenorn

“A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows” copyright © 2010 by Diana Gabaldon

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Gallery Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Gallery Books hardcover edition November 2010

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Songs of love and death : tales of star-crossed love / edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. — 1st Gallery Books hardcover ed.

p. cm.

1. Love stories, American. 2. Love stories, English. 3. Fantasy fiction, American. 4. Fantasy fiction, English. I. Martin, George R. R. II. Dozois, Gardner R.

PS648.L6S55 2010 823'.08508—dc22 2010021181

ISBN 978-1-4391-5014-6

ISBN 978-1-4391-7083-0 (ebook)