Excerpt from The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

There was genuine fear in his voice. Among his many talents, Sammy was a skilled alchemist, his kit filled with tinctures, powders, and potions he'd developed to assist his deductive work. It had taken years to create many of them, using ingredients they were a long way from replacing.

"No, I stole them out of your bedchamber before they searched the house," replied Arent.

"Good," approved Sammy. "There's a salve in a small jar. The green one. Apply that to your injuries every morning and night."

Arent wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Is that the piss-smelling one?"

"They all smell like piss. It's not a good salve if it doesn't smell like piss."

A musketeer approached from the direction of the wharf, calling Sammy's name. He wore a battered hat with a red feather, the floppy brim pulled low over his eyes. A tangle of dirty blond hair spilled down his shoulders, a beard obscuring most of his face.

Arent examined him approvingly.

Most musketeers in Batavia were part of the household guard. They gleamed and saluted and were good at sleeping with their eyes open, but this man's ragged uniform suggested he'd done some actual soldiering. Old blood stained his blue doublet, which was dotted with holes made by shot and sword, each one patched time and again. Knee-length red breeches gave way to a pair of tanned, hairy legs riddled with mosquito bites and scars. Copper flasks filled with gunpowder jangled on a bandolier, clattering into pouches of saltpeter matches.

Upon reaching Arent, the musketeer stamped his foot smartly.

"Lieutenant Hayes, I'm Guard Captain Jacobi Drecht," he said, waving a fly from his face. "I'm in charge of the governor general's household guard. I'll be sailing with you to ensure the family's safety." Drecht addressed himself to the musketeers escorting them. "On the boat now, lads. The governor general wants Mr. Pipps secured aboard the Saardam before the—"

"Hear me!" commanded a jagged voice from above them.

Squinting into the glare of sunlight, they craned their necks, following the voice upward.

A figure in gray rags was standing on a pile of crates. Bloody bandages wrapped his hands and face, a narrow gap left for his eyes.

"A leper," Drecht muttered, in disgust.

Arent took an instinctive step backward. From boyhood, he'd been taught to fear these wasted people, whose mere presence was enough to bring ruin to an entire village. A single cough, even the lightest touch, meant a lingering, dreadful death.

"Kill that creature and burn it," demanded the governor general from the front of the procession. "Lepers are not permitted in the city."

A commotion erupted as the musketeers peered at one another. The figure was too high up for pikes, but their muskets had already been loaded onto the Saardam, and none of them had a bow.

Seemingly oblivious to the panic, the leper's eyes pricked every single person gathered before him.

"Know that my master"—his roaming gaze snagged on Arent, causing the mercenary's heart to jolt—" sails aboard the Saardam. He is the lord of hidden things, all desperate and dark things. He offers this warning in accordance with the old laws. The Saardam's cargo is sin, and all who board her will be brought to merciless ruin. She will not reach Amsterdam."

As the last word was uttered, the hem of his robe burst into flames. Children wailed. The watching crowd gasped and screamed in horror.

The leper didn't make a sound. The fire crawled up his body until he was completely aflame.

He didn't move.

He burned silently, his eyes fixed on Arent.

2

As if suddenly aware of the flames consuming him, the leper began beating at his robes.

He staggered backward, falling off the crates, hitting the ground with a sickening thud.

Snatching up a cask of ale, Arent covered the distance in a few strides, tearing the lid free with his bare hands and dousing the fire.

Excerpted from The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton . Copyright © 2020 by Stuart Turton . Excerpted by permission of Sourcebooks Landmark. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.