Arkham Files: The Summons

Toward the end of Visions from Beyond, the first story in Arkham Files, Neal was transported to the frozen plateau of Leng. There he met a yellow-masked priest in a monastery of ice. The priest, later revealed to be Nyarlathotep, told him, "Neal Carter, you dared find me. You will come when I call. But until then, begone!" Neal was whisked back to Arkham, but he didn't forget the priest's words. The time has now come for that prophecy to be fulfilled.

The Summons is the concluding work in the Arkham Files saga. In it, I hope to resolve the many dangling threads that have accumulated over the past 18 stories. What do Meropians look like? Will Neal ever meet a Celaenian? Is Neal really related to dragons?

Sara also has questions. Does the Ymar known as Yidhra still have a hold on her? Why is she the only one who could use the enchanted dagger? She wonders how algolnium could be affecting her, a curiosity shared with all the other recipients of that alien element.

Henry longs to find his father. That urge became intense when Henry Winslow disclosed what his own father was like. If the pattern holds true, his dad looks like Robert Winslow. Does he share other characteristics, like being a bully and abusive? Is he also a criminal? Henry already met one man bearing an amazing physical resemblance to Robert Winslow. That was Robert Orlik, a resident Librarian in New Gwandala. At the time, chaos contamination was suspected as the cause. Is Orlik a signal that somewhere on Earth is another version of Robert, and that he's Henry's father?

The answers are all in The Summons, coming your way on August 15. The story is set a few months after Strange Signals (the story featuring Robert Orlik) and The Woman in Violet. The latter story is a crossover with Tales from the Library. In it, Neal meets his first dragon and learns more about his possible connection to that species.