First published 2013
Paris, 1792. The guillotine is busy, the mobs are loud, and Magnus Bane has just been talked into saving the French royal family by a count whose main qualification appears to be his cheekbones. Magnus is an immortal warlock. He has survived worse. Probably. The plan involves invisible air balloons, which tells you something about how the more conventional options went. Magnus works his magic while revolutionary crowds press closer and the window for escape shrinks by the hour. The problem with rescuing royalty is that royalty tends to complicate things, and the problem with being immortal is that you keep agreeing to situations a sensible person would refuse. This short story is part of The Bane Chronicles, a series of ten standalone adventures tracing the long, strange life of Magnus Bane, the charismatic warlock familiar to readers of The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices. Written by Maureen Johnson and Cassandra Clare, The Runaway Queen is a brisk, specific chapter in a life that has accumulated more history than most people can imagine.
Genres: adventure, fantasy, young-adult, historical-fantasy
Vibes: adventurous, fast-paced, whimsical, witty
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family, reluctant-hero
Setting: Paris, France
Period: 1792, French Revolution
59 pages · ebook · Margaret K. McElderry Books