In early 2014 I attended a druid camp in my homeland of New Zealand. There I met a group of folk who were down-to-earth, insightful and at times hilarious. I came away refreshed in mind and spirit. This novel’s dedication arose from friendships formed during that time, and is also a recognition of my link to the place of my birth and upbringing. I acknowledge the influence of both on the final shaping of this story.
A high profile abduction case was in the news when I was writing Dreamer’s Pool, and undoubtedly played a part in Blackthorn’s driving need to see abusers of women brought to justice. The courage of the three women involved in that case was remarkable. May their lives from now on be full of kindness and opportunity.
Lastly, to my loyal readers all around the world: your passionate enthusiasm for my work helps me keep going, and I can’t thank you enough.
About Juliet Marillier
Juliet Marillier was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, a town with strong Scottish roots. She graduated from Otago University with degrees in arts and music, and has had a varied career which included teaching and performing music as well as working in government agencies. Juliet now lives in a hundred-year-old cottage near the river in Perth, Western Australia, where she writes full-time. She is a member of the druid order OBOD. Juliet shares her home with a small pack of waifs and strays. Juliet’s historical fantasy novels and short stories are published internationally and have won a number of awards.
www.julietmarillier.com
Also by Juliet Marillier
THE SEVENWATERS NOVELS
Daughter of the Forest
Son of the Shadows
Child of the Prophecy
Heir to Sevenwaters
Seer of Sevenwaters
Flame of Sevenwaters
Wolfskin
Foxmask
THE BRIDEI CHRONICLES
The Dark Mirror
Blade of Fortriu
The Well of Shades
Heart’s Blood
Prickle Moon
For young adults:
Wildwood Dancing
Cybele’s Secret
THE SHADOWFELL NOVELS
Shadowfell
Raven Flight
The Caller
SHADOWFELL
Juliet Marillier
Shadowfell
The people of Alban are afraid.
The tyrannical king and his masked Enforcers are scouring the land, burning villages and enslaving the canny.
Fifteen-year-old Neryn has fled her home in the wake of its destruction, and is alone and penniless, hiding her extraordinary magical power. She can rely on no one – not even the elusive Good Folk who challenge and bewilder her with their words.
When an enigmatic stranger saves her life, Neryn and the young man called Flint begin an uneasy journey together. She wants to trust Flint but how can she tell who is true in this land of evil?
For Neryn has heard whisper of a mysterious place far away: a place where rebels are amassing to free the land and end the King’s reign.
A place called Shadowfell.
A story of courage, hope, danger and love from one of the most compelling fantasy storytellers.
Juliet Marillier
Raven Flight
Neryn thought she had lost everything and could trust no one, not even her mysterious companion, Flint.
But when she finds refuge at the rebel base of Shadowfell and discovers her canny gift as a Caller, she feels the first stirrings of hope.
Now she faces a perilous journey with the rebel Tali and the Good Folk, who shadow her steps. She must find the three Guardians who can teach her how to use her unwieldy gift – one that is rumoured could amass a powerful army.
Can Neryn master her magical power to save Alban from King Keldec’s stranglehold?
Or will she be too late?
The mesmerising sequel to SHADOWFELL.
Juliet Marillier
The Caller
Neryn has made a long journey to perfect her skills as a Caller.
She has learned the wisdom of water and earth; she has travelled to the remote isles of the west and the forbidding mountains of the north. Now, she must endure Alban’s freezing winter to seek the mysterious White Lady, Guardian of the Air.
For only when Neryn has been trained by all four Guardians will she be ready to play her role in toppling the tyrannical King Keldec.
The thrilling conclusion to the SHADOWFELL trilogy from one of Australia’s most-loved storytellers.
THE SEVENWATERS SERIES
Juliet Marillier
Daughter of the Forest
Lord Colum of Sevenwaters is blessed with seven children but it is Sorcha, the youngest child and only daughter, who alone is destined to defend her family and protect their land from the invading Britons. For Sorcha is the only one who escapes the cruel influence of Lady Oonagh, her father’s new wife.
Exiled from Sevenwaters and cast out into the forest and the terrifying world beyond, Sorcha falls into the hands of the feared enemy. Now she is torn between a life she has always known and a love that only comes once.
Daughter of the Forest is a mixture of history and heritage, myth and magic, legend and love.
Juliet Marillier
Son of the Shadows
After years of happiness bestowed on Sevenwaters by Sorcha’s heroism, darkness has fallen upon Ulster. Trouble is brewing and no one is safe.
Of Sorcha’s three children at Sevenwaters, it is not golden-haired Niamh nor the young heir Sean, but Liadan, Sean’s twin, with her special gifts, who seems to hold the key.
Liadan will need all her courage to help save her family, and all her strength to stand up to those she loves. For in the finding of her own grand passion, Liadan’s course may doom them all . . . or be their salvation.
Juliet Marillier
Child of the Prophecy
The folk of Sevenwaters have always done their best to be loyal custodians of the old ways of Ireland. They are a people bound into the very lifeblood of the land. This has caused much joy, but also heartbreak. An old feud with the Britons is stirring, and otherworldly forces seek a hand in its resolution.
And now it is Fainne, the reclusive daughter of Niamh and granddaughter to Sorcha, who must shoulder the burden of charting a safe path to the future.
Plucked from her remote home and sent to Sevenwaters, Fainne must decide where she stands, for she has opposing forces coursing through her blood. Can she turn her back on those she has begun to love and destroy the chosen one . . . the child of the prophecy? Or will love, once and for all, prevail?
Juliet Marillier
Heir to Sevenwaters
The chieftains of Sevenwaters have long been custodians of a vast forest, said by some to be one of the last refuges of the unpredictable Fair Folk of ancient story. An uneasy peace has existed, that is until Lady Aisling of Sevenwaters finds herself expecting another child and then everything changes.
Clodagh fears for her mother as she is long past the safe age for childbearing. When Aisling gives birth, the responsibility of caring for the infant falls to Clodagh while her mother recovers.
Then the family’s joy turns to despair when an unspeakable horror falls upon Sevenwaters. Clodagh must confront the shadowy mystery of the silent forest and descend to the Otherworld to find out why the trust between the two realms has been broken so tragically.
Accompanied on her quest by a warrior of uncertain allegiance, Clodagh will have her courage tested to breaking point. The reward may be far greater than she ever dreamed . . .
Juliet Marillier
Seer of Sevenwaters
Sibeal has always known that she is destined for a spiritual life, and is committed to it with all her heart. The only thing left for her to do before she e
nters the nemetons is to spend the summer visiting her sisters, Muirrin and Clodagh, on the northern island of Inis Eala.
But Sibeal has barely set foot on the island before a freak storm out at sea sinks a ship before her eyes. In spite of frantic efforts, only three survivors are fished alive from the water, and one of them, a man Sibeal names Ardal, clings to life by the merest thread.
Life continues on the island, as it must, and Sibeal befriends Ardal as he begins to regain his health. But it becomes clear there is something unusual about the three shipwrecked strangers. Why won’t the beautiful Svala speak? And what is it that the gravely ill Ardal can’t remember – or won’t tell? When a visiting warrior is found dead at the bottom of a cliff, and an attempt is made on Ardal’s life, Sibeal finds herself a pawn in a deadly game. The truth will be far more astonishing than she could ever have believed – and the consequences for Sibeal unimaginable.
Juliet Marillier
Flame of Sevenwaters
When Maeve, fourth daughter of Lord Sean of Sevenwaters, is asked to accompany a skittish horse back to her father’s keep, she agrees – reluctantly.
For it has been many years since she left the place where her hands were crippled by a fire – years in which she has nurtured her special talent with animals.
Sevenwaters is also much changed. It is now enslaved by the fey prince Mac Dara, a force of malignant magic who is responsible for a party of travellers disappearing. When Maeve discovers the body of one of the missing men, she and her brother Finbar are lured to the Otherworld on a journey that may save Sevenwaters…or lead to catastrophe.
If Maeve is ever to dream of a future, she must confront the darkness of her past.
THE BRIDEI CHRONICLES
Juliet Marillier
The Dark Mirror
When the child Bridei is sent to the kingdom of Fortriu to be raised by Broichan, a powerful druid, he knows only that he must be studious and obedient. Bridei applies himself to learning, unaware that a secret council of elders, including Broichan, has long been working on plans for the future of their divided homeland, and that Bridei himself is central to their strategy.
When a baby girl is left on the doorstep one winter’s night, Bridei thanks the gods for sending him a companion to share his lonely existence in the remote household. But Tuala’s arrival spells a perilous complication to Broichan’s master plan. As Bridei moves ever closer to his grand destiny, and as Tuala grows from fey child to beguiling young woman, powerful forces turn against the secret council; enemies will stop at nothing to foil the druid’s plan, even if they must endanger Bridei’s life.
Juliet Marillier
Blade of Fortriu
King Bridei is preparing for the long-awaited war to drive the Gaelic invaders out of the west. He sends Ana, a hostage of Fortriu since childhood, north to make a strategic marriage which will strengthen his chances of victory. Ana is escorted by a man she despises, the enigmatic Faolan, Bridei’s assassin and spy. Their expedition is ill-fated, and their destination of Briar Wood, stronghold of the chieftain Alpin, proves to be a place of dark secrets. Ana is drawn towards a mysterious prisoner, while Faolan must walk a delicate path between loyalty and betrayal.
Bridei’s forces march into battle. To those left behind, the omens become clear: the king is heading towards certain death. There is only one messenger who can reach him in time, but to use him will endanger Ana’s chance of happiness . . .
Juliet Marillier
The Well of Shades
Sent home to Ireland on a secret mission for King Bridei of Fortriu, Faolan, the king’s chief assassin, finds himself confronting the demons of his family’s dark past. Once he has tracked down the powerful Christian cleric who may be a threat to the stability of Bridei’s pagan kingdom, Faolan returns from his mission having become responsible for a child, a dog and Eile, a troubled, volatile young woman with a deeply disturbing past.
At Bridei’s court in White Hill, unsettling news from the neighbouring kingdom of Circinn prompts the king to call his chieftains to council. But after the disappearance of Bridei’s closest adviser and the tragic death of a young maid, the threat posed by the encroaching
SAGA OF THE LIGHT ISLES
Juliet Marillier
Wolfskin
All Eyvind has ever wanted is to become one of the greatest Viking warriors – a Wolfskin. His friend Somerled, with whom he has sworn a blood oath of lifelong loyalty, secretly desires a very different path.
A world away, Nessa, niece of King Engus of the Folk, is learning the ways of the mysteries. Her people live in peace and harmony, until a voyage of discovery, led by Somerled’s much-respected brother, Ulf, brings a group of settlers to Nessa’s homeland. Though their arrival is friendly, Nessa feels a shadow has been cast over the Folk . . .
The signs are small at first; trouble aboard a ship, whispered grievances, a deadly sickness. Then a brutal murder occurs and the tentative peace is shattered. Now Eyvind begins to feel the ties of his boyhood oath, and realises what sort of future Somerled had in mind for himself all those years ago . . .
Juliet Marillier
Foxmask
Seeking to uncover the truth about his father, Thorvald makes a perilous journey north to the forbidding Lost Isles. With him travel his childhood friend Sam and an unwelcome stowaway, Creidhe.
On the isles the weary travellers find the Long Knife people, ruled by a cruel tyrant. Suspicious and frightened, the islanders will not explain why Creidhe must cover her golden hair, or why there are so few children amongst them . . .
When a baby is born, Creidhe discovers the horrific truth of the curse the vengeful Unspoken tribe has placed on the Long Knife people – and the only solution. But there are deeper secrets in this battle for survival, secrets that Thorvald, Sam and Creidhe discover when it may be too late . . .
THE WILDWOOD BOOKS
Juliet Marillier
Wildwood Dancing
Jena, along with her five sisters and constant companion, the frog she calls Gogu, lives in a crumbling castle on the fringe of a wildwood in Transylvania. Theirs has always been a privileged if somewhat restricted life, however, the girls share a fantastic secret, which they have kept hidden even from their family for twelve long years.
When Jena’s father falls ill and must leave their forest home over the winter, Jena and her older sister Tati are left in charge. Everything runs like clockwork until a tragic accident allows their greedy cousin Cezar to take control. When it becomes clear that their secret is in danger of discovery, Jena knows there is only one place, no matter how dangerous, she can go to for help...
Juliet Marillier
Cybele’s Secret
Six years have passed since Paula and her sisters danced in the magical glade of the Other Kingdom. Six long years since her sister Tati gave up the mortal world for love. Scholarly Paula now travels to the exotic and dangerous city of Istanbul to help her father recover a fabled treasure of a lost religion, Cybele’s Gift. It is said that the owner of the artefact will be blessed with riches and good fortune.
The search for the artefact quickly turns into a dangerous quest for truth and self-discovery, and Paula must use all her wits and courage to work out who she can trust and decipher the mysterious messages she is receiving from the Other Kingdom. Pirates, ruthless merchants, murderers and the Mufti’s royal guard all stand in the way of finding Cybele’s Secret.
OTHER TITLES
Juliet Marillier
Heart’s Blood
That man’s warped and twisted like thread gone awry on the loom. The curse got him with a vengeance . . .
Caitrin, daughter of Berach, flees her home in Market Cross, running from her grief and mistreatment at the hands of her kinsfolk. Bruised and alone she arrives at Whistling Tor – a formidable fortification presided over by the local chieftain, Anluan. Th
e villagers scorn and curse him for being a weak and unsupportive leader, unresponsive to their pleas for him to rid the surrounding forest of the ghostly and eerie manifestations that have plagued it for generations.
But desperate for work and shelter, Caitrin ignores their warnings, thinking them nothing more than fancifully tales and seeks refuge at the Tor. Here she encounters giant hounds, malevolent whispering in the night and the rare and precious herb, Heart’s Blood; not to mention the moody and cursed Anluan.
As Caitrin slowly begins to regain control of her life, she discovers that not everything is as it seems in this mysterious place. What does Anluan’s skewed features and anger hide? Who are the men and women of the Host? What might the ancient manuscripts and family documents in the library reveal? And why does Caitrin get the distinct impression that there is a dark and powerful force on the hill that doesn’t want her to find the truth?
First published 2014 in Macmillan by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Limited
1 Market Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 2000
Copyright © Juliet Marillier 2014
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.
This ebook may not include illustrations and/or photographs that may have been in the print edition.