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This short story originally appeared in Lightspeed, May 2018.

Read the full story for fee at Lightspeed.

Nameless in a doorless tower graced with seven windows, she is imprisoned. Who is her jailer? What is her crime?

After she discovers the secret of the seven windows, the nameless one, accompanied by two impossible companions, sets forth on fantastical journeys of exploration. But, for the nameless one, learning her name may not be a welcome revelation, and the identity of her jailer will rock the foundations of a tower that has come to be as much refuge as prison.

The Magic That Doesn't Go Away

Cutbacks have forced Sarah out of the asylum in which she was raised--and into a strange new place where the Head Wolf rules the beautiful and the doomed.

But Sarah can never truly assimilate, for she possesses wild talents. Walls tell her their secrets. Safes tell her their combinations. And a favorite toy dragon whispers dire warnings about those who would exploit her for their own malevolent purposes. There's no place Sarah can hide, from her pursuers or from her past...

Middle-aged Mira Fenn knows she has an uncomfortably exotic past. As a small girl, she lived in a ornate old house in tiny Las Vegas, New Mexico, tended by oddly silent servant women and ruled by her coldly flamboyant mother Colette. When Mira was nine, Colette went on one of her unexplained trips, only this time she never returned.

Placed with foster parents, Mira was raised in Ohio, normal save for her passion for color. On gaining adulthood, she learned that she still owned the New Mexico house. She also learned that, as a condition of being allowed to adopt her, Mira's foster parents had agreed to change their name, move to another state, and never ask why.

Years later, going through family papers after the deaths of her elderly foster parents, Mira finds documents that pique her curiosity about her vanished mother and the reasons behind her strange childhood and adoption.

Travelling back to New Mexico, she finds the house is and isn't as she remembers it. Inside, it's much the same. Outside, it's been painted in innumerable colors. As Mira continues to investigate her mother's life, events take stranger and stranger turns. The silent women reappear. Even as Mira begins to suspect the power to which she may be heir, the house itself appears to be waking up...

Shot through with magic and the atmosphere of the Southwest, this singular fantasy novel has all the storytelling vigor of Jane Lindskold's very popular Firekeeper series.

In our world, called the Verite, he is a Scottish laird, an engineer, and a master of virtual reality design. In the computer-generated universe of Virtu, created by the crash of the World Net, he is a living legend. Scientist and poet with a warrior's soul, Donnerjack strides like a giant across the virtual landscape he helped to shape. And now he has bargained with Death himself for the return of love.

The Lord of Entropy claimed Ayradyss, Donnerjack's beloved dark-haired lady of Virtu, with no warning, leaving a hole in the Engineer's heart. But Death offered to return her to him for a price: a palace of bones...and their first-born child. Since offspring have never before resulted from any union of the two worlds, Donnerjack accepts Death's conditions--and leads his reborn lover far from the detritus and perpetual twilight of Deep Fields to his ancestral Scottish lands, hoping to build a sanctuary and a self for Ayradyss in the first world.

But there is no escaping, because cataclysmic change is taking place in Virtu. A bizarre new religion is sweeping through this ever-shifting universe where the homely can be virtually beautiful, the lame can walk and the blind can see. Now it's threatening to spill over into Verite. And its credo is a call for a different kind of order. For all the ancient myths still occupy Virtu. And the Great Gods on Mt. Meru are amassing great armies in anticipation of the time when a vast computer system attempts to take over the reality that constructed it.

The great wars between gods and demons began five millennia ago--and ended with the demons' crushing defeat and banishment from their homeland. The demon race would have surely perished in the empty dimension of their exile had they not found a secret conduit to a safe and hidden plane...called Earth.

Greatest among the demons was Kai Wren--the Godslayer and Lord Demon--a master swordsman, dreamer, and glassblower who can contain entire universes in bottles of his creation; a legendary warrior who once, long ago, singlehandedly destroyed a god. But now, Kai Wren must seek vengeance for the murder of his devoted human servant, and he fears that this one death heralds the crumbling of a peace that has reigned for a thousand years.

Forced into a series of uncomfortable alliances, Kai Wren strives to preserve the Demon Realms. But his heart has become his fatal weakness, growing soft during years of peace. He has given trust where trust should not be given, only to discover that among his closest companions are those who will betray him--even destroy him--unless he can regain that which once made him LORD DEMON.

A linguistics expert deciphers a message and learns aliens from a new planet are capable of emotion, but the government is suppressing the information and she is alone in her battle to save the creatures with sparkling metallic eyes.

Hiding her telepathic gifts from her many enemies, industrial spy and prostitute Smokey of the planet Arizona senses a deadly nature in a new customer and begins a war of illusion while protecting her young daughter.

Plucky young Jenny Benet, a recently orphaned American girl who was raised on the Wild West frontier and educated at a Boston finishing school, has come to Egypt in company with her uncle Neville Hawthorne, a prominent British archaeologist. They're part of a team investigating the legendary Buried Pyramid, the tomb of the pharaoh Neferankhotep -- who may also have been Moses the Lawgiver.

But they're not the only ones interested in the site. Another party, led by the opulent and treacherous Lady Audrey Cheshire, is shadowing theirs. Someone who signs himself "The Sphinx" has been sending threatening letters -- written entirely in hieroglyphics. In Egypt, an ancient and shadowy organization seems determined to keep the tomb from being discovered.

But mortals may not be all that stands in their way.

Led away with the other children of Hamelin by the mysterious piper, five children learn that their captor is actual the mythical Greek hero Orpheus, driven mad by treachery and his grief over a lost love.

Legend has it, there was a time when Magic was real-when dragons roamed the earth and wizards wove spells of healing and legerdemain. But, for reasons lost in the mists of history, the enchantment vanished. And now, Magic is but a myth.

But Hulhc, a lowly farmer, has discovered his long-dead father's journal of wizardry. And Hulhc believes Magic still exists. He must find the absent power, for only a true miracle will save his beloved dying wife. And so, in the company of stalwart adventures-including the mysterious mercenary, Rabble, who is not what she seems-Hulhc sets sail across the Sea of Truth, encountering pitched battles, untold wonders and challenges aplenty on a glorious quest to restore Magic to the world.

Artemis Awakening is the start of a new series by New York Times bestseller Jane Lindskold. The distant world Artemis is a pleasure planet created out of bare rock by a technologically advanced human empire that provided its richest citizens with a veritable Eden to play in. All tech was concealed and the animals (and the humans brought to live there) were bioengineered to help the guests enjoy their stay...but there was always the possibility of danger so that visitors could brag that they had "bested" the environment.

The Empire was shattered in a horrific war; centuries later humanity has lost much of the advanced technology and Artemis is a fable told to children. Until young archeologist Griffin Dane finds intriguing hints that send him on a quest to find the lost world. Stranded on Artemis after crashing his ship, he encounters the Huntress Adara and her psych-linked companion, the puma Sand Shadow. Their journey with her will lead Dane to discover the planet's secrets...and perhaps provide a key to give unimagined power back to mankind.

In Artemis Invaded, Jane Lindskold returns to the world of Artemis, a pleasure planet that was lost for millennia, a place that holds secrets that could give mankind back unimaginable powers.Stranded archaeologist Griffin is determined to make his way back to his home world with news of the Artemis discovery. He and his gene-modified native companion, the huntress Adara, and her psyche-linked puma Sand Shadow, set out to find another repository of the ancient technology in the hope that somehow Griffin will be able to contact his orbiting ship.In the midst of this, Adara wrestles with her complex feelings for Griffin-and with the consequences of her and Sand Shadow's new bond with the planet Artemis. Focused on his own goals, Griffin is unaware that his arrival on Artemis has created unexpected consequences for those he is coming to hold dear. Unwittingly, he has left a trail-and Artemis is about to be invaded.

Wild and unpredictable, brother to the sea, older than the creatures that walk the earth or swim in her waters, the Changer delights in countless shapes. When someone attempts to wipe out his family, the Changer discards coyote form and descends from the wilderness to call in a few favors from none other than King Arthur himself.

But Arthur has problems of his own. The Lustrum Review is about to meet and the tenuous accord that holds the athanor community in loose alliance is being challenged. Some of the challengers merely desire to see a few restrictions dropped. Others wish to see the Accord destroyed -- and if Arthur and his closest allies are destroyed with it, they would be delighted.

For Arthur, the Changer's arrival, ominous as it may be could also be a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate how the Accord serves even the most ancient among their immortal community. He also hopes that their alliance will serve to anchor this wild one more firmly to his cause.

Yet nothing is ever that simple. Before the Changer takes his revenge, those who have called themselves gods and have been the root of many a heroic legend will find themselves threatened with destruction. The very earth itself will shake. And a coyote pup--sole survivor of the Changer's murdered family--will discover both her weakness and her hidden strength.

This book has also been published under the title Changer's Daughter.

In the emergent Nigerian city of Monamona, a scourge once eradicated has resurfaced--a terrible disease reintroduceed into the world by a fanatic who may or may not be athanor: Shopona, the one time God of Smallpox. Conquering Aferica withplague is only the first step in this madman's dream of power. There are those who oppose him, and they willneed the help of the shapeshifter Changer--Perhaps the Earth's oldest being-- to prevail.

But Changer has problems of his own: a wild daughter, Shahrazad--a free sperit, unchained and idomitable, testing the limits of her powers against new realities in a new world. And even the combined efforts of Athur, the Changer, and Shahrazad may notbe enough. For the fanatic master of diseaseis not only creature of legend who seeks to walk like a god among men.In the emergent Nigerian city of Monamona, a scourge once eradicated has resurfaced-a terrible disease reintroduced into the world by a fanatic who may or may not be athanor:Shopona, the onetime God of Smallpox, Conquering Africa with plague is only the first step in this madman's dream of power. There are those who oppose him, and they will need the help of the shapeshifter Changer-perhaps the Earth's oldest being-to prevail.

But Changer has problems of his own: a wild daughter, Shahrazad-a free spirit, unchained and indomitable, testing the limits of her powers against new realities in a new world. And even the combined efforts of Arthur, the Changer, and Shahrazad may not be enough. For the fanatic master of disease is not the only creature of legend who seeks to walk like a god among men.

As evocative and moving as Charles de Lint's Newford books, with the youthful protagonists and exciting action of Mercedes Lackey's fantasies, Thirteen Orphans makes our world today as excitingly strange and unfamiliar as any fantasy realm...and grants readers a glimpse of a fantasy world founded by ancient Chinese lore and magic.

As far as college freshman Brenda Morris knows, there is only one Earth and magic exists only in fairy tales.

Brenda is wrong.

A father-daughter weekend turns into a nightmare when Brenda's father is magically attacked before her eyes. Brenda soon learns that her ancestors once lived in world of smoke and shadows, of magic and secrets.

When that world's Emperor was overthrown, the Thirteen Orphans fled to our earth and hid their magic system in the game of mah-jong. Each Orphan represents an animal from the Chinese Zodiac. Brenda's father is the Rat. And her polished, former child-star aunt, Pearl--that eminent lady is the Tiger.

Only a handful of Orphans remain to stand against their enemies. The Tiger, the Rooster, the Dog, the Rabbit... and Brenda Morris. Not quite the Rat, but not quite human either.

As evocative and moving as Charles de Lint's Newford books, with the three-dimensional protagonists and enthralling action of Mercedes Lackey's fantasies, Nine Gates makes our world today as excitingly strange and unfamiliar as any fantasy realm... and transports readers to a wondrous magical world drawn from Chinese lore and legend.

Brenda Morris has barely had time to become accustomed to the idea that she has some of the powers of the Rat, a member of the Chinese Zodiac; that her elderly, former child-star "aunt," Pearl, is the Dragon; and that the young African-American former soldier she trains beside is the Dog. Brenda has learned that our world is not the only world and that her not-quite-Chinese ancestors came from a magical place, the Lands of Smoke and Sacrifice, created thousands of years ago by the destruction of China's books and scholars during the time of the first Emperor.

Now, generations later, the Lands are once again at war, and the magics of the Thirteen Orphans are desperately needed. A mission to capture those powers went disastrously wrong and now the Lands' Dragon, Tiger, Snake, and Monkey are trapped on Earth unless the Orphans can build the Nine Gates. To do that, they must first save the Four Guardians of the Land Between, who are under magical attack. Complicating things is the fact that Brenda has fallen hard for the handsome man who is the Tiger, much to the distress of the sensual young woman who is the Snake.

The Thirteen Orphans and their allies have opened the ninth gate into the Lands Born from Smoke and Sacrifice... and discover that the Lands have been altered almost beyond recognition, transformed by magic into an apparently uninhabited world where land shifts beneath one's feet and fire burns blue. Investigating, the Orphans learn that the Center of the world is sealed behind nearly-impassable barriers composed of each of the five elements of Chinese myth. Combining ancient and modern magics, a scouting party penetrates the barriers, only to be captured and given over to tortures designed to separate the Orphans from their magical abilities.

On Earth, Pearl Bright, the Tiger, is attacked--is this treachery by our world's magical traditions or has one of the Orphans betrayed her? Brenda Morris learns of the Orphans' dangers when it is nearly too late--but along with the sidhe, who are drawn to her Irish heritage, Brenda risks her life to help rescue those trapped in the Lands.

A story of betrayal and redemption, of bravery in the face of terror, and of loyalty and hatred that reach beyond the grave, Five Odd Honors continues Jane Lindskold's stunning Breaking the Wall series.

The perennially best-selling series set in Larry Niven's Man-Kzin universe continues with entry #13 including hard-hitting and thought-inducing tales from a host of talented contributors. The cat-like alien Kzin, formerly invincible conquerors of all they encountered, must learn to compromise with humans if they wish to survive and prosper once again as a species.

Larry Niven's bestselling Man-Kzin series continues! The kzin, formerly invincible conquerors of all they encountered, had a hard time dealing with their ignominious defeat by the leaf-eating humans. Some secretly hatched schemes for a rematch, others concentrated on gathering power within the kzin hierarchy, and some shamefully cooperated with the contemptible humans, though often for hidden motives. In war and in uneasy peace, kzin and humans continue their adventures with a masterful addition to the Man-Kzin Wars shared universe created by multiple New York Times best-seller, incomparable tale-spinner, and Nebula- and five-time Hugo-Award-winner, Larry Niven.

Contents:

• Misunderstanding - [Man-Kzin Wars] - novelette by Hal Colebatch and Jessica Q. Fox
• Two Types of Teeth - [Man-Kzin Wars] - novella by Jane Lindskold
• Pick of the Litter - [Man-Kzin Wars] - novel by Charles E. Gannon
• Tomcat Tactics - [Man-Kzin Wars] - novella by Charles E. Gannon
• At the Gates - [Man-Kzin Wars] - novelette by Alex Hernandez
• Zeno's Roulette - [Man-Kzin Wars] - novelette by David Bartell
• Bound for the Promised Land - [Man-Kzin Wars] - short story by Alex Hernandez

Instead of mentors, they got monsters... That's what Xerak, Vereez, and Grunwold think when three strange creatures shimmer into being within the circle of Hettua Shrine. Their conclusion is reasonable enough. After all, they've never seen humans before. As for Margaret Blake, Peg Gallegos, and Tessa Brown--more usually known as Meg, Peg, and Teg--they're equally astonished but, oddly enough, better prepared. Then there is the mysterious verse that Teg speaks as they arrive, words that seem to indicate that the Shrine must have been at least partially responding to the request made of it.

Despite doubts on all sides, the three unlikely mentors join forces with the three young "inquisitors" and venture out into the world Peg dubs "Over Where." First they must find the Library of the Sapphire Wind, destroyed years before. Will they find answers there, or is this only the first stage in their search?

Can it get any stranger? Absolutely!

When Peg, Meg, and Teg were first summoned Over Where, vast and varied life experience (along with wide reading choices) helped them adjust to a world where they were the only humans, magic was real, ships could fly, and reincarnation was a confirmed fact.

In the company of the "inquisitors," Xerak, Grunwold, and Vereez, the three newly appointed mentors rediscovered the Library of the Sapphire Wind, and, within it, revelations that transformed the young people's pasts into a vast tangle of lies and half-truths.

But there are still questions to be answered. Before they are done, Meg the retired librarian, Teg the archeologist-turned-mage, and the multi-talented, ever surprising Peg will deal with kidnappings, betrayal, arcane artifacts, romantic intrigues, and the inescapable reality that past lives cast long shadows.

Together, the three mentors and their young allies will uncover the startling truth about what lies on the other side of the Aurora Borealis Bridge--a truth that holds the secret of Over Where, and that will change all their lives forever.

Beware the Book Wraith!

No one is at all sure what a book wraith might be, but whatever it is definitely has the battered tomes in the Library of the Sapphire Wind very worried indeed.

Figuring out what a book wraith could be is hardly the least of the challenges that the newly formed House of Rough Diamonds will face as the motley assortment of members--including three women who are literally 'out of this world'--attempt to secure ownership of the Library.

Enemies old and new, both within and without the contested property, will strain the Rough Diamonds' ingenuity and resources, forcing the small group to recruit new and possibly dangerous allies.

Second entry in a new young adult series by New York Times best seller David Weber, and the prequel to the hugely popular Honor Harrington adult science fiction saga.

Fire in the forest--and a cry for help from a trapped and desperate alien mother! Unfortunately, this is one cry no human can hear. Stephanie Harrington, precocious fourteen-year-old Provisional Forest Ranger on the planet Sphinx, knows something is wrong from the uneasy emotion that is flooding into her from her treecat friend, Climbs Quickly. But though Stephanie's alien comrade shares a tight bond with his two legs, he cannot communicate directly to her the anguished call from one of his people.

Still, their strong and direct bond of feeling may be enough. Stephanie and fellow ranger Karl Zivonik respond to Climbs Quickly's rising waves of distress. Fire season on the pioneer world of Sphinx has begun. But there are those who want to use the natural cycle of the planet for personal gain--and to get rid of the one obstacle that stands in the way of acquiring even greater land and power on Sphinx: the native treecats.

Now it's up to Stephanie and Climbs Quickly, along with their friends, family, and allies to prevent disaster and injustice from befalling a treecat clan. But in the process Stephanie must be certain to preserve the greatest secret of all. It is the knowledge that the treecats of Sphinx are not merely pets or servants, but are highly intelligent in their own right--that they are a species fully deserving of rights, respect, and freedom. And keeping the secret that will allow the treecats time to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with humankind.

It all begins with the friendship of a girl and her treecat.

The fires are out, but the trouble's just beginning for the treecats.

On pioneer planet Sphinx, ruined lands and the approach of winter force the now Landless Clan to seek new territory. They have one big problem--there's nowhere to go. Worse, their efforts to find a new home awaken the enmity of the closest treecat clan--a stronger group who's not giving up a single branch without a fight.

Stephanie Harrington, the treecats' greatest advocate, is off to Manticore for extensive training--and up to her ears in challenges there. That leaves only Stephanie's best friends, Jessica and Anders, to save the treecats from themselves. And now a group of xenoanthropologists is once again after the great secret of the treecats--that they are intelligent, empathic telepaths--and their agenda will lead to nothing less that treecat exploitation.

Finally, Jessica and Anders face problems of their own, including their growing attraction to one another. It is an attraction that seems a betrayal of Stephanie Harrington, the best friend either of them have ever had.

Freshly home from an internship on Manticore, teenaged Stephanie Harrington is up to her eyebrows in trouble.

There's the new treecat adoptee who needs to be kept from becoming a risk to the carefully guarded secret of just how smart the arboreal inhabitants of Sphinx really are.

There's the overeager journalist whose campaign to protect the treecats from exploitation as the newest, coolest pet on any planet could threaten the very creatures he seeks to defend.

And there's the mysterious rash of weird accidents that are plaguing Sphinx's younger inhabitants--including some of those nearest and dearest to Stephanie.

In trying to get enough proof to get the understaffed authorities of her pioneer planet to act, Stephanie will be called upon to attempt things she never imaged doing--including going undercover into the wilds of the late-night club scene, a realm where her faithful treecat guardian, Lionheart, cannot follow....

Firekeeper only vaguely remembers a time when she didn't live with her "family," a pack of "royal wolves"-bigger, stronger, and smarter than normal wolves. Now her pack leaders are sending her back to live among the humans, as they promised her mother years ago.

Some of the humans think she may be the lost heir to their throne. This could be good-and it could be very, very dangerous. In the months to come, learning to behave like a human will turn out to be more complicated than she'd ever imagined.

But though human ways might be stranger than anything found in the forest, the infighting in the human's pack is nothing Firekeeper hasn't seen before. That, she understands just fine. She's not your standard-issue princess-and this is not your standard-issue fairy tale.

A tale of humane wolves, beastly men, and a brilliant heroine who must find her way in a dangerous world

Raised by intelligent, language-using wolves, brought back to the human society at the court of Hawk Haven, young Firekeeper had to learn to cope with human society and its complexities... and discovered that, for someone raised in a wolf pack, the politics of a royal court were neither complex nor wholly unfamiliar.

But the happy ending of Through Wolf's Eyes has proved to have consequences. Hawk Haven and Bright Bay are unifying, but the power balance of the neighboring lands is threatened by this prospect. New intrigues abound. The rulers of Bright Bay, it transpires, have been hoarding a collection of forbidden magical artifacts... which Queen Gustin took with her when she abdicated, intending to use them to restore her power. Melina Shield is still scheming to obtain them, and she's older, smarter, and more devious than the Queen. And the even-more-devious civil service of neighboring New Kelvin would like to get their hands on that magic as well....

Which will make life very hard for Firekeeper. Because the powers of the world have decided who'll be required to obtain those much-contended-for magical articles. It'll be her.

The sequel to Through Wolf's Eyes and Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart

Smart like a human. Smart like a wolf. Better yet, smart like both.

With Through Wolf's Eyes and Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart, Jane Lindskold introduced us to young Firekeeper, one of the most appealing heroines in modern fantasy. Raised far from humans by smart, language-using wolves, then brought back to the court of Hawk Haven, Firekeeper has had to learn to cope with human society. And as it turns out, for one raised amidst intelligent social carnivores, the intrigues of the human pack aren't all that unfamiliar.

Now Melina Shield, the beautiful, unscrupulous, and thoroughly discredited sorceress whose power-hungry intrigues have already made so much trouble for Firekeeper, is once again using her power to cloud men's minds. She has induced the ruler of New Kelvin to marry her. This is bad news all round.

It's particularly bad news for Firekeeper. Melina has never abandoned her schemes to gain power through the use of forbidden ancient sorcery. And the leaders of the royal beasts who watch over this world have given Firekeeper -- and her intelligent wolf companion, Blind Seer -- the responsibility of stopping her.

Jane Lindskold's Through Wolf's Eyes, Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart, and The Dragon of Despair told the story of Firekeeper, the young girl raised by sentient, language-using wolves who is then plunged back into human society, where her training as a pack animal stands her in good stead amidst political and dynastic intrigues. Now, in Wolf Captured, the focus returns to Firekeeper and her wolf companion Blind Seer, as they find themselves kidnapped and dragged overseas, and forced to maneuver for their lives in an unfamiliar and dangerous new society.

The Liglimoshti worship animals and portents, which rule their lives. And the Liglimoshti are aware, as the other countries are not, that Royal animals like Truth and Blind Seer exist, are intelligent, and can speak to each other. They've kidnapped Firekeeper and Blind Seer because they've never before heard of a human who could talk to animals. They want to see what Firekeeper can do. They want her to teach them how to do it.

Firekeeper's more than willing to talk to the animals there. But she fears that Liglim's Royal animals are being held in polite and unobtrusive bondage. She wants to find out the truth -- and, if necessary, free them...

In Through Wolf's Eyes, Jane Lindskold introduced Firekeeper, the young girl raised by intelligent, language-using wolves. Abducted back into human society, Firekeeper found that, in the world of deadly human political intrigues, her training as a pack animal served her well.

Later, in Wolf Captured, Firekeeper and her lupine companion Blind Seer found themselves kidnapped and dragged overseas, to the unfamiliar land of Liglimon, where humans have a different relationship to intelligent animals. Now, still in Liglimon, Firekeeper and Blind Seer respond to a request for assistance from Truth, the soothsayer-jaguar.

Then, while helping Truth, Firekeeper and her companion come across evidence of elaborate investigations into kinds of ancient magics taboo in Liglimoshti culture. It appears more people in Liglimon are willing to flout this taboo than anyone cares to admit, and Firekeeper and Blind Seer decide their duty is to find out more.

But Truth knows more than she's telling. She can see and trace future timelines for particular individuals, which in the past has led her into madness. Since then, the Voice that guided her out of that madness has continued to speak to her, and it's not her friend.

Eventually Truth realizes that her Voice may well be a person the Liglimoshti call "The Meddler" -- a dangerous trickster figure. But Truth doesn't own up to this until far too late...

Compellingly told, rich with real people and real animals, WOLF HUNTING is the latest and strongest in an increasingly and rewarding sequence of fantasy epics.

Raised in the wild by intelligent, language-using wolves, in her teens Firekeeper was abducted back into the lands of men, where her upbringing as a wolf helped her survive the deadly intrigues of human beings.

One of the first things she learned in Hawk Haven was that magic was a thing to be feared and despised. Long ago, all the human kingdoms were ruled by powerful sorcerers. Then a plague came and the sorcerers died. Nobody misses them. Much was lost--but still, nobody misses them.

Yet as Firekeeper has travelled and grown wiser in the ways of human beings, she's learned that the true story was more complex. In coming to the country of the Liglim, she, Derian Carter, and Blind Seer discovered that magic is still working in the world, and that it isn't always the evil they'd been warned against. But it also turned out that the old plague specifically targeted magic users. And when Firekeeper and her friends learned to open the gates between worlds, the plague came back with them.

Firekeeper, Blind Seer, and Derian Carter survived the plague: not unchanged, but still themselves. Now Firekeeper is determined to learn the nature of the plague--and if she can, to end it forever. What happens next will be the culmination of the remarkable fantasy epic that began with Through Wolf's Eyes.

Blind Seer has run at Firekeeper's side since the wolf-woman first crossed the Iron Mountains into human-held lands. Now it's her turn to run alongside the blue-eyed wolf as he sets out in search of someone who can teach him how to use his magical gift--on his own unique terms.

The pair's search will take them to the far side of the world in the company of allies who include a young woman scarred by war, a falcon who believes himself a traitor, and an old friend... or possibly enemy. Together they will fight battles from before they were born, climb mountains, cross badlands, eventually unveiling a threat that will reshape not only Blind Seer, but his belief in what he most desires.

Firekeeper has always believed that her heart is a wolf's heart.

Now the time has come for her to prove it. Blind Seer's search for a teacher of the magical arts brought him and Firekeeper to Rhinadei, a land rich in magical lore, but intolerant of those who would rebel against its core precepts. Now, eager to aid Wythcombe, his new teacher, Blind Seer agrees to lend his keen senses to the hunt for Kabot--Wythcombe's childhood rival and leader of a band of fanatical blood mages.

In this hunt, Firekeeper runs as ever at Blind Seer's side. Rounding out their pack are Laria and Ranz, two young humans with potent magical gifts of their own; Farborn, a yarimaimalom falcon; Wythcombe himself, and the ever enigmatical Meddler.

Yet, despite the versatility of this pack, Kabot's blood mages miraculously elude them, leaving behind the tantalizing scent of more power than they should possess. Suspicion builds that Kabot has acquired a new ally: an ally who may be one of their own pack turned traitor.