Silver's Bane - Anne Kelleher

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      Praise for Anne Kelleher

      “Anne Kelleher’s engrossing fantasy, Silver’s Edge…weaves an enticing tale as Nessa braves unknown dangers to find her father and bring him safely home in this beguiling story of courage and adventure.”

      —BookPage

      “Ms. Kelleher weaves another fantasy epic of grand proportions, sweeping the reader off into lands, legends and lore. Part Arthurian, part Tolkien and part fairy tale, the mix creates an incredible world for the reader’s fertile mind to take root. It starts off slowly, but then takes off with a bang and never releases you from its grasp.”

      —The Best Reviews, on Silver’s Edge

      “The characters are complex and multifaceted, and the writing is rich with colorful prose…. Women control their fates, and fear is not an option when it comes to the tough decisions that must be made in a time when all that is held sacred is facing destruction.”

      —Romance Reviews Today on Silver’s Edge

      “Silver’s Edge is a first-class fantasy. The characters are vivid, believable; they captured this reader’s heart, taking me on an unforgettable journey as they confronted their fears, made tough decisions and accepted the consequences of those decisions, no matter what it cost them.”

      —In the Library Reviews

      “…displays vivid imagination.”

      —Publishers Weekly

      “Fascinating—a most ingenious blend of science fiction and fantasy.”

      —New York Times bestselling author Marion Zimmer Bradley on Daughter of Prophecy

      SILVER’S BANE

      ANNE KELLEHER

      This book is dedicated with love to all the women

       in my life—friends, teachers, mentors, guides and

       guardians who are far too many to list—and most

       especially to my mother, Frances Kelly;

       my stepmother, Alice Kelleher;

       my grandmother Rose Castaldi;

       my sisters, Sheila Kelly Bauer, DJ Kelleher and Pam Boyd;

       my daughters, Kate, Meg and Libby; all those yet to

       come and all those who have gone before.

      Blessed be.

      Glossary of People and Places

      Faerie—the sidhe word for their own world. It includes the Wastelands

      The Shadowlands—the sidhe word for the mortal world

      The Wastelands—that part of Faerie to which the goblins have been banished

      Lyonesse—legendary lost land that is said to have lain to the east of Faerie

      Brynhyvar—the country that, in the mortal world, overlaps with Faerie

      The Otherworld—the mortal name for Faerie

      TirNa’lugh—the lands of light; the shining lands—mortal name for Faerie; becoming archaic

      The Summerlands—place where mortals go at death

      Humbria—mortal country across the Murhevnian Sea to the east of Brynhyvar

      Lacquilea—mortal country lying to the south of Brynhyvar

      Killcairn—Nessa’s village

      Killcrag—neighboring village to the south

      Killcarrick—lake and the keep

      Alemandine—Queen of sidhe

      Xerruw—Goblin King

      Vinaver—Alemandine’s younger twin sister and the rightful Queen

      Artimour—Alemandine’s half-mortal half brother

      Gloriana—mother of Vinaver, Alemandine and Artimour

      Timias—Gloriana’s chief councilor and the unacknowledged father of Alemandine and Vinaver

      Eponea—Mistress of the Queen’s Horses

      Delphinea—Eponea’s daughter

      Finuviel—Vinaver’s son by the god Herne; rightful King of Faerie

      Hudibras—Alemandine’s consort

      Gorlias, Philomemnon, Berillian—councilors to the Queen

      Petri—Delphinea’s servant gremlin

      Khouri—leader of the gremlin revolt and plot to steal the Caul

      Nessa—nineteen-year-old daughter of Dougal, the blacksmith of Killcairn

      Dougal—Nessa’s father; Essa’s husband; stolen into Faerie by Vinaver

      Griffin—Dougal’s eighteen-year-old apprentice

      Donnor, Duke of Gar—overlord of Killcairn and surrounding country; uncle of the mad King and leader of the rebellion against him

      Cadwyr, Duke of Allovale—Donnor’s nephew and heir

      Cecily of Mochmorna—Donnor’s wife; heiress to the throne of Brynhyvar

      Kian of Garn—Donnor’s First Knight

      Hoell—mad King of Brynhyvar

      Merle—Queen of Brynhyvar; princess of Humbria

      Renvahr, Duke of Longborth—brother of Queen Merle; elected Protector of the Realm of Brynhyvar

      Granny Wren—wicce woman of Killcairn

      Granny Molly—wicce woman of Killcrag

      Engus—blacksmith of Killcarrick

      Uwen—Kian’s second in command

      The Hag—immortal who dwells in the rocks and caves below Faerie; the moonstone globe was stolen from her when the Caul was forged

      Herne—immortal who dwells within the Faerie forests, from which he rides out on Samhain night, leading the Wild Hunt across the worlds

      Great Mother—mortal name for the Hag

      The Horned One—mortal name for Herne

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      Special thanks to Rosmari Roast, herbalist, wise woman and friend, for eleventh-hour research; to my agent, Jenn Jackson, and my editor Mary-Theresa Hussey for seeing the potential before I did; to Laura Rose and the rest of the Goddess Girls: Anne Sheridan, Susan Grayson, Leslie Goodale, Lisa Drew, Barbara Terry, Jamie King, Louise Rose, Alicia Tremper, Judy Conrad—you guys are the best midwives in the world; to Judy Charlton for reiki; to all the folks in the CT over 40 chat room on AOL, especially GtimeJoe; to all my fellow LUNA-tics in the LUNA-sylum for cheerleading. But most of all, this book would never have been written without the unwavering love and unstinting support of one man: Donny Goodman, I adore you.

      Contents

      Before

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter

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