Shalador's Lady

Read Shalador's Lady Online

Authors: Anne Bishop

Tags: #Fiction, #Fantasy, #General

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Acknowledgements

CHAPTER 1 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 2 - KAELEER

CHAPTER 3 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 4 - KAELEER

CHAPTER 5 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 6 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 7 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 8 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 9 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 10 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 11 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 12 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 13 - KAELEER

CHAPTER 14 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 15 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 16 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 17 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 18 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 19 - KAELEER

CHAPTER 20 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 21 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 22 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 23 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 24 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 25 - EBON ASKAVI

CHAPTER 26 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 27 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 28 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 29 - KAELEER

CHAPTER 30 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 31 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 32 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 33 - KAELEER

CHAPTER 34 - KAELEER

CHAPTER 35 - KAELEER

CHAPTER 36 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 37 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 38 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 39 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 40 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 41 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 42 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 43 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 44 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 45 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 46 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 47 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 48 - TERREILLE

CHAPTER 49 - TERREILLE

ALSO BY ANNE BISHOP

The Ephemera Series

Sebastian

Belladonna

The Black Jewels Series

Daughter of the Blood

Heir to the Shadows

Queen of the Darkness

The Invisible Ring

Dreams Made Flesh

Tangled Webs

The Shadow Queen

The Tir Alainn Trilogy

Pil ars of the World

Shadows and Light

The House of Gaian

ROC

Published by New American Library, a division of

Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,

New York, New York 10014, USA

Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2,

Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)

Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)

Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - 110 017, India

Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)

Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue,

Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:

80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

First published by Roc, an imprint of New American Library,

a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

First Printing, March 2010

Copyright © Anne Bishop, 2010

All rights reserved

REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA

Library of Congress Cataloging-In-Publication Data:

Bishop, Anne.

Shalador’s lady: a black jewels novel/Anne Bishop.

p. cm.

eISBN : 978-1-101-18588-9

1. Witches—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3552.I7594S54 2010

813’.54—dc22 2009036065

Set in Bembo

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

http://us.penguingroup.com

FOR

NADINE, MERRI LEE, AND ANNEMARIE

AND FOR

NEELA

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My thanks to Blair Boone for continuing to be my first reader, to Debra Dixon for being second reader, to Doranna Durgin for maintaining the Web site, to Rick Kohler for making the map pretty, to Pat Feidner just because, and to all the friends and readers who make this journey with me. And a special hello to Nikki and Sloan, the humanitarian vampire princesses I met on an Alaskan cruise.

Dena Nehele

JEWELS

WHITE

YELLOW

TIGER EYE

ROSE

SUMMER-SKY

PURPLE DUSK

OPAL

GREEN

SAPPHIRE

RED

GRAY

EBON-GRAY

BLACK

*Opal is the dividing line between lighter and darker Jewels because it can be either.

When making the Offering to the Darkness, a person can descend a maximum of three ranks from his/her Birthright Jewel.

Example: Birthright White could descend to Rose.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The “Sc” in the names Scelt and Sceltie is pronounced “Sh.”

BLOOD HIERARCHY/CASTES

MALES:

landen—non-Blood of any race

Blood male—a general term for all males of the Blood; also refers to any Blood male who doesn’t wear Jewels

Warlord—a Jeweled male equal in status to a witch

Prince—a Jeweled male equal in status to a Priestess or a Healer Warlord Prince—a dangerous, extremely aggressive Jeweled male; in status, slightly lower than a Queen
FEMALES:

landen—non-Blood of any race

Blood female—a general term for all females of the Blood; mostly refers to any Blood female who doesn’t wear Jewels

witch—a Blood female who wears Jewels but isn’t one of the other hierarchical levels; also refers to any Jeweled female

Healer—a witch who heals physical wounds and illnesses; equal in status to a Priestess and a Prince Priestess—a witch who cares for altars, Sanctuaries, and Dark Altars; witnesses handfasts and marriages; performs offerings; equal in status to a Healer and a Prince

Black Widow—a witch who heals the mind; weaves the tangled webs of dreams and visions; is trained in illusions and poisons

Queen—a witch who rules the Blood; is considered to be the land’s heart and the Blood’s moral center; as such, she is the focal point of their society

PLACES IN THE REALMS

TERREILLE

Dena Nehele

TAMANARA MOUNTAINS

GRAYHAVEN—BOTH A FAMILY ESTATE AND A TOWN

EYOTA—VILLAGE IN THE EASTERN SHALADOR RESERVE

Ebon Askavi (aka the Black Mountain, the Keep)

Hayll

Zuulaman

KAELEER (THE SHADOW REALM)

Askavi

EBON ASKAVI (AKA THE BLACK MOUNTAIN, THE KEEP)

EBON RIH—VALLEY THAT IS THE KEEP’S TERRITORY

RIADA—BLOOD VILLAGE IN EBON RIH

Dea al Mon

Dharo

WEAVERS FIELD—BLOOD VILLAGE

BHAK—BLOOD VILLAGE

WOOLSKIN—LANDEN VILLAGE

Dhemlan

AMDARH—CAPITAL CITY

HALAWAY—VILLAGE NEAR SADIABLO HALL

SADIABLO HALL (THE HALL)

Nharkhava

TAJRANA—CAPITAL CITY

Scelt

MAGHRE—VILLAGE

HELL (THE DARK REALM, THE REALM OF THE DEAD)

Ebon Askavi (aka the Black Mountain, the Keep)

SADIABLO HALL

CASSIDY’S COURT

SHIRA—BLACK WIDOW/HEALER

VAE—WITCH; SCELTIE

REYHANA—SHALADOR QUEEN

Warlord Princes

ARCHERR

BURNE

HAELE

JARED BLAED (GRAY)

RANON—TALON’S SECOND-IN-COMMAND

SHADDO

SPERE

TALON—MASTER OF THE GUARD

THERAN—FIRST ESCORT

Princes

POWELL—STEWARD OF THE COURT

Warlords

BARDRIC

CAYLE

RADLEY

KERMILLA’S COURT

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