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Also by Katherine Kurtz
The Deryni Novels
The Chronicles of the Deryni
Deryni Rising
Deryni Checkmate
High Deryni
The Legends of Camber of Culdi
Camber of Culdi
Saint Camber
Camber the Heretic
The Histories of King Kelson
The Bishop's Heir
The King's Justice
The Quest for Saint Camber
The Heirs of Saint Camber
The Harrowing of Gwynedd
King Javan's Year
The Bastard Prince
The Childe Morgan Trilogy
In the King's Service
Childe Morgan
The King's Deryni
Other novels
King Kelson's Bride
Camber the Heretic
The Legends of Camber of Culdi, Volume Three
Katherine Kurtz
For Sven Lugar and John Innis
C
ONTENTS
P
ROLOGUE
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.â
I Peter
2:9
I For of the Most High cometh healing, and he shall receive honour of the king.â
Ecclesiasticus
38:2
II And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.â
Daniel
11:21
III He that loveth his son causeth him oft to feel the rod, that he may have joy of him in the end.â
Ecclesiasticus
30:1
IV Judge none blessed before his death: for a man shall be known in his children.â
Ecclesiasticus
11:28
V For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie; though it may tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come.â
Habakkuk
2:3
VI Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.â
I Timothy
4:14
VII Or ever the silver cord be loosed ⦠then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
âEcclesiastes
12:6â7
VIII Now I say, that the heir, so long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed by his father.â
Galatians
4:1â2
IX Woe unto thee, O land, when thy king is a child.
âEcclesiastes
10:16
X But at present it is expedient for thee, and for thy house, to be grieved.â
III Hermas
7:12
XI Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine?â
Isaiah
28:9
XII Show new signs, and make other strange wonders.â
Ecclesiasticus
36:6
XIII Strangers conspired together against him, and maligned him in the wilderness.â
Ecclesiasticus
45:18
XIV And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand.â
Micah
5:12
XV I will not be ashamed to defend a friend; neither will I hide myself from him.â
Ecclesiasticus
22:25
XVI For the elements were changed in themselves by a kind of harmony.â
Wisdom of Solomon
19:18
XVII A faithful friend is a strong defense: and he that hath found such an one hath found a treasure.â
Ecclesiasticus
6:14
XVIII The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.â
Isaiah
40:3
XIX There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous.â
Nahum
3:19
XX Let us see if his words be true: and let us prove what shall happen in the end of him.â
Wisdom of Solomon
2:17
XXI An enemy speaketh sweetly with his lips, but in his heart he imagineth how to throw thee into a pit: he will weep with his eyes, but if he find opportunity, he will not be satisfied with blood.â
Ecclesiasticus
12:16
XXII For the chief-priest has his proper services, and to the priests their proper place is appointed.â
I Clement
18:18
XXIII And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every stronghold.â
Habakkuk
1:16
XXIV They plundered the sanctuary of God, as though there was no avenger.â
Psalms of Solomon
8:10
XXV In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine.â
Hosea
7:5
XXVI So they set a fair miter upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by.â
Zechariah
3:5
XXVII As for the illusions of art magick, they were put down, and their vaunting in wisdom was reproved with disgrace.â
Wisdom of Solomon
17:7
XXVIII It is the part of a brave combatant to be wounded, yet overcome.â
Polycarp
1:14
XXIX But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.â
Isaiah
47:9
XXX For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branches thereof will not cease.â
Job
14:7
E
PILOGUE
And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.â
Isaiah
58:12
Appendix I: Index of Characters
Appendix II: Index of Place
Appendix III: Partial Lineage of the Haldane Kings
Appendix IV: The Festillic Kings of Gwynedd and Their Descendants
Appendix V: Partial Lineage of the MacRories
About the Author
P
ROLOGUE
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people
.
âI Peter 2:9
The document was written in the tight, crabbed court hand of one of the castle scribes, and covered an entire large sheet of creamy vellum. The man reading it had thought it innocent enough at first glanceâdull, routine procedures for the running of yet another royal commissionâbut now, as he scanned it a second time and began to catch the more subtle nuances of phrase and intent, he looked up at his companions in amazement.
“Murdoch, I don't know what to say. This is brilliantâeverything we could have hoped for. He'll never sign it, though.”
“He already has,” Murdoch said in his thin, nasal voice, taking the document and handing it to a third man. “I slipped it in among a stack of other routine documents yesterday. This is only a copy.”
