Shalador's Lady
Table of Contents
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
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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.
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FOR
NADINE, MERRI LEE, AND ANNEMARIE
AND FOR
NEELA
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