The Briar King

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by Greg Keyes


  “Like Desmond Spendlove.”

  “Yes. He walked the faneway of Mamres.”

  “So this is part of a faneway?” Winna asked. “But the bodies…”

  “It's new,” Stephen said. “Look at the stone. There's no moss or lichen, no weather stains. This might have been built yesterday. The renegade monks and Sefry who were following the Greffyn were using it to find old sedoi in the forest. I think it had the power to scent them out, and made a circuit of those which still had some latent power. Then Desmond and his bunch performed sacrifices, I think to try to find out what saint the sedoi belonged to. I also don't think they were doing it right—they lacked certain information. Whoever did this did it correctly.” He passed his palm over his eyes. “And it's my fault. When I was at d'Ef I translated ancient, forbidden scrifts concerning these things. I gave them the information they needed to do what you see here.” He shook, looking paler than ever. “They're building a faneway, you see?”

  “Who?” Aspar said. “Spendlove and his renegades are dead.”

  “Not all of them,” Stephen said. “This was built after we killed Spendlove.”

  “But what saint left his mark here?” Winna whispered.

  Stephen retched again, rubbed his forehead, and stood straight again.

  “It's my place to find that out,” he said.

  “All of you, wait here—please.”

  Sale of this book without a front cover may be unauthorized. If this book is coverless, it may have been reported to the publisher as “unsold or destroyed” and neither the author nor the publisher may have received payment for it.

  This book contains an excerpt from the forthcoming edition of The Charnel Prince by Greg Keyes. This excerpt has been set for this edition only and may not reflect the final content of the forthcoming edition.

  The Briar King is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

  A Del Rey® Book

  Published by The Random House Publishing Group

  Copyright © 2003 by J. Gregory Keyes

  Excerpt from The Charnel Prince by Greg Keyes copyright © 2004

  by J. Gregory Keyes

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

  Del Rey is a registered trademark and the Del Rey colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

  www.delreydigital.com

  eISBN: 978-0-307-56563-1

  v3.0

  Table of Contents

  PART ITHE COMING OF THE GREFFYN

  CHAPTER ONETHE HOLTER

  CHAPTER TWOIN ANOTHER TAVERN

  CHAPTER THREETHE SQUIRE

  CHAPTER FOURTHE NOVICE

  CHAPTER FIVETHE PRINCESS

  CHAPTER SIXTHE KING

  CHAPTER SEVENTOR SCATH

  CHAPTER EIGHTBLACK ROSES

  CHAPTER NINEON THE SLEEVE

  CHAPTER TENTHE TAFF

  CHAPTER ELEVENWIDDERSHINS

  PART IIDEMESNES OF NIGHT AND FOREST

  CHAPTER ONETHE HALAFOLK

  CHAPTER TWOD'EF

  CHAPTER THREERUMORS OF WAR

  CHAPTER FOURREWN ALUTH

  CHAPTER FIVEBROTHERHOOD

  CHAPTER SIXMOTHER GASTYA

  CHAPTER SEVENPLANS FOR AN OUTING

  CHAPTER EIGHTSCRIFTI

  CHAPTER NINEEXILE

  CHAPTER TENINTO THE TANGLE

  CHAPTER ELEVENDEPARTURES

  CHAPTER TWELVESPENDLOVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEENTHE BRIAR KING

  PART IIITHE RECONDITE STIRS

  CHAPTER ONEIN THE WARHEARTH

  CHAPTER TWOTHE PRINCE OF SHADE

  CHAPTER THREEFLIGHT AND FANCY

  CHAPTER FOURTHE FANEWAY

  CHAPTER FIVEDUEL IN THE DARK

  CHAPTER SIXTHE ABODE OF GRACES

  CHAPTER SEVENGIFTS

  CHAPTER EIGHTCOURSE OF STUDY

  CHAPTER NINETHE KEPT

  CHAPTER TENLOST

  CHAPTER ELEVENTHE WOMB OF MEFITIS

  CHAPTER TWELVEA QUICK DECISION

  CHAPTER THIRTEENA MEETING

  CHAPTER FOURTEENPURSUIT

  PART IVTHE BLOOD OF REGALS

  CHAPTER ONEAN EXCURSION

  CHAPTER TWOTRACKS

  CHAPTER THREEPLOTS

  CHAPTER FOURAN ENCOUNTER

  CHAPTER FIVEMEETING ON THE HEADLAND

  CHAPTER SIXTHE EVE OF FIUSSANAL

  CHAPTER SEVENSACRIFICE

  CHAPTER EIGHTTHE PLAIN OF TERROR

  CHAPTER NINENIGHT VISITORS

  CHAPTER TENTHE SOUNDING

  CHAPTER ELEVENCHANGELING

  CHAPTER TWELVEA LESSON IN THE SWORD

  CHAPTER THIRTEENTHE RAVEN'S SONG

  CHAPTER FOURTEENTHE ARRIVAL

  CHAPTER FIFTEENOBSERVATIONS QUAINT AND CURIOUS

  CHAPTER SIXTEENTHE EMPEROR SITS

 

 

 


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