Seeker's Mask
Obedience. Self-restraint Endurance. Silence. . .
These are the duties of a Highborn lady, and like the veils, masks and tight-fitting underskirts female Kencyr students are obliged to wear, Jame finds them damnably constricting. Sent here by her brother Torisen, Highlord of the Kencyrath, she has tried valiantly to fit in, but the unruly girl can't help throwing the quiet Women's Halls into an uproar.
It's not entirely Jame's fault, though. While Tori's vain and vicious consort treats her like an underling, the Kencyr Matriarchs, determined to winnow out her secrets, scheme to use her to their own advantage. And her own brother wants nothing to do with her. On top of this, Shadow Guild assassins have come hunting her, eager to fulfill a long-held contract to dispose of the last of the powerful Knorth clan. It's no wonder that Jame decamps.
In the company of her telepathic hunting cat, Jorin, a runaway priestling named Kindrie, and a chance-met squad of cadets, she sets out to rescue a friend from a cruel and ambitious Kencyr lord who seeks the deadly Book Bound in Pale Leather. Dodging ghostwalkers and shadow assassins, riding weirdingstorms and peripatetic trees, Jame discovers that her life is tangled up in a much larger purpose. For the war against Perimal Darkling cannot resume until three terrible objects of power, and the avatars who will wield them, appear. And she just might be one of them. . . .
The long-sought third book in P.C. Hodgell's intricate and engaging fantasy series follows the warrior-magician Jame as she battles enemies both in and out of the Women's Halls at Gothregor.
"One of the very few true and original voices to write in the field of fantasy." —Charles de Lint, from the introduction
Cover Art by P. C. Hodgell
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Hardcover
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.
First printing, April 2007
First Baen Ebook, April 2007
Paper versions are available from Meisha Merlin Publishing Inc.
www.meishamerlin.com
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ISBN-13: 978-0-7394-1887-1 ISBN-10: 0-7394-1887-4
Copyright© 1994 by P. C. Hodgell
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.
A Baen Books Original Baen publishing Enterprises P.O. Box 1403 Riverdale, NY 10471 http://www.baen.com
Electronic version by WebWrights http://www.webscription.net
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