Maggie Furey - Shadowleague 1 - The Heart of Myrial.pdf - Maggie Furey - margozap

THE HEART OF MYRIAL - SHADOWLEAGUE 1 - MAGGIE FUREY

THE HEART OF MYRIAL

The world of Myrial is racing towards apocalypse.

For aeons, its mysterious Curtain Walls have functioned to separate realm

from realm, and race from race, so that each cordoned area remains a

sanctuary for its species. But now the miraculous walls that have provided

order for so long are disintegrating with disastrous results. Mingling

climates are causing unrelenting rains or deadly droughts, while warlike

races are preying mercilessly upon the helpless and the meek. And the

carnage will only grow unless a seasoned warrior-woman, a brazen

firedrake, and a venerable Dragon with amazing telepathic powers—all

trusted members of the Shadowleague—succeed where others have failed.

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THE HEART OF MYRIAL - SHADOWLEAGUE 1 - MAGGIE FUREY

For they must first locate the Heart of Myrial, where the secret for undoing

disaster resides. In order to reach their goal, however, they must overcome

treachery, intrigue and evil—and a mysterious figure from the past whose

actions threaten to tear the Shadowleague apart.

THE HEART OF MYRIAL

Book 1 of

The Shadowleague

MAGGIE FUREY

THE HEART OF MYRIAL

A Bantam Spectra Book /June 2000

SPECTRA and the portrayal of a boxed "s" are trademarks of

Bantam Books,

a division of Random House, Inc.

Map by James Sinclair.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any

means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by

any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing

from the publisher.

For information address: Bantam Books.

If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this

book is stolen property. It was reported as "unsold and destroyed" to the

publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment

for this "stripped book."

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THE HEART OF MYRIAL - SHADOWLEAGUE 1 - MAGGIE FUREY

ISBN 0-553-57938-X

Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada

Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Random

House, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words "Bantam Books" and the

portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and

in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New

York New York 10036.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

OPM 10 987654321

This book is dedicated, with love, to my parents,

Tim and Margaret Armstrong, who never let me run short of books to read.

CONTENTS

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Map

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THE HEART OF MYRIAL - SHADOWLEAGUE 1 - MAGGIE FUREY

CHAPTER 1

Without a Miracle…

Leather was dreadful stuff to wear in the rain. It stiffened, it smelled, it

mildewed. It took forever to dry out—and worst of all, it clung to the body

in a clammy, chill embrace like the clasp of a long-drowned corpse. Veldan

shuddered at the thought. An overactive imagination had always been her

curse. With a shake of her head, the Loremaster thrust the disgusting notion

from her mind. I’m letting these bleak and somber mountains get to me, she

thought—not to mention the bedamned weather. Rain, rain, and still more

rain—it had never let up once during this clandestine crossing of the land of

Callisiora.

Well, although she could do nothing about her leather clothing—all the

garments in her pack were equally soaked by now—Veldan could at least

take off the mask. There was no one to see her in this forsaken spot. She

reached behind her head, pushing her short black hair aside, and fumbled for

the silver clasps securing the black silk that concealed her face. It peeled

away like a second skin, and she sighed with relief as the fresh air cooled

her brow and cheeks.

“About time, too,” her partner grumbled. “Just wait— one day you’ll leave

that cursed contraption where I can get at it, and I’ll eat the wretched thing.”

Kazairl turned his head all the way round on his long sinuous neck and

looked back at his rider. Veldan could see a sharp red gleam of irritation

within the fire-opal depths of his eyes.

“Leave me alone, Kaz.” Veldan sighed. “You don’t understand—it’s a

human thing. People don’t want to look at my disfigured face, and I don’t

want them to see it. I don’t want their disgust—or their pity.”

“Tchaaaa!” the firedrake snorted. “Anybody dares pity you, and I’ll eat

them. You don’t need that ridiculous thing on your face, Boss. Your scar is

healing all the time—or it would if you’d let the air get to it. You don’t look

near as bad as you think. Besides, every time I see that damnable mask it

makes me feel guilty—and it takes a lot to make a firedrake guilty. If I had

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THE HEART OF MYRIAL - SHADOWLEAGUE 1 - MAGGIE FUREY

only been there, you’d have been all right.”

“Kaz—don’t,” Veldan told him hastily. They had shared this old pain too

many times. “We Loremasters understand the risks of our work, and I have

only myself to blame. If I had moved faster that day, it never would have

happened. Anyway, it’s over now. We should be concentrating on this

journey, not the last one that ended so badly.”

Kazairl did not reply, but Veldan knew his thoughts were similar to her own.

Misfortune continued to dog them. This mission was going no better than

the last—in fact it seemed to be heading rapidly for disaster. Veldan, Kaz,

and Aethon, the Seer of the Dragonfolk, had penetrated the Curtain

Walls—the barriers of magical force that separated realm from realm—over

a month ago. They had been crossing this miserable excuse for a country—

and avoiding its population of ignorant, superstitious primitives—ever since.

Sometimes, it seemed that they were never going to make it through to the

other side, to reach their final destination. Worse than that, and a lot more

worrying, was the condition of Veldan’s traveling companion, the Seer that

she had sworn to guard, nurture, and protect. It seemed increasingly doubtful

that he would survive this journey.

Aethon looked ghastly. He trudged along as though he barely had the

strength to put one foot before the other on the steep and stony track. It must

be a dreadful strain on the Dragon, she thought, to support and propel that

massive body, almost as long as a village street. His scaly body, once the

brilliant, glittering gold of the ring that Veldan wore on a chain around her

neck, was now the dull, pallid yellow-white of wheatstraw.

The Loremaster’s heart was filled with dread and anguish at the thought of

losing the Dragon—and not simply because of the urgency of her mission.

During this long, hard journey, Aethon had become very dear to her.

Because he was the Seer of the Dragonfolk, she had been expecting a

venerable creature: formal, imposing, and staid. Instead, she had found a

Dragon who was still fairly young as his species reckoned their span. He had

been delightful company for most of the journey, despite the heavy burdens

of his calling, and his humor, intelligence, and joy in life had shortened the

long hard miles. Once they had entered Callisiora, however, the weather had

deteriorated into this dank and dismal chill. Because they were forced to

keep to the wilderness to avoid the humans, the going became unremittingly

hard. Each day Aethon’s verve and spirit had been drained a little

more—and the Loremaster had been unable to do anything but witness his

long, slow demise. Now, the Seer had reached the end of his endurance. He

had not spoken a word all day, either in the telepathic mode used by

Loremasters, or the normal mode of Dragon speech that consisted of

complex interwoven patterns of colored, moving light that mingled with

mellifluous and plangent sound. Veldan knew he was conserving his energy,

just to keep going.

“He don’t look too promising, does he, Boss? I doubt, myself, he’ll make

it.”

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Maggie Furey - Shadowleague 1 - The Heart of Myrial.pdf

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