FOR THE BOYS FROM THE BASEMENT WHO INSPIRED ME SO LONG AGO BRENNAN JOHN THE MICHAELS BEN AND BRENT SEE PAGE 345 TO LEARN ABOUT THE TREE GODE USED IN THIS BOOK
PROLOGUE Inside a BRIGHTLY painted caravan Balor stared into the cracking flames of a woodstove and wondered whether the rat had killed the woman His long golden curls fell forward almost covering his face Around him silver cages were stacked among traps and elegant snares He warmed his hands close to the flames The night was cold and strangely silent the only noise the hiss and pop of the burning logs After leaving the Market he had traveled deep into the surrounding woods Here nothing would disturb him except the hoot of owls or the rustle of night predators hunting for food He reached into the pocket of his tapestry vest and withdrew a small cobalt-blue bottle Unstopping the lid he sprinkled a fine gray powder into the fire The flames leapt higher Yes he could see things quite clearly now The boy Timothy James Maxwell was home tending to his mother Somehow she had survived Timothy had found a cure for the toxin that had entered her system when she was bitten by the rat Rat-bite fever wasn’t usually fatal but this had been no ordinary rat It had been sent as a warning to Timothy and a reminder of the Dark’s power The Dark didn’t like to have its warnings ignored Balor blew into the fire The flames shivered He had done every vi i
thing he could to bind the boy to him He’d appealed to Timothy’s sense of pride by offering to make him his assistant Animal Tamer He had sickened the boy’s mother and imprisoned his sister Sarah Marie Now he would use their friend the curly-haired Jessica Church as bait When Timothy returned Balor would own him But first the Travelers Market must be destroyed He opened the caravan door and walked down the folding steps The sharp air bit at his face He would search Timothy out just as he hunted his exotic animals He was the Animal Tamer he would catch Timothy the Filidh by birth a keeper of memories and wisdom Timo thy would have no choice but to lead him to the map he needed to find the Stone of Destiny Once he had the map and the stone he would have no further use for Timothy and his companions If he eliminated the boy and his sister no one else would remain of the true line of Filidhean He Balor would rule without contest The old stories would be forgotten He would establish his own truth and that truth would become the memories of the people An animal mewled One of the snow leopard cubs was restless its cries only a minor distraction from his plan The Light wouldn’t easily give up the Market and its Filidh A defeat at the Market would tip the balance of power It would put other worlds at risk If it came to a battle he would need allies The sound of murmuring voices made Balor pause But it was only the wind stirring up the leaves vi i i
The Greenman moved through the forest of old trees circling the Market assessing his troops The oldest an oak Quercus robur had seen one thousand years Its thick trunk was muscled like the torso of an aged wrestler Even six men arms outstretched could not circle its girth While the oak was the eldest many of the trees in this part of the forest had lived through more than a hundred cycles of life sap run ning leaf budding green unfurling and color turning golds and reds falling to the wind-rattled bare limbs of winter Soon the trees would be awakened needed for battle He scanned the sky it was a cloudless wash of blue There was a time beyond most human memory when the trees had rarely slept When they had been the guardians of the earth and humans mere caretakers That time had long passed and the Greenman grieved its loss knowing it would never come again He stretched straightening his limbs a bird flew from his branches He moved less stiffly now though still more tree than man in appearance In these next days the Market would be at risk Balor would grow bolder now that Timothy was of an age to claim his title The Greenman listened to the wind rising It rustled his leaves as a breeze might lift the hair of a man or woman The quest had been thrust upon Timothy Maxwell But Timothy he knew was not alone He Cerri dwyn and Gwydon had known Filidhean throughout the centuries and others had known them as well Mr Twig and Julian Sarah and Jessica had their own roles in the story that was unfolding Still it would take ix
