In the third novel of the Liaden Universe, Priscilla Delacroix is betrayed and abandoned by her shipmates. But confronting the crew will be far easier-and safer-than confronting the demons of her past....

Throughout the Free Galaxy, remnants of the fascistic Oligarchy are working to bring mankind back under their cruel and repressive rule. Sixteen-year-old Jerel Telemon holds the key to the weapon that can tilt the balance toward good or evil. The first book of a multi-book series....

Hidden from the human-inhabited world by the inimical magical device known as the keleigh, the Vaitura has become a subtle battleground where the once all-powerful Elder Fey strive against each other and the upstart Queen to regain ascendancy. Of all the Elder Fey it is Altimere who is strongest in magical kest and Altimere who is most devious. Pitted against Zaldore and her group seeking to manipulate the convelescing Ranger known as Longeye to foil the Queen and rule the world, Altimere dares to utilize the untested powers of half-human, half-Fey Rebecca Beauvally, recognized by the elemental denizens of the Vaitura as The Gardener.

            Now all plans must be rewritten: Becca breaks Altimere's capricious dominion with the dangerous herbal help of Duainfey, but, weakened by the effort, is held against her will in service to the Queen by Meripen's mysterious sea-lord cousin, Sian. Becca must escape the Queen's retainers to regain control of her own fate. With the magics of the Vaitura, and Altimere's retribution arrayed against her, she escapes with only her horse, a mad forest-living Brethren, and her freed magical servant Nancy at her side. Worse, the recovered legendary hero Longeye, long beloved of the Vaitura's forest folk and creatures, has re-armed at Sian's bidding, and knows most of all about Becca that she is both dangerous, and of the same folk who cruelly tortured him and slew his lover before his eyes.

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Faliance is a world where there is traffic and trade between humans and Fey, elflike beings who control powerful magic. Lord Altimere is powerful, both in influence and in magic. The former because he is the Queen’s most trusted advisor—and, if his plans succeed, her consort as well. The latter because of a secret. He has abducted a human, Rebecca Beauvelley, middle child of the Earl of Barimuir. Even overlooking her withered left arm, she is not a beauty in the sight of humans, but the Fey are attracted to the auras of humans, and Rebecca’s exceeds even the most comely of human auras by a factor of ten. An enchanted collar which Altimere has placed around her neck makes her unable to resist obeying his orders. And each time she has an affair, carefully arranged by Altimere, with one of the Fey, some of their magical power passes through her to Altimere. So it was until Altimere was absent from the court, and Lady Sian of Sea Edge, one of the Queen’s cousins, came for a visit, discovered that Rebecca was secretly a prisoner in her own mind, and freed her of Altimere’s compulsion. Unfortunately, even now that both the Queen and Lady Sian know of Lord Altimere’s plot, he may be too powerful for anything but a large number of other Fey, pooling their magical power, to bring to justice—and since getting Fey to act in concert is like herding cats, the Queen will need some time to cajole and persuade enough of her allies. Iin the meantime, Rebecca must be protected from Altimere—and from herself. She is determined to return home, which cannot yet be permitted. And if she cannot go home, she is even more determined to kill herself!

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Rebecca Beauvelley is a ruined woman.

In a moment of girlish folly, she allowed a high-flying young man to take her up in his phaeton, not realizing that he was drunk. When he dropped the ribbons, she recovered them, but not in time to avoid disaster. The young man was killed in the accident. Rebecca survived, with a withered arm to remind her of the wages of folly, and a reputation in tatters.

Against all expectation, her father has found someone, an elderly rogue, who will marry her. Rebecca's life seems set, and she resigned to it, when Altimere, a Fey, appears and uses his magic to show her two futures: In the first, she is abused and neglected as the dutiful wife; in the second, she is dressed and bejeweled like a princess. Rebecca chooses the second future and elopes with Altimere. 

Unfortunately, Altimere has an agenda of his own.

The first of a two-book series.  Watch for the sequel, Longeye, coming April 2009....

          Theo Waitley has lived all her young life on Delgado, a Safe World that is home to one of the galaxy's premier institutions of higher learning. Both Theo's mother, Kamele, and Kamele's onagrata Jen Sar Kiladi, are professors at the university, and they all live comfortably together, just like they have for all of Theo's life, in Jen Sar's house at the outskirts of town.

          Suddenly, though, Theo's life changes. Kamele leaves Jen Sar and moves herself and Theo back into faculty housing, which is not what Theo is used to. Once settled back inside the Wall, Kamele becomes embroiled in faculty politics, and is appointed sub-chair of her department. Meanwhile, Theo, who has a notation in her file indicating that she is "physically challenged" has a series of misadventures, including pulling her best friend down on the belt-ride to class, and hurting a team mate during a scavage game.

 

          With notes piling up in her file, Theo only wants to go “home,” to the house in the suburbs, and have everything just like it used to be.

 

          Then, Kamele uncovers evidence of possible dishonest scholarship inside of her department. In order to clear the department, she and a team of senior professors must go off-world to perform a forensic document search. Theo hopes this will mean that she'll be left in the care of the man she calls “Father,” Professor Kiladi, and is horrified to learn that Kamele means to bring Theo with her!

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