[Shadowed Path 01] - A Woman Worth Ten Coppers (40 page)
Read [Shadowed Path 01] - A Woman Worth Ten Coppers Online
Authors: Morgan Howell
“Shelter us,” said Yim, “until I’m fully healed and ready to travel.”
“Travel? You’ve just arrived! Where will you go?”
“Evil now haunts Temple Mount. I’ve encountered it before. Like Theodus, I’ll seek its source.”
“Where?”
“I’m not yet sure,” said Yim. “Averen, I think.”
“Averen?” said Commodus. “I’ve been there. It’s a fair place. What dark thing do you expect to find?”
“Lord Bahl,” said Yim.
“Bahl? The very man who caused Theodus’s death? Why seek
him
out?”
“To resume Theodus’s quest. I must follow his footsteps.”
“Even if they lead to the Dark Path?”
“All journeys eventually end there,” replied Yim. “Why should mine be any different?” Then she smiled at Commodus, and his heart lightened. “Yet that’s no reason to forsake hope. So far, Karm has guided me through peril and given me a devoted servant. These seem signs that I may yet fulfill my destiny.”
Commodus bowed to Yim even lower than before. “And what’s that, Karmamatus?”
“The way of the goddess seldom runs straight,” replied Yim. “I can’t foresee where it will take me. Though I was chosen for this path, tonight I take it for myself. It is
my
path from now on, and I will follow it to the end.”
END OF BOOK ONE
The story will continue in the sequel to
A Woman Worth Ten Coppers.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
WRITING A
book is a journey best undertaken with companionship, and I would like to thank those people who helped me on my way. Richard Curtis was with me from the very beginning with advice and encouragement when the undertaking seemed hopeless. Betsy Mitchell provided insight and guidance when I needed it most. Gerald Burnsteel, Carol Hubbell, Justin Hubbell, and Nathaniel Hubbell provided the all-important perspective that comes from thoughtful readers.
By Morgan Howell
A Woman Worth Ten Coppers
T
HE
Q
UEEN OF THE
O
RCS
T
RILOGY
King’s Property
Clan Daughter
Royal Destiny
Praise for The Queen of the Orcs:
King’s Property
by Morgan Howell
“Howell has created a fascinating, believable world and a compassionate, kick-ass heroine who helps the weak and uses wit and agility to survive and triumph.”
—
Booklist
“Every once in a while, a novel comes along with a character that I absolutely love. [Dar] is such a character. She is fierce, protective, passionate, scarred, loyal, and wise…. I truly loved
King’s Property
and I highly recommend it.”
—Fantasy Debut
“Author Morgan Howell has created an outstanding foundation for the next two books to build upon…. Be warned, you will NOT want to put down this story.”
“An unusual tale…Howell’s depiction of orc culture is fascinating—these orcs are as big, strong, and dangerous as any in fantasy, but they also have moral and ethical issues of importance. This is not a book to read for fun on a rainy night—it’s a book to think about.”
—E
LIZABETH
M
OON,
Nebula Award–winning author of
The Deed of Paksenarrion
“Dar never loses our admiration and compassion—qualities at the heart of any struggling hero.
King’s Property
tests your own presumptions of ‘the other’ and brings to mind the cultural prejudices and wars born from betrayal that are so sadly evident throughout our own history.”
—K
ARIN
L
OWACHEE
, author of
Warchild
“In a crowded field, Howell has succeeded in creating an original and vivid fantasy. [The] characters display unexpected depths of humanity—even when they’re not human. I was captivated by Dar. Highly recommended.”
—N
ANCY
K
RESS,
Nebula Award–winning author of
Beggars in Spain
A Woman Worth Ten Coppers
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A Del Rey Books Mass Market Original
Copyright © 2008 by William H. Hubbell
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Del Rey Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
D
EL
R
EY
is a registered trademark and the Del Rey colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
eISBN: 978-0-345-50949-9
v1.0