Wonders of the Invisible World

Praise for
Wonders of the Invisible World

“A casket full of wonders. I think each story is my favorite, until I read the next. McKillip has the true mythopoeic imagination. Here lies the border between our world and that of Faerie.”

—P. C. Hodgell,

author of the Kencyrath series

“One of the true wise women of fantasy literature, Patricia McKillip is a writer to treasure. This brilliant new collection puts on display the audacity, the warmth, the intelligence and depth of her huge and magnificent talent.”

—Peter Straub,

author of
Ghost Story

and
A Dark Matter

Praise for Patricia A. McKillip

“I read—and re-read—McKillip eagerly. She reminds me that fantasy is worth writing.”

—Stephen R. Donaldson,

author of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant/span>

“McKillip skillfully knits disparate threads into a rewardingly rich and satisfying story.”

—
Amazon.com

“McKillip’s name is the first that comes to mind when I’m asked whom I read myself, whom I’d recommend that others read, and who still makes me shake my grizzled head and say, ‘Damn, I wish I’d done that!’”

—Peter S. Beagle,

author of
The Last Unicorn

“Cool elegance.”

—
Chicago Sun-Times

“Dreamlike...colorful...evocative...”

—
Locus

“Lush imagery and wry humor.... McKillip’s rich language conveys real strangeness and power.”

—
Starlog

“World Fantasy Award-winner McKillip can take the most common fantasy elements—dragons and bards, sorcerers and shape-shifters—and reshape them in surprising and resonant ways.”

—
Publishers Weekly
, starred review

“McKillip’s luminous prose and compelling characters combine to produce a masterwork of style and substance.”

—
Library Journal

“Patricia McKillip is the real thing, and always has been. She shows the rest of us that magic can be made with words and air; that is it worth doing, and worth doing well.”

—Ellen Kushner,

author of
Swordspoint

and
Thomas the Rhymer

Wonders of the Invisible World

Copyright © 2012 by Patricia A. McKillip

This is a collected work of fiction. All events portrayed in this book are fictitious and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. All rights reserved including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form without the express permission of the publisher.

Introduction copyright © 2012 by Charles de Lint

Cover art copyright © 1998 by Thomas Canty

Tachyon Publications

1459 18
^th
Street #139

San Francisco, CA 94107

www.tachyonpublications.com

Series Editor: Jacob Weisman

Project Editor: Jill Roberts

Book ISBN 13: 978-1-61696-087-2

Book ISBN 10: 1-61696-087-6

Printed in the United States by Worzalla

First Edition: 2012

All stories copyright © by Patricia A. McKillip

“Wonders of the Invisible World” copyright © 1995. First published in
Full Spectrum 5
, edited by Jennifer Hershey, Tom Dupree, and Janna Silverstein (Bantam Spectra: New York).

“Out of the Woods” copyright © 2004. First published in
Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy
,
edited by Al Sarrantonio (Roc: New York).

“The Kelpie” copyright © 2005. First published in
The Fair Folk
, edited by Marvin Kaye (Science Fiction Book Club: Garden City, New York).

“Hunter’s Moon” copyright © 2002. First published in
The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest
, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (Viking: New York).

“Oak Hill” copyright © 1998. First published in
The Essential Bordertown
, edited by Terri Windling and Delia Sherman (Tor Books: New York).

“The Fortune-Teller” copyright © 2007. First published in
The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales
, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (Viking: New York).

“Jack O’Lantern” copyright © 2006. First published in
Firebirds Rising
, edited by Sharyn November (Firebird: New York).

“Knight of the Well” copyright © 2012. First published in
A Book of Wizards
, edited by Marvin Kaye (Science Fiction Book Club: Garden City, New York).

“Naming Day” copyright © 2007. First published in
Wizards: Magical Tales,
edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois (Berkley: New York).

“Byndley” copyright © 2003. First published in
Firebirds
, edited by Sharyn November (Firebird: New York).

“The Twelve Dancing Princesses” copyright © 2000. First published in
A Wolf at the Door and Other Retold Fairy Tales
, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (Simon & Schuster: New York).

“Undine” copyright © 2004. First published in
The Faery Reel
, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (Viking: New York).

“Xmas Cruise” copyright © 1993. First published in
Christmas Forever
, edited by David G. Hartwell (Tor Books: New York).

“A Gift To Be Simple” copyright © 1999. First published in
Not of Woman Born
, edited by Constance Ash (Roc Books: New York).

“The Old Woman and the Storm” copyright © 1985. First published in
Imaginary Lands
, edited by Robin McKinley (Ace Books: New York).

“The Doorkeeper of Khaat” copyright © 1990. First published in
Full Spectrum 2
, edited by Lou Aronica, Shawna McCarthy, Amy Stout, and Patrick LoBrutto (Bantam Spectra: New York).

“What Inspires Me: Guest of Honor Speech at WisCon 28, 2004” copyright © 2004. Previously unpublished.

For Dave, to whom most of these old tales will be new

C
ontents

Introduction by Charles de Lint

Wonders of the Invisible World

Out of the Woods

The Kelpie

Hunter’s Moon

Oak Hill

The Fortune-Teller

Jack O’Lantern

Knight of the Well

Naming Day

Byndley