Mistress of the Catacombs
The rebels gathering in the West outnumber the royal army and the magic they wield can strike into the heart of the palace itself, but even greater dangers lie ahead. On the far fringes of the Isles, ancient powers ready themselves for a titanic struggle in which human beings are mere pawnsor fodder! Reptilian and insectoid monsters from out of the ages march on the kingdom, commanded by wizards no longer human or never human at all. If unchecked, their ravening slaughter will sweep over the Isles as destructively as a flood of lava. Garric, ripped from his time and body, must make new allies if he and his kingdom are to survive. His sister Sharina struggles with the chaos threatening the kingdom as swords and wizardry both gather to bring it down. Their friend Cashel, thrown into a place not of his world, faces each succeeding challenge with the calm certainty that he will overcome or die, and that nothing has been able to kill him yet. And while her comrades stuggle, Ilna studies a pattern more complex than perhaps even the skills she learned in Hell can master. If she fails, humanity will never escape the web being woven for it. Watching them all from the blackness of a tomb walled off in time and space, the Mistress waits. And her fangs drip poison! Cover Art by Donato |
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This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. First Edition: September 2001 Distributed by Simon & Schuster Printed in the United States of America |
ISBN-13: 978-0-8125-7540-8
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DEDICATIONTo Randy Long, who's not only been a friend for many years but who also acted as my son's coach during his bodybuilding competitions—a task for which I would've been hopelessly inadequate. ACKNOWLEDGMENTSFor many years now Dan Breen has been reading the rough drafts of my prose and making it better. Mistress of the Catacombs is the latest beneficiary of his attention. I didn't, for a wonder, blow up another computer while writing this novel. Nevertheless my wife Jo found me a backup and my son Jonathan set it up for me. (Mark Van Name and Allyn Vogel, whom I believe have been cited for computer help in every book of mine for the past decade, will doubtless be back in the next one.) Many friends provided this or that bit of information which will show up in the text of Mistress. Thanks very much to everyone who helped. Two whose contribution was even more considerable are Karen Zimmerman, my webmaster, and Sandra Miesel. Stephanie Lane, my liaison with the machinery of Tor, is a continuing delight to work with. Contact with Stephanie is clear and pleasant, and she invariably follows up her end of whatever business. And finally, I owe many debts to historians and to other fiction writers. Readers who are familiar with the work of Clark Ashton Smith will realize that I owe him in particular. Readers who aren't familiar with Smith should correct that gap in their education at their earliest convenience. AUTHOR'S NOTEThe common religion of the Isles is based on Sumerian cult and ritual. That is, the Lady equates with Inanna; her consort the Shepherd equates with Dumuzi; and the Sister fills the place of Ereshkigal, Queen of the Underworld. Religion in the Isles (and generally, except perhaps in fantasy fiction) is separate from magic. The magic in Mistress of the Catacombs is based on the practice of the Mediterranean Basin in Classical times. The wellspring was mostly Egyptian, but there were admixtures from many other cultures (particularly the Jewish). What I've referred to as "words of power" are formally voces mysticae, words in the language of the demiurges who act as intercessors between humanity and the Gods. I don't myself believe in magic, Classical or otherwise, but I know that reality doesn't always conform to my opinion of what it should be. Just to be on the safe side, I prefer not to pronounce the voces mysticae aloud. As in the past, I've used Classical authors as part of the cultural underpinning of the Isles. Pendill is Ovid, who's given me much pleasure over the years and has also educated me as a writer; Tincer is Tacitus, about whom I would say the same; and I was thinking of Gildas by the reference to Ascoin. I suppose a writer can learn from everything he reads, but I do hope that less of Gildas stuck than others. David Drake |
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For the first time in a thousand years, the Kingdom of the Isles has a government and a real ruler: Prince Garric of Haft. The enemies joining against him intend to destroy not only the kingdom but humankind as well. 