SELECTED PRAISE FOR
ANNE KELLEHER
âAnne Kelleher will not disappointâ¦[she] keeps you glued to the pages with anticipation and rewards your diligence with every word.â
âWriters Unlimited on Silverâs Bane
âAnne Kelleher has written a spellbinding work.â
âFutures Mystery Anthology Magazine on Silverâs Bane
âA stand-out fantasy/romance from this talented author.â
âFreshFiction.com on Silverâs Bane
âSilverâs Edge is a first-class fantasy.â
âIn the Library Reviews
âPure fantasy with a cutting edge.â
âRomantic Times BOOKclub on Silverâs Edge
âThis book has it allâ¦. Set aside a few hours to read this one. You will not want to put it down.â
âWriters Unlimited on Silverâs Edge
SILVERâS LURE
ANNE KELLEHER
Glossary of People and Places
MeeveâHigh Queen of Brynhyvar, Queen of Mochmorna
Briecruâher Chief Cowherd
MorlaâMeeveâs twenty-seven-year-old daughter, Deirdreâs twin sister
BranâMeeveâs fifteen-year-old son
LochlanâMeeveâs First Knight, head of the Fiachna
ConnlaâMeeveâs older sister and Arch Druid (Ard-Cailleach) of all Brynhyvar
Catrioneâdruid and daughter of Fengus, King of Allovale
DeirdreâMeeveâs other daughter, druid
CwynnâMeeveâs son, raised by his grandfather
AuberonâKing of Faerie
FinnavarâAuberonâs mother
LorianaâAuberonâs daughter
TatianaâLorianaâs friend
Timias/TiermuidâAuberonâs foster brother
Machaâthe Goblin Queen
Brynhyvarâthe Shadowlands, inhabited by mortals and trixies, call khouri-keen by themselves and gremlins by the sidhe
Ardaghâcentral point in Brynhyvar
Mochmorna, Allovale, Gar and Marraghmournâfour main provinces of Brynhyvar
Lacquileaâcountry to the south of Brynhyvar
Eaven MornaâMeeveâs principal residence
Eaven AvellachâFengusâs principal residence
Dalraida, Pentlandâterritories lying within Mochmorna and Gar, respectively
Far Nearingâpeninsula on the eastern shore of Brynhyvar
White Birch Groveâdruidhouse where Catrione and Deirdre live
Faerie, TirNaâlugh or the Other Worldâotherworldly country bound to Brynhyvar, inhabited by sidhe and goblins
Before
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Afterward
Below
At the bottom of the World, the Hag crouched on the jagged stone lip of her fire pit. Her face was washed with an orange glow by the crackling flames. Her breath whistled between the gaps in her teeth as she chanted, âNow the fireâs nice and hot, nowâs the time to stir the pot. Take the changeling, toss it in, stir it hard and watch it spin.â She cackled softly in anticipation. Her claws skittered across the surface of the milky moonstone globe she cradled in the crook of one arm like an infant. âMake the water into stew, season it with something new, hair and bone and blood and skin, once we put the changeling in, boil brew and fire burn and dark to light will then returnâ¦â Her voice trailed off, but her words continued to echo off the lichen-lit vault above her.
She was waiting for Herne to bring her the changeling whose birth had turned her from Mother into Hag. The birth of her first offspring, the goblins, had turned her from Maiden into Mother. Mortals and sidhe had followed, but it was the last birth that signaled a turning of the Wheel in the Worlds above. The mortals, bless them, would react like ants dispossessed of their hill, the sidheâwho alone would know what was happeningâwould shake their heads at the mortalsâ antics and the khouri-keen would burrow deep into their dens beneath the surface, only emerging when all was renewed. But the goblinsâthey would see it as the opportunity it was.
âAnd why shouldnât they?â she whispered as she worked. Of all her children, she had come to love them best. They were the easiest to satisfy.
She hawked and spat onto the moonstone, and images of the dark, dirt-lined cave swirled through its milky surface. In it, she saw Herneâs fire-lit face as he bent over her mountainous belly, and for a moment, she was Mother once again, back in the birth chamber, red skin flushed and wet with sweat, body wracked with birth pangs. Theyâd both known this infant would be their last in this particular incarnation of reality.
The memory of herself splayed like a spider, arms back, thighs thrown wide flashed through her, even as she saw its image reflected in the globe. Her belly contracted once more in a painful heave, doubling her over, causing her to nearly drop the moonstone. She clutched it close, closed her eyes, and saw against her eyelids her final impression of Herne as he caught the caul-covered infant as it slithered out, slick with blood. Through the translucent whiteness of the membrane, she glimpsed a squirming body covered in matted hair.
One blink, and sheâd found herself here in her cavern, skin mottled blue-gray, teeth yellowed and jagged, her stick clenched between contorted fingers.