The Demon Cycle Books 1-3 and Novellas: The Painted Man, The Desert Spear, The Daylight War plus The Great Bazaar and Brayan’s Gold and Messenger’s Legacy
A collection of the first three books of the impressive debut fantasy series The Demon Cycle, and two novellas set in the same world, all from the imagination of Sunday Times bestselling author Peter V. Brett.Eleven-year-old Arlen lives with his parents on their small farmstead, half a day's ride from the isolated hamlet of Tibbet's Brook.As dusk falls upon Arlen's world hungry corelings – demons that cannot be harmed by mortal weapons – materialize from the vapours to feed on the living.When Arlen's life is shattered by the demon plague, he is forced to see that it is fear, rather than the demons, which truly cripples humanity. Believing that there is more to his world than to live in constant fear, he must risk leaving the safety of his wards to discover a different path.In the small town of Cutter's Hollow, Leesha's perfect future is destroyed by betrayal and a simple lie. Publicly shamed, she is reduced to gathering herbs and tending an old woman more fearsome than the corelings. Yet in her disgrace, she becomes the guardian of dangerous ancient knowledge.Orphaned and crippled in a demon attack, young Rojer takes solace in mastering the musical arts of a Jongleur, only to learn that his unique talent gives him unexpected power over the night.Together, these three young people will offer humanity a last, fleeting chance of survival.This bundle collects the first three novels of The Demon Cycle, THE PAINTED MAN, THE DESERT SPEAR and THE DAYLIGHT WAR, along with the novellas THE GREAT BAZAAR AND BRAYAN’S GOLD and MESSENGER’S LEGACY.
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THE DEMON CYCLE BOOKS 1-3 AND NOVELLAS
PETER V. BRETT
HarperVoyager An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
The Painted Man First published in Great Britain by HarperVoyager 2008 Copyright © Peter V. Brett 2008 Cover Layout Design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2013
The Desert Spear First published in Great Britain by HarperVoyager 2010 Copyright © Peter V. Brett 2010 Cover Layout Design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2013
The Daylight War First published in Great Britain by HarperVoyager 2013 Copyright © Peter V. Brett 2013 Cover Layout Design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2013
The Great Bazaar and Brayan’s Gold First published in Great Britain by HarperVoyager 2011 Copyright © Peter V. Brett 2011 Cover Layout Design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2011
Messenger’s Legacy First published in Great Britain by HarperVoyager 2014 Copyright © Peter V. Brett 2014 Cover Layout Design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2014
Peter V. Brett asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBNs:
The Painted Man: 9780007276134 The Desert Spear: 9780007276165 The Daylight War: 9780007276196 The Great Bazaar and Brayan’s Gold: 9780007444458 Messenger’s Legacy: 9780008114718 Bundle Edition (Containing The Painted Man, The Desert Spear, The Daylight War, The Great Bazaar and Brayan’s Gold and Messenger’s Legacy) © February 2015 ISBN: 9780008117542
Version: 2015-01-28
Contents
| Title Page | |
| Copyright | |
| The Painted Man | |
| The Desert Spear | |
| The Daylight War | |
| The Great Bazaar and Bryan’s Gold | |
| Messenger’s Legacy | |
| Also by the Author | |
| Keep Reading | |
| About the Author | |
| About the Publisher |
THE PAINTED MAN
PETER V. BRETT
To Otzi, the original Painted Man.
Contents
319 AR
The great horn sounded.
Arlen paused in his work, looking up at the lavender wash of the dawn sky. Mist still clung to the air, bringing with it a damp, acrid taste that was all too familiar. A quiet dread built in his gut as he waited in the morning stillness, hoping that it had been his imagination. He was eleven years old.
There was a pause, and then the horn blew twice in rapid succession. One long and two short meant south and east. The Cluster by the Woods. His father had friends amongst the Cutters. Behind Arlen, the door to the house opened, and he knew his mother would be there, covering her mouth with both hands.
Arlen returned to his work, not needing to be told to hurry. Some chores could wait a day, but the stock still needed to be fed and the cows milked. He left the animals in the barns and opened the hay stores, slopped the pigs, and ran to fetch a wooden milk bucket. His mother was already squatting beneath the first of the cows. He snatched the spare stool and they found cadence in their work, the sound of milk striking wood drumming a funeral march.
As they moved to the next pair down the line, Arlen saw his father begin hitching their strongest horse, a five-year-old chestnut-coloured mare named Missy, to the cart. His face was grim as he worked.
What would they find this time?
Before long, they were in the cart, trundling towards the small cluster of houses by the woods. It was dangerous there, over an hour’s run to the nearest warded structure, but the lumber was needed. Arlen’s mother, wrapped in her worn shawl, held him tightly as they rode.
