The Desert Spear
Continuing the impressive debut fantasy series from author Peter V. Brett, The Desert Spear is book two of the Demon Cycle, pulling the reader into a world of demons, darkness and heroes.The Deliverer has returned, but who is he?Arlen Bales, formerly of the small hamlet of Tibbet’s Brook, learnt harsh lessons about life as he grew up in a world where hungry demons stalk the night and humanity is trapped by its own fear. He chose a different path; chose to fight inherited apathy and the corelings, and eventually he became the Painted Man, a reluctant saviour.But the figure emerging from the desert, calling himself the Deliverer, is not Arlen. He is a friend and betrayer, and though he carries the spear from the Deliverer’s tomb, he also heads a vast army intent on a holy war against the demon plague… and anyone else who stands in his way.
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The Desert Spear
Peter V. Brett
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the authorâs imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
HarperVoyager
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
First Published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2010
Copyright © Peter V. Brett 2010
Peter V. Brett asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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Source ISBN: 9780007276165
Ebook Edition © APRIL 2010 ISBN: 9780007301904 Version: 2018-08-13
For Dani and Cassie
Contents
SECTION 1 VICTORY WITHOUT HONOR
CHAPTER 14 A TRIP TO THE OUTHOUSE
CHAPTER 16 ONE CUP AND ONE PLATE
CHAPTER 17 KEEPING UP WITH THE DANCE
CHAPTER 22 THE ROADS NOT TAKEN
CHAPTER 24 BROTHERS IN THE NIGHT
SECTION 4 THE CALL OF THE CORE
CHAPTER 26 RETURN TO TIBBETâS BROOK
CHAPTER 28 THE PALACE OF MIRRORS
333 AR WINTER
IT WAS THE NIGHT before new moon, during the darkest hours when even that bare sliver had set. In a small patch of true darkness beneath the thick boughs of a cluster of trees, an evil essence seeped up from the Core.
The dark mist coalesced slowly into a pair of giant demons, their rough brown skin knobbed and gnarled like tree bark. Standing nine feet at the shoulder, their hooked claws dug at the frozen scrub and pine of the forest floor as they sniffed at the air. A low rumble sounded in their throats as black eyes scanned their surroundings.
Satisfied, they moved apart and squatted on their haunches, coiled and ready to spring. Behind them, the patch of true darkness deepened, corruption blackening the forest bed as another pair of ethereal shapes materialized.
These were slender, barely five feet tall, with soft charcoal flesh quite unlike the gnarled armor of their larger brethren. On the ends of delicate fingers and toes, their claws seemed fragileâthin and straight like a womanâs manicured nail. Their sharp teeth were short, only a single row set in a snoutless mouth.
Their heads were bloated, with huge, lidless eyes and high, conical craniums. The flesh over their skulls was knobbed and textured, pulsing around the vestigial nubs of horns.
For long moments, the two newcomers stared at each other, foreheads throbbing, as a vibration passed in the air between them.
One of the larger demons caught movement in the brush and reached out with frightening quickness to snatch a rat from its cover. The coreling brought the rodent up close, studying it curiously. As it did, the demonâs snout became ratlike, nose and whiskers twitching as it grew a pair of long incisors. The corelingâs tongue slithered out to test their sharpness.
One of the slender demons turned to regard it, forehead pulsing. With a flick of its claw, the mimic demon eviscerated the rat and cast it aside. At the command of the coreling princes, the two mimics changed shape, becoming enormous wind demons.
The mind demons hissed as they left the patch of true darkness and starlight struck them. Their breath fogged with the cold, but they gave no sign of discomfort, leaving clawed footprints in the snow. The mimics bent low, and the coreling princes walked up their wings to take perch on their backs as they leapt into the sky.
They passed over many drones as they winged north. Big and small, these all cowered until the coreling princes passed, only to follow the call left vibrating in their wake.
