The Red Queen Read online

  Books by Isobelle Carmody

  THE OBERNEWTYN CHRONICLES

  Obernewtyn

  The Farseekers

  Ashling

  The Keeping Place

  Wavesong

  The Stone Key

  The Sending

  The Waking Dragon

  THE GATEWAY TRILOGY

  Night Gate

  Winter Door

  LITTLE FUR

  The Legend Begins

  A Fox Called Sorrow

  A Mystery of Wolves

  Riddle of Green

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2011 by Isobelle Carmody

  Cover art copyright © 2015 by Larry Rostant

  Map by Cathy Larsen © Penguin Group (Australia)

  All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.

  This is a slightly modified version of the second half of a work originally published by Penguin Books Australia Ltd., Camberwell, in 2011. Published here by arrangement with Penguin Group (Australia), a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd.

  Random House and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC.

  Visit us on the Web! randomhouseteens.com

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  eBook ISBN: 978-0-375-89338-4

  First Random House Ebook Edition 2014

  Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

  v3.1

  for my friend Kristin Olson, who has all the qualities of a good heroine: she can kickbox, she is courageous and clever and intrepid, and she has perfect manners.

  Contents

  Cover

  Other Books by This Author

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Character List

  Map

  Part One: The High Road

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Part Two: The Perilous Dreamtrails

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  CHARACTER LIST

  Ahmedri: Sadorian, brother of Straaka

  Alad: Beastspeaking guildmaster, highlander

  Alden: highlander, coercer

  Analivia: daughter of Radost, sister of Moss and Bergold

  Angina: Empath guilden and enhancer, twin brother of Miky

  Ariel: distorted Talent, abilities unknown

  Ari-noor, Ari-roth: shipfish

  Atthis: Agyllian or Guanette bird or oldOne, Elder of the eldar, survivor of the Great White

  Avra: Gahltha’s mate, leader of Beastguild at Obernewtyn

  Bergold: son of deposed head Councilman Radost

  Blyss: empath healer, heartfasted to Merret

  Brildane: mountain wolf pack

  Brocade: rebel leader in Sawlney

  Bruna: Sadorian, daughter of Jakoby, bondmate of High Chieftain Dardelan

  Caldeko: halfbreed gypsy bondmate of Iriny, executed by Herders

  Cassy Duprey: Beforetimer

  Catrin: coercer

  Ceirwan: Farseeker guilden

  Christa: Futureteller

  Cinda: Norseland shadow

  Daffyd: highlander, former guardsman of Henry Druid, brother to Jow, beloved of Gilaine

  Dameon: blind Empath guildmaster

  Dardelan: rebel son of Bodera, high chieftain of the Land east of the Suggredoon

  Darga: Herder-bred dog of Jik

  Darius: Twentyfamilies gypsy, beasthealer

  Declyn: coercer

  Dell: Futuretell guilden

  Descantra: she-wolf of the Brildane

  Doktaruth: Beforetime scientist at Inva complex

  Domick: once Coercer guilden, spy, and bondmate of Kella

  Dragon: empath-coercer, daughter of the Red Queen

  Druid, Henry: renegade Herder priest and charismatic leader of secret community, father of Gilaine and Erin

  Edric: coercer and farseeker

  Elii: rebel leader in Kinraide

  Elkar: Herder novice, bondmate of Cinda

  Elspeth: Farseeker guildmistress, powerful coercer-farseeker-beastspeaker, known as ElspethInnle and the Seeker by beasts and as Elaria in gypsy disguise

  Enoch: coachman loyal to Misfits

  Erlinder: Beforetime scientist

  Evander: son of Cassandra

  Falada: Sadorian horse

  Faraf: pony ridden by Elspeth in Sadorian Battlegames

  Fedan: teknoguilder

  Fell: teknoguilder

  Fian: Teknoguild ward, highlander

  Freya: empath-enhancer

  Gahltha: guardian of Elspeth, known as Daywatcher, Avra’s mate

  Garth: Teknoguildmaster

  Gavyn: boy with unknown Talents

  Gevan: Coercer guildmaster, leader of Magi performers

  Gilaine: mute farseeker, daughter of Henry Druid, twin sister to Erin

  Gobor One Ear: wolf of the Brildane

  Grufyyd: father to Brydda Llewellyn, bondmate of Katlyn

  Gutred: Norselander woman, bondmate to Helva, mother to Lark

  Gwynedd: Norselander king, high chieftain of the Land west of the Suggredoon

  Hannah: Beforetime paranormal and director of revived Reichler Clinic

  Hannay: farseeker

  Harwood: powerful coercer

  Helvar: Norselander, father of Lark, shipmaster of the Stormdancer

  Hilda: coercer from Oldhaven

  H’rayka: one-who-brings-destruction, equated with the Destroyer

  Iriny: halfbreed gypsy, half sister to Swallow

  Jak: Teknoguilden

  Jakoby: Sadorian tribal leader, mother of Bruna

  Javo: head cook at Obernewtyn

  Jes: brother to Elspeth, killed by soldierguards

  Jik: Herder novice rescued by farseekers, killed in firestorm

  Jil: coercer

  Kader: healer

  Kasanda: mystical leader of Sadorians

  Katlyn: herblorist, mother to Brydda Llewellyn, bondmate of Grufyyd

  Kella: mistress of Cloister Healing Center in Sutrium, former bondmate of Domick

  Khuria: beastspeaker, father to Zarak

  Lark: Norselander

  Larkin, Louis: unTalented friend to Misfits

  Leander: farseeker novice

  Lei: Beforetime laboratory assistant

  Lidgebaby: powerful coercer-empath baby, bonded to Misfit group in Henry Druid’s secret encampment

  Lina: beastspeaker

  Linnet: powerful coercer-knight

  Llewellyn, Brydda: rebel leader formerly of Aborium, now right hand of Dardelan in Sutrium, son of Katlyn and Grufyyd

  Lo: Obernewtyn horse

  Luthen: brother to the Red Queen

  Malik: treacherous rebel leader

  Marisa: second wife to Lukas Seraphim, scientist who resurrected Beforetime brain scan machine called Zebkrahn

  Maruman: one-eyed cat, friend of Elspeth, known also as Yelloweyes and Moonwatcher

  Maryon: Futuretell guildmistress, highlander

  Masterton, Petr: Beforetime assistant to director of government com
plex in Old Scotia

  Matthew: farseeker with deep probe abilities, slave in the Red Land

  Merret: powerful coercer with beastspeaking Talent, heartfasted to Blyss

  Miky: Empath guilden and twin sister to Angina, gifted musician

  Miryum: leader of the coercer-knights

  Moss: son of deposed head Councilman Radost

  Mouse: son of Sabatien

  Nerat: Agyllian healer

  Noviny: former Councilman of Saithwold and grandfather to Wenda

  Obernewtyn, Jacob: wealthy Beforetime friend and benefactor of Hannah Seraphim

  Okan: defective with healing Talent washed ashore on the Land

  Olinden: teknoguilder

  Oma: Norselander, first shipmate to Helva, shipmaster

  Per Vallon: Norseland village leader and kinehelt or king’s hand

  Powyrs: captain of the Cutter

  Radost: head Councilman of Sutrium, father of Analivia, Moss, and Bergold

  Rasial: white dog with coercive abilities

  Reul: teknoguilder

  Reuvan: former seaman, right hand to Brydda Llewellyn

  Rheagor: pack leader of the Brildane

  Roland: Healer guildmaster

  Rolf: chieftain of Halfmoon Bay

  Rushton: master of Obernewtyn, half brother of Stephen Seraphim, Misfit with latent Talent

  Sabatien: ex-Herder priest, father of Mouse, leader of Norseland rebels

  Salamander: slave trader and mysterious shipmaster of the Black Ship, ally of Ariel

  Sarn: farseeker

  Seely: unTalented girl, once nanny to Gavyn, now companion and assistant to Jak

  Selmar: Talented Misfit killed by Ariel’s mad dogs

  Sendari: horse who travels with the gypsies

  Seraphims: Hannah, director of the Beforetime Reichler Clinic; Lukas, first master of Obernewtyn; Michael, son of Lukas and Marisa, father to Rushton and Stephen

  Sharna: dog and friend to Elspeth

  Sover: coercer with a secondary Talent for empathy

  Straaka: Sadorian tribesman under Jakoby, heartfasted to Miryum

  Swallow: D’rekta of the Twentyfamilies gypsies; half brother to Iriny, grandson of Maire

  Tomash: farseeker

  Vega, Madam: head guardian at Obernewtyn, killed while trying to torture Rushton

  Vinderlin: mare who travels with the gypsies

  Wenda: granddaughter of Noviny

  Wila: farseeker

  Zade: stallion, Obernewtyn horse

  Zarak: beastspeaker and farseeker, son of Khuria

  1

  I HAD BEEN told by the futuretellers that I would have to leave behind all those I loved when I left Obernewtyn to complete my quest, but the Fates often unfold events in ways that none can guess. My mind was on this and the companions Atthis had sent me as I made my way around the Skylake.

  Trees grew thickly where I walked, and I could catch only a glimmer of the lake through the dense foliage. But I knew how it looked. I had first seen it from above when I approached the Valley of the Skylake. It had been a strange and marvelous sight, but also eerie, because a past-dream had shown me that it had once been a Beforetime storage for weaponmachines. They had long since taken flight—in the dream, I had seen them fly—a flock of narrow, deadly birds that rained down poisons and fire on some hapless distant place. The storage had been left open and, I assumed, had gradually filled up with water to become a lake.

  I thought of other remnants of the Beforetimers that I had seen—the huge dark storage space under Ariel’s house on Norseland, the complex beneath the ruins of a Beforetime city that had become Oldhaven—and wondered how many more hidden pockets and niches had escaped destruction in the devastated world.

  Sentinel was in such a place, I thought, remembering another dream of a misty chasm.

  I drew a deep breath and shook my head to clear it of clouds and dreams before focusing and sending out a farseeking probe tuned to Maruman’s strange mind. This was my third attempt, but no matter how hard I concentrated, it would not locate. No doubt the old feline was sound asleep, though it would be just like him to shut his mind to me out of sheer contrariness. As far as I knew, I had not especially vexed him that day, but sometimes it took very little to rouse his ire.

  Ever elusive, he was even more so when possessed by one of the fits that claimed him from time to time. I was always alert to any sign of their approach, because in such a state, he wandered, insensible of danger. In ordinary circumstances, that was troubling enough, but to have him wandering out of his mind in the taint-streaked High Mountains, when I must journey inexorably onward, was especially worrying. And it seemed that he had been vague and distant ever since we had left the wolf vale to come to the Skylake, where we had been bidden by the pack leader to wait until he decided whether or not the Brildane would accede to my request to travel with us.

  In the end, I had no alternative but to trust that whatever his state, Maruman’s fate was linked to mine and had been linked from the moment the Agyllian bird Atthis had appointed him one of my guardians. I did not think that link would be so easy to break, even if we should desire it.

  I tried one final time to locate him, turning in one full slow circle and scanning the trees about me before finally giving up.

  Then I sat down on a rock to decide what to do.

  Aside from being worried about Maruman’s state of mind, I had badly wanted to speak to him about the wolves. Given the Brildane’s loathing and mistrust of humans, I was uneasy at the thought of them arriving to find a whole pack of humans I had not mentioned were waiting with me. Rheagor might regard it as a betrayal and simply order his wolves to attack. Worse, he could turn away without even coming to inform me of his decision.

  I had not mentioned the others to the wolves, of course, because at that point, I had not known they would be here. But would Rheagor give me the chance to explain that? In truth, I was still reeling from the surprise of finding the others here.

  When Maruman and the Herder dog Darga appeared beneath my window one misty night to summon me to the final stage of my quest, I left Obernewtyn without saying a word to anyone. I had done so, believing I would never again see Rushton nor any of the people I had come to care about. It had near torn my heart out, but I had done it because Maruman said my quest depended on it.

  When I learned I was not to return to the Land, I had wondered if I would ever see human folk again, for none were known to dwell in the inimical High Mountains, taint streaked and perilous as they were, and beyond them lay only vast terrible, lifeless Blacklands. I had thought then that the promised companions would be beasts, especially after Maruman had made me seek out the wolves and ask them to go with me. I had come to the Valley of the Skylake seeking Gahltha, and without warning, I had discovered two people here, cooking their nightmeal over a campfire.

  Astonished and dismayed, I had resolved to use coercivity to drive the couple away as much for their own safety as for my purposes. Then the fire flared and I had recognized the handsome, saturnine face of the Twentyfamilies gypsy leader, Swallow.

  When I revealed myself to him, I had discovered that he was not in the least surprised to see me. Indeed, he had been waiting for me. Given that he had long had some inkling of my quest and might even be part of it, since he had been more than once been summoned to rescue me over the years, I might have accepted that his presence was reasonable and maybe even inevitable. But for the fact that he was not alone.

  After greeting me, he had waved a careless encompassing hand at the woman standing by the campfire, and only when she offered her intense, enigmatic smile did I recognize Analivia, the yellow-haired daughter of the powerful and corrupt councilman Radost. Long estranged from her father, she had once rescued me from a savage whipping at the hands of one of his soldierguards.

  Before I could ask why she had come here, Gahltha had emerged from the trees behind her and came to nuzzle my ear. I had felt a rush of relief, and Maruman, irritated b
y my emotions, had sunk his claws into my shoulder and leaped down with a hiss to vanish into the trees.

  I had not seen him since, but I told myself he would not go far. Indeed there were only trees up this end of the valley, and given their rarity in the High Mountains, I doubted he would be eager to abandon them. I could easily imagine him draped along some high branch, watching me with one ironic yellow eye.

  I sighed and gave up fretting about the old cat. Closing my eyes, I immersed myself in the memory of those first few moments after I had discovered the others, needing to relive them to properly take in all that I had been told, for I had been too numb with shock to listen properly.

  “You must be famished and chilled besides,” Swallow said calmly, ushering me toward the fire. “Your pack and the other things Gahltha carried on his back are just over there with our things.”

  I wanted to ask about the stone sword, but I was distracted by a movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned to see Dameon making his way around the lake, one hand resting lightly on the flank of the little mountain horse Faraf, whom I had ridden in the Battlegames in Sador.

  I followed the approach of the blind empath, who was my dearest friend, with a tumble of conflicting emotions. I had not had the chance to see him for many sevendays before my departure from Obernewtyn because he had been late returning from a journey to the Westlands. This had spared me the immediate wrench of leaving him as I had left Rushton, without a single word of farewell, but I had been devastated by the knowledge that I would never see him again.

  And now here he was.

  My eyes blurred with tears.

  “Gavyn is here, too,” Swallow said as we watched Dameon and the sturdy little pony approach us. “He is off foraging with Rasial. Despite his lack of sparkling conversation, the lad has proven adept at it, which is fortunate since these mountains offer so little bounty.”

  “Gavyn and Rasial are here, too?” I echoed foolishly.

  Dameon faltered to a stop and was now turning his head this way and that. Not in order to see or hear, I knew, but because he sensed my presence and was trying to locate me. My control over my emotions was so erratic that he always felt my presence, and it suddenly struck me how odd this was, for I never thought of myself as an emotional person.